January 23, 2014

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The Newspaper of Lamar University and Lamar Institute of Technology Thursday, January 23, 2014

Vol. 90, No. 13

Undergraduate Research office announces grant winners

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Lucky Rabbit

TASI TO PRESENT ALUMNA’S WORK

SIERRA KONDOS UP STAFF WRITER

KRISTEN STUCK UP STAFF WRITER

The office of Undergraduate Research recently announced the winners of the grant proposal contest for students. “(The office’s) goal is not just about offering grants, but to encourage students to get involved in undergraduate research,” Kumar Pial Das, director of undergraduate research, said. “We encourage students to talk to mentors or come to my office to talk to me.

“The students with unique and promising proposals that will evolve into something significant in scientific research got awarded.”

The students will present their findings at the Lamar Undergraduate Research Expo, April 7.

The deadline for student submissions to present papers at the Expo is March 21. Accepted students will join the contest winners at the event.

“This is open to all students, but they have to reach certain qualifications,” Das said. “The student must be an undergraduate, be enrolled in 12 plus hours in Spring 2014, have minimum 3.0 GPA and must have one mentor.”

The contest winners include: Chelsea Boling of Beaumont, a mathematics/computer science major, whose research is titled, “Semantic Similarity of Documents Using Latent Semantic Analysis.”

Michael Bourne of Port Neches, a civil engineering major, whose research is titled, “A low Cost, Next-Generation Pavement Damage Detection Technique.”

Kathleen Broussard of Beaumont, a marketing major, who research is titled, “Loud and Unclear: An Empirical Vocal Analysis of Forming of Risks Versus Rewards in Television Ads.” Timothy Brown of Vidor, a biochemistry major, whose research is titled “Nickel-Catalyzed Suzuki Cross-Coupling Reactions of Aryl Mesylates with Arylbronoic Acids.”

Progga Chirontoni of Beaumont, a chemical engineering major, whose research is titled, “Electrochemical Measurement of Toxic Metal Contaminants in the Waters of the G.T.A.” Katherine Deaton of Lumberton, a chemical engineering major, whose research is titled, “Electrochemical Sensor for the Detection of Lead in Drinking Water.”

Rachel Graham of Beaumont, an education major, whose research is titled, “Effects of Using iPad Technology on Reading Fluency of Elementary Students.”

Connor Hoch of Beaumont, a biology/premed major, whose research is titled, “A Mutagenic Functional Analysis of the Transcription Factor RapA, a SWI/SNF Family Protein.”

Lindsey Sorrell of Lumberton, a speech and hearing sciences major, whose research is titled, “Cross-Linguistic Comparison of Rate of Speech, Vowel Production, and Intelligibility.”

The program, that began seven months ago, aims to encourage undergraduate students from all academic areas to participate in scholarly work mentored by at least one LU faculty member, Das said.

UP Kristen Stuck

“Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit.”

There’s an old British superstition which states that a person should say or repeat the word “rabbit” or “rabbits” or say the phrase “white rabbits,” or some combination of these elements, out loud upon waking on the first day of the month, because doing so will ensure good luck for the duration of the month.

It’s also the name of an upcoming show at The Art Studio, Inc. by recent Lamar graduate student and Mauriceville native, Elizabeth Fontenot.

“It all started when I was working on my graduate thesis,” she said. “Just developing ideas, trying to narrow down what exactly I wanted to write about. I kind of had to make a few decisions, as far as formatting and formal elements. There were some ideas that I played with that I just wanted to explore a little bit more, something a little less constricting, I think.”

Fontenot uses woodcarving, or wood cuts, as a simple, direct and cheap technique for printmaking.

“I have a wood panel — usually it’s a birch plywood so you can get a nice wood grain, and I like to let the wood grain show through because I think it brings out a softness to what you’re printing — and so I’ll draw my image on the block of wood and then carve away all the areas I want to stay white,” she said. “You’re kind of working in reverse. It’s a subtractive method, so once you carve out those areas, you can’t really go back and fix them. And once you carve out all your white areas you have a roller — they look kind of like rolling pins, but they’re covered in rubber — and you have a strip of ink. You roll up your roller and get it all covered in ink and then you apply that to your woodblock, so you get a reverse image when you print it.”

Elizabeth Fontenot, Lamar alumna, works in her studio space at The Art Studio, Inc. in preparation for her upcoming show, “Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit.”

See RABBIT, page 2

See RESEARCH, page 2

LU AMBASSADOR APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE Application packets for 20142015 Lamar University Ambassadors are available through March 6, in the Office of Alumni Affairs located in the John Gray Center, Building B, Suite 102, on the Lamar University campus.

Sixteen openings will be available for new Ambassadors for the fall semester. Lamar University Ambassadors represent the LU student body at official university events and work to promote uni-

versity pride among students, prospective students, alumni and friends of Lamar.

“Ambassadors are a select group of students who serve Lamar University by assisting in building goodwill among alumni and community supporters at various public functions and representing the student body to visiting dignitaries,” Linda LeBlanc, director of alumni affairs, said. “They have a high level

of involvement on campus and are well informed about the university and what it has to offer students, alumni and the community.”

Prospective ambassadors must be a full-time officially registered Lamar University student who has completed one full semester at Lamar and will be classified as a sophomore or junior in the fall of 2014, maintain a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.0, submit an official

application including a letter of interest, transcript, faculty recommendation and resume, and have approval from his/her college dean.

Additional information about the Ambassadors program is available on the LU Ambassadors website at http://advancement. lamar.edu/ambassadors or by contacting the Office of Alumni Affairs at 409-880-8921 or Alumni@Lamar.edu.

LU research team purifies drinking water with food waste

Shyam Shukla, analytical and environmental chemistry professor, holds a tea bag containing dried banana peel powder that is dipped in drinking water to absorb metal Courtesy photo impurities.

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Using orange and banana peels and several other waste materials, Shyam Shukla, who has taught at Lamar University for 28 years as an analytical and environmental chemistry professor, has unearthed a method to utilize several types of wastes in purifying contaminated drinking water, with the help of his research team.

His research team includes Kenneth Dorris, a Lamar professor who teaches physical chemistry, Alka Shukla, a chemistry professor at Houston Community College, as well as Andrew Gomes, a Lamar research associate professor, who has recently joined the team.

Originally from Lucknow, India, Shukla witnessed firsthand the lack of quality drinking water available in poverty-stricken areas.

“I examined where they got the water from, and the consequences of drinking the poor quality water,” Shukla said. “Children are our future and by children drinking this water, our future is being destroyed.”

At the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society in Indianapolis, the world’s largest scientific society, Shukla and his research team’s most recent

findings on using banana-peel powder to remove lead and other potentially toxic metals from water, were recognized.

“The recognition by the ACS is very encouraging that we have done something worthwhile,” Shukla said. “The greatest reward is saving lives potentially, and spreading this useful knowledge to others.”

Shukla with the help of a research team, including professors as well as graduate and undergraduate students, established a method they refer to as the “L-3 Solution” — low cost, low tech, and locally available.

For the past 23 years, Shukla and his research team have tested materials to employ as toxic metal ion filters, removing metals like lead, which has been demonstrated to cause kidney disease and lower the IQ of young children, and chromium, which can impair liver function and affect human reproduction.

