February 26, 2015

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UNIVERSITY PRESS A THIRTEEN-TIME ASSOCIATED PRESS MANAGING EDITORS AWARD WINNER

The Newspaper of Lamar University Vol. 91, No. 17

Thursday, February 26, 2015

No time to ‘waste’ FLOSI, GREEN SQUAD, WORKING TO REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT SIERRA KONDOS UP CONTRIBUTOR

UP Photo Sierra Kondos

Colton Morris, Joanna Chavez and Tyler Coleman, members of the LU Green Squad throw items in a recycling bin in front of Plummer Building Tuesday.

Week-long Big Red Mania to start Monday KRISTEN STUCK UP MANAGING EDITOR @kristenstuck

The world is full of waste. On any given day, mounds of paper are printed, electricity flows through burning bulbs in empty rooms, and garbage fills trash cans — and that’s just on the Lamar campus. Alicen Flosi is looking to change the way the campus deals with this waste as LU’s new director of sustainability.

Flosi said the university has had a recycling program for two years but it has been small. “There are many things that Lamar can do to lessen our impact on the environment,” she said. “One of the biggest things we can do is expand the current recycling program — the LU Green Squad. Everyone will soon notice new recycling containers around campus. The students and faculty can help by using the recycling containers for paper, plas-

See MANIA, page 2

‘EDUCATE AND INSPIRE’ DENNIS KIEL NAMED DISHMAN ART MUSEUM DIRECTOR

Over the span of his career as an art historian, Dennis Kiel has hopped from a large institution with extensive collections to a small gallery specializing in film and photography. Now he finds himself at Lamar University as the new director of the Dishman Art Museum, and he couldn’t be more enthusiastic and full of ideas. “For me, being in a university environment is really exciting and inspiring,” he said. “The whole idea of Beaumont, I thought the best part, is that it is a university museum and the challenges involved with that — taking it possibly into a new direction and continuing its reputation. “The whole idea is, of course, to educate and inspire students.” Kiel’s previous experiences have prepared him to increase the Dishman’s presence in the community. “The goal is to take it to the next level,” he said. “Move it up a notch and figure out a way to do that to get more people involved, to get more students involved. “I know the art students, of course , come here, but the campus is big — how do we bring in everyone else, bring in the community?” Kiel said he will look at other ways than just art exhibitions to attract visitors. “(We are) trying to figure out ways that people who are interested in other things, such as music, can be pulled in to see the art exhibitions,” he said. Kiel’s decades-long career in the arts began with a degree in graphic design from Ohio University, and he found himself drawn towards graduate study in art history. “I was a graphic designer, I have done some graphic design work,” he said. “I never thought I was that good, that’s why I went into art history. When I took the fine arts courses as an undergraduate, I really liked that and decided to go into art history.” After earning his master’s at the University of Cincinnati-Ohio, Kiel landed a curatorial position at the Cincinnati Art Museum, where he was responsible for more than 35,000 pieces in

UP Photo Caitlin Duerler

Lamar’s new director of the Dishman Art Museum, Dennis Kiel, surrounded by the Eisenstadt collection. the Works on Paper department. “For the first 10 years, the curator and I considered ourselves generalists,” he said.” We

LU coaches, hoops alumni recognized at reunion Former Lamar basketball coaches Pat Foster and Billy Tubbs made a trip back to Beaumont Sat-

urday, for a men’s basketball reunion when Lamar faced rival McNeese State. During half time, both were recognized, as well were players going all the way back to the ‘50s. A banner for Foster was hung in the rafters of the Montagne Cen-

UP Photo Grant Crawford

Former Lamar basketball coaches Pat Foster, left, and Billy Tubbs, were recognized along with basketball alumni from six decades during Saturday’s home game against McNeese.

