UNIVERSITY PRESS
The Newspaper of Lamar University
Vol. 95, No. 14 February 7, 2019
Year of the pig Lamar celebrates Chinese New Year Olivia Malick UP managing editor
Tuesday marked the beginning of the Chinese New Year, a festival celebrating the start of the Lunar calendar. This year is the year of the pig, the twelfth Chinese zodiac animal of the Chinese calendar. “Chinese New Year is an opportunity for families to reunite and stay together,” Jing Zhang, LU assistant professor of computer science, said. The Lamar office of global diversity and inclusive excellence, in association with the Chinese Association of Southeast Texas, will host a Chinese New Year 2019 Celebration, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday, at The Event Centre in downtown Beaumont. The festival will feature performances of traditional Chinese dances and songs, as well as Chinese cuisine. “In China, especially in northern China, we have dumplings, a traditional new year food,” Zhang said.
There are a lot of Chinese students and faculty here in Southeast Texas, Zhang, who is a co-coordinator for the event, said. “We want to have something to celebrate, to make Chinese people here aware that we have a party here and can find something interesting to do together,” he said. Sponsors include programs from Lamar, Texas A&M, ExxonMobil and many different companies, Zhang said. “We’re working together to make something,” he said. Zhang, who is from Xian, said that like New Year’s celebrations that follow the Gregorian calendar, participants stay up until midnight to welcome the new year by setting off fireworks. UP photo by Cade Smith “I remember a lot of things Jennifer Boje, Houston senior, is served Chinese cuisine in Brooks-Shivers Dining Hall, Tuesday. The event was part of LU’s about the fireworks from when I celebration of Chinese New Year which is celebrated for 15 days in February. was a child,” he said. “We do the fireworks to scare away the monZhang said. for 15 days. During the festival, own symbolism. ster, Nian.” Chinese New Year, referred to red envelopes are exchanged, “The pig is cute, and I think The name Nian means “year” in Chinese, and it is tradition to as the Spring Festival in mainland often containing money, meant to many families want to have a scare the monster with fireworks China, is the most important fes- bring good luck and ward off bad so that the new year may be safe, tival in Chinese culture and lasts spirits. The year of the pig has its See NEW YEAR page 2
REDtalks to address creating connections
‘Gap in the Visual Narrative’
Abigail Pennington UP contributor
Building relationships and creating connections are skills that play a key role in a successful career. To make sure that students have the skills they need, Nechele McClinton, assistant director of residence life, will present the REDtalk, “Creating Connections,” Wednesday, at 3 p.m., on the sixth floor of Gray Library. Admission is free and open to all students, faculty and staff, Kelly Williams, LU Success and REDtalks coordinator, said. This REDtalk is going to help students develop personally and also professionally,” she said. “The focus is going to be on helping students learn techniques that they can use to build relationships with other people, whether they are a leader here on campus or looking to be a leader in their future career.” McClinton said she came up with the REDtalk after reading books about personal and professional relationships. “I came up with this by reading books emphasizing
UP photo by Abigail Pennington
Spindletop Gladys City Boomtown Museum opened the exhibit “Spindletop Stories: African American Oil Workers,” Jan. 31.
Boomtown Museum hosts exhibit of African American experiences, history Claire Robertson UP staff writer
The Spindletop Gladys City Boomtown Museum opened the exhibition “Spindletop Stories: African American Oil Workers,” Jan. 31, featuring the contributions of African Americans during the Spindletop oil boom. In 1901, oil was discovered at Spindletop. Found at a depth of
1,000 feet and blowing 100 feet in the air, oil flowed from the Lucas Gusher at a rate of 100,000 barrels a day. “This transformed the city of Beaumont and helped kick start the modern petroleum industry,” curator Hannah Colletti said. The population of Beaumont increased from 10,000 to 50,000 after the discovery of oil.
Because Beaumont’s infrastructure was limited and boomtowns grew around the oil fields, including Little Africa, which was a settlement that included a high African American population. Ednesha Cook researched the Little Africa boomtown during See SPINDLETOP page 5
the importance of building those relationships in your personal and professional life,” she said. “The goal of this talk is to give students the tools to build these relationships that will assist them in being great leaders in their field of choice.” Students who attend the presentation will learn the “seven steps” to creating and building relationships. “The seven steps are, commit to win, open up to opportunities, notice what’s needed and do what’s necessary, navigate by your purpose, execute ethically, challenge your challenges, transcend beyond your best and connect to the ‘be’ attitudes,” McClinton said. The REDtalk will focus on personal and professional development, Williams said. “If you’re looking to learn about developing relationships with others, you’re looking to learn more about being a leader, or you’re looking for something that is related to professional development this would be the REDtalk to go to,” she said. Topics for REDtalks are proposed and presented by See CONNECTIONS page 2
President Trump gives second SOTU address Olivia Malick UP managing editor
President Donald Trump’s gave his second State of the Union address, Tuesday, after it had been delayed from January due to the historic 35-day government shutdown. Trump called for unity across party lines and he outlined the accomplishments of his administration in the past year, as well as laying out a plan for what he hopes to accomplish before the 2020 election. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took her place behind Trump
alongside Vice President Mike Pence. Pelosi, like all the female Democrats, wore white as a nod to the Suffragette movement. One the main focuses of the night was the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Europe in World War II. Three soldiers who served on D-Day were guests of the president and Melania Trump. The president also recognized the 50th anniversary of the moon landing and said, “In the 20th century, American saved freedom, transformed science, redefined the middle class, and when you get down to it, there’s nothing anywhere in the world that
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can compete with America.” Trump moved on to his hopes for the rest of this century, namely strengthening the middle class, making communities safer, and deepening the faith and culture of America. The president talked about “bridging old divisions” and avoiding political stalemates. Trump moved on to the economy and stated that his administration had created 5.3 million new jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that only 4.9 million jobs have been added since Trump took office. The president said that 5 mil-
lion Americans are no longer on food stamps, but the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program shows that only 3.5 million Americans are no longer on food stamps. The president said that African American, Hispanic American and Asian American unemployment figures are at the lowest recorded levels. Trump briefly mentioned the Republican tax cut, as well as the elimination of the individual mandate of “Obamacare,” which has yet to be repealed. He also
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See SOTU page 2
Cade Smith, Bonham senior, watches the State of the Union address, Feb. 5.
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