UNIVERSITY PRESS President Evans optimistic for new semester
Vol. 95, No. 1 September 6, 2018
Voice of Students Marino heads SGA in ‘business’ of leadership
Olivia Malick UP managing editor
Lamar University President Kenneth Evans praised the Lamar community for making it through the 2017-18 school year despite dealing with Hurricane Harvey, a January snow storm and a March tornado. Evans spoke at the annual convocation, Aug. 21, in the Montagne Center. Three days after Evans’ 2017 convocation speech, Harvey hit Beaumont and changed the course of much of what the university had planned. “We can’t go through this event today without talking about last fall,” he said. “Indeed, we did have a significant rain event — some of the estimates of the actual rain accumulation are difficult to accurately secure because the rain gauges actually broke. “When we gathered here for this event last year, we were on the road to record enrollment — we were cooking. At first, we didn’t think it would hit us, but then it bounced out to the Gulf and sat on us for 36 freaking hours. So, we decided to move students into the residential halls, so they didn’t have to move in during the rain, and we had about 1,900 students who stayed with us and weathered out the storm.” The administrative staff expected a drop of about 1,500 students in enrollment numbers due to Harvey, Evans said, be-
Rachel Hellums UP contributor
Instead of the usual political science or government background one expects from someone who is pre-law, 2018-19 SGA president Madison Marino said she is inspired by her father, a small business owner, to approach law from a business perspective. “I’ve enjoyed learning about accounting, marketing, financial analytics and everything that goes along with the business environment,” she said. Marino got her political start as student body president at Vidor High School, but what really got her involved in student government was becoming a College of Business senator at Lamar. “I went to an open forum for government association sessions, and I met with a lot of the senators and I just fell in love — and I was like, ‘Wow!’” she said. “This is a great opportunity for students to come and voice their concerns. “The student government has a direct line to the administration, so we can actually see the changes we want as students and help them implement those changes.” Marino ran for president on an executive platform built around “Accountability, Transparency, Inclusivity, and Growth.” Currently, Marino is promoting SGA’s “Swipe Out Hunger” project, where students can give away their leftover meal swipes to create vouchers for the on-site food pantry, which provides meals for food-insecure stu-
See CONVOCATION, page 2
“Throughout the past year, I witnessed the very best Lamar has to offer — the ability of one student to care for another. . .”
The Newspaper of Lamar University
UP photo by Rachel Hellums
See SGA page 2
SGA president Madison Marino has a platform of “Accountability, Transparency, Inclusivity, and Growth.”
REDtalk to address time management Abigail Pennington UP contributor
Lamar President Kenneth Evans
One of the keys to a successful college experience is learning how to effectively balance school and work while maintaining a social life. LU Success, a program for academic coaching, will host the REDtalk, “How To Manage Your Time In College,” presented by Meagan Cooper and Joya Polk, Sept. 11, 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. “The time management REDtalk is really going to be about prioritizing all the things students have going on, and figuring out all the different pieces to manage time between jobs, classes, student and community organizations — and how to prioritize those things,” she said. Attendees will get to participate in fun group activities and meet new people, Polk said.
“We are doing an activity where we divide everyone into groups and give them a list of fun to-dos that they have to
complete within 10 minutes and each are worth different See REDTALK page 2
‘This is my type of university’ Maurer, new dean of Arts and Sciences, focused on helping students succeed Olivia Malick UP managing editor
Lynn Maurer UP photo by Noah Dawlearn
www.facebook.com/UPLamar
It all started in Spain in the late 1970s. The country had just gained autonomy and for the most part, people were excited to escape the grip of dictatorship. Lynn Maurer, the new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, was just a sophomore in college studying Spanish, but seeing the formation of a democracy first hand led her to what would become her master’s and a doctorate in political science. “I had not been very interested in American politics,” she said. “Francisco Franco had died just a few years before I got there, and there were people who still wanted the old dictatorship — they were still becoming democratic. “Imagine that you were to land in the Constitutional Conventions in Philadelphia 200 years ago — the ex-
www.lamaruniversitypress.com
citement. That’s what happened when I went to Spain. That was really my lifechanging event.” Maurer received her bachelor’s in Spanish with a minor in French from Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, but she was enamored with politics in Europe, which was the focus of her research for both her master’s and doctorate, which she received from Ohio State University. She then went on to teach for 22 years in both America and Spain. “I think teaching is the most academic thing you can do,” she said. “The last time I taught politics was Intro to American Politics, which I taught during the elections. It’s very important to me that students learn how to analyze politics and learn how to be political scientists instead of just giving political
See DEAN, page 4
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