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See SUSTAINABILITY, page 2

CAITLIN DUERLER UP CONTRIBUTOR

Big Red Mania, or as some call it, spring homecoming, will begin Monday with events all week to celebrate the basketball season. “Monday we are kicking off with a traditional cake cutting where we will have the coaches cutting the cake this year to encourage more involvement between the coaches, the players and the student body,” Kiet Le, associate director of Lamar Alive! said. “It will be the official start of the week. Usually SGA cuts the cake, but this year I was able to get the coaches involved. I think with the teams doing so well this year that they will come out to the cake cutting and interact with the coaches and get more participation towards that Thursday doubleheader.” Monday night students will be able to play miniature golf in the Setzer Center Ballroom. “There is a company that is coming in,” Le said. “They are going to bring actual little greens and mini golf décor that will make it look like an actual mini golf course. They will bring in inflatable buildings and different things like that.” Tuesday, students will be able to enjoy Crawfish Fest in front of the dining hall with lawn games by Outdoor Pursuit and a DJ. Faculty and staff will be able to purchase a crawfish meal through the dining hall. Wednesday will have two events with the Career Fair put on by the Career and Testing Center, and at 3 p.m. there will be Big Red’s Field Day. “It’s kind of just a big play day for everyone, kind of like elementary school when you had field day — tug-o-war, potato sack races — different events like that,” Le said. “Whatever you can think of — egg race, balloon toss, you name it, if you did it in elementary school on field day, we will probably have that event out there.” Thursday will be Food Fest in the Setzer Center at 11 a.m. and that night will be the doubleheader against Sam Houston with the women’s team playing at 5:30 p.m., and the men’s team playing at 7:30 p.m. “Food Fest is usually the big day when everyone is involved,” Le said. “We have student organ-

GRANT CRAWFORD UP SPORTS EDITOR @GrantLamarUP

tic, aluminum and cardboard, and reminding people to keep food trash and things like Styrofoam out of the recycling containers.” Flosi said students in various classes and student organizations can also work on sustainability projects. “For example, Dr. Seokyon Hwang’s construction management class is going to build

ter during half time, and now sits right next to Tubbs’. “It’s always a pleasure to be back in Beaumont and at Lamar University, but it’s a special treat when you get to come back to a basketball reunion where you’re seeing all your former players and former coaches,” Tubbs said. “This is coming back home for me.” Tubbs took over the program from 1976-80, and again for three more seasons beginning in 2003. As head coach of LU, his record sits at 121-89, and he won three Southland Conference titles under his tenure. He’s a two-time SLC Coach of the Year, and has guided the Cards to two NCAA postseason appearances, making it to the Sweet 16 in 1980. Foster took over the program after coach Tubbs was tapped by Oklahoma, where he coached for 14 seasons. Foster coached LU from 1980-86, and holds the highest winning percentage with a

each would plan a show and I would do a photo, See DISHMAN, page 5

PARIS TRIP TO STUDY ART, ARCHITECTURE

record of 134-49. “There are so many memories,” Foster said. “This is a program that elevated itself to national prominence. Wins over Missouri and Alabama in the NCAA Tournament really got this program going. It was a great run for any school, but for a mid-major in those times, it was a great experience.” Foster also led the Cards to two NCAA postseason appearances, and four NIT appearances. After three SLC titles and five 20win seasons, Foster also made the leap to bigger schools, first by replacing Guy Lewis at Houston University, and later moving to the University of Nevada. Foster said that coaching for Lamar was the best experience he has had coaching anywhere. “All in all it was a period that was wonderful for me and my family,” he said. “It was truly reward-

Lamar University’s study abroad program is offering a trip to Paris, May 23 through May 31, to study art and architecture. Participants will earn arts appreciation core credit. Richard Gachot, program director and associate professor of fine arts, said studying abroad is essential to students’ academic careers. “Nothing replaces the experience of being in a city that’s culturally so rich as somewhere like Paris,” he said. “It’s essential in a global world — and in a global economy — that people be exposed to different countries and cultures so they can operate in businesses or just to understand the world.” The application deadline is March 1. The program fee is $2,800, which includes air fare, excur-

See REUNION, page 8

See PARIS, page 2

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CHARITY OGBEIDE UP CONTRIBUTOR

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February 26, 2015 by University Press - Issuu