UNIVERSITY PRESS
The Newspaper of Lamar University
Vol. 95, No. 20 March 28, 2019
Health services help students with stress Dallas Rector UP contributor
UP photo by Noah Dawlearn
Yogi Edwin Bhadrapala, yoga professor, leads LU students in some stress relieving activities during their yoga session in the Fitness Studio at the Sheila Umphrey Recreational Center, Tuesday.
Have you ever felt stressed about finals or midterms? Or are you just stressed out by college in general? Well, you are not alone and there are many ways to fight that stress here on campus. “Overstressed students are generally the most common students we see here at the Student Health services building,” Marie Culik, assistant director for health and education services, said. “It’s quite often when we see students that they don’t actually know how to deal with stress properly or address the first symptoms like acne, muscle tension or headaches. If these aren’t addressed early, then they can get out of hand very quickly.” The Student Health Center offers many different ways to help students who are either overstressed or
overworked. With four counselors on staff, students who are feeling mentally over-burdened are encouraged to reach out to the service. “We always tell students that if your stress is impairing your ability to function, we suggest you see one of our stress counselors,” Culik said. “Our counselors act like social workers and they will work with students to find the source of their stress and help them create plans to combat it or connect them to the appropriate resources here on campus.” Some students may find the idea of talking to someone else about their personal problems embarrassing. One professor is actively trying to help solve that problem through silent meditation. “I use meditation as a way to practice the art of equanimity which means being able to keep yourself See STRESS page 2
Negative news BCP to prompts less present readership ‘Harvey’ Rachel Hellums UP contributor
According to a 2016 study done by the Pew Research Center, younger generations viewed news media in a more negative light than the five previous years. “I think the news focuses on everything that’s wrong, which is something we need to hear, but sometimes I feel like we should discuss something going on that’s good instead of all negative,” Mason Mathews, Lumberton senior, said. “People watch it when they first wake up in the morning, and I don’t want to start my day off paranoid, anxious or depressed because I’m hearing all these things that are happening that are bad.” Even corporate communications senior Amari Vann said although she reads the news, it can be overwhelming. See NEWS LITERACY page 8
YMBL FAIR
UP photo by Cassandra Jenkins
FOR MORE PHOTOS SEE PAGE 4
April 5 to 20 Vy Nguyen UP staff writer
Mild-mannered Elwood P. Dowd has a friend, Harvey. The problem is no one else can see the six-feet tall rabbit but Elwood. Trouble starts when Elwood introduces Harvey to his friends and family, including his socialclimbing obsessed sister, Veta Louis and niece, Myrtle Mae, who find the invisible pookah a societal embarrassment. Beaumont Community Players will present the Pulitzer Prizewinning play, “Harvey,” written by Mary Chase, April 5 to 20, in the Betty Greenberg Center for the Performing Arts. Director Bert Smith said that he loves directing comedies or musicals, and “Harvey” is an elegant, wonderfully funny and beautifully written play. “The thing about it, is by the end of the show, you’d be pretty convinced there really is a pookah involved with Elwood P. Dowd,” he said. James Jackson plays Elwood and said that Elwood’s carefree and in-the-moment character thrives on being purely pleasant towards people, which he can relate to. “In today’s world of mindfulness, I believe that Elwood is fully aware, as he likes to be wherever he is and he enjoys every moment,” Jackson said. “That’s kind of what today’s consciousness is
UP photo by Noah Dawlearn
James Jackson practices his lines in a run-through of the Beaumont Community Players upcoming production ‘Harvey,’ Thursday, at the Betty Greenberg Center. leaning towards, and if I can be just like him, I would love it.” Not everyone can be as pleasant as Elwood. His sister, Veta, played by Rachel Cain, tries to put him into an insane asylum. Elwood walks out of the asylum and didn’t have a clue what was going on. His pleasant demeanor means things always ends up in his favor. “That’s what they always say, ‘Watch out for him, he’ll always get the best of you,’” Jackson said. “But he’s not trying to, because he’s just being and enjoying himself.” Cain said Veta struggles with balancing her love for her brother and for her daughter. “On one hand, she loves her brother, and she doesn’t want to commit him, but on the other
hand, she also loves her daughter,” she said. “Veta can’t get her daughter into this societal group of people and get her married off, because her brother is such an embarrassment.” People can relate to Veta’s character because we all give into societal pressure, Cain said. “I think we’ve all experienced that at some point in our life, doing what we think society says we should do as opposed to what we feel in our heart is right,” she said. The play showcases acceptance of people who are different, Cain said. “By the end of the show, Veta learns to accepts her brother for who he is — and his rabbit,” Cain
See HARVEY page 7
— WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH —
Reporter achieves dream through truth Editor’s note: This is the last in a three-part series about how women have made an impact in the media fields in Southeast Texas. Olivia Malick UP managing editor
Monique Larry Spears, Batson Jr.
All it took was one assignment in a high school journalism class and encouraging words from her adviser for Monique Batson to realize that she was meant to be a journal-
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ist. Almost 20 years later, she said she made the right decision. “Our first assignment in intro to journalism in high school was to pair up with a neighbor and write kind of just a little profile about them,” Batson, now city editor and web producer for the Beaumont Enterprise, said. “My neighbor was a girl — I didn't know her, we’d never met before, and we each interviewed each other and then sat down and wrote the paper. “When I was done reading
mine aloud in the class, my teacher said, ‘You are a newspaper writer.’ I never really thought about that before, and I thought about how much I enjoyed just being able to interview and write, and I knew that's what I wanted to do. There was never any other option for me.” Batson said she figured she’d be an author someday due to her love of writing stories, but once she discovered her love of journalism, there was no going back. Batson was drawn to print
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journalism as opposed to broadcast journalism for several reasons, she said. “I tried both broadcast and print in high school — we had our newspaper and broadcast and then a little bit of radio,” she said. “I found that I really liked to tell the story and that you were allowed more freedom in newspaper writing, more time to kind of get all the story and really showcase your writing skills. I wanted to focus on See BATSON page 7
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