Volume: 59 Issue: 2

Volume: 59 Issue: 2

SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

driftwood.uno.edu

FOS MOVES ON

Photo by Grant Campbell President Fos addresses media at a press conference regarding his retirement from the University of New Orleans. He also announced the decision in an email to students and staff.

UNO President Peter J. Fos to retire Jan. 31, 2016 Anna Gowin Features Editor Nigel Washington Editor-in-Chief UNO President Peter J. Fos announced plans to retire Monday after almost four years with the university in an official email statement to students and faculty.

The announcement comes amidst news from The New Orleans Advocate on Friday, Aug. 28 stating that an anonymous source in the University of Louisiana System which oversees the university said Fos would soon be resigning. His retirement will take effect Jan. 31

2016.

At a press conference Monday afternoon, Fos discussed his reasons for leaving the university and plans for the future.

“This is really a milestone day for me in my personal and professional life. I’ve been working in academia for almost four decades...I think I’ve contributed all I physically and emotionally can,” Fos said. “So there are a lot of good things that I can look back on; I’m walking out with my head held high..”

Fos said he first started thinking about retiring a month ago, when he began to evaluate his achievements at the university: “...I sat down and listed all my accomplishments, and

they are there, and I said ‘You know I don’t know how much more I’ve got in me to push.’”

Fos denied that there was any friction within the UL System that pushed him to announce his retirement. He instead said that the board helped him to announce his retirement on his own terms, “with grace and integrity.”

Some at the press conference commented that four years was not a long term for a university president, but Fos stood by the fact that he was leaving the university in “a better shape than it’s been in years.”

“Fiscally we eliminated a large deficit. Enrollment is down, there are a lot of reasons for that, but

fiscally we’re sound. It wasn’t like that when I first got here,” Fos said.

Fos also cited that graduation rates are up since pre-Katrina numbers.

However, even Fos could not deny that recent state-wide budget cuts took their toll on both UNO and his role as president.

Fos said, “It’s many factors, it’s the budget cuts...Since I’ve been here more than 140 positions have been eliminated and I really didn’t have the resources to run the university the way I wanted.”

Fos was confident, though, that students should not let the legislative budget cuts scare them away from attending UNO. “They have to understand that all I’ve done, and

what the people who will come behind me will do, is make sure that the classroom is the last place to be affected...as a student this is still a very special place. It was a special place when I was a student here.”.

Fos said that his proudest achievements in his time at UNO include the establishment of the Privateer Enrollment Center, the schools renewed relationship with community colleges in the city as well as UNO’s renewed presence in athletics.

As for the remainder of his time at the university, Fos said that he will continue to “be the president until the last day I’m here.”

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

Editorial What does it mean to love New Orleans?

Anna Gowin Features Editor

A cursory glance at social media or any frequently tapped news source over the weekend resulted in nothing but a steady flow of Katrina related stories and speculations. People who were in New Orleans ten years ago found themselves confronted with the events that tore homes, families and the entire city apart, whether they liked it or not.

Naturally people reacted to this in different ways, as people are prone to doing. Some people decided to celebrate how far the city has come in the decade since the levees broke, and some people choose instead to mourn what was lost in the storm’s wake and evaluate whether the right kind of progress has been made.

There is no right or wrong way to react in the face of a tragedy, but Day of Service is commemorating the storm in the way the city truly needs. By taking Aug. 29 as an opportunity to better the city through community service, we are respecting the impact of the storm while not dwelling on the past.

This is not so much a question

OPINION

Perspective

of the city’s changing audience, or whether enough is being done to ensure the return of people who were forced to leave the city. Those concerns are valid, and deserve to be answered by the people of New Orleans. The anger of those asking for answers is not misplaced in a time when it seems like certain voices are not being heard.

But on that day, by taking the time to make a better future for the people who will be living in our city (such as the children who will soon be able to attend Einstein Charter Middle School) we are taking matters into our own hands. We are ensuring the rebuilding of this city by dedicating time and effort to our communities in the same way the New Orleans population did in the aftermath of Katrina.

Is there still so much work to be done? Are there parts of the city that have never recovered?

Of course that is true, and will continue to be true in some part.

But it is much better to spend the day actively working to better the city, while still addressing the bigger issues at hand, and ensuring that no matter what happens in the future-New Orleans will have a future.

Illustation by Lindsay Alexander

Drifting into (and out of) pageantry Alexis Shook Driftwood Staff

Have you ever wondered what really goes on in the world of pageantry? Shows like Toddlers and Tiaras or the televised Miss USA pageant only provide a glimpse into this secret world of contoured faces, perfect spray tans and “butt glue”. I know this all too well and have endured the headache of trying to scrub butt glue off after competing in pageants for years.

I’m a former Miss Teen Louisiana State 2008 and Miss New Orleans Teen USA 2009, along with several other titles. Pageants can be a hard game to play because of issues like dieting, coaching, and having strangers criticize every physical feature without paying much attention to who you are on the inside.

I recently had the honor to judge and interview our reigning Miss Louisiana Teen USA, Katherine Haik, in a mock pageant. This rehearsal pageant was meant to help give her final critiques before she competed in Donald Trump’s Miss Teen USA pageant in the Bahamas.

I was honored when Katherine’s pageant coach, my former coach, extended the invitation to

me, but the old anxieties of my pageant days arose within me. I was worried about receiving side looks about the extra pounds I’d put on since high school or what they would think about my hair not being perfectly straightened and teased.

I put on a good front when I was actively competing by praising popstars like Beyoncé for embracing her womanly curves. But in actuality, I was uneasy about it and I conformed to their standards. I may not have been exactly a size zero, but I was pretty close.

After arriving to the studio where the mock pageant would take place, the judges were given about thirty minutes to read over Katherine’s profile. As we read, the pageant coach came in and explained the procedure of the practice pageant.

Swimsuit was the first category to be judged. Before Katherine strutted in the room, I whispered to the only male judge next to me asking how he felt about critiquing a fifteen year old girl. Unsurprisingly, he expressed a little discomfort. Katherine came in the room giving us her best catwalk and poses. Each judge quickly wrote down their comments and gave her

a score on a scale from one to ten.