“Through various forms of human activity, such as electronic waste, pesticides, pharmaceutical waste, and even the lead found in gasoline, toxic metals and organics infiltrate the water supply,” Shukla said. “The toxic metals then get adsorbed to the water. These toxic

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metals, that are incredibly harmful at small levels, enter the human body, but they almost never leave. They continue to cause lasting damage, and are particularly harmful to children, who have a lower tolerance level.”

In the beginning stages of research, Shukla and the research team tested materials such as sawdust and crab shell; however, these materials were not useful in removing metal ions from water.

About 10 years ago, Shukla discovered the key to sequestering toxic metals: using biowastes such as orange and banana peels.

“Foods such as oranges and bananas are abundant in other areas and therefore accessible to those that suffer from poor quality water,” Shukla said.

Considered one of the most heavily consumed fruits in the world, bananas and oranges have the potential to create a major agro-waste problem when peels are disposed in the trash.

However, studies have shown that banana peels, as well as orange peels, contain pectin polysaccharides that act as adsorbents, meanSee WATER, page 2

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INSIDE Thursday, January 23, 2014 University Press

RABBIT ••••••••••••••••••••••• Continued from page 1 Fontenot used her thesis paper as a way to investigate her own meaning that she has for different animals.

“For a long time, I’ve been drawn to representing specific animals in my artwork,” she said. “I wanted to investigate what it was about those animals that I was drawn to and investigate what contributed to my own understanding of what they mean. For me an owl has a specific meaning, and foxes have a specific meaning. I wanted to explore all those factors that influence the way I see things because we ascribe all these meanings and symbolic meanings. We ascribe all these things to animals, but they are really independent of our cultural traditions.”

Fontenot sees life a little differently because she was able to experience other cultures through traveling and meeting people while she was living in Saudi Arabia.

“I lived overseas for about three and a half years,” she said, “so I was exposed to a broad range of cultures through traveling and just through

RESEARCH ••••••• Continued from page 1 Each student will be awarded a stipend of $500 and up to $1,000 for research support, which may include supplies, disposable costs, small equipment, software, analyzes service, and research-related travel.

“I think that (research) is very important to student’s education because its one of the highest impact practices,” he said. “OUR thought that one way of encouraging students in participating in undergraduate research was to offer grants. So we proposed the research proposal requests.”

The office received 26 appli-

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meeting people from other places, and I think I’ve always, within myself, tried to sort of assimilate all these different belief systems into what I believe, or at least find some sort of meeting point where they can all be harmonious. I’ve always been interested in trying to find the middle ground between two cultures, find similarities, because I really think that in most cultures there’s an underlying sort of moral system and system of beliefs – we just have different ways of talking about them and expressing them.”

Fontenot decided to continue her education after graduating from LSU with a degree in painting in 2008 and moving home.

“I started working and then I decided I needed to get back to something that was more geared to what I liked to do,” she said. “I was working as a contractor at one of the oil refineries and I just needed to branch out and be with people my own age again who shared some of my same interests.

“It was more of a social and emotional need that I needed to fill, just to have some outlet where I could talk about things that were about art and people who made art. I started renting

cations out of diverse fields,” Das said.

“At the advisory vote, we chose ten applicants,” he said.

“The application contains description, plan, goal of project, cover sheet, budget, time-line, and provide supporting letter from their mentor.”

April 7 is the first undergraduate research expo that is open to all undergraduate students.

“The students will be presenting anything involving self-funded research,” Das said. “It could be a poster, talk, or any form of presentation. We expect to have 30 to 40 presentations. We will offer scholarships and prize money.”

For more information, email cbrice@lamar.edu or call 8808792.

at The Art Studio in 2009, so I had kind of met a few people here, but I think for me the university was kind of like a security blanket, it was something familiar that I could hold on to and so that’s why I went back to Lamar. And then I decided to continue studying there because we had print making equipment I could use, we had presses and inks and rollers — things that I couldn’t afford to buy. That was a big draw.”

Fontenot said that teaching at the university level might be something that she would be interested in doing, but she would have to go back to school for her MFA or master of fine arts degree.

“I haven’t decided how much I want to invest in going back to school, especially for another art degree,” she said. “Right now I’m feeling if I went back to school it would be for something different besides art, probably for classical studies — archaeology, anthropology.”

For now though, Fontenot is just focused on herself.

“Right now, I just need to put my feet on the ground again,” she said.

“Eventually I would like to move. I’m definitely going to keep working on

WATER ••••••••••••••••••••• Continued from page 1 ing toxic metal ions found in the water can adhere to the surface of another material. Therefore, banana peel powder, BPP, has the ability to sequester toxic metal ion such as barium, silver, cadmium, lead, and nickel, from aqueous solutions.

For the study, the researchers placed ions from metals identified by the Environmental Protection Agency as hazardous drinking-water contaminants, such as lead, nickel, and silver, in distilled water. Researchers then placed the BPP in the solution of distilled water and metal ions, and were amazed by the results.

“In five to eight minutes, metal ions were removed using one tea-bag of pow-

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UP Kristen Stuck

Elizabeth Fontenot, Lamar alumna, works in her studio space at The Art Studio, Inc. in preparation for her upcoming show, “Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit.” my art. I also started doing ceramics at The Art Studio and I took a ceramics class at Lamar, so I want to keep exploring that. Still make prints and still draw, because for me I think being able to draw something and turn it into a print and just see my drawing either repeated in a different color make changes to it I like a lot, so I’ll keep doing that.”

der,” Shukla said. “Metals such as lead were removed from the water by 91 percent. It was quite impressive.”

To utilize the clarifying water power of the banana or orange peel, it can either be used as a powder encapsulated like tea in a tea bag or used as a fresh peel. However, grinding the powder enhances the efficiency and allows the material to be stored for a long time.

“Put the powder into the water, or use the powder in the form of a teabag,” Shukla said. “The toxic metals cling to the teabag and 5-10 minutes later, the water is safer to drink.”

Now, Shukla and his research team are working on the next stage of purifying contaminated water, dealing specifically with “Stage Two,” organics, such as removing pharmaceutical waste from the water.

“We are attempting to make a water

“Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit” will open Feb. 1 with a free reception open to the public from 7-10 p.m., at The Art Studio, Inc. at 720 Franklin Street in downtown Beaumont.

The show will be on display through Feb. 22.

For more information call The Art Studio, Inc. at 838-3593, or visit www.artstudio.org.

treatment process with the construction and design of a water treatment tower that will have the ability to filter water through materials such as sand, gravel and clay,” Shukla said. “This is both lowcost and low-tech.”

Shukla hopes to soon complete a prototype to perform all 3 stages of water treatment ready for the public use. As the main goal of his research, Shukla hopes that this new discovery will enhance the lives that are affected by lack of clean water supply.

“This knowledge will improve health and will be a cost saving tool by reducing sickness,” Shukla said. “Instead of treating the symptoms of illnesses caused by impure water, we can stop the cause of the sickness. Most importantly, it can preserve the health of children. They have long lives ahead of them and this tool can help them lead better lives.” x

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EDITORIAL Editor Chelsea Henderson The opinions that appear in editorials are the official views of the University Press student management as determined by the UP Student Editorial Board. Opinions expressed elsewhere on this page are the views of the writers only and are not necessarily those of the University Press student management. Student opinions are not necessarily those of the university administration.

UP EDITORIAL

HELP US KEEP UP WITH CAMPUS NEWS The University Press functions primarily as, “The Newspaper of Lamar University and Lamar Institute of Technology,” which makes our target audience the students, faculty, staff and alumni of LU and LIT. We do our best to keep those populations informed about upcoming events on campus, in addition to promoting the arts and cultural opportunities available in Southeast Texas.

