October 2, 2014

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The Newspaper of Lamar University Vol. 91, No. 5

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Campus enrollment hits all-time high LAMAR HEAD COUNT UP 6.1 PERCENT OVER FALL 2013 KRISTEN STUCK UP MANAGING EDITOR @kristenstuck

UP Elizabeth Grimm

Students crowd around the Setzer Student Center, Monday, when it was announced that LU enrollment hit a record high.

More students now attend Lamar than at any point in its history.

Lamar University enrollment for fall 2014 is 14,889, up 6.1 percent from fall 2013.

“The university is very pleased with the increase that we have seen,” Kevin Smith, senior associate provost, said. “We set a record headcount enrollment for the university. That is always good news.”

The university’s credit hours are also up 4.07 percent, totaling 140,626 this fall, compared to 134,509 from fall 2013. This number is the second-most credit hours in the university’s history.

Flu Shot Clinic set for 10 a.m., Wednesday, in SSC The Lamar University Health Center will organize a flu shot clinic in 104-106 Setzer Student Center, Wednesday 10 a.m.2p.m.

“Students, faculty and staff on both LU and LIT campuses are eligible to receive the flu vaccine,” Shawn Gray, student health center director, said in an e-mail interview. “No appointments will be necessary during the Flu Clinic at the Setzer Center.”

People will be served at a first come, first serve basis.

The cost of the vaccine will be $30. Charges will be applied to student or employee accounts.

“Anyone with an allergy to eggs cannot receive the vaccine,” Gray said. “Anyone who has run a fever in the preceding two days of wanting to receive the vaccine will be asked to wait until they are fever free for at least 24 hours.”

Any remaining vaccines after the clinic will be available by appointment at the Heath Center.

For more information, contact the Students Health Center at 880-8466

“Obviously, it signals to us that we are attractive to students, our degree programs are attractive to students, and we are meeting our mission of providing higher education to the students of Southeast Texas and beyond,” Smith said.

“The second reason that it is important to us is that our funding is tied to enrollment.

When we see increases in enrollment, we see increases in revenue, which allows us to hire faculty, it allows us to increase scholarships to students, it allows us to add programs of study that we think are in demand, and so forth.”

Funding from the state is tied not only to head count, in the form of tuition, but also to credit hours, because the state’s appropriations are linked to them, Smith said.

“The state reasons that it costs more to provide a credit hour in a doctoral program than a masters program, than an upper-division course, than a lower-division course,” he said. “We can also see the consequences of our institutional decisions in credit hours — whether we’re See ENROLLMENT, page 2

Exhibits highlights faculty art ELIZABETH GRIMM UP STAFF WRITER Most students have to take an art class at some point in their careers. They take individual classes from individual professors and glean knowledge from each one.

Now there is a chance to see the full range of Lamar’s diverse art faculty, as they present the 2014 Art Faculty Exhibition, Oct. 13 through Nov. 21, in the Dishman Art Museum.

A closing reception is scheduled, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Nov. 21.

Photographer Keith Carter, Walles Chair and Regents Professor, said that the exhibition will allow students and the public to see what the faculty are working on outside of the classroom.

“The art department faculty, for the most part, are all practicing studio artists — they all have an individual artistic practice outside of teaching,” he said. “It’s your personal expressive work. For good students, they will get an opportunity to see a wide variety of mediums, from printmaking to sculpture, from photography to painting and ceramics.

“In a smaller community, such as ours, I think anytime that there’s a venue of fine art, that it’s beneficial both to the student population and the greater population at large. It’s a way for the artist to communicate with people outside their own small world.”

Carter said that he believes art is good for the community and that this exhibit presents an opportunity for students’ to critique their instructors.

“I hope that it would lead to some critical thinking — or critiques,” he said. “Most of the time, the faculty critique students’ work, so this is a time for students to critique faculty’s work.