For the interview portion we were warned it would only be two minutes during the real competition in the Bahamas, but for this practice version the coach would extend it to five minutes.

I remember competing for Miss Louisiana Teen USA and meeting with each individual judge. Those two minutes felt like two seconds.

However, when Katherine was asked her favorite portion of the competition, she said it was the interview. Contrary to my experience, she explained the interview portion allows for judges to see the contestants’ personalities.

Historically, Miss USA, Miss Universe and Miss Teen USA have a full time job doing promotional work and serving as goodwill ambassadors. This means that all three winners live in Trump Towers as a part of that job. So. she would have to leave her home and move to New York City to work for Donald Trump, despite just being 15.

Since this column was written, Katherine Haik traveled to the Bahamas with 50 other Miss Teen USA hopefuls and came out a winner. At 15, this makes Katherine Haik the youngest Miss Teen USA ever crowned.

STAFF The Driftwood is the student run newspaper of the University of New Orleans.

We publish every Wednesday with the exception of mid-term and finals weeks and official holiday breaks.

Nigel Washington Editor-in-Chief

All submissions are subject to editing by Driftwood Staff. The Driftwood office is located in room 252 of the University Center, 2000 Lakeshore Drive University Center 252 New Orleans, LA 70148

Chloe Gagnon News Editor

Staff may be reached by phone at 504-280-6377 or email driftwoodeditor@ uno.edu or Online at driftwood.uno.edu.

Ad sales inquiries should be directed to driftwoodads@uno.edu

Charles Nicholson Managing Editor Anna Gowin Features Editor Entertainment Editor

Grant Campbell Visuals Director Traven Stout Photo Editor Dillon Orgeron Business Manager Zachary C. Guntner Marketing Manager Lili Harrison Advertising Manager Ave Maria Bordenave Web Editor Christopher Walker Head Videographer Vickie Kennedy Faculty Adviser

3

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

NEWS

Katrina X: UNO still working to return to prime Charles Nicholson Managing Editor Ten years is a lot of time. Time for grieving, time for rebuilding, time for re-establishing. The citizens of New Orleans have had to do all of these and there are still those who aren’t done yet.

The University of New Orleans is a good representation of not having completely returned to form after the storm. The university was at a steady 17,000 in enrollment in Fall 2005 before Katrina, dropping to nearly 12,000 and steadily declining every year, with current numbers at about 8,800.

“Of course, we really haven’t

ever gotten back,” said Dan Doll, an English professor at UNO for 30 years.

Doll was one of the many professors that stayed to teach classes at the Jefferson campus directly after the storm.

“Besides having such a small student body, there’s also been the national and local budgetary problems... fiscal problems that have made things even worse. We obviously need money at the school to help it get back going again and we’ve lived on the students’ tuition for such a long time,” said Doll.

The budgetary problems Doll mentions are from the lack of financial support the university has been receiving since the storm. The

decreasing enrollment was damaging enough before the continuous budget cuts took place.

Dr. Günter Bischof, History professor and Director of Center Austria, remarked on what the international students had to deal with during evacuation. “There was a philosophy student from Alexandria who told students [that] he knew when he visited Innsbruck...that they could come to his home in Alexandria. So he ended up with 20 students up there. The wonderful thing was that the entire community pitched in to feed these people for a week,” said Bischof.

Bischof taught two courses at LSU during the fall of 2005 and although he didn’t teach online,

he still placed a high value in the university’s effectiveness of technology. “I think the response to the storm was the highlight of UNO history because in the tragedy UNO was the only university that actually continued to educate its students through the fall term because of this ingenious response of online teaching,” said Bischof.

“You could say from that experience it’s surprising that the university did not really make more with online education afterwards.”

The university has had to adapt to ensure that students and faculty are aware of procedures during emergencies and evacuation, like with the establishment of the Center for Hazards Assessment, Re-

sponse & Technology (CHART).

For many facets of the university, they have seen more deprivation than improvements since the storm. Though it’s hard to say how many issues can be attributed to the losses due to Katrina, it is clear that UNO has been stuck on a rebound for 10 years.

“The history [of UNO] since Katrina has almost exclusively been fighting off losses. Not building new things, not gaining things. It’s been fighting off losses,” said Doll.

“There are still times where I look around and ask ‘Why don’t the kids of New Orleans deserve the same thing that other kids get? It distresses me.’”

Man on the Street Where did you evacuate during Hurricane Katrina?

Ciara Bloemer Junior, Management

Serenity Fox Freshman, Mechanical Engineer

Carl Harris Junior, Electrical Engineer

Brianna Anderson Freshman, Biology

Matthew Pham Freshman, Biology

I went to Lafayette during Hurricane Katrina and we lived with my Dad’s side of the family. We stayed there for a good six months and moved back to New Orleans.

I went to Atlanta for the Majority of the time that New Orleans was flooded. I went to school there for around six months until we left and went back.

I went to Long Beach, California to live with my uncle in his appartment. My parents, grandparents, uncles, aunt, cousins, and myself traveled by car from Louisiana to California. Arizona was especially hot.

I went to Lake Charles...it was the first hurricane I ever remember leaving for...we were gone for about a week. I didn’t quite understand what was going on at the time or to what extent Katrina was.

I went to Lafayette during Hurricane Katrina and we lived with my dad’s side of the family. We stayed there for a good six months and moved back to New Orleans.

Photos by Traven Stout

CRIME SCENE DO NOT

•

CROSS CRIME SCENE

On Aug. 18, the ATM outside the cove was damaged from an obvious theft attempt. There were no details if any money was actually taken from the machine.

•

On Aug. 26 a student reported his UNO ID missing or stolen after having lunch at the Cove.

CAMPUS CALENDAR Sep. 2

Sep. 3

Sep. 4

Sep. 5

Ice, Ice, Baby! - Join Unity for their popsicle social and get to know the local LGBTQ+ community with games and music.

College of Sciences Ice Cream Social - From 2 pm -3 pm, come to the courtyard between the sciences and chemistry building for free ice cream and a chance to meet the people of the College of Sciences.

Privateers Volleyball vs. Providence - come support your Privateer volleyball team as they go up against the Providence College Priars. The game is in the Human Performance Center at 6 pm.

Privateers Volleyball vs. La Salle the Privateer volleyball team go for a second night in a row game, this time against the La Salle Explorers.

The game starts at 5 pm in the Human Performance Center.

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

NEWS

New Orleans trumpeter Irvin Mayfield resigns from UNO

Photo courtesy of Basin Street Records

Chloe Gagnon News Editor

New Orleans trumpeter Irvin Mayfield resigned from his teach-

ing position at UNO two weeks before fall semester. Mayfield, a Grammy award-winning musician, resigned amidst a recent scandal associated with his business dealings.

The spotlight was focused on Mayfield in May over nearly $900, 000 that was routed from the New Orleans Library Foundation to his New Orleans Jazz Market, a new performance venue in Central City. Mayfield is a former board president of the library foundation.

Kevin Graves, a professor and Interim Dean of the College of Education and Human Development as well as the College of Liberal Arts said, “He left, it was a voluntary resignation and he chose to do so and he just stated he was leaving to pursue other interests.”

Mayfield primarily taught one class on campus called New Orleans as a Discourse where “he would bring influential community and political leaders into the classroom to present various topics that

were relevant to the city or the area today,” said Graves.

He went on to say the guest speakers would include such people as police chiefs, the mayor of New Orleans, “executive people with New Orleans Saints and the Pelicans, noted artists and musicians, [and] not long before he passed away, George Rodriguez, who was the artist who created the blue dog.”

Graves is not sure if the class will continue or not. He said: “In more recent years, to be perfectly honest, it hadn’t been heavily enrolled so maybe it had kind of outlived its usefulness.”

New Orleans as Discourse was just one of Mayfield’s many involvements in the community.

He also taught applied trumpet and jazz classes. Additionally, he was the Director of the New Orleans Jazz Institute, which he founded in 2008, according to Graves.

“He was hired to be the director and professor of professional

practice for the New Orleans Jazz Institute. He was responsible, and he had a staff member/program director, that developed programing initiatives for the institute which was largely a community outreach.

It really had a greater effect with community outreach than it did to the university itself even though it was a university identified institute,” said Graves.

Since Mayfield resigned, no one has been hired to replace him and the New Orleans Jazz Institute has been put on hold. According to Graves, because Mayfield was in charge of the New Orleans Jazz Institute, the program is still in place, but the university has not had the opportunity to figure out the Institute’s future in the wake of Mayfield’s departure.

“It probably will lay somewhat fallow until spring semester and we will gear it back up with a new direction I would imagine in January of 2016…since the programmatic initiatives of the New

Orleans Jazz Institute were not directly towards UNO students, it doesn’t really put a major void within any of the programming or course content.”

“There really hasn’t been, nor will there be, a significant negative element to the music program [since Mayfield left] because it was all New Orleans Jazz Institute related rather than music department. It’s not like we lost a faculty member who taught several courses,” Graves said.

According to Graves, he and the Chair of the Music Department, Charles Taylor, would like to reshape the New Orleans Jazz Institute “and go in a completely different direction.”

Mayfield studied at UNO under Ellis Marsalis, and was formerly head of the New Orleans Jazz Institute which is a partnership between UNO and Mayfield’s Jazz Orchestra.

Newly elected SGA President enters semester with high hopes Zachary C. Guntner Driftwood Staff

Newly elected Student Government Association President, Joy Ballard brings high hopes for the new school year as well as a few new ideas that she hopes will inject more school pride into the university, including a T-shirt swap called “Blues on Tuesday” and new opportunities for effective communication between organization leaders.

Due to a lack of school spirit and poor attendance at on-campus athletic events, one of Ballard’s biggest challenges is convincing students that being a Privateer is something of which to be proud.

Ballard sees “Blues on Tuesday” as a possible way to give the school’s pride a facelift. The idea is to start an initiative to bring in other schools’ T-shirts (LSU, Alabama, etc.) and swap it out for a UNO shirt in return. Thus giving the university a sense of unity rather than being divided over foreign institutions.

Ballard and the SGA staff hope to motivate fellow students to get involved early on and create a stronger foundation.

She was quick to recognize the Greek organizations on campus for consistently supplying events with a strong presence, but said that other students need to gather together at these school events to establish a strong foundation for the university to build off of.

Ballard said the organizations on campus are an integral part of the university and that they all have one thing in common, “They all love UNO.” Like most involved students at the University of New Orleans, Ballard, has a soft spot for the university.

Ballard said, “It’s easy to fall in love with UNO, but first I fell in love with the city… We are in one of the most historic cities in the world and we are right on the lake.” She hopes that other students have a profound love for the school as well and wants Privateers to “leave with positive

interactions with more than just teachers”.

For SGA, and Ballard, no job is too small to try and leave lasting impressions on UNO students.

The SGA spent the first few hours in front of the Earl K. Long library handing out donuts and beverages to students to welcome them as the first day of the school year began.

Ballard, as well as a few other members of the SGA executive board, and their advisor were all in attendance as the rain poured down.

“We want to be available to students… not just in our office this year,” Ballard said. “You won’t see us hidden in our office all of the time…we don’t want to be known as just a bank for funding or a place to make complaints.”

Besides being hounded and surrounded by organizations in attempts to recruit during the first breath of air one can take in on campus, there are better and more comfortable ways to meet organizations from UNO to see if any peek a student’s interests such the

Leadership Summit.

This is an event that is hosted annually by the Leadership Cabinet of UNO and is the first opportunity for students to interact with one another in a retreat setting outside of campus.

For people who are already veteran members of organizations and are looking for something new, the latest congregation of leaders on campus is the Privateer Council. The Privateer Council is made up of the Presidents from each organization of UNO that will meet once a month, in hopes that it will form better communication and stronger relationships between the represented affiliations.

With groups like Student Activities Council and Greek organizations having their own spaces to occupy, it is even more important for students to find comfortable ways to approach campus organizations. With the exception of initial recruiting, events like the Leadership Summit are a great way for students to find out what

piques their interest.

Leadership Summit is an event that is hosted annually by the Leadership Cabinet of UNO and is the first opportunity for students to interact with one another in a retreat setting outside of campus.

Photo by Grant Campbell Student Government Association President Joy Ballard aims for student togetherness.

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

Day in the life of: SAC Mary Simon Driftwood Staff

Student Activities Council (SAC) events are like a potluck; there’s something for everyone.

SUCbAUF and the Welcome Back Luau are events that SAC hosts annually, among many others which appeal to a variety of students.

In addition to large-scale festivities, SAC also provides a number of small events which happen throughout the school year. Take a Seat, Make a Friend is an annual event in which unlikely props are used to spark conversations between strangers.

“People have walked away from it with friendships they didn’t have before,” Devin Gaeta, Lagniappe Chair, said of the event.

Another casual event, which has yet to be named because it is relatively new, involves selfies.

Students post selfies with no makeup or filters to SAC social media sites. Their selfies are posted in the University Center along with blank Post-It notes. Anyone can write a positive message on a Post-It note and anonymously leave it for the person in the picture to see.

The Post-It selfie exercise was presented by a non-executive board member. Gaeta furthered on SAC’s open suggestion attitude, “If you wanted to come up with something different, it doesn’t even have to be an executive board member to suggest it.”

In fact, all university students

are encouraged to communicate what they would like to see in SAC events to its executive board members. SAC’s Facebook serves as a platform for anyone to voice opinions on SAC events and suggest ideas for SAC led discussions, which usually consist of current event topics.

Ladajah Steele, president-elect of SAC, addressed the importance of student involvement in current events: “Sometimes we forget not only about ourselves, but about what’s going on in the world.”

The Student Activities Council took it upon themselves to bridge the gap when a controversial story broke last year.

On August 10, 2015, Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, was killed by a police officer.

As a response to the nationwide tragedy, SAC’s Cultural Conversation Series was created with the assistance of Steele.

“I wanted to get Mike’s voice heard, in some way or another, through us,” Steele said of what sparked her initiative to help create the event.

The Cultural Conversation Series was unlike the Great Debates (an annual SAC event) in that it sought to ensure that each student’s voice was heard. “We used talking points to make sure everyone was able to get their point across,” Steele said.

In the coming years, SAC intends to continue the Cultural Conversation Series. Students can make topic suggestions for conversations via Facebook.

FEATURES

UNO Press Lab provides insight for grad students Anna Gowin Features Editor

For the first time ever, University of New Orleans Press is offering graduate students the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of the publishing industry with a hands-on lab.

“Every year we had strong interest from the MFA program about working with us as interns…I think this program will be invaluable for writers no matter what channel they go down,” said Abram Himelstein, Editor-in-Chief of UNO Press and a professor in the College of Education.

According to Himelstein, whether graduate students’ future holds self-publishing or submitting to a literary agent it’s useful for all students to see the process of submitting and publishing: “Poets, and fiction and non-fiction writers, all go through this creative cycle of ‘write, edit, publish’ so they get to see what ‘edit, publish’ looks like.”

The lab’s 20 or so students will have the opportunity to go through publishing a work step by step, learning the artistic and business practices alike. To select a work for the lab to publish, UNO Press opened submissions for all works of fiction. At the time of the interview, Himelstein said the lab had received about 50 submissions, and was anticipating another 50 before submis-

sions closed on Aug. 15.

“We’ve received some that are New Orleans related, some that have nothing to do with New Orleans, some about Katrina, being very topical,” said Himelstein. He also said that it would be hard to give an idea of what the process for publishing might look like until after the lab students had picked a work, which will probably be at the end of September.

Himelstein hopes that every student’s individual voice in will weigh in in regards to what work is chosen. “I’m hoping it will be a very robust conversation…if I’m doing my job as a professor all 20 voices will have an impact on the decision,” he said.

Himelstein also said as a professor he will be on the lookout to make sure that being in a group doesn’t influence the lab students to choose a “blunter, more acceptable voice” to publish.

The goal of the lab is to publish the chosen work in time for the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival at the end of March, according to Himelstein. The students will have a work chosen by the end of September, devote the month of October to editing, and then begin the publicity campaign sometime in November.

“By the time the program ends a lot of that work will have already been done [by the students] and then the G.A.s and the Managing Editor will take over from there,” said Himelstein in regards to the

timeline of the semester.

Himelstein says it’s hard to anticipate exactly what the publicity will be like before an author is chosen, but that there will certainly be a publishing event hosted

by UNO Press upon the work’s completion: “A lot of it depends on whether the person is local, or whether that person is international…we have no way of knowing right now what that process will look like.”

The goal right now, for UNO Press, is to conduct a lab like this every year. Depending on the success of this year’s lab, the UNO Press staff will determine whether or not they should alternate genres and venture into nonfiction as well. Himelstein also said that he hopes to eventually be able to conduct a summer publishing laboratory for people outside of the UNO student community.

In his time at UNO Press, Himelstein has been able to publish approximately 200 works from various genres, and he hopes that he can bring that experience to helping other people understand the process of publishing. “I want to break that wall down,” he said, “that’s the goal: to disseminate.”

Himelstein says his process when approaching a work is not unlike that of a stage producer, something he hopes will translate into the way the students approach the process. Himelstein said, “Our job is to get the author to meet the audience with success.”

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

FEATURES

UNO joins other New Orleanians in a Day of Service

Photo by Nigel Washington Throughout the day multiple volunteer groups worked on improving and beautifying Einstein Middle at Sarah T. Reed.

Nigel Washington Editor-in-Cheif

On the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, UNO students and faculty members commemorated the date by participating in the Citywide Day of Service.

Members of the UNO community teamed up with multiple schools and nonprofit organizations to deliver renovations to Sarah T. Reed Charter School on Saturday Aug. 29th, ten years after Katrina made landfall.

Sponsored by Walmart and many other supporters, Mayor Mitchell Landrieu hosted a re-

building effort across the city that also involved over 100 projects at multiple locations in New Orleans including Berhman Stadium in Algiers and the Sanchez Center in the Lower Ninth Ward.

UNO volunteers spread across the Reed site and worked together on painting, planting, and decorating the school.

The effort was to help the Einstein Charter School at Sarah Towles Reed prepare for its long-awaited reopening after being closed down post-Katrina.

In front of the school, workers planted plants and cleaned the school grounds. Others decorated

the outside fencing and helped move dirt and trash to the dumpster. Volunteers repainted the cafeteria, bathrooms and hallways.

Outside the cafeteria, groups worked on building and painting gazebos so students can eat outside.

The gymnasium and adjacent parking lot served as the gathering area for the workers. The gym served snacks and provided air condition while the tented parking lot had music that created a place for workers to enjoy themselves when they finished their projects.

The UNO men’s basketball, baseball and women’s basketball

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“Your mind goes back to the lives lost and those accounted for and unaccounted for,” said Slessinger. “We talked about that with our team in our meeting and we talked about the importance of honoring those people who lost their lives during this time by giving back and doing something in a positive direction, but we are also celebrating walking forward and doing something good to build our city better and improve it.”

Shereka Ceazer, a volunteer from Dillard, was proud about the response the event received and what this means for the city.

“It makes me feel wonderful,” Ceazer said. “As I look around and see people in the field and in the parking lot, I see people from different walks and backgrounds and we have all came together.

We came with good spirits and we came to do something positive for the city of New Orleans. I think this was such a positive and uplifting event, and I think it shows that we, as a community and as a city, have progressed and that we have come a long way.”

Einstein Charter Middle at Sarah T. Reed is scheduled to open in the fall of 2016 with even more improvements.

Reed will start with sixth, seventh, and eighth grade and will able to hold around 2,300 students at its capacity.

SPONSORED BY: UNO STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION

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teams attended the service day to help in any way possible.

Mark Slessinger, the men’s basketball head coach, said it was vital for the athletic department to represent UNO at the event. “We are the city’s public university and we want to be here and be a part of everything that’s going on,” said Slessinger. “It’s important for our guys to understand the significance of today and giving back to our community. We take an incredible amount of pride giving back and investing back in our city and our community.”

The number of privateers in attendance even caught the attention of some of the other volunteers.

Senior UNO student Jena Michel said: “[One of the female volunteers] said the UNO group was one of the biggest groups here and she was super impressed and really happy to see us here.”

With students from UNO, the event saw around 1,000 volunteers working on rebuilding the school in various ways. The big turn out also saw projects getting finished faster.

“There’s a ton of people out here so everything is going really quickly,” Michel said.

While the volunteers found a great sense of pride giving back to the community, the entire experience was something much more than rebuilding. It was also about honoring the people before them and creating something for future New Orleanians to cherish.

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7

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

FEATURES

Photo by Gina Ramirez Members from the UNO Athletic department also came out to show their support. The mens basketball, baseball and womens basketball teams were joined by coaches and staff to represent UNO.

Photo by Nigel Washington Volunteers paint gazebos where Einstein Charter Middle students will be able to eat lunch.

Photo by Nigel Washington Kids and adults alike show they’re willing to get their hands dirty for a cause at Sarah T. Reed.

Photo by Gina Ramirez One of the day’s biggest projects was a large, colorful banner that will hang on the campus

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ENTERTAINMENT

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

New comedy groups bring fresh The Misanthrope (finally) comes to UNO stand-up talent to the city ideas. If anything, the postponement While the original play is set Andrew LaBorde “We have a lot of young guys that are starting some comedy rooms that are doing really well, and it’s really impacting the city as far as the availability of comedy. Back when I got started, there might have been one or two rooms, now there are rooms all over every night of the week. If you’re interesting in listening to some comedy or even trying your hand at it any night of the week, you can make that happen. And specifically for you college students, pretty much all of the open-mics are free,” Plunkett said.

Another well-known show around the city that many comediPhoto courtesy of Zachary Lemoine ans are giving props to is the show Driftwood reporter Zachary Lemoine “KARATEFIGHT” by the comedic with Sasheer Zamata from Saturday duo, Massive Fraud. The duo conNight Live after Zamata’s July 26 show sists of Louisiana natives, Andrew at the Freret Street Publiq House.

Polk and Joe Cardosi, who put on Zachary Lemoine a show of both video sketches and Driftwood Staff stand-up once a month.

The show has been traveling to With groups like Massive Fraud different locations recently, but and The New Movement offering has yet to fail to sell out a venue. local comedians a space to practice They also release video sketches and perform, comedy has a larger- on YouTube every Monday. With than- ever presence in New Orle- recognition from Louis C.K. and ans.

Hannibal Buress, they are drawing Trying to experience New Or- in a lot of attention to New Orleans leans comedy at every possible comedy. venue will probably take around The New Movement is anoththree weeks. There can be as many er comedy group that is helping as three different open-mic events move the city’s comedic scene happening at once some nights a forward in many ways. Run by week. However, this was not the New Orleans’ own Chris Trew and case until very recently.

Tami Nelson, the group originat“Two years ago when I started, ed in Austin, Texas but was soon you couldn’t get up every night,” brought over to the ‘Big Easy’. said local comedian Molly Ru- The New Movement offers classes ben-Long. “[Local comedy] has to learn improvisational comedy definitely grown. It’s growing and has become very popular. quickly, and people are excited Christopher Campbell, who about it.” learned and performed with the Molly runs her organization, own open-mic has been doing event, “Bear with improv shows Me,” with another for about a year local comedian, and a half now.

Julie Mitchell, on He describes it Monday nights at as “recess for 9 p.m. at Twelve adults.”

Mile Limit in He further Mid-city. It is a explained The traditional openNew Movement mic with several by saying, “The comedians who cool thing about are given a limitThe New Moveed amount of time ment is that you to perform standcan get stage up. time right away.

Photo courtesy of Zachary Lemoine “Bear with Me” If you want stage Molly Ruben-Long hosting her is a superb example “Bear With Me” open-mic event at time, they’ll give of one of the new Twelve Mile Limit. it to you. At othcomedy rooms that er places, it might has sprung up in the city recently. take years.”

The event is free to the public with The New Movement also hosts free food offered to those who ar- a comedy festival called “Hell Yes rive the hour before.

Fest” which happens from Oct. If you would like to experience 1-11. The festival features the best sets from local comedians that are comedians to come out of The more full, The Howlin’ Wolf offers New Movement from both Austin “Comedy Gumbeaux” on Thursday and New Orleans, along with other nights at 8:30 p.m. This is anoth- comedians. er appealing event to check out. It When asked to comment about has been around for five years and changes in the comedy scene is hosted by Frederick Plunkett who Campbell said, “I feel like a lot goes by “RedBean.” more people are talking about it.

Plunkett has been doing comedy Just alone with The New Movefor 15 years and has been running ment they have a waiting list just “Comedy Gumbeaux” since he to take classes. Two years ago, you created it five years ago. “Come- would have no problem getting in dy Gumbeaux” gives comedians there. A lot of people are definitely an opportunity to try out full sets taking interest in [comedy] and bewhich can range from 10-45 min- ing vocal about it.” utes.

Driftwood Staff

This September will see the opening of The Misanthrope, a Theatre Department production that was originally set to premiere last spring, but ended up having to be postponed.

David Hoover, the Film and Theatre Department Chair, said the postponement was due to a budget freeze last spring, leaving the set and costumes unfinished.

Joni Bankston, stage manager for the upcoming production, said the postponement period was “strange” for everybody working on the show. The budget freeze forced the cast and crew to stop rehearsals in the spring, but after the summer break, Bankston is encouraged.

“A couple of days before the semester started, we had our readthrough again and it definitely had new life and people bringing new

aided us in a way,” said Bankston.

On the postponement experience as a whole, Bankston called it “chaotic,” but said everybody involved never lost confidence in moving the production forward. Bankston credits her team with working tirelessly trying to finish the set, which she says looks great.

Despite losing actors to graduation, Bankston said she is thrilled with the way the new actors have stepped in and joined the team.

“Just from me sitting there, and writing down all my notes and listening to them, it’s been crazy funny,” said Bankston.

The Misanthrope is a 17th century comedy written by Moliere, a famous French playwright. Bankston notes a primary theme of hypocrisy in the play, saying a lot of the themes in the play still remain true in today’s society. The timeless themes open the play up to different interpretations.

during the time period that Molière wrote it, UNO’s adaptation has it set in 1965.

The play centers around Alceste, the titular misanthrope. “He is very straightforward, speaks his mind and has a very negative outlook on humanity as a whole,” Bankston said when characterizing Alceste.

Célimène, a love interest of Alceste, is a young widow who has a lot of suitors vying for her attention.

However, Alceste wants Célimène for himself. All the while, he battles various lawsuits, claiming justice is on his side.

The Misanthrope is set to open in the Performing Arts Center on Sept.

17, with performances on the 18, 19, 24-26 and Sunday Sept. 27.

Two Rooms and Agnes of God are among the other productions lined up for the season for the Film and Theatre Department.

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

ENTERTAINMENT

Movie Review: We Are Your Friends

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Christopher Walker Driftwood Staff

Movies are dying. Given the virtually unlimited amount of options that the combination of Netflix, pirating, and television offers from the comfort of your own home, there’s little mystery as to why melting into the couch wins out over taking a trip to the theatre for this generation. Hollywood has seen their ticket sales declining rapidly since the explosion of in-home streaming, and has been trying desperately to get you to

come to the theatres again; leading to the recent slew of superhero movies. These films are supposed to overwhelm your senses, drawing huge crowds into the theatres to fully immerse themselves in an experience they can’t replicate at home.

The latest ruse to get you out of your home is an immersion into an electronic dance music festival.

For those of you who are over 30, there’s little you need to know about EDM to get caught up. A DJ plays party music to a huge crowd of young people on drugs, and everyone has a great time. Got it?

Good.

Zac Efron plays Cole Carter,

an aspiring DJ from Los Angeles that dreams of making it big in the EDM scene. He spins for free headlining for big-name DJ’s, one of whom invites him to a party where their friendship flourishes. The older DJ (played by a world-weary Wesley Bentley) mentors Carter to create more organic, personal drug-fueled party music, and things go along swell until Carter gets into a relationship with his mentor’s girlfriend (Emily Ratajkowski), and things start to fall apart.

It’s not a revolutionary plot; you’ve seen these broad strokes before. All actors do a fine job.

Efron is convincing as wide-eyed,

naïve puppy trying to make it big, Bentley is terrific as a once-great DJ who has grown cynical of the world, his work, and those who enjoy it. And Ratajkowski gives a terrific, subtle, heartbroken performance, particularly as the film goes on and her character grows out of eye-candy and into a broken, incomplete woman. But make no mistake: in this movie, the music is the star. Also, there’s something about never giving up on your dreams in there.

But the fact is, if you’re over thirty, there’s a very good chance you’ll find this movie borderline intolerable. It is absolutely, 100%, aimed towards millennials. It’s fast

paced editing, MTV-esque visual style, and reliance on pounding bass and looping vocal samples are sure to drive the more mature crowd away. And Hollywood knows this, which is why it’s so interesting that they’ve sunk millions into a bet that the youth still want to come to the theatres. And to an R-rated movie at that.

But what a great experiment. In its brief running time, we’re taken to multiple raves, a PCP drug hallucination, instructions on how to control a crowd on the dancefloor, drug-fueled sex, an ecstasy-laden trip through Las Vegas, and drug overdoses all while listening to the latest EDM artists showcasing their current work in the background.

The movie succeeds primarily because of why it turns off older viewers: it’s big, loud, trendy, and fun. And underneath, there’s a fierce intelligence from director Max Joseph, who understands the next step film (as an art form) has to take to stay relevant among the recent explosion of television.

You need to see this movie in theaters. It’s a great date movie, a great bro flick, a great chickflick. In fact, it’s hard to think of anything that has more of a mass appeal to the twenty-something crowd right now. Sure, there’s creative missteps along the way. Is it thought provoking? Not really.

Is it trendy? Duh. Will it age well?

Maybe not. (Think Saturday Night Fever) But it’s given the youth a reason to go to the movies again.

And that’s something we haven’t seen for a very, very long time.

Television Review: Fear the Walking Dead

Courtesy of AMC Network Entertainment LLC.

Charles Nicholson Managing Editor

The first two episodes of the prequel series of AMC’s biggest hit, The Walking Dead, have premiered. Fear the Walking Dead brings viewers a look at the world before the escapades of Rick and company, just as the zombie apocalypse is in its infancy.

In the heart of Los Angeles, the fall of civilization will test the bond of a blended family as they forego their social hangups and attempt to embrace a survivalist lifestyle. The series opens with

Nick (Frank Dillane), a 19-yearold drug addict who awakens in an abandoned church to find himself confronted with a couple of dead bodies and a walker (one of the terms for zombies used in this universe). After running out of the church and into a street, he finds himself struck by a car and surrounded by concerned bystanders as the camera pans up to show a still civilized and populated Los Angeles.

This is the first of possibly many moments where the showrunners play with setting, going from a normal urban environment to a silent horror backdrop. It’s a great aspect because it keeps up ten-

sion as you’re wondering what’s behind the next corner or what’s gonna happen when someone turns around. Though it does fall flat at times when the situation doesn’t really call for such suspense.

Turning back to the unconventional cast, Madison (Kim Dickens) is a high school guidance counselor trying to keep her family afloat with her boyfriend and colleague Travis (Cliff Curtis) having recently moved in with her and her children, Nick and Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey). Where Nick is the multi-relapsing junkie, Alicia plays opposite of him as a model high school student who has long since given up on her brother and whose only concern besides grades is being with her boyfriend.

Travis also has his own battles as he attempts to be a father to his step-children while maintaining his bond with his rebellious, biological son Chris (Lorenzo James Henrie). With trying to keep up with Nick’s unpredictability, Alicia’s disapproval of his and Madison’s relationship and Chris’ resentment of his new family, Travis has a full plate and it’s about to get fuller.

Nick was the standout character in the pilot as the episode followed him closest. Dillane’s portrayal of the drug-abuser-trying-to-do-right is quite convincing as you want Nick to get out of the situations he’s in, yet his character always manages to end up back in the thick of it.

Dickins’ Madison is another shining character. The well-received school counselor does great at managing her students but doesn’t get nearly the same results with her own children.

Madison shows commitment as she struggles to keep up with Nick’s whereabouts during the pilot while not trying to be a burden on Travis.

Her willingness to help extends outside her family as seen during her short adventure with one of her students, Tobias (a troubled youth who’s done his research on apocalypses, though his character comes off as a cliche conspiracy nutjob). Although Madison is mostly portrayed as the do-gooder of the series, her final scene in the second episode shows that she’s ready to make the tough decisions if it means protecting her family.

Curtis doesn’t get much to work with during the pilot, but even when his character, Travis, is put in the forefront during episode two, you’re still left waiting to see his acting chops. Travis is kind of a blank canvas as his character has yet to be fleshed out. Even though it’s only the first two episodes, it’d be good to get an idea of where they are taking his character.

Carey also seems to fall under the same issue as Alicia’s only notable scene is in episode two as she’s helping Nick try to kick the drugs out of his system. Though a good small bonding moment between the two, it didn’t feel

deserved so early on in the series, thereby making it not as impactful. What’s left are cheesy scenes (hiding away in a perch with her boyfriend) as a generic teenage girl with attitude. It’s where she applies that attitude that will define her character.

The plot of the series may prove be the most interesting detail. How the infection came to be is still a mystery and it’s a wonder if it was a missed opportunity to not have someone with at least a bit of insight as to what the infection is or where it came from. However the conflict that comes from it is engaging. The reports of a fatal virus going around simultaneous with police shooting unarmed civilians has begun to cause great unrest within the city. Schools and businesses shut their doors for fear of the virus spreading. It all goes to hell as an officer guns down a walker during a protest, thus igniting a riot which Travis, Chris and Travis’ ex-wife, Liza (Elizabeth Rodriguez), are caught in the middle of. You get a good view of how it all fell apart as there was very little communication between the government and the masses, to whom they serve.

Fear the Walking Dead opens up with a solid start, showing the potential of a show which could very well be on par, if not surpass, its big sister series. Nick said it best: “I’m about to step into a world of shit.”

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

SPORTS

Privateers Finish 2-1 at FGCU Hilton Garden Inn Classic, Two Named to All-Tournament Team Zachary C. Guntner Driftwood Staff

The Privateer Volleyball team opened up the season at the Hilton Garden Inn Classic Tournament in Fort Myers, FL and left with a twoand-one record and two players named to the All-Tournament Team.

In their first match against the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles, the lady Privateers lost three sets back to back and recorded a tournament-low two aces against the home squad, resulting in their first loss off the season.

During the following match against the Presbyterian Blue Hose, freshmen Blessing Dunn lead the team with 15 kills, two aces and teammate sophomore Rondolyn Bryant registered a career high 13 kills and had three blocks to help lead the Privateers to a five-set win.

The final match against the Fordham Rams proved to be an easier one as UNO went on to win in four sets. Bryant almost matched her career high in kills as she finished with 12 and helped lead the Privateers to a two and one record.

Florida Gulf Coast went on to go

undefeated in the HGIC tournament finishing with three wins while tying UNO with two players being placed on the All-Tournament team. Senior Eagle, Eleonora Kazarian took home MVP honors for the weekend, even though freshman Amanda Carroll finished with more kills following the non-conference competition.

Freshman Shaylene Reimer and Bryant of the UNO Privateers were named to the All-Tournament Team and look to lead the Privateers to victory when they take on the Providence Friars on September fourth at their home arena in the Human Performance Center.

The Friars are one-and-two heading into the matchup at UNO, losing their first two games against Sacred Heart and Boston College then beating South Alabama in their first three games.

On Saturday September fifth, UNO will wrap up their weekend play by hosting Eastern Washington and LaSalle before heading to UNC Asheville on September tenth, giving them numerous games to accumulate a good start before traveling to their first conference game at the Houston Baptist Huskies on September 24.

Courtesy of the UNO Athletics Department Sophomore Rondolyn Bryant (right) and freshman Shaylene Reimer (not pictured) were selected to the All-Tournament team.

VooDoo football team plays its last game halfway through the preseason Zachary Leto

Driftwood Contributor Just outside the periphery of most crescent city sports fans, the rise and fall of the New Orleans VooDoo took place.

Saturday, July 18, 2015 marked what was likely the final home game for the city’s Arena Football League franchise. Later it was announced that the team had been taken over by the league from owner Dan Newman, a businessman from Shreveport. The situation is similar to that of the NBA’s takeover of the Hornets from George Shinn.

The difference on this occasion is that the league-owned team is likely to be relocated or disbanded rather than auctioned to the local highest bidder.

Tom Benson will not be stepping out of his summer home in Maine to buy an arena football team.

And why should he? To this point, the team has won just 22 of the 89 games they have played since their return. Attendance has also declined each year.

Most people who actually knew what the VooDoo were might have been surprised to discover that Benson wasn’t still the owner of the team, which he was from 2005 to 2009. Newman had been the owner of the “new” VooDoo since 2011 when the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings of the af2 were renamed and relocated down to New Orleans.

Since the team has been back, it has been little more than a blip on the radar for most sports fans in the region, casual and hardcore.

Many people will argue that it’s not football. Even though it may not

be the same spectacle witnessed on Sundays, when you see the collisions into the walls at full speed, you’re not going to question the physicality of the sport.

Fans are often times literally part of the action, not just the autograph session that happens after the game.

The main argument against the AFL is that it is not the major league. It’s not the NFL, so it’s not worth the time. They are not the Saints and they are not the Tigers.

I would mention the Pelicans, but even that fan base is still trying to transition from being a novelty to a staple in the regional sports community.

The real extent of the team’s legacy is that they were here from 2005 to 2009 and then had another stint from 2011 to the present. Current Saints hopeful Delvin Breaux played for the team. Outside of him, there’s maybe two or three names that casual football fans might recognize.

As I continued to think about how that legacy would be told, all I could really think of was what this season was like for me as an intern with the team and the stories of the people who worked to make the VooDoo happen despite the struggles of having an almost nonexistent fan base and an owner whose pockets and New Orleans roots weren’t nearly as deep as Benson’s.

I attended an intern night event hosted by the team at their front office headquarters. There were probably thirty people there at the little office/warehouse on Plauche St. in Elmwood and all the chairs were filled by the time I got there.

There was ice chest seating available, but I opted to lean against the

food table. Needless to say, it was a humble setting for a professional sports franchise.

For about forty-five minutes, the general manager, Brandon Rizzuto, a UNO graduate, gave his presentation about what internships they had available. All of them were available. Anyone that wanted to help could get in on the action.

Rizzuto made it clear that the team depended on having interns in order to function.

I decided a couple of weeks after that that I wanted in. I would help with media relations. It turned out that there were only four paid staff in the office. Rizzuto the GM, Hayley Asaro the director of player operations, Chip Merritt the media relations coordinator, and Kathy Kaleta in ticket sales.

Outside of the three coaches, it was those four people who essentially ran a professional football franchise. Rizzuto, Asaro, and Merritt are all under the age of thirty-one.

We had a lot of fun working together. There was actually a point where we had so many interns and were so on top of our assignments that my task upon walking in on a Friday afternoon was to walk around and make jokes. I dutifully accepted.

There were also plenty times where we had our noses to the grinder. My first day on the job, I stayed in the office until almost midnight helping build the new website that was to launch before the start of the season. Frequently, Rizzuto, Asaro, and Merritt stayed in the office until the wee hours of the morning.

The fact that the team managed to operate is something of a

miracle, much less operate on a miniscule budget without a clear revenue stream.

Despite what attendance numbers you may find online for the VooDoo, the actual numbers don’t come anywhere close. The average one might find would be somewhere around four thousand fans per game. In reality, the number is half that.

Those are not the kind of stats an owner can afford to juke.

There were efforts to rope in fans, but all of them fell on deaf ears as ownership refused just about every step of the way.

Slammed doors and awkward tensions were a regularity in the midst of the family atmosphere of the office. It’s frustrating to not be able to do your job.

When the Pelicans were in the playoffs, an idea was floated that the team should offer anyone with a ticket from the playoff games free admission to the following day’s VooDoo game.

The Saints wouldn’t be able to do something like that because there’s too much demand for tickets and not enough supply. For the VooDoo it was the opposite. They had nothing to lose by giving away a couple thousand tickets. They weren’t going to be sold anyway.

In fact, it would be free advertisement. At worst they would gain just a little more exposure and sell some merchandise.

That idea was shot down. Why? Because ownership didn’t want to give away free tickets.

Flash forward to the last home game of the season. Early in the week it was announced that the team had been taken over by the league and that it was likely

folding or moving. Either way, the VooDoo would no longer be in New Orleans.

We were all told that everything must go. Tickets, merchandise, everything. We didn’t want to call it a fire sale, but that’s essentially what it would be.

Finally, given the ability to do our jobs, we did.

There was a huge, pumped up crowd at the game. The atmosphere was unlike any other game of the season.

At every break in the action, the dance team was sprinting across the field to throw t-shirts. At halftime, a VooDoo-themed hearse rolled out to midfield and unloaded box after box of VooDoo merchandise. The merchandise stand had a mob surrounding it the entire night. And the cherry on top was a VooDoo victory.

They went out the right way. For a season of scraping the bottom of the barrel, that night felt like the top of the mountain.

That to me is the legacy of the VooDoo. We finally had something to play for and we went out on top.

We forgot the awful record and the negativity around the team because that night everyone felt like what we had been working for mattered.

It’s difficult to work hard every day only to be crushed at the end of the week. Every now and then there has to be some reward for the labor. For the VooDoo, the last home game was just that, and as my time with the team comes to an end, I can’t think of a better way for me to have spent the last six months of my life than with the amazing people of the New Orleans VooDoo in the Graveyard.

VooDoo, rest in peace.