Our staff works diligently to find out about the inner-workings of Lamar and LIT, to find events that will be beneficial for a broad range of students, and to provide feature profiles about some of our on-campus and alumni personalities.

We also work hard to provide information about internships and other opportunities that could benefit our readers not just scholastically, but in their career.

At the bottom of this page, you’ll find a column by a University Press contributor about her internship with Disney College Program. Last semester, a University Press staff writer gave students advice about how to turn themselves into a brand that they could market and sell to future employers.

We also want to keep our faculty, staff and alumni engaged in LU and LIT events, which is why we work hard to find the stories we think those readers will find interesting. We’re proud of our alumni and the work produced by our faculty and staff, and we want to acknowledge the successes in our Cardinal community.

That being said, we are not a newsletter but a newspaper — and our staff of student writers works incredibly hard to deliver that news to you.

But we need your help. We are here for you, our readers, and we want to know what interests you.

If you hear about an event on campus or in the community, don’t hesitate to let us know — we may not have heard about it yet, and if it’s interesting to you, it’s probably interesting to other readers as well.

If your organization, class, department, or college is doing something exciting or undergoing changes, we want to know so the rest of the campus can share that experience, too.

We love it when we receive event submission forms, emails, phone calls, or even Facebook messages that let us know about what’s going on around campus.

On a related note, we also love receiving letters to the editor — even if we disagree with your point of view. But you know what we really love? Positive letters to the editor. Don’t just pick up the pen in disagreement — let us know when we’re doing a good job, too.

The University Press is a college newspaper, and we want to be of service to the entire Cardinal community. Help us serve you, too.

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

The Newspaper of Lamar University and Lamar Institute of Technology ©University Press 2014

Editor...............................Chelsea Henderson Graphics Editor ........................William Jones Sports Editor...............................Chris Moore Web Editor ..............................Melissa Conley Staff ..............Joshua La Salle, Sierra Kondos, ......................Kristen Stuck, Jessica Lane, .............Mallory Matt, Lauren Van Gerven, ........................................,Grant Crawford Advertising .............................Melissa Conley

www.lamaruniversitypress.com Individuals who wish to speak out on issues should send a letter fewer than 400 words in length to Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 10055, Beaumont, TX 77710, or drop letters off at our office in 200 Setzer Student Center.

The writer’s name, address, telephone number and ID number must accompany each letter. Letters received without this information cannot be printed. Letters may be edited for length, grammar, style and possible libel.

Opinions expressed in letters are not necessarily those of the UP student management. Letters by the same writer on the same subject will not be published. Poetry and religious debates will not be published.

3 Thursday, January 23, 2014

UNIVERSITY PRESS

Who do you know?

Dearth of NFL minority coaches reflects society’s problems The Monday following the conclusion of the NFL regular season is infamously known as “Black Monday,” due to the numberof coaches who typically get canned on that day.

Unfortunately, the hiring of NFL head coaches has traditionally been anything but black — or any color but white, for that matter.

Last season, no minority head coaches were among the eight hired.

However, the NFL has shown progress. especially this season. With Jim Caldwell getting the nod as the head coach for the Detroit Lions, the NFL will have five minority head coaches donning the headsets (Mike Tomlin for the Steelers, Jim Caldwell for the Lions, Lovie Smith for the Buccaneers and Ron Rivera for the Panthers). The Browns are still searching for a head coach.

Five out of 32 is still lopsided. To understand why this is still a problem, we need to know not only how hiring works in the NFL, but in America and the way institutionalized racism works.

I realize that to explain the problem, some must first be convinced that there is, in fact, a problem. The unemployment rate in America is roughly double for people of color than it is for white people, and has been fairly consistent for the past 50 years. Many of us like to believe that we live in a society that is meritocratic, or that everyone has equal opportunity as long as they have the qualifications.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, black people with college degrees are twice as likely to unemployed than white people with a college degree. Latinos are 50 percent more likely and Asian Americans are 40 more likely to be unemployed than white people with college degrees. And according to an article published at Princeton, titled “Race at Work,” white people with criminal records are more likely to be hired than equally qualified black people without a criminal record. The only way to get into the unemployment statistics is to apply for a job, so the “minorities aren’t trying to get jobs,” argument doesn’t work.

Feel free to reread the last paragraph and take time to pick your jaw up off the floor.

And the employment rate is just one of many racial problems the country still faces.

Now, we need to establish how this happens with the absence of overt bigotry. The thing about systematic racism is we don’t have to have racist people for the system to be effective.

According to the New York Times, 40-50 percent of jobs were filled last year off of referrals from current employees. It makes sense to do that. It’s logical and cost efficient.

If Bob values hard, efficient work, then it is probably safe to assume that the person he refers has the same values. Employers don’t have to spend money to search for candidates.

However, if this is a meritocracy, then the most qualified should receive the job. Instead, we are left with the reality of phrase I was taught when I was younger — “It’s not what you

COMMENTARY

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Chris Moore

know, it’s who you know.”

While many of us are probably familiar with this saying, I don’t think we realize the full implications of that system. According to a poll

by Reuters/Ipsos, 40 percent of white people have no friends of any other race and 30 percent don’t have acquaintances with anyone from another race. In job markets that are overwhelmingly white, and making hires based on referrals from current employees, in which 40 percent of white people admit to not having in friends of other races, there are not many positive outcomes for people who aren’t white.

This works the same way in NFL. Head coaches are usually hired after being coordinators. But coordinators are usually hired by head coaches based on their comfort level and familiarity with each other, not necessarily their effectiveness.

The Washington coaching situation demonstrates this pretty well. Whether the new head coach, Jay Gruden, is a good hire is questionable. He doesn’t have an overly impressive resume, but that’s not the biggest head scratcher. His decision to keep Jim Haslett as his defensive coordinator, after he coached the 30th-ranked defense last year is proof of a failed system. Haslett keeps his job because he had Gruden as his offensive coordinator when he was the head coach of the United Football League’s Florida Tuskers. The most qualified person will not be defensive coordinator for Washington next year. Instead, Gruden’s friend will.

“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” and this way of thinking is preventing minorities from getting the jobs that are almost required in order to eventually be a head coach.

One way to improve this situation is by expanding the “Rooney Rule” to assistant coaches. The “Rooney Rule” is named after Dan Rooney, the owner of the Pittsburg Steelers and the chairman for the NFL’s diversity committee. The rule states that each team must interview at least one minority candidate before hiring a head coach. Since the rule’s application, two minority coaches have won Super Bowls (Tony Dungy, who was already the Colts’ head coach when the rule was implemented, and Mike Tomlin for the Steelers).

While two minority head coaches winning Super Bowls shows progress, we are still far from equal opportunity.

Chris Rock once talked about how baseball wasn’t equal just because Jackie Robinson

crossed the color barrier. He talked about how baseball wasn’t really equal until about the 1970s because that’s when you started to see “bad black players.” Before then, only the best black players could play in the MLB. He said there were always bad white players.

That’s kind of the problem with the NFL, today, as far as head coaching goes. There might be a bad minority head coach, but we haven’t seen a questionable minority head coach hire.