“I hope that some of them would be invigorated in Keith Carter works on creating some tintypes at his home studio, Monday,

UP Elizabeth Grimm

See ART, page 5

LU establishes SMART program MOLLY PORTER UP CONTRIBUTOR The Lamar University Center for Teaching and Learning Enhancement launched the Support & Mentoring to Advance Research & Teaching program this summer to help new faculty members adjust to the demands of the university setting.

“Depending on the university, the students have different needs, and there are different bureaucratic structures to get used to,” director Amy Smith said. “SMART will help to make that transition easier for (faculty), and also support them in getting their courses well–designed, and in learning

some more useful teaching techniques.”

SMART, a voluntary, compensated program, will help the program fellows develop active and collaborative teaching strategies, Smith said.

“One of the focuses of SMART is trying to enable and empower faculty members to pay very close attention to their students — to what’s working for their students and what isn’t working for their students,” Smith said. “The whole goal is to help them build a tool box for teaching. Students will, perhaps, learn in different ways and need different types of activities and assessments.

“I just want the faculty to feel empowered — to feel like

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they have choices they feel confident in, and to feel like they can employ the best one to meet the needs of the particular students in front of them.”

In addition, the program will focus on addressing the demands of scholarly research, Smith said.

“On a tenure-track line, you have to do research or scholarship or creative activity,” she said. “One of the most difficult things for new faculty members is finding the right balance between teaching and research. You have a short period of time in which to do quite a lot of research, and it can be intimidating and diffiSee SMART, page 2

UP Molly Porter

Mohammadreza Barzegaran, assistant professor of electrical engineering, right, and Ashley Dockens, instructor of audiology, were among the faculty members who attended the SMART meeting, Sept. 26.

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INSIDE Thursday, October 2, 2014 University Press

QUOTE OF THE DAY

NOTICE

Check out the student handbook at: http://students.lamar.edu/student-handbook.html To download a pdf of the campus safety brochure, visit http://students.lamar.edu/campus-safety/index.html

Page 2

ENROLLMENT •••••••••••••••••

SMART ••••••••••••••••••••• Continued from page 1 cult. Through SMART, they can strengthen their teaching and devote themselves to preparing for their tenure review, which strengthens their research at the same time.”

SMART also pairs new faculty members with a mentor to help them adjust to the job, Smith said.

“These are faculty who have been here for a long time and are well-respected on campus, recognized as leaders in research and recognized as really excellent teachers,” she said.

“A lot of research suggests that one of the most helpful things that faculty members can get is a really good mentorship program. The fellows have the chance to ask questions and get guidance about being a new faculty member, and how to succeed and find their place at Lamar.”

Fellows in the program will meet

CALENDAR

Students file past the Carl Parker Building, Sept. 25.

Lamar University announceda 6.1 percent increase in enrollment for the fall semester over fall 2013.

The total head count is 14,889, the highest in school history.

Continued from page 1 seeing growth in areas we want growth and whether we see decline in areas where we expect declines.”

The increase in undergraduate admission requirements also has its consequences on enrollment.

“We see a very fine freshman class joining us, and that’s another reason for smiles on our faces,” Smith said. “That will pay dividends in retention rates, it will pay dividends in graduation rates — a couple of areas where we need improvements in the university.”

This fall, the university saw a 1.2 percent increase in first-time-in-college freshman, a 32.8 percent increase in transfer students and a 119.1 percent increase in graduate students.

“Our top programs, in terms of number growth, are counseling and special populations, where we have 322 more majors than we did last year. Mechanical engineering was second, (educational) leadership was third, electrical engineering was fourth, chemical engineering was fifth, nursing

The University Press can be read online at www.lamaruniversitypress.com. Advertising rates can be found on the site, along with practically all information that a person might be looking for.

“Freedom to criticize is held to compensate for the freedom to err — this is the American system.”

— Mar y McCarthy

October 2 Ethics Seminar 101 Galloway Busines Building 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

“Anton in Showbusiness” Studio Theatre 7:30 p.m.

October 3

UP photo by Molly Porter

was sixth, and civil engineering was seventh,” Smith said. “So you can see, just looking at departments and programs, there is a heavy emphasis in education and engineering.”

The total number of non-Texas resident students, including international students, grew 56.1 percent.

Enrollment among Hispanics increased 24.5 percent, Asian-Americans increased 5.2 percent, multiracial students increased 22.9 percent, and international students increase 57.3 percent.

The College of Engineering was the fastest growing college, up 23.9 percent, followed by the

once every month to discuss progress, and develop methods for moving forward with teaching and research, Smith said.

“In the meetings, we work on things like backwards course design — a way of designing courses in which you start off with what you hope your students can do and you design the entire course with that goal in mind,” she said. “We also work on assessment and using the assignments students are doing to see how they’re learning and how they’re doing. You can redesign your course and make tweaks to it if students aren’t learning the things you wanted them to learn.”

One of the goals of SMART is to improve student learning across campus, Smith said.

“If the courses are designed in a very deliberate way, with a focus on what students learn and what students are able to do when they come out of that class, students can get more out of the course,” she said. “It’s

colleges of Education, up 8.8 percent, Business, up 3.8 percent and Fine Arts and Communication, up 2.3 percent.

“What you want in this business — at least strategically — you want to grow,” Smith said. “But, you certainly don’t want to outkick your coverage.

You don’t want to have 20 percent enrollment increase and not be able to meet the instructional needs of students.

“We like to stay somewhere in the ballpark of an annual growth of three to five, three to six percent, is very manageable. That is really where we fell. We’re very happy with our record enrollment.”

really a program that’s intended to help faculty and to help students succeed at Lamar.”

SMART was originally created to preserve some of the best practices of the Active and Collaborative Engagement for Students program after the program ended. ACES was the fiveyear Quality Enhancement Plan implemented to maintain accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

Melissa Hudler, director of the Quality Enhancement Plan, said SMART will institutionalize the best practices of the ACES program as the university transitions to a new Quality Enhancement Plan.

“ACES focused on the courseware design and teaching pedagogy, as well as assessing students’ learning and setting good student learning outcomes,” she said. “SMART will go beyond that to provide support for research pursuits, as well as tenure issues and helping with the tenure

process.”

Steven Zani, director of the Center for Teaching and Learning Enhancement, said SMART will improve on the ACES program.

“We are preserving many of the faculty-driven, active-learning ideas, in terms of training faculty to be abreast of all of the concerns of teaching, but we realize that there was a real gap, too, in other aspects that are connected but slightly different — particularly research,” he said. “We also want faculty to be aware of things like the infrastructure of the university, tenure and promotion, and the particular demands of committee work — things that are a part of academia and, in fact, are really closely tied in to what good teaching is. So the difference between ACES and SMART is that SMART addresses a much broader, more full package of what a good faculty member can be.”

For more information, call Smith at 880-8558, or email acsmith3 @my.lamar.edu.

“Anton in Showbusiness” Studio Theatre 7:30 p.m.

October 4 2014 Texas S-STEM Conference Engineering Building 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“Anton in Showbusiness” Studio Theatre 7:30 p.m.

October 5 “Anton in Showbusiness” Studio Theatre 2:30 p.m.

October 6 Last day for grad students to apply/ pay for Dec 2014 graduation

October 7 Coffee, Cocoa & Critiques 101 Galloway Business Building 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

October 8 How to Influence Seminar 101 Galloway Business Building 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

October 9 Credit Score Management Seminar 101 Galloway Business Building 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

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EDITORAL Editor Lauren Van Gerven 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.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

UNIVERSITY PRESS

Feminism for all

UP EDITORIAL

Plenty to do in ‘Boremont’ if one wants to Anybody who has lived in this area for a while has heard that Beaumont carries the reputation of being boring. People refer to the city as ‘Boremont’, and numerous times Lamar’s hometown has found itself leading national rankings such as ‘Saddest places to live in America’ and ‘Most depressing cities in America.’

The problem with this is that not only do a lot of people acknowledge these rankings — they also share the results on various social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter.

When sharing these results, people make the situation worse. They feel sorry for themselves, talk down on the area, and when they don’t know what to do on a Friday night, they don’t go out and look for something. Instead, they automatically assume there is nothing to find because after all, they live in the most boring place in the U.S. What people really should be doing is go against these claims and try to prove them wrong.

A place is only as boring as one makes it. Sure, a town like Beaumont will always have fewer weekly events, little restaurants, concerts or art galleries than a big city like Houston, but that doesn’t mean that there is nothing to do at all.

In the past week, at Lamar alone, comedian C.J. Jones and storyteller/singer Jesus “Chuy” Negrete performed, and tonight, Lamar will open ‘Anton in Show Business’ in the Studio Theatre.

Simply by pulling up the events calendar on the Lamar website, there’s three evenings that could have been filled. And for the sports fans, we’ve had home football games the past three weekends.

Outside of Lamar, the annual Rice Festival opens this weekend. It features music, food and a number of fun activities, and with Halloween just around the corner, the haunted houses are starting to pop up.

One would be surprised how much is really going on in this area on a weekly basis. Don’t just assume there is nothing to do in Beaumont. Pull up an events calendar and search the Internet.

And, don’t be afraid to try something new. It’s easy to sit in a dorm room and say, “This place is so boring.” Go to the school play, even if it’s a totally new experience — it might start to turn around your view.

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UP cartoon by Lauren Van Gerven

Emma Watson’s UN speech receives mixed reviews Last week, 24-year-old “Harry Potter” actress Emma Watson addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, as she made her first big speech as a UN Woman Goodwill Ambassador on gender equality. Within 24 hours, her speech was all over the Internet.

At the beginning of her speech — which she held to promote the launch of HeForShe, a campaign that calls on men to advocate for women in the fight to end gender inequality — Watson shared when and why she became a feminist, and what the term means to her.

She made a valid point that fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating, and that feminism really is the belief that men and women should have equal rights.

Throughout the remainder of her speech — which earned a standing ovation — Watson explained why gender inequality is something that affects men, just as it affects women. And in order for gender inequality to become something from the past, men need to be aware of it and need to get involved in the process of ending it.

As the video spread on the Internet, her speech provoked strong and mixed reactions. Initially, plenty of celebrities — both male and female — took to Twitter to express their support and appreciation for both the cause and Watson’s performance. Many men also posted pictures of themselves holding up signs with the hashtag #HeForShe. However, a couple of days later, articles with headlines such as “Sorry, Emma Watson, but HeForShe is rotten for men” and “Emma Watson speech hardly a game-

COMMENTARY

by

Lauren Van Gerven

changer” started popping up on websites ranging from blogs to time.com.

These articles all seem to have a general trend. They all agreed that the beginning of the speech was great — what many had problems with was Watson’s ‘formal invitation’ for men to join the feminist movement.

This is where it gets complicated, because, although most naysayers have a problem with this part of Watson’s speech, they have different problems with it. On one side, some articles say that persuading men to join the movement by convincing them that they too can be the victim of gender inequality, is really besides the point of what gender equality is about.

Sure, a man can be called soft if he behaves too emotionally, while a women showing the same emotions is more likely to be called caring or considerate. Yes, in a perfect world, no men will be called a softy if he feels all warm and happy inside when he sees a puppy.

But, what gender equality really strives for is primary education for all girls around the world and equal pay for men and women doing the same jobs.

Yes, men should be involved in this cause, absolutely, but their primary reason to want to be involved in it should be the belief that little girls in third-world countries need to have the same rights and opportunities to learn how to read and write as little boys.

Time magazine wrote, “Until feminism recognizes discrimination against men, the movement for gender equality will be incomplete.” Their problem lies in the fact that, despite Watson mentioning gender discrimination against men several times in her speech — she uses it as a reason for men to join the movement — nowhere on the HeForShe website can any information be found on it.

It is hard to say who is right or wrong in this case. In one way, both sides are right.

Certain issues, such as equal education opportunities, are clearly priorities in the fight against gender inequality, and this should be obvious to everyone. But we shouldn’t forget that there is indeed such a thing as gender discrimination against men, and it is something that deserves attention.

One thing is for sure, men need to be involved in the battle against gender inequality. People can criticize all they want, but in the week-and-a-half since Watson took the stage at the UN headquarters, more than 150,000 men around the world have gone to the HeForShe website and have committed to the movement.

However one parses Watson’s speech, the cause is an important one. By raising awareness Watson’s speech was a success.

Lauren Van Gerven is UP Editor

STEP IT UP NFL

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

Editor ................................Lauren Van Gerven Managing Editor .......................Kristen Stuck Sports Editor ..........................Grant Crawford Web Editor ..............................Melissa Conley Staff ..................................Desmond Pickens, ............................................Mallory Matt, ................................. Brandianne Hinton, .............................................Molly Porter, ...............................................Coty Davis, ......................................Elizabeth Grimm, ........................Alan LaNear, Faith Roland 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.

America’s most popular sport must do more to combat domestic abuse The NFL has been in the hot seat over the past few weeks and deservedly so. After the elevator video of Baltimore running back Ray Rice knocking out his then fiancé, now wife, the NFL decided to make a change in their domestic abuse policy. But how much did the policy change, really?

For one, the NFL failed when it came to punishing Rice. Originally, the only evi- COMMENTARY dence of Rice’s abuse charge was a video of by the Pro-Bowler dragging Janay Palmer out of a hotel elevator in Atlantic City. How much evidence does the league need though? He admitted to striking her uncon- made a statement saying he sent the tape to scious, and for this the NFL slapped Rice the NFL in April.

This shows the NFL’s lack of sympawith a measly two-game suspension.

The NFL then began to really take heat thy for domestic abuse. They were willing when a second video of the incident, clearly to sweep the second video under the rug showing the assault in February, was re- and allow Rice to proceed with his twoleased in early September. The league then game suspension until TMZ released the decided to change the policy to a six-game heinous footage. Then, in a weak attempt suspension for a first offense, and a lifetime to prove to the world they don’t encourage ban for a second. Second-time offenders can such behavior, they bumped his suspension up to six games. The Cleveland petition for reinstatement after one year.

The first question on many people’s Brown’s elite wide receiver Josh Gordon minds, is why the NFL needed wait to see was suspended for a full season after viothe second video to take the incident seri- lating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. ously. Then, after NFL Commissioner Roger Although the substance abuse policy was Goodell said he, nor any league officials had recently changed, reducing Gordon’s susnot yet seen the second video released by pension, the wideout still has to miss 10 TMZ, an unnamed law enforcement official games this season.

Grant Crawford

These events certainly imply that the NFL cares more about drug abuse than the torment of innocent women and children. Sure, they have made statements saying they don’t condone such behavior, but talk is cheap, and actions speak louder than words. The league will have the chance to repair its reputation on such matters after the recent abuse charge on Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson, who was accused of whipping his child with a switch, resulting in injuries all over their body.

Hopefully the NFL will learn to come down hard on players who violate the domestic abuse policy. Domestic abuse charges are notorious for being dropped.

Many don’t want to press charges against family or loved ones. And if the victims won’t stand up for themselves, the league must.

These athletes are looked up to by youth and people everywhere. If anyone should be a good role model, it should be these guys. But, if the NFL wants to keep this six-game suspension policy, it will show that domestic abuse is still an offense being widely overlooked.

In other words, the NFL needs to step it up. No more slaps on the wrist.

Grant Crawford is UP Sports Editor

Page 4 Thursday, October 2, 2014

University Press

Grapes make nutritious snack, but dark is better BRANDIANNE HINTON UP CONTRIBUTOR Many students face long days on campus studying and going to class.

Rather than grabbing a candy bar or a bag of chips, think about carrying a bag of grapes for those on-the–run snacks. And given a choice, dark is the way to go.

Dark grapes, such as red, purple and black, have the same chemicals found in red wine, which are known to benefit the cardiovascular system by reducing LDL cholesterol, blood pressure and the risk of heart disease. These chemicals are absent in white or green grapes.

Resveratrol, a naturally occurring flavonoid, found in all black, purple and red grapes, helps lower high blood pressure and blood glucose, and is believed to be the reason behind what’s known as the “French Paradox,” since the French consume regular amounts of red wine and have lower instances of heart disease, according to buzzle.com.

The Mayo Clinic website states that, “Resveratrol might be a key ingredient in red wine that helps prevent damage to blood vessels, reduces low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the ‘bad’ cholesterol) and prevents blood clots.”

Resveratrol also protects against diabetes induced neuropathy and retinopathy, as well as enhancing immune function, according to Medical News Today. It also reports that new

research presented at the Experimental Biology conference in San Diego, Calif., suggests that consuming grapes regularly improves mobility and function, while alleviating pain related to osteoarthritis.

“Resveratrol is a compound in them, but they also have anthocyanins and tannins, which are chemicals in the skins of the red grapes that are good for you as well,” Robert Corbett, Lamar biology coordinator of laboratory instruction, said.

Anthocyanin, an anti-inflammatory chemical, is responsible for giving red grapes their color. Tannins are responsible for the tartness in red wine.

“For red wine, they leave the skins of the red grapes in contact with the grape juice as it’s fermenting, because that extracts the red color pigment — the tannins, anthocyanins, resveratrol, all come out of the skins of the grapes,” Corbett said.

“The drinking of red wine, in moderation, of course, has been linked to things such as lowering blood sugar and lowering cholesterol, which helps prevent cardiovascular disease. In diabetics, it’s been linked to helping to regulate blood sugar.”

Corbett said that white grapes have a place.

“You don’t necessarily want to say, ‘Only eat red grapes,’ and put the white grapes out of business because there’s a place for white grapes, too, because not ever ything goes with a red wine, and not everybody likes red

Dark grapes contain RESVERATROL, a naturally occurring FLAVONOID which lowers

LDL CHOLESTEROL BLLOD PRESSURE BLOOD SUGAR UP inforgraphic by Desmond Pickens

wine,” he said. “But as far as nutritional value goes, if you’re going to eat just plain grapes, red and black grapes are better for you than white grapes.”

It’s the dark color that matters, Corbett said. The darker the grapes, the more vitamins and beneficial chemicals they contain.

“Black vs. red, there’s not a lot of difference in them,” he, said. “Black grapes are better than white grapes as well.”

Grapes have long been known as a healthy snack, and all grapes are high in dietary fiber, rich in vitamins, low in calories, saturated fat and sodium, and have zero cholesterol.

AMSET HOSTS PAIR OF EXHIBITIONS THROUGH JAN. 4 The Art Museum of Southeast Texas presents two exhibitions showcasing artwork depicting various multifaceted and complex pieces. “Dornith Doherty: Oasis” and “Celia Eberle: In the Garden of Ozymandias” will be on view through Jan. 4.

“Dornith Doherty: Oasis” documents two international seed banks with microscopic precision and ethe-

real beauty. Focusing on X-rays at seed bank facilities where research is conducted and routinely used for viability assessments of accessioned seeds, Doherty documents and subsequently collages the seeds and tissue samples that are maintained in these research collections.

“As landscapes around the world become more arid due to climate change, seed banks play an important

role in ensuring the future survival of our plant life and food supply,” states Doherty. “These facilities can be regarded as a type of oasis; a verdant island surrounded by desert which provides a safe place of refuge and rejuvenation.”

Also on view is “In the Garden of Ozymandias,” which will include a selection of Celia Eberle’s surreal mixed media sculpture of diverse

and mesmerizing materials highlighting the basic nature of the human experience. Her media, which include animal bones, wire, marble, jasper, agate, wood, coral, brass, newsprint, cardboard and other found objects communicate the artist’s quirky imagination with technical proficiency in a myriad of materials.

For more than two decades, she

“They’re high in vitamins, they’re good nutrition — they’re a healthy snack,” Corbett, said.

Grapes also have high water content and are high in antioxidants, so there is no wrong choice when picking grapes, he said.

However, there is a better right choice.

has drawn on an expanded concept of explanatory mythology in an effort to understand many complex phenomena concerning the human condition.

She chooses imagery based either on its ubiquity or the pervasiveness of an attendant idea. Over the years, she has used many mediums and approaches to tackle this core issue. “In the Garden of Ozymandias” is a survey of these efforts.

AMSET is located at 500 Main in downtown Beaumont.

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

5

ARTS

Thursday, October 2, 2014

UNIVERSITY PRESS

Stark Museum hosts Newcomb pottery exhibit ALLEN LANEAR UP CONTRIBUTOR The Stark Museum of Art in Orange is hosting “Women, Art and Social Change: The Newcomb Pottery Enterprise,” through Jan. 3.

“It’s a celebration of the pottery and enterprise at Sophie Newcomb College of Tulane University,” curator Sarah Boehme said. “There are over a 170 pieces and more than 60 artists represented in this exhibition.”

“Women, Art and Social Change” features pottery, textiles, metalwork, jewelry, bookbinding and historical artifacts crafted by women from the 20th century, and was inspired by the flora and fauna of the Gulf Coast to create a “southern art form,” the museum’s website states.

The women of Newcomb designed the pottery to be both utilitarian and creative, Boehme said. Each art piece, which is separated in different rooms that are ordered by time period, represents the time and place of Newcomb Pottery.

“There’s a quote that talks about it being a southern product with southern motifs,” registrar Allison Evans said. “I think there’s even a quote that says from southern clay.”

Jennifer Restauri, educator for studio and family programs, said that while the show focuses on the contributions of women, the pottery was a collaborative process.

“What I find interesting about Newcomb Pottery is the men threw the pottery and the women were the decorators, so This Newcomb pottery vase is that’s something I think is part of the “Women,Art and Sovery unique to this partic- cial Change” exhibition at the Stark Museum through Jan. 3. ular pottery,” she said.

The Newcomb Pottery motifs and styles have become historically revered in the art community, Restauri said. What is unique for Newcomb Pottery is the blue coloring of the pottery and the decorations highlighting images of flowers, the moon and moss. The process for the pottery took many stages and long hours, making each one distinctive and near impossible to replicate.

Newcomb Pottery was established at a time when many Southern women did not have the opportunity to financially support themselves with their art because of lack of training, Boehme said. The H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, Tulane University’s women’s college in New Orleans, started the program in 1895 and began it for both artistic purposes and as a way for women to make a living.

The school paved the way for women of the early 20th century to be taken seriously professionally, Boehme said, and also taught self-reliance by way of an education and helped women gain independence through the sale of their crafts. Newcomb Pottery operated between 1895 and 1940, up until World War II, before disbanding.

The exhibition is a traveling show organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.

The exhibition debuted in 2013 at the Newcomb Art Gallery in New Orleans.

The Stark Museum of Art is located at 712 Green Ave. in Orange. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.

For information, visit starkculturalvenues.org/starkmuseum.

UP photo by Lainie Harris

Alumni Nesmith rediscovers SETX FAITH ROLAND UP CONTRIBUTOR It is not unