UNIVERSITY PRESS
The Newspaper of Lamar University
Vol. 93, No. 14 February 2, 2017
Locals protest Trump travel ban Tim Collins UP managing editor and Trevier Gonzalez UP multimedia editor
President Trump signed an executive order, Friday, which banned all nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days, all refugees for four months, and all Syrian refugees indefinitely from entering the United States. Anyone with citizenship UP photo by Trevier Gonzalez in these seven countries was Samar Farooqui and Amna Ahmed protest against an executive order restricting immigration originally banned from enat the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Jan. 29. tering the United States, in-
cluding dual citizens of Great Britain or Canada, and those with green card status. In a letter to students, LU President Kenneth Evans said currently 21 students and 18 employees are from the identified countries. “LU strongly values and is committed to multiculturalism, diversity and global education,” Evans wrote. “Moreover, as a public institution supported by the State of Texas, Lamar University abides by and follows the laws of the state and nation. Make no mistake, our students, faculty, staff and
alumni from these identified countries are valued members of our university community and will receive our complete support and assistance as actions associated with this executive order unfold. “The university advises students, faculty and staff members from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen not to travel outside the United States until further notice.” One student affected by the ban is Farzaneh Hos-
See BAN page 4
Starbucks coming to Gray Library Caitlin McAlister UP staff writer
Gray Library is undergoing a major renovation that will include the construction of a Starbucks in the lobby. The work is expected to be completed in October. Katherine Miller, assistant vice president of planning and construction, said the decision to build a Starbucks was an effort to provide more food choices on campus. “After consideration of several options, it was determined that the library lobby offered the best opportunity in terms of convenience, available space and infrastructure needed to support the café,” she said. Karen Nichols, coordinator of reference services and associate professor, said that she is excited about the new café. “I’m a Starbucks freak,” she said. “One of the nice things is that it’s going to be a full-blown Starbucks. That was one of the things we were concerned about, was if it would be some hole in the wall or cart, but it’ll actually be a Starbucks where they serve sandwiches and treats.” The construction of the Starbucks is part of a larger renovation to the first floor of the library, Miller said. “Once the location was identified, it was also apparent that the remainder of the library was in need of refreshing as it had not been renovated since it was built in the late 1970s,” she said. “The work includes installation of new skylights to allow more natural light into the lobby, replacement and reconfiguration of the library entrance, new flooring and lighting, relocation of the circulation desk and other library services, and reconfiguration of the two exit stairs near the lobby to comply with current life safety codes.”
Theatrical ‘Pinter’-est Rachel Curtis UP contributor
See STARBUCKS page 2
UP photos by Trevier Gonzalez UP photo by Caitlin McAlister
Construction crews work on renovations for the upcoming Starbucks at Gray Library, Jan. 20.
Iza Scott, top left, and Michael Saar, rehearse a scene from ‘“A Kind of Alaska,” and Sydney Haygood, above, rehearses a scene from “The Dumb Waiter,” Monday in the Studio Theatre.
The word of the day is “Interesting.” That is the word that recurs as director and actors talk about Lamar University department of theatre & dance’s upcoming double bill of Harold Pinter’s “The Dumb Waiter” and “”A Kind of Alaska,” which opens Feb. 9 in the Studio Theatre. Director Joel Grothe said the plays challenge the audience’s expectations. “They’re not straight forward — they may be confusing to an audience at times,” he said. “Pinter’s plays, in America, haven’t done real well commercially, because the audience’s experience can be uncomfortable in a sort of confusing way. I don’t think that’s the case here. “The audience here is not dumb. The audience is never dumb. Actually, wherever you go, the audience is smart. ‘The audience doesn’t get it,’ that’s always a red flag to me. What that means isn’t that
the audience doesn’t get it, it’s that you’re not telling them something — you’re not communicating the message of the play. This is not the sort of play that someone who grew up in this area is used to seeing. It might be a little different, but I think they’ll figure it out.” “A Kind of Alaska” is based on Oliver Sachs “Awakenings,” which was made into a movie in the 1990s with Robin Williams and Robert De Nero. It is the only play Pinter write based off another source. “The Dumb Waiter” is one of Pinter’s more famous plays. “I feel like ‘the Dumb Waiter’ is a very accessible play,” Grothe said. “I’d seen it before and I just thought it can really grab the audience. It just has a very unique nature to it. ‘A Kind of Alaska’ is also an interesting pay. I think it’s almost a perfect play and it doesn’t get staged very often.” Pinter is one of the 20th
See PINTER page 2
LUTV: From Auditions to Success Emily Sterling UP contributor
LUTV News will hold auditions for all positions, Friday at 11:30 a.m. in the TV studio, 116 Theater Annex. “LUTV News is kind of a gateway to finding out what opportunities we have here in the department,” Gordon Williams, studio operations manager, said. “It also gives students the opportunities to work in a practical work environment. We create content that informs the campus and the community.” Jeremy Hawa, adjunct
professor, said the TV studio offers real-world experience. “This isn’t a classroom, this is not a lecture — this is a hands-on experimental class and, to me, in a field like this, that is really something that is indispensable,” he said. Students are able to walk into a news station with the knowledge of how a broadcast works, Hawa said. Students do not need an appointment, or prepared materials for the audition, although auditioners should dress appropriately. A panel of local broadcasters will
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help select the candidates. Though students may have an idea of the career path they plan to follow, LUTV auditions can open one’s eyes to different options, former LUTV member Julie Guidry said. “When I auditioned, I really wanted to be a news anchor,” she said. “It was during tryouts that I determined that I wasn’t at all interested in being on-air talent. I found that I loved producing the news much more and spent several semesters doing so at
See LUTV page 2
LUTV staff work a newscast during the fall 2016 semester.
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Photo courtesy LUTV
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INSIDE
Thursday, February 2, 2017 University Press
STARBUCKS
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“‘Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me’” —Emma Lazarus, “The New Colossus”
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Work on the renovation began over winter break. “In order to make the space ready for the major renovation, it was necessary to complete a small portion of the work over the winter break, including construc-
LUTV
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
tion of a new temporary building entrance that will be used once the lobby renovation is underway,” Miller said. “Our goal was to minimize disruption to students and staff, as well as to ensure safety during construc-
tion.” Nichols said that she believes the benefits will likely be worth the inconvenience of working in a building under construction. “It’s a necessary evil,” she said. “Libraries have been
putting in coffee shops for years, and we always wanted one. It’s kind of nice, because there aren’t a lot of places open for food at night. It’s noisy, it’s a pain, but in the end I hope it will be worth it.”
PINTER
step in his career. “I worked first as a host and now producer,” he said. “LUTV taught me lessons in networking, professionalism and the hierarchy of a production. More importantly, the friendships made as we all worked
toward our dreams are the biggest takeaway.” Having spent nearly 20 years at LUTV, Williams said he understands the importance of ties formed through the program. “Having our past students
and alumni come back to talk to our current students — those kinds of things are important to me, and it creates this bond that is kind of centered around LUTV,” he said. For more information, call 880-8038.
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century’s most awarded playwrights and won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005. Grothe said the plays were selected to challenge both the audience and the actors. “You don’t want to do that with every show you pick, but it’s good to challenge our students, and the students who are audience members and other members of the community,” he said. “We tend to pick at least one play a year that nobody else around here is going to do. This is that play this year.” “A kind of Alaska” is about a woman who is being treated for encephalitis lethargica, or sleeping sickness, and how she and her sister, and her doctor who’s married to her sister, deal with the situation. “The Dumb Waiter” is about two hitmen who are waiting to get instructions for a job. One is a bit more mature and one a bit more naïve, and something’s gone wrong on a previous job they were on which hangs over their conversation. Pinter was
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CALENDAR February 5
Paul Merkelo
guest artist trumpet recital
Rothwell Recital Hall 3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
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Lamar.” Many students have found that their experience at LUTV can lead to a successful career. Alumni Josh Yawn, owner of Joshua Productions, said the skills he gained at LUTV allowed him to take the first big
NOTICE
strongly influenced by Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot,” and the play echoes that play. Sophomore Madelynn Hightower plays Pauline in “A Kind of Alaska.” She said the play is different from anything she has done before. “The audience is going to be intrigued, they really have to pay attention to know what’s going on,” she said. “If you’re not paying attention, you’re going to be confused. Pay attention to small details, things that we say, because the way Pinter wrote the play, all the words are there and the pauses, and they add to the effect of the tone of the play. “You’re going to be left with a lot of questions and you’re going to have to use your imagination for a lot of it — just kind of go with it. There’s a lot of things that they say where there’s not really an end to it.” Michael Saar, faculty librarian in Gray Library, plays the doctor in “A Kind of Alaska.” “I think it’s very interesting
as well as entertaining,” he said. “It’s something that speaks to the power of theater, where it’s more powerful to see this play rather than read it from a page. The play raises questions more than a message or a moral, and the questions focus on the realities we construct for ourselves, and the relationship between memory and the past. These are the types of shows that get an audience thinking and talking about it, and will stick with you days after the fact — something to, hopefully, get you thinking about things that were brought up even if you can’t see it when you’re watching.” Sophomore Austin Jones, who plays Gus in “The Dumb Waiter,” said the play has an open beginning and an open ending, adding, “it almost has an open middle.” Jones said the one-act format speeds up the action. “Because it’s a shorter play, there’s probably more in that 40 minutes of the play than in 40 minutes of a play that’s
twice as long,” he said. Grothe said the students are doing great work, especially as they are working with a different kind of material. “Pinter has a very precise structure for not only what’s said, but also what isn’t said,” he said. “Pinter is very famous for the pauses and silences and where he writes those in his script, and they’ve been figuring that out. He’s very economical with his words — he doesn’t waste any language. “It’s a challenge working a lot about what’s unsaid. That really is acting. A lot of people can go on stage and talk, but it’s about what you’re doing when you’re not talking that is a huge part of acting.” The performances are 7:30 p.m., Feb. 9, 10 and 11, with a matinee at 2 p.m., Feb. 12. Tickets are $7 for Lamar students, $10 for faculty, staff, senior citizens and students with ID, and $15 for general admission. For information, call 8802250.
February 9-12
LU Theater Presents
“A Kind of Alaska” and “The Dumb Waiter”
Studio Theater
7:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.
February 11
Student Leadership Conference
Sheila Umphrey
Recreational Sports Center 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
February 13
Student Lecture:
“Culinary Traditions of Southeast Texas and Louisiana
Landes Auditorium 1 p.m.- 2 p.m.
February 16
Lamar History Day
LIT Multi-Purpose Center/ Archer Physics Building 10 a.m.- 6 p.m.
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FEATURES
UNIVERSITY PRESS February 2, 2017
Year of Fire Rooster Lunar New Year festival ignites Chinese community HOUSTON — A new year can be filled with resolutions, uncertainty and change. But, according to the traditional Chinese calendar, a new year also means the return of a Chinese Zodiac animal and a fresh outlook on life. This year’s animal is the rooster. Each year is also associated with an element, this year being fire. The last time there was a Fire Rooster was 1957. Chi-Mei Lin, executive director of the Chinese Community Center in Houston, was born that year. “This year, I’m going to turn 60, so the year I was born, we had the same calendar as this year,” she said. “It’s really scientific in a way, even though we call it a lunar calendar.” The center held a new year celebration, Saturday. Lin said the festivities act as a family reunion, much like Thanksgiving. “People come back and they have the Lunar New Year together,” she said. “That’s why we have a table with all the food there, and the food has a lot of symbolic meaning.” Lin said the festivities drew a great turnout, appealing to more than the Chinese audience. “We’re very pleased that we have this opportunity to celebrate the Asian culture with the community at large,” she said. “The new year is, like, to start the day that’s most important.” Lin said the Houston Chinese community also uses the event as an opportunity to correct some misconceptions. “I know a lot of people carry some kind of myth about Chinese because it’s such an Asian country (with) over 5,000 years of history,” she said. “We want the people from different cultures, different kind of backgrounds, to see Chinese as a working population, very devoted and very warm. “We want to make new friends and we’re very openminded, so we don’t want the stereotype of thinking, ‘Chinese, they’re old-fashioned.’” The fire element determines the characteristic of the rooster. “The fire rooster, usually is like, ‘You want things done? You better do it now,’” Lin said. “That’s the first animal that wakes everybody up in the morning. “Usually, they are associated with hardworking. People that are born in the year of the rooster — they tend to be very diligent, so they’re good leaders.” In contrast, 2016 was a fire Monkey year, which is described as, “Ambitious and adventurous, but irritable,” according to chinahighlights.com. “The monkey is just too unmanageable, because of all the dynamics,” Lin said. “Think about a monkey being very energetic. Usually, ‘monkey’ is very eventful, good or bad. Very eventful. And certainly we’ve had a very eventful year. “But the Year of the Rooster, basically, everybody is going to focus and get things done.” The Chinese Community Center is located at 9800 Town Park in Houston.
UP STORY PACKAGE TREVIER GONZALEZ
BY
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seinzadehdastak, an Iranian psychology major at LU on an F1-visa. She said it took over a year to come to America. “I am completely shocked and surprised because I think the United States knows Iranian people are really different from their governments,” she said. “When we‘re coming here as students, we’re the ones who want to be educated and work here but what Donald Trump is doing is not helping us at all and forcing us to go back to our country, and the problem is we don’t want to live there. “It’s just shocking when I heard that people at airports with green cards — border Patrol agents were there and were going through people’s Facebook accounts. This is what my country is doing in Iran. If I say something against my government on Facebook, they put you in a jail.” Acting Attorney General Sally Yates issued a statement that she would not enforce the executive order, titled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.” Trump fired Yates, Monday, and the Department of Homeland Security has since relaxed some restrictions, though the Washington Post reports that Department of Homeland Security is going forward on a case-by-case basis. Protests of the executive order included George Bush International Airport in Houston, which drew Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas. Protesters continued to protest Sunday demanding detainees be allowed to see lawyers. Iris Lacsamana, a Houston local attending University of St. Thomas, said Sunday that the United States was founded by immigrants. “My family — my mom and my grandma, grandpa — they’re Filipino, so they’re immigrants,” she said. “I also especially don’t like the Muslim ban, because some of my closest friends are Muslim, and I think it, primarily, was put in place because of fear, and I
“We came back to make a statment that we have each others’ backs.” — Abdulla Elasmar don’t think that living in fear is what America should be doing.” Lacsamana, who attended the women’s march in Houston last week, said these movements have been in the pursuit of love and peace. “What’s cool about it is, everybody is so different,” she said. “We have so many different views, but we all are commonly here because we know that this country has given us so much, and a lot of that is love and acceptance of all of our ideas.” Chants such as, “Let them in” and “Donald Trump, go away. Racist, sexist, anti-gay,” resonated throughout the entrance of Bush Intercontinental Airport. “What people tend to chant at this protest, and at a lot of protests happening right now is ‘Love Trumps Hate,’ and that’s true,” Lacsamana said. “I think that America needs a lot of love right now.” Houston-native Taylor Shirley said not allowing immigrants to be with their families doesn’t make for a happy life. “I’m gay, and I have a lot of friends who are immigrants and who have family that are overseas that are trying to get over here that are in really terrible situations,” he said. “They’re sending money constantly back to their families that are literally just having to walk to different countries because this situation is so bad.” Abdulla Elasmar, a Muslim who recently graduated from the University of Houston, chanted alongside his sister, Weam. He said he didn’t bear a sign that stood up for his own views, but rather for others.
Student Iris Lacsamana, right, “Eldr,” above, and members from the Houston community protest against Trump’s executive order and the wall to separate the U.S. from Mexico, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Jan. 29. “We came back to make a statement that we have each other’s backs,” Elasmar said. “I see non-Muslims holding up signs for Muslims. One guy said, ‘I am Muslim today.’ He had a sign saying that, so I want to make a point and a stand to show everybody else that we’re really all in this together.” Evans said concerned students should contact International Student Services at 880-8349. “We will continue to monitor this federal action and take any necessary and legal steps to properly advise and counsel our students, faculty and staff,” Evans said. “We are enriched by the valuable contributions everyone makes to our campus and know that Lamar Univer-
sity is a much stronger institution due to our diverse community. Despite any difference we may have, it is imperative that
UP photos by Trevier Gonzalez
we continue to work together for our common good.” For more information call 880-7169.
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Thursday, February 2, 2017 • UNIVERSITY PRESS
Russia study abroad offers fine art adventure Tara Hoch UP contributor
Lamar students seeking adventure or core credit in the fine arts will have a chance to wander the streets of Saint Petersburg, Russia this May to study the art and architecture of the “Venice of the North.” The trip will take place May 1324. The 10-day course will cost $2,600, excluding tuition, and is open to all students. A $500 deposit is due to the cashier’s office by March 3. The former Russian imperial capital Saint Petersburg has a rich cultural and political history, Richard Gachot, associate professor of art and course instructor, said. “Our wanderings will bring us in contact with world-class museums such as the Hermitage and the Russian Museum, architectural sites including the Winter Palace and the grand country estate of Peterhof, sights and sounds of the ballet and opera at the Mariinsky Theater and infamous historical Courtesy photo settings such as the Yusupov Palace
and the Church of Spilled Blood,” he said. Gachot said Russia’s very topical at the moment, but there are a lot of misconceptions about it. “I would say Saint Petersburg is this fantastic mix of Paris and Amsterdam in terms of beauty, mystery and artistic quality,” he said. “The architecture is mesmerizing, and in May the sun doesn’t set until very late at night. There are these wonderful canals running through the city dotted with hundreds of bridges, each one unique. It’s fascinating.” Studies will be split into different thematic areas covering three centuries: Peter the Great and the foundation of the city, Catherine the Great and the Baroque, 19th- to 20th-century Russian art and architecture, Soviet art and architecture and Post-Soviet art and architecture. Learning about people and cultures is more enriching when it results from a personal travel or study experience in a particular country than when it results from an iso-
lated classroom experience, Gachot said. Jeffrey Palis, director of global studies and study abroad, said the program offers advantages to beginner students. “Getting our students abroad early in their college careers to take core classes makes sense in so many ways,” he said. “Study abroad gives students an intellectual space to broaden their knowledge about the world, their studies and themselves. They’ll return to campus with a new, informed global perspective that will help them get the most out of their future classes. “Moreover, and of great interest to students and parents alike, research shows that students who study abroad have a higher graduation rate than their peers who don’t. Studying abroad early in college will set you on a path for success.” To apply, or for more information about the course, visit the Office of Study Abroad in 215 Wimberly, or email Brittney Crossley, bcrossley@lamar.edu.