Mike Tomlin coordinated a top-10 defense in Minnesota before taking the head-coaching job for the Steelers. Jim Caldwell was the offensive coordinator for the Ravens when they won the Super Bowl. Marvin Lewis coordinated one the greatest defenses of all time with the Baltimore Ravens in 2001, before taking the Bengals head-coaching job in 2003. Lovie Smith was the defensive coordinator for the 2001 Rams, who lost to the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Ron Rivera coordinated the topped-ranked Chargers’ defense in 2010 before becoming the head coach for the Panthers. Now, none of that can help predict how these guys will perform as head coaches in the NFL. It just shows the résumé required to be a minority and to be looked at for a head coaching position.

Jay Gruden on the other hand, was the coordinator for offenses that made the playoffs but failed to be efficient in those showings, accumulating one touchdown and six turnovers in his three appearances. Not bad, just not as impressive as the aforementioned coaches.

Doug Marrone led Syracuse University to an 85 record before becoming the head coach of the Buffalo Bills. He was the offensive coordinator for the Saints from 2006-2008, which had success, but probably more because of head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees, based on offensive success after Marrone.

It sounds odd, but there really won’t be equality until we see questionable minority head coaching.

We have seen improvement, but the only way to continue the progress is expand the rules that are helping. The people who say there just aren’t enough qualified minorities candidates are overlooking the fact that the system and habits are excluding minorities from positions from which head coaches are selected.

Many see sports as a great equalizer. The best will play/coach. We see that’s not always true. Just like in the “real” job market, biases and institutional racism control and oppress.

Until we can get these systems fixed, we need to stop referring to the myth that everyone has equal opportunity and use the more accurate saying that we all know.

“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Unfortunately, not enough of us know the major consequences that has on our society, especially for people of color.

Chris Moore is UP Sports Editor

INTERSHIP EXPERIENCE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. was founded Oct. 1, 1971. For 42 years it has made dreams come true — including mine.

Last spring, I participated in the Disney College Program where the fairytale world became my reality.

I first learned of the program when I was 11. My sixth-grade choir teacher was a Disney fanatic and having her as a teacher for seven years, she infected all of her students. It wasn’t difficult for me to hop on the bandwagon — I had already had an extraordinary fondness for Disney movies and music.

That sixth grade year, I told myself I was going to do the program and eight years later — I did. I’ve never been one to let an opportunity pass me by.

I was accepted into the entertainment department in spring 2013. My arrival date was Jan. 15 and my end date was May 10 — the most incredible four months of my life.

I made life-long friends from all around the world. I spent most of my nights with my next-door neighbors from Australia and New Zealand, many of whom I still keep in close contact with.

We were able to enter all of the parks for free, so I rode my favorite ride, The Hollywood Tower of Terror, at least once a week at Hollywood Studios. I spent most of my days off at Animal Kingdom watching my favorite show, “The Festival of the Lion King.” At night, I would find a way to watch “Celebrate the Magic,” a projection show on Cinderella’s Castle —the most magical thing at Disney World.

The food at EPCOT is fantastic. Employees get discounts on merchandise and dining, so I spent more money than I care to admit on pizza and pasta in “Italy,” chicken fried rice in “Japan,” and post roast at the ’50s Prime Time Café.

As for my job, it wasn’t work at all. I was

COMMENTARY

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Mallory Matt

given top pay to spend all day with my favorite characters. Because I’m 5-feet 3-inches tall, I was placed in the “munk” category of the height ranges, which meant I spent all of my time around characters that were relatively the same height as the notorious chipmunks, Chip ’n Dale.

When I was at Magic Kingdom, I was lucky enough to spend time with Rabbit from “Winnie the Pooh.” He rarely leaves The Hundred Acre Wood to come and visit with guests, unlike Pooh. If there was one character I spent the most time with, it was that silly, old bear.

I dallied with a romantic Mr. Penguin and his jolly pals Bert and Mary Poppins, and I monkeyed around with King Louie and his buddy, Baloo.

I occasionally got to hang out with my boys, Chip ’n Dale. They were awfully jealous because I spent so much time with Disney Junior characters.

A couple of times, I played with a young ballerina named June from Disney Junior’s “Little Einsteins,” but my main man was Handy Manny. I was grateful to have spent so much time with Handy Manny while I was there because, not long after my program ended, Manny went back to Sheetrock Hills for good. I sure do miss that handyman and his complicated signature.

Of all the characters I befriended — there

is one that I was truly honored to meet. She is often referred to as “the fairest one of all,” and she blushes every time she hears it. She is the innocent Snow White and I miss her dearly.

I have done the best I can to describe how amazing my time was working at Walt Disney World, but, it does not do the program justice.

The only way to truly understand is to go and experience it.

It’s not enough for me to say that the food is delicious and the rides are absolutely thrilling. I can’t prepare anyone for what it’s like to get your first embrace from a child who’s loved Winnie the Pooh all of her life. I can’t tell someone how the firework shows are breathtaking or how the productions are phenomenal. I can’t adequately define how I appreciated spending my 20th birthday playing in Magic Kingdom and dining in Italy at EPCOT. I can’t explain what it is like to create magic every day.

It is something one just has to experience.

With a lump in my throat, I posted this on my Facebook page the night before my last visit to Christopher Robin’s bedroom to help Pooh Bear meet his fans with his best pal, Tigger: “Tomorrow is my last shift working for Walt Disney World. I have made so many great friends and great memories while working here and I am going to miss this fairytale life more than anything…. No wish upon a star or dream come true could top this! I love y’all and I wish y’all the best. So — in the words of my boss — see ya real soon.”

For more information about the Disney College Program, visit disneycollegeprogram.com. But, be warned — the website is addictive.

Mallory Matt is a UP Staff Writer

Page 4 Thursday, January 23, 2014

University Press

LU HONORS THREE AS DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI Brent Bost, Rena Clark and Sina Nejad have been selected as the 2014 Lamar University Distinguished Alumni Awards recipients. The Distinguished Alumni Awards are the highest awards presented by Lamar University to its alumni.

Award honorees are selected annually by a committee of the Lamar University Alumni Advisor y Board.

Eligible candidates must be graduates of Lamar University, distinguished in their chosen professions or life work, and persons of such integrity, stature and demonstrated ability that the university community will take pride in and be inspired by their recognition. They must also recognize the importance of their educations at Lamar and their interest and loyalty in the university must be evident.

Brent W. Bost is a board-certified specialist in obstetrics and gynecology, who is the co-founder and vice president of Southeast Texas OB/ GYN Associates, Brent W. Bost PA. He earned five degrees from Lamar University; bachelor’s degrees in chemistr y and biology in 1978, a bachelor of business administration in accounting in 1992, a master of business administration in 1996, and a second bachelor of business administration in economics in 1997. Bost is a graduate of the Baylor College of Medicine, where he was student body president, earning his M.D. in 1981. He received specialty training in obstetrics and gynecology at the Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.

Named one of the “Best Doctors in America� by his colleagues, Bost has published papers in obstetrics, gynecologic surger y, health care financing and social security reform.

He has presented his findings at national meetings of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The author of two books, “The Hurried Woman� and “The Hurried Woman Syndrome,� he explains how women can overcome the physical and emotional fallout of liv-

ing in a hurr y-up world. Bost is also the founder and president of Pathfinder Management Systems, a company that offers management and personal financial planning. “My decision to come to Lamar is what got me into medical school�

Bost said. “And, after ser ving on the Admissions Committee at Baylor College of Medicine, I’m convinced that this is true. Lamar gave me the foundation I needed to succeed in Medicine and has provided an invaluable resource to continue my education — in many fields — through the years. If I had it to do all over again, I would choose Lamar University in a heartbeat.�

Currently the medical staff president at Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital, Bost is also an assistant clinical professor of Ob/Gyn at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. A member of the board of directors of the Beaumont Community Players and CordTrack Corporation, he is a past president of the LU Alumni Advisor y Board and ser ved on the executive committee of the Lamar University Foundation.

Bost currently sits on the Lamar University College of Business Advisor y Board and is an adjunct instructor in the College of Business.

Rena Clark graduated from Lamar University with honors in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. She was active on campus, Rena Clark serving as a math and engineering tutor and president and vice president of the Lamar chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers. She participated in the College of Engineering co-op program, with assignments at Texaco Chemical and Union 76.

Clark began her professional career with General Electric in the company’s two-year Manufacturing Management Program where she had four six-month assignments in manufacturing at GE Major Appliance, GE Factor y Automation and GE Flight Simulation and Controls.

In 1990, Clark received her master of

business administration from the Har vard Business School, after which she accepted a position as a management consultant with Bain & Company in Boston. She soon returned to the Har vard Business School as director and chief operating officer of the MBA program.

Returning to her industrial roots in 1995, Clark entered the world of private equity as chief executive officer for a portfolio company. She led a large distressed commercial printing company’s successful turnaround that eventually led to the firm’s purchase by a strategic acquirer. From 1999-2001, Clark led a division of a large international corporation in the specialty chemicals sector and created a profitable stand-alone operating company.

In 2003, she joined The Kraft Group, owners of a group of industrial companies and the National Football League’s New England Patriots, as the group’s vice president of philanthropy and community affairs. Clark joined GenNx360 Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing in companies engaged in the industrial sector, in 2007. Today, she is a GenNx360 partner focusing on deal sourcing, transaction execution, portfolio company performance and fundraising.

For 25 years, Clark’s commitment to volunteerism and community ser vice has not wavered. She has ser ved as trustee or overseer for a number of non-profit organizations in and around Boston including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Museum of Science and the New England Aquarium. She is an overseer for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston and a trustee at the Chestnut Hill School and Lasell College. She also chairs the board of GenNx360 Charitable Foundation.

Clark is an active supporter of the College of Engineering and the Dr. Richard L. Price Scholarship in Engineering, Math and Science. She also ser ved on the Mechanical Engineering Advisor y Council. “I am eternally grateful for my time at Lamar and to all of the folks there who played a role in shaping an incredible educational experi-

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ence. From Dr. Richard Price, who I have known since I was nine years old and who recruited me to Lamar and whose classroom I had the honor of experiencing, to Dr. Otto Brown, Dean Fred Young, Eugene Martinez and others,� Clark said. “As a result of all of their influences, I left Lamar with not only the confidence instilled in me by my parents that I could be anything I could imagine, but also with a profound sense that I was prepared for anything.�

Clark became a mom on March 2, 2005, with the birth of Sydney Eliza Grace. They enjoy an active life in the Jamaica Plain section of Boston and are dedicated members of Bethel AME Church, where Clark is a trustee and member of the finance committee.

Sina Nejad is the founder and president of Sigma Engineers, Inc. He received two degrees in civil engineering from Lamar University, a bacheSina Nejad lor’s degree in 1980 and master’s degree in 1981. Nejad is the first engineer from Southeast Texas to be appointed to the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and one of only 22 engineers approved to engage in the practice of architecture by the Texas Board of Architecture.

Nejad is a member of numerous state and national professional societies including the Texas Board of Professional Engineers, a charter member of the Structural Engineering Institute, founding member of the Architectural Engineering Institute, and is the past president of the Sabine Chapter of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers. He was named Engineer of the Year in 2008.

His community involvement includes ser ving as the chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Building Code Board of Adjustment & Appeals for the city of Beaumont and ser vice on the Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital Advisor y Board. Nejad is a member and the past president of the Symphony of

Southeast Texas, past president and member of the board of directors of the Anayat House, and former board member of the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce. He was honored as the Small Business Person of the Year in 2004 by the Beaumont chamber. “Lamar University has a special place in my heart,� said Nejad. “When I graduated with my engineering degree, I started work immediately and had absolutely no deficiency in performing my work as a young engineer. I knew all my duties and designs as I had learned them at Lamar, a tribute to the great training I received from the engineering professors. Men like Prof.

Luther Beal and Dr. Morgan molded us into for ward thinking and practical engineers. Those of us who graduated from Lamar were well ahead of young graduates from other schools.�

A ver y involved LU alumnus, Nejad is a member of the Lamar University Civil Engineering Advisor y Council and sits on the Lamar University Foundation Board of Directors. He has hosted A Dinner & 12 Strangers and A Dinner & Conversation for Lamar University engineering students, sharing his insights and career advice with future engineers. Nejad is also an active member of Friends of the Arts and the Mirabeau Society. One of his more unusual contributions to the university was designing the replica “gusher� oil derrick for the Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum.

He is married to Soheila Nejad, who is the acting chief financial officer for their company. They have two children, a daughter, Layla, who is a college science major and a son, Amir, who is studying neuroscience.

The awards ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the University Reception Center on the eighth floor of the Gray Librar y on Feb. 21. Tickets for the event are $50 and reservations are required by Feb. 7.

For more information about the Lamar University Distinguished Alumni Awards, contact the Office of Alumni Affairs at 880-8921 or Alumni@Lamar.edu.

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FEATURES

Thursday, January 23, 2014

UNIVERSITY PRESS

Pok Chi Lau’s photo, incorporating Chairman Mao's chiseled face, is part of “One Heart” at the Dishman Art Museum through Feb. 28.

UP photo William Jones

Forty years, two countries, ‘One heart’ POK CHI LAU EXPLORES ASPECTS OF CHINA AT DISHMAN WILLIAM JONES UP GRAPHICS EDITOR “One Heart,” an exhibition of photographs by Pok Chi Lau, professor emeritus at the University of Kansas, is on display at Lamar University’s Dishman Art Museum through Feb. 28.

“The photographs culminate 40 years of my work in the topic of Chinese migration and the emergence of China in an unprecedented pace that shocked the world,” the artist states in a release.

“I question the process and the cost of how these monumental and irreversible changes affect the faces of the ordinary common folk of this monstrous and diverse nation.”

The artists spoke about his work at a gallery talk Tuesday.

“I think it is your curiosity that will make a difference in you understanding things,” he said. “If you’re being passive,

you will be dismissive and probably miss it. If you are being active, in your mind and in your actions, you will learn more about who you are, by looking at what’s out there.”

The exhibit displays photos Pok Chi Lau took in China and Cuba, as well as Communist posters he received in China, a mini blow up map of the China Sea, a podium with condoms and a projection of the map of China.

Because of the quantity of the work, there are no titles displayed for these pieces.

In the series of photos found on the back right wall, the viewer sees a piece with a man in the water and on the beach. Each print is a diptych — displaying two images — or a triptych — displaying three images. In the first image, a man walks the coastline at night, because that is the best time for traveling across from China to Hong Kong. In the second image, one sees a man floating under a dock with a chilled and exhausted look on his face, trying to swim his way through the waters.

“It took three times for this to happen and he didn’t get killed or drown,” Lau said. “So he and his brother, and his

brother’s friend, each one of them had to walk for seven days in the dark, in the daytime they were hiding. So they would watch the docks for the guards. Then wait until it was really, really dark, before the guards would be receded somewhere in the background. They snuck up on the beach and hoping for an out going tide.

“So what did they use for floatation?

A condom. Each one of them would blow up 250 and tie them together, put them in a plastic bag and ride it like this,” Lau indicated a position with his arms stretched out and his face towards the ground.

In connection with the photos is a map of the China Sea, running between China and Hong Kong, with lights showing the path the men took to get to China. The installment is interactive, to the right is a podium that has condoms like the ones they used to make the raft, and Lau encourages visitors to blow one up and throw it onto the map.

On the back wall, to the right of a projected display of China, are photos taken inside homes in China. One sees a family member in one image and a Communist ruler in the other, showing

UP photo William Jones

Visitors to the Dishman Art Museum blow up condomsand place them on a map of the China sea to represent the rafts used during an escape from China to Hong Kong.

the control the government has over its people, from its peak to its diminishment.

“The second one from the right, this one is a portrait of Mao, someone has basically chiseled, they’ve chiseled his face off, and made sure enough is left to recognize that it’s Chairman Mao” Lau said.

The artist does not make all images as easy to read. In one, showing a woman with a medicinal pack on her neck, one sees a small portrait of Chairman Mao. “I wanted to expose it in such a way that’s not obvious, I want to be subjective, instead of vindictive,” Lau said.

The show also features a series on Chinese culture and interracial relationships in Cuba, where the artist visited in 2009 to explore the new faces of the Chinese there.

“The Chinese went to Cuba in the 1840s to work along with the African slaves to cut sugarcane,” Lau said.

He explores how the culture was preserved in some ways, and yet also abandoned, as well as the mixed race issue.

Images on the front and front left wall show family members holding up photos of their Chinese ancestors, as well as couples of different races embracing One photo series that seemed different from the rest of the works on display was “The Five Elements,” found on UP photo William Jones the first wall as one walks in. The images are bright, overexposed and manipuArtist Pok Chi Lau points out a piece to a visitor during the opening reception of “One Heart” in the Dishman Art Museum, Jan. 18.

AMSET hosts winter exhibitions The Art Museum of Southeast Texas will host a pair of winter exhibitions showcasing works of art that examine the human form. “Mirrored and Obscured: Contemporary Texas Self-Portraits” and “Figures: Artwork from the Permanent Collection” will be on view through May 11.

“Mirrored and Obscured: Contemporary Texas Self-Portraits” is a group exhibition examining a range of self-portraiture from artists all over Texas. The notion of self-portraiture will be explored to include work that is literal and nonliteral. Participating artists include Adela Andea, Debra Barerra, Michael Bise, James Drake, Sharon Kopriva, Laura Lark, Lawrence Lee, Mary McCleary, Sherry Owens, Sam Reveles, Shaun Roberts, Rusty

Scruby, Gael Stack, Kathy Vargas, Jonathan Whitfill, Ann Wood and Xiaoze Xie. “Figures: Artwork from the Permanent Collection” features artwork from the permanent collection depicting the human form. This exhibition will include photography, painting, mixed media, ceramics, and sculpture from the museum’s contemporary folk art and fine art collections. Featured artists include: Carl Block, Enrique Chagoya, Bessie Harvey, Letitia Huckaby, Paul Kittelson, Sharon Kopriva, Mary McCleary, Rosemary Meza, Kermit Oliver, Gael Stack and James “Son Ford” Thomas.

AMSET is located at 500 Main in downtown Beaumont.

For more information, visit www.amset.org or call 832-3432.

lated photos of Buddhist statues, much different than the more textual and natural look of the other photos. In the series, one may be able to see the forms of the statue, but the details of the image are hidden by the white and select color, each representing a different element of nature.

“This is about Indian Buddhism — earth, wind, air, water, fire,” Lau said.

“The fire is fire within yourself, whether it’s anger or energy, frustration or wanting to make peace.

“It’s all energy, all different forms of energy, the earth moves because of all these different elements. Fire burns, when heat is disseminated, rain comes, when the rain comes, it makes the wind move, moves the air and earth will come within it’s own forms, the mountains to the soil.”

Lau shot only two statues — Fire, taken in Tibet, and the other four elements, taken in the central part of China.

Images were manipulated from one single image in Photoshop and took four or five years to transform them to their final outcome, he said.

The exhibition fills both levels of the Dishman Art Museum, and in addition to the photographs features videos and Pok Chi Lau’s books and other works.

The Dishman Art Museum, located on the corner of E. Lavaca and MLK Parkway, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

For more information, call 880-8959, or visit lamar.edu/dishman.

Lutcher to present ‘TEN Tenors on Broadway’ The TEN Tenors celebrate Broadway’s greatest hits in their new show, The TEN Tenors on Broadway, Jan. 30 at 7:30 PM at the Lutcher Theater. Tickets start at $40 and are available at www.lutcher.org or by calling the Lutcher Theater Box Office at 409886-5535.

“This dynamic live experience is a wonderful collection of Broadway’s most-loved classics sung by ten of Australia’s hottest tenors,” a Lutcher Theater release states.

“Fans will be delighted by this powerful mix of theatrical showstoppers and heart-melting ballads as The TEN Tenors break new ground and take on some of the greatest show tunes in the world.

Audiences will be entertained and invited to take a trip down memory

lane with the power and finesse that only The TEN Tenors can deliver.

“The incredible Australian troupe lend their ever-popular flair and individuality to a repertoire showcasing the best of Broadway, including “Impossible Dream” from Man of La Mancha, Phantom of the Opera’s “Music of the Night” and “Bring Him Home” from “Les Miserables.”

Continuing from their hugely successful world tour and latest album Double Platinum, plus their appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show, their new Broadway spectacular for the 2014 season is yet another world-class production for the home-grown heroes, who have sold more than 3.5 million concert tickets world wide and return to the Lutcher after their hit 2008 per-

formance.

The Frances Ann Lutcher Theater for the Performing Arts is located at 707 Main in Orange.

The TEN Tenors

Page 6 Thursday, January 23, 2014

University Press

LAMAR UNIVERSITY JOINS Presidential Scholarship created for business majors CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE The Lamar University Foundation has established an endowed scholarship for all students majoring in business.

The Bernie and Michael Cook Presidential Scholarship in Business was funded through a donation from Laura Cook, wife of Bernie Cook and mother of Michael Cook, in their memory.

“This scholarship will allow the College of Business to attract and retain many good students who would otherwise not have the opportunity to attend,” Henry Venta, dean of the College of Business, said. “This scholarship will also help by associating a distinguished name in the community with the College of Business.”

Bernie Cook was born and

raised in Clyde before continuing his education at Lamar. He attended Lamar on an athletic scholarship and lettered in football, wearing the number 44. He graduated in 1958 with a Bachelor of Business Administration and married Laura that same year.

Bernie Cook worked in accounting for United Gas Pipeline for 11 years before becoming a property manager and inventory specialist at Lamar. He retired in 1997 after 28 years of service to the school. He was active with Lamar alumni and was the director of the Sabine Oaks Nursing Home before his death in 2009.

Laura Cook was born and raised in Port Arthur. She at-

tended Lamar and was a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority, serving as second vice president. She graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor of Science in elementary education and went to work for the Beaumont Independent School District.

The Cooks’ son, Michael, was born in 1959. He attended Forest Park High School, where he excelled at sports. Like his father, he wore the number 44 on the football team. He later went to work for ExxonMobil as a control room supervisor before his death in 2010.

For more information about establishing an endowed scholarship, contact the Lamar University Foundation at 880-2117.

U.S. News & World Report ranks LU online nursing program 19th in nation The master of nursing online program in the Lamar University’s JoAnne Gay Dishman Department of Nursing has been ranked 19th in the nation for excellence by U.S. News & World Report. The rankings were made public in the magazine’s 2014 edition of Top Online Education Programs.

“The ranking demonstrates to current and prospective students that our nursing faculty members have excellent preparation in online teaching and learning,” Eileen Curl, nursing department chair, said. “The ranking exemplifies the quality of education provided by the faculty from their expertise in graduate nursing courses emphasizing nursing education and nursing administration.”

Online nursing programs nationwide were ranked in five catincluding faculty egories credentials and training, student

engagement, student services and technology, admissions selectivity and peer reputation.

U.S. News defines a distance education program as a program for which all the required coursework for program completion is able to be completed via distance education courses that incorporate Internet-based learning technologies. Distance education courses are those that deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor and support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor.

Lamar’s online master’s program in nursing ranked higher than several Texas universities including Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, Texas Christian University, Angelo State University and the University of Texas at Brownsville. Johns Hopkins University, Yale University, Duke University, Arizona State Univer-

sity and the University of Florida were a few leading schools that fell behind Lamar in the national rankings.

The master’s degree in nursing program is one of several online programs available though Lamar University.

Lamar’s online bachelor’s degree programs received recognition as 65th in the nation ahead of schools including the University of Nebraska, Florida State University and Stephen F. Austin State University.

The online graduate program in education was also ranked in the annual national survey as 55th in the nation. Kansas State University, Mississippi State University and the University of North Texas fell behind Lamar’s program in those rankings.

Lamar’s goal is to expand and enhance its online offerings while maintaining a vibrant and engaging campus community.

UNIVERSITY NETWORK Lamar University has joined the Clinton Global Initiative University Network, a growing consortium of colleges and universities that support, mentor, and provide seed funding to student leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs who are developing solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the mission of the CGI U is to turn ideas into action.

CGI U brings together college students to address global challenges with practical, innovative solutions. It is more than simply discussing problems — participants take concrete steps to solve them by creating action plans, building relationships, participating in hands-on workshops, and following up with CGI U as they complete their projects.

Lamar University is now one of more than 50 colleges and universities worldwide that have joined the CGI University Network.

LU will provide $10,000 in funding to be divided among LU students who are selected to pursue their Commitments to Actions at CGI U 2014. Commitments to Action, a unique feature of the CGI U model, are new, specific and measurable initiatives that address global challenges across CGI U’s five focus areas: education, environment and climate change, peace and human rights, poverty alleviation, and public health. Lamar University will mentor student commitment-makers as they develop and implement their plans in the coming months.

“We are so pleased to be a part of this unique and committed organization,” LU president Kenneth Evans said. “We are one of only two Texas member universities in the company of more than 50 other outstanding institutions that include Duke, Ohio State, Cornell, Brown, Arizona State, Chicago, Florida and UC Berkeley.”

The CGI U model drives action among its members in the following four ways; inspiration, networking, knowledge building and collaboration.

Evans said that CGI U is an exciting opportunity for our students and their faculty mentors from numerous disciplines at Lamar, who have long been involved in the study, research, and solution of local, national, and global problems.

Since its inaugural meeting in 2008, CGI

U has brought together more than 5,500 student leaders from 135 countries and more than 800 schools. Past speakers include Madeleine Albright, Jack Dorsey, Muhammad Yunus, Hawa Abdi Diblawe, and Jon Stewart.

“I personally am profoundly grateful that people care enough to show up and think of one more thing they can do to give one more person a better chance,” Bill Clinton said. “And I hope that next year, you want to do it again.”

Lamar University is a public, Carnegie Doctoral Research University and offers more than 110 baccalaureate and master’s degrees and doctorates in nine program areas.

Degrees are offered through the Colleges of Arts & Sciences, Business, Education & Human Development, Engineering, and Fine Arts & Communication, and in addition the Honors Program has become a College as a result of a substantial new endowment.

The University is accredited by the Council on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and most programs which have disciplinary accreditation available have achieved that distinction.

“Lamar is fortunate to be located in the center of one of the largest refining and petrochemical complexes in the nation, in a region arguably the energy hub of the country,” a release states. “It serves the entire area as the focus for government, education, business, health care, entertainment, and culture, and is also the gateway to the Big Thicket National Preserve, a national eco-tourism treasure.

“With a deep-water port, enviable rail infrastructure, abundant supplies of water, and a workforce capable of designing, building, and operating billion dollar investments, Beaumont has it all.”

Lamar University, a member of the Texas State University System, has experienced a rebirth over the past decade, with enrollment steadily increasing to more than 15,000. It has been recognized nationally for its general education core curriculum, leadership in online education, being one of the 100 most diverse campuses in the country, and selection as a member of the Honor Roll of the Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Great Colleges to Work For.” For more information about CGI U, visit www.cgiu.org.

SPORTS

7

Seahawks, Broncos set for Super Sunday The topped-ranked offensive attack of the Denver Broncos will square off against the league’s topped-ranked defense of the Seattle Seahawks. With the potential for a snowy game in New Jersey, will the cliché, “Defense wins championships” ring true, or will Peyton Manning hoist his second Lombardi Trophy? For a full preview, see the Jan. 30th-edition of the University Press.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

UNIVERSITY PRESS

SPORTS ROUNDUP Football Lamar freshman running back Kade Harrington was named 2013 College Sports Journal Freshman All-America announced CSJ Executive Editor David Coulson Friday.

“Kade exceeded everyone's expectations,” LU head coach Ray Woodard said.“He has a very bright future ahead of him at Lamar. I’m really looking forward to seeing what he can do over the course of the next three seasons.”

Harrington, a 5-9, 185-standout from Kingwood, worked his way into the starting lineup in the third game of the season, and finished the year with seven starts. He made his mark in the conference by finishing the year sixth in the league in rushing, averaging better than 73 yards per game.

Track Sam Stabler put up the fastest 3,000-meter time in the country on Friday and three other Cardinals took home individual championships as the Lamar men’s and women’s track and field teams competed at the Texas A&M 12-Team Invitational at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium in College Station.

Overall, the Lamar men placed sixth in the meet with 48 points, and the women were fourth with 56.

Stephen F.Austin won both competitions, tallying 105 and 130 points, respectively.

Kayla de Bondt grabbed an individual title for the women, winning her first career race for the Cardinal.The Australian got out to a quick lead and never looked back en route to winning the mile run in five minutes, 5.27 seconds.

Leslie Beard came in third in the pole vault with a mark of 11 feet, 10.75 inches.

Saschelle Slaughter followed up later in the day with a second place finish in the 400-meter dash, completing the race in 56.83 seconds.

Lamar returns to action in two weeks at the Howie Ryan Invitational in Houston.

Tennis Head coach David Wong expected a challenge when he took his Lamar women’s tennis team to Rice, and he got one as the 22nd-ranked Owls won 7-0 over the Lady Cardinals at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium in Houston, Saturday.

“I don’t think the score indicates it, but I thought the girls played well in certain areas,” said Wong.“Rice is not ranked No. 22 for nothing.They are a very strong team, and I think there are a lot of things that we can learn from today’s match.We just have to keep on working hard to get ready for our next one.”

LU returns to action on Feb. 2 when Jackson State rolls into Thompson Family Tennis Center for the 2014 home opener.

Cross Country Matt Johnsen may have graduated on Saturday, but he'll have one more award to take back to his native Australia as he was named the Southland Conference Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Year in December.

Johnsen, who helped Lamar to a seventh conference title in eight years this season, is taking home the honor for a second time, previously earning it in 2011. He entered the fall semester with a 3.36 grade-point-average and is leaving Lamar with a degree in kinesiology.

“It's really humbling to be recognized for both my athletic and academic endeavors," Johnsen said. "It is something in which I take great pride.

Lamar has a strong tradition of student-athlete honorees, especially in track and cross country, and to be a part of that is really special to me.”

This season, he took home his first conference individual title as Lamar returned to the Southland's cross country mountaintop. He also enjoyed the season as the only male athlete to make the conference's 50th anniversary honor roll before his eligibility had expired.

Lady Cards off to hot start GRANT CRAWFORD UP CONTRIBUTOR

The Lady Cards basketball team resumed their season after Winter break with a return to conference play. They are 9-8 (4-2 SLC), and tied for third coming off a 67-62 road loss to Southeastern Louisiana, ending their four-game winning streak. The team looks to bounce back tonight at Abilene Christian University.

“I think they’re in really good condition,” head coach Robin Harmony said. “When we went home for Christmas break they did their workouts, and when they come back we make sure we run them enough — enough that we really make them work in practice, so when they’re in games, it’s easy for them. We go about two hours and we go pretty tough.”

Prior to the beginning of the new semester, Lamar’s senior point-guard Gia Ayers was named the SLC player of the week. Ayers leads the conference in assists, averaging 5.5 a game.

She has had two double/doubles so far this season, one being a 30-point, 11 assists performance.

“It all comes down to what our coaches emphasize in practice,” Ayers said. “When faced with adversity, how will we react? Will we roll over and die? Or continue to fight hard, which is what we’ve been doing.”

Lamar has had four different players record double-doubles this year. Dominique Edwards has six.

She is also the fourth-leading scorer in the SLC, averaging 15.2 point a

UP William Jones

Lamar foward Dominique Edwards, left, posts up during practice in the Sheila Umphrey Rec Sports Center, Monday. game. The Lady Cardinals also have four players in the top 30 in scoring, the most of any team, including soph-

omore JaMeisha Edwards and junior Shauna Long.

“The reason we’re so successful

is we don’t have just one player, we have five kids that can score in double figures on any day — we really can’t just key on Gia or Dominique,” Harmony said. “The ones who are playing well really need to continue, so we can get Dominique going a little bit more, so she can do her double/doubles, triple/doubles, it’s just a matter of doing everything we’ve been doing.”

Seven of the final 12 games will be at the Montagne Center.

“I’m glad January is set the way it is,” Harmony said. “Come February, when we start to get tired and fatigued, we’re going to be at home in the Montagne Center, so it’s good.”

Halfway through her first season at Lamar, coach Harmony, a two-time Sun Conference Coach of the Year, has her team ranked third in scoring, and second from behind the 3-point line, in the SLC. “The kids are learning a whole new system with new coaches,” she said. “Our full court press is hard to learn — it takes half the season, but now the light bulb is going off and they’re starting to get it. We want to win the conference outright. We just need to continue winning, taking care of our part, and making sure somebody else messes up in conference.”

After ACU, the Lady Cards will move on to Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Saturday, before returning home Jan. 30 to face Houston Baptist.

Visit lamaruniversitypress.com for final scores and game stories. Follow us on Twitter @UPLamar.

Cardinals remain winless in SLC play Lamar had four players score in double figures, and shot nearly 50 percent for the game, but couldn’t overcome a Southeastern Louisiana team (8-9/3-3 SLC) that knocked down 16 three-pointers. The Lions defeated Lamar, 91-65, Saturday afternoon at the University Center. The loss drops Lamar to 1-17 overall and 0-6 in Southland Conference play.

In addition to the Lions accuracy from beyond the arc, Southeastern got a huge boost from its bench. The Lions bench scored 52 of the team’s 91 points, while Lamar’s reserves scored nine.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a team hit so many jump shots like I did tonight

by Southeastern,” said head coach Pat Knight. “I can’t be mad at our defense, because it’s not like we were getting beat in the post or on the drive they just hit a lot of tough shots. We had hands in their face but give them credit, they just hit a lot of tough shots.”

Lamar knocked down three of their first five attempts, and scored the game’s first six points, but Southeastern Louisiana stayed close early by knocking down four of their first six attempts from beyond the three-point arc. Despite the Lions’ accuracy from long range, Lamar held the advantage for the first 9:38 of the contest.

Southeastern’s JaMichael Hawkins hit a three with 10:22 on the clock to give the Lions their first lead of the game, 1514. That three sparked a 16-3 run that covered more than four minutes of game time to give SLU a 10-point lead, 25-15.

The Lions pushed that lead to 20 points, and took the 20-point lead into the locker room, 47-27.

Lamar was 11-of-27 (41 percent) in the opening 20 minutes, but didn’t have an answer for Southeastern Louisiana’s long-range shooting. The Lions were 17of-31 (.548) from the field, including 7-of11 (64 percent) from beyond the arc. In addition to the SLU‘s success from beyond the arc, the Lions made Lamar pay for its opening-half turnovers scoring 11 points on seven miscues, while the Cards could manage only two points off four Southeastern mistakes.

Lamar opened the second half on a 12-5 to cut the deficit 13 points, 52-39, but the Lions responded by scoring the game’s next 10 points to push the advantage back to 23 points. The Cardinals were unable to seriously threaten the homestanding Lions after that.

Lamar finished the game shooting 46 percent from the field, including a 4-of8 (.500) mark from three-point land. The Lions had too much firepower Saturday

UP William Jones

Lamar guard Keilan Blanks drives past a defender during Lamar’s 68-54 loss to George Mason, Nov. 11, in the Montagne Center. finishing the game 34-of-60 (.567) from the field, and 16-of-27 (.593) on threes.

Junior Donovan Ross led the Lamar effort with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting.

He also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Senior Amos Wilson added 14, while junior Nimrod Hilliard and sophomore Rhon Mitchell each added 12. The Lions were led by JaMichael Hawkins who came off the bench to score 25 points on 6-of-8 three-point shooting.

Following Lamar’s 64-60 loss to Nicholls State, Jan. 9, Knight said his team’s slow start is more on the coaches than the players.

“We should win,” he said. “We have a

confidence problem. Winning is contagious, but so is losing. We have to get these kids over the hump. We have to get them a win. That’s our job as coaches. We have to get them going. (Other teams) jump on us and you can just see the confidence level. These poor kids are just drained. If we can just get something going, just get one win, some good things can happen. I think they’re playing hard though.”

Knight said he might consider changing his philosophy on his non-conference scheduling to help his teams get off to a better start in the future.

“We’ll talk about that after the sea-

son,” he said. “It’s my fault. We’re sitting there at 1-11 and feeling sorry for myself, and my assistant coach says, ‘Man, it’s your own fault.’ Every coach I’ve come up to has been like, ‘Man, what are you doing?’ When I got the job, they didn’t want us to play no (division II) teams. We have to change this up. We have to do something. I have to quit being so aggressive on the pre-conference schedule.

Lamar returns to action tonight in Abilene, Texas to take on Southland newcomer Abilene Christian. The game against ACU is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m.

The Cards return home Jan. 30 against Houston Baptist.

Page 8 Thursday, January 23, 2014

University Press