‘Free Family Arts Day’ brings families together Holly Westbrook UP contributor
The Art Museum of Southeast Texas will hold a Family Arts Day: “Either/And,” Feb. 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is free and will feature handson art activities, refreshments and entertainment designed to encourage families to explore the museum and learn more about the artwork currently on display. There will be seven different art activities created for children ages five- to 12years old, plus any parents who wish to join in, Andy Gardner, AMSET co-education director said, including making President’s Day cookies baked by Two Magnolias. The decorating items will be prepackaged in case a child has any food allergies. Face painting, a snack bar
with punch and animal cookies, along with the other art activities will be available. Kids can create freedom hats for Black History Month, woven hearts for Valentine’s Day and feather masks for Mardi Gras to name a few of the art projects. The event is expected to draw 800 to 1,200 participants, Gardner said. The Family Arts Day is held in conjunction with AMSET’s current exhibitions, “David Aylsworth: Either/And,” and “Steve Murphy: It’s All Come Down to This,” which exhibit abstract paintings and steel and wooden sculptures. “Everything that we do relating to the family day comes back to the exhibit,” Gardner said. ““We typically attempt to bring the main
shows of the gallery and make it a learning experience so that the kids can understand the process (of what) those artists are using to create their artwork.” Christle Feagin, co-education director, said the event is a celebration of what’s in the gallery. “The majority of our activities are made to be like the medium that the artists in the gallery created their works with,” she said. Gardner said the kids come in and they think they are just having fun, but each art activity has an educational component to it. “At the same time the kids are having fun, they are learning the process that each individual artist used to create that artwork,” he said. “All the things the kids are doing have an educational component to them, but the
kids don’t realize it because they’re having fun making art.” The Flava Band will play both Mardi Gras and jazz music. The artists being represented at AMSET both enjoy jazz music. Family Arts Day started with May Magic back in 1995, Gardner said, when it went to a small mini festival replacing the huge fundraiser, Kaleidoscope. “We switched the name to Family Arts Day and (the event has) grown from two a year to four a year, and coincides with each exhibition that we have,” he said. AMSET hosts four exhibitions throughout the year, and the museum hosts a family arts day to coincide which each exhibit. For more information, call 832-3432 or visit www.amset.org.
Courtesy photo
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Thursday, February 2, 2017 • UNIVERSITY PRESS
All ages art event set for Saturday Haley Bruyn UP editor
The Art Studio, Inc. in downtown Beaumont will host “Partycipation 2.0,” 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday. This all ages, all skill level, multimedia, interactive event will allow participants to collaboratively create The Studio’s February exhibition. A reception will be held from 7-10 p.m. that evening and the exhibit will remain on display through the month of February. Coordinator Terri Fox, who is also manager and exhibition designer for the Stark Museum of Art in Orange, said “Party-cipation 2.0” is a collaborative community art project. Fox is working with fellow local artist Neil Pitak to put on the event. “What I personally would like to see is everybody working side by side but still doing their own thing — creating a huge wall of collage with all the different layers of their interpretation,” she said. The entrance wall will consist of a peoples’ choice gallery. “Through the day, as you’re making art, you are voting on other people’s art,” Fox said. “When we get things ready for the reception in the evening, we’ll take the pieces of art that have been voted on and choose which ones go on the peoples’ choice wall.” The Art Studio hosted a “Party-cipation” event in 2012, but Fox said the difference was that there was no direction. This time, however, participants will be asked to create works around four themes — love, hate, community and environment.
— but really it’s just about collaborating within your community to get the biggest impact,” she said. “Everybody puts in a little.” The show is also about making people feel comfortable with the way they talk about art. “I want people to feel comfortable in saying, ‘I like this work because…,’” she said. “You don’t need 10 years of art history to say why you like a piece of art or not.” The Art Studio has been around 30-plus years, Fox said, and it is a place where people feel comfortable. It is a “maker’s space,” she said, as opposed to a museum like the Stark. “Where some people might feel uncomfortable or out of place in a fussy clean museum, UP photo by Noah Dawlearn The Studio seems more like, Terri Fox paints the central graphic for the “community “art wall at The Art Studio for Saturday’s “Party-Cipation 2.0” event. ‘Sure, I’ll give it a try and see what happens.’ It seems more “What I’d like to see is artists, of that, or beside it, wherever. I An important addition to this accessible,” she said. non-artists, parents, children — would love it to be such a full day year’s event is the use of words. “I want to challenge the elitall different levels of interactivity that there is stuff stuck to the “Words help direct the viewer ism, the idea that I have to be edcreating these collage walls to the wall all the way to the top.” without telling them what to ucated to know anything about theme of love, or about hate, or Participants will be encour- think,” she said. “We cut out a lot art — No!” she said. “At this, we environment, or about commu- aged to wear nametags as they of words, kind of like that refrig- want you to be able to have some nity,” she said. “Those are re- work. erator game where you put dif- fun, and put your hands in difally big, broad, open “As you are working with or ferent words together to say ferent mediums and see how you ‘interpret-it-however-you-want’ near someone you don’t have to something. (It’s a) way to add feel about that. kind of themes. Any kid can go, ask their name. You can just sud- words to this overall theme and “I want to break down those ‘These flowers make me full of joy denly be friends.” Fox said. have it be overlaid with drawings barriers and have people just and that means love.’ If you want The nametags will then be from five-year olds or paintings come and play. They’re going to to get into political agendas and stuck to the “contributing artists” from 35-year olds or 70-year olds do it themselves and they’re those kind of topics, they can be wall. — that kind of overlaying of tex- going to interpret it themselves. about hate or the environment.” “Then everyone can see, even ture and content along some “I think the more important Fox said that as work is cre- if you’re not there anymore, that themes.” thing is the bigger discussion — ated, the artist will immediately you are a contributing artist to Fox said her work at the mu- the bigger dialogue in the texture put it on the wall. the show.” seum brings her into contact of everybody’s voice.” “I would love to have ladders Fox said the exhibit will be with theories of collaborative imThe Art Studio is located at out and cover the whole wall,” piecemeal because everyone will pact —how to get organizations 720 Franklin in downtown Beaushe said. “It starts with a 5x5 that react to it as they arrive. working together for social mont. says, ‘love’ and a heart, and peo- “It will be evolving — I hope — change. For more, call 838-5393 or ple can start putting stuff on top the whole day,” she said. “It sounds really high falutin’ visit www.artstudio.org.
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SPORTS
UNIVERSITY PRESS February 2, 2017
Girls just wanna have… a Falcons victory Cassandra Jenkins UP staff writer
It’s that time of year again. When you think of February, most people think of hearts, flowers and chocolates. The stereotype is that women think of Valentine’s Day as one of the most romantic times of the year. But, chances are, when men think of February, they think of wings, loaded-down nachos, sweaty men in uniforms and Super Bowl Sunday. As a sports writer — and a woman — I get the benefit of both worlds. Super Bowl LI kicks off at NRG Stadium in Houston, Sunday, and should be one for the books. The No. 1 scoring defense, the New England Patriots, will face the top-ranked scoring offense, the Atlanta Falcons. The teams couldn’t be any more different, which, will make for one of the most intense games in the history of the NFL. The Patriots are making their ninth Super Bowl appearance, having won four titles already. They are obviously the veteran team and a shoo-in to win a fifth ring. But, don’t cancel out the Falcons just yet. It’s your typical underdog versus champion showdown, and I have always loved seeing the underdog trump the champions, especially if it includes Tom Brady deflating, just like the footballs that caused him to be suspended for the first four games of the season. The Falcons finished their regular season 11-5, before defeating the Seattle Seahawks, 36-20, in the divisional round and the Green Bay Packers, 4421, in the championship round to make their overall record 13-5, earning their second spot in the Super Bowl, after
making their debut in 1999. As far as stats go, the Atlanta team has a .688 winning percentage, second only to the Cowboys in the National Football Conference. They have a points-for of 540 against a pointsagainst of 406, a home record of 5-3 and on the road record of 6-2. Assessing the team by players, first in line is the second-ranked quarterback, Matt Ryan. Ryan had 38 touchdowns, 4,994 total yards and a passer rating of 117.1 in the 2016 season. Wide receiver Julio Jones is another top contender for the Patriots to fear. Jones had 83 receptions in the season, 1,409 completed yards and six touchdowns. The Atlanta Falcons have a great chance of winning the game. The offensive line will hold their own against New England’s power defense, and will bring their A-game. ESPN.com predicts that the Falcons only have a 44-percent chance of winning the Super Bowl, but would ultimately fall somewhere in the three-point range. David Steele, from Sporting News predicts the Patriots, 26-24 and Fox Sports’ Dan Salem predicts Patriots 29-24. However, they are all wrong. Atlanta had an amazing season, picking off their opponents one at a time and defeating some of the best teams in the NFC division. They have power behind Matt Ryan, who is a top contender to win the MVP trophy, and an offense that can’t be stopped. I can’t wait to watch the birds of prey soar over the Patriots in a 26-23 victory, while I eat a bucket of wings, large pizza and 50piece McNugget meal — waiting on my flowers and chocolates to arrive.
UP graphic by Erika Leggett
Guys want wings, Patriots to clip birds Cade Smith UP contributor
It is that time of year again where the two best teams from the National Football League square off to play in the Super Bowl. Time for all the pizza, wings, and beer to litter the floors of people’s living rooms and local bars, but it is also time for me to enjoy all of the food way more than all of that nasty Thanksgiving food — this is the real national holiday. This year’s game will take place at NRG Stadium in Houston and will feature the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots (14-2) vs. the National Football Conference champion Atlanta Falcons (11-5). The Patriots are making a record ninth appearance in the Super Bowl prior to this year’s game. The Patriots are led by 39-year-old quarterback Tom Brady who is a seasoned veteran in making his seventh Super Bowl appearances, with four wins, all with the Patriots. The Patriots also have offensive weapons in wide receivers Rob “The Gronk” Gronkowski and Julian Edelman, but also running back LaGarrette Blount. The Patriots’ best defensive weapon is cornerback Logan Ryan with two interceptions, 92 tackles, one forced fumble and one sack. The Patriots were stricken with a four-game suspension on quarterback Tom Brady due to the 2015 AFC Championship “Deflategate” scandal. However, the team still managed to make it to the Super Bowl this year as sort of a revenge tour against NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Meanwhile the Atlanta Falcons have only one prior Super Bowl appearance,
in 1999, which they lost to the Denver Broncos 34-19. The Falcons are led by 31-year-old quarterback Matt Ryan, who has never been to a Super Bowl game with his team. The Falcons also have wide receiver Julio Jones who is in his sixth season. The Falcons best defensive weapon is rookie middle linebacker Deion Jones with 108 tackles, one forced fumble and three interceptions. The Patriot’s best players have career stats to back up their experience in the game, Brady who has a career total of 61,582 passing yards and a grand total of 456 touchdown passes. Gronkowski has a career total of 6,095 receiving yards and 68 touchdowns, while Edelman has a career total of 4,540 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns. Blount has a career total of 5,122 rushing yards and 49 rushing touchdowns. Logan Ryan has a career total of 243 combined tackles, 13 interceptions, and three forced fumbles. I know everyone hates the Patriots because they are “cheaters,” but the reason they will win is because they have better players with more experience than the Falcons. Why would you want to lose a bet to the most obvious pick to win? After the game ends, I will be able to buy my girlfriend all the Valentine teddy bears in the world with the money I am going to collect from all the people who betted on the Falcons to win (you know, if gambling were legal). It’s going to be an awkward time when Roger Goodell has to hand the Lombardi trophy to the team he suspended. The Patriots will shoot down the Falcons with the final score of 35-14. Bet on it.
Campus Choices for the Big Game Karah Dunham, Lumberton freshman “I think the Falcons will win because they are a good team.” 28-21.
Takaisia Minex, Houston senior “Falcons will win, because the Patriots are cheaters!” 27-6.
Adriana Robinson, Dallas freshman “I think the Falcons will win because they are the underdogs and I don’t want the Patriots to win.” 35-31.
Luis Arriaga, Sour Lake freshman “Patriots, because they are invincible right now.” 28-21.
Ja’Juan Pierre, Beaumont freshman “I think the Patriots will win, because I have heard they have a good defense.” 56-40.
Samarah Johnson, Houston senior “Falcons because my favorite character’s husband on the TV show “Wags,” plays for them.” 27-17.
Kourtnei Smith, Houston freshman “I am not sure, because I don’t know a lot about football. I just like to watch it.” 3370.
Whitney Kieschnick, Nederland freshman “New England Patriots because Tom Brady.” 28-14.
Kameron Williams Beaumont sophomore “I think the Falcons will win, because Matt Ryan is a badass.” 14-10.
Keionna Lawson, Lake Charles freshman “Falcons, because they are underestimated.” 41-36.
Matt Ryan
Page by Cassandra Jenkins and Cade Smith
Eduardo Martinez, Houston junior “I think the Atlanta Falcons will win the Superbowl, because they are red hot and their defense is pretty good right now.” 38-31. Majesti Lee, Beaumont freshman “Patriots because Tom Brady is awesome.” 42-35. Ti’Anna Hunt, Houston Sophomore “I don’t really engage in it that much, but I’ll say Falcons because that’s who my boyfriend is going for.” 35-38.
Neto Ubajaka, Houston junior “Patriots, honestly I do not watch football.” 21-7. William Gray, Nederland sophomore “I’m not going to pick sides. Whoever wins the game, wins the game.” 31-27. Tim Collins, Silsbee senior “Who’s playing? The Falcons and the Patriots? I like birds but I love America. So I guess Patriots. 12-98 — is that a thing?” Compiled by Cade Smith and Cassandra Jenkins
Julecia Petty, Houston freshman “Patriots because Tom Brady.” 36-34. Lashaun Jones, Houston junior “Falcons because the Patriots beat the Texans. They can’t get lucky again!” 21-16. Kyle Mendoza, Houston freshman “The Atlanta Falcons, because the Patriots can burn in Hell!” 31-17. Steven Castillo, Beaumont freshman “New England Patriots, because Tom Brady.” 31-17. Amanda Beltejar, Beaumont freshman “The Patriots because I think Tom Brady is cute!” 35-14.
Tom Brady
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Thursday, February 2, 2017 • UNIVERSITY PRESS
Dishman hosts exhibit on Flannery O’Connor Trevier Gonzalez UP multimedia editor
Flannery O’Connor captured Southern life and faith in her novels and short stories. While her work resonates with writers, it has also influenced the photography of Anne Berry and Lori Vrba. “Intrusions of Grace,” on display at the Dishman Art Gallery through March 3, is a collaborative exhibition, three years in the making, that is a visual response to the writings of O’ Connor. Berry, originally from Newnan, Ga., focuses on the innocence of children, animals and life untouched by technology. “In school, I read a lot of Southern literature, and my father collected from Southern authors that are a little more obscure,” she said “We didn’t get TV stations. I had a library, so I read a lot from the time I was little. It’s Flannery O’Connor and T.S. Elliot that were the ones that really affect me.” Vrba, a Vidor-native who graduated from Lamar
University, said she is drawn to O’Connor’s connections between art and faith. “I don’t know that I ever feel more connected spiritually than I do in those moments of creating,” she said. “We dove into the writing with Anne’s guidance, and with a heavy focus on (O’Connor’s) prose publication, ‘Mystery and Manners.’” At the opening of the exhibition, with a copy of the unpublished essays and lectures in her hands, Vrba read a selection by the 19thcentury author Joseph Conrad, who largely influenced O’Connor. “My task which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel — it is, before all, to make you see. That — and no more, and it is everything,” Conrad writes. Vrba and Berry both said their work aims to make the viewer “feel” O’Connor’s Southern perspective. “It always begins with a phrase that has just jumped off the page or something
that causes me to really stop and think, ‘What would it be like to explore photographically?’” Vrba said. “Everything is a possibility, and to have the words start to shape it — it’s a really interesting way to work — it’s thought-provoking.” The photography in the exhibition is all black and white. Vrba said she makes her artwork interactive, much like one would thumb through distressed Polaroids, by showing small photographs with delicate, drawn-over details. A magnifying glass is within arm’s reach for viewers to examine the small details. Another arrangement of encaustic photos is suspended in the air much like wind chimes. “It’s far more engaging if the viewer has to take action,” she said. “There’s something about actually touching it or holding it. “I kind of always look at the ways where it requires you to come make physical contact on the piece. In photography, that’s not easy, necessarily. Unless someone’s in your studio and they’re being handed
UP photos by Trevier Gonzalez
Artists Anne Berry, left, and Lori Vrba reflect on ‘Mystery and Manners’ at their reception at the Dishman Art Museum, Jan. 20. A collection of Vrba’s encaustic art, right, titled ‘Memoir,’ is part of the show.
prints, it’s pretty rare.” Vrba and Berry visited the farm where O’Connor lived during her childhood, even visiting her room. The room looked untouched and lost in time, they said, which gave them a feeling for O’Connor, as well as a sense of mystery. Berry said much of society has forgotten about the beauty of nature. “People are absorbed
with material things, the urban environment, and material goods and technical goods, and have lost the connection to a spiritual kind of life,” she said. “As you get further from nature, man loses a connection with nature. “Modern man has lost that connection, so we both feel that that’s important. One of the (places) we both love to go to, is this island
off the coast of Georgia that’s wilderness area, and you can just really feel that we like uninhabited places.” Overall, the exhibition is a fascinating nod to O’Connor’s work. The Dishman is located at 1030 East Lavaca St. Hours are 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information, call 880-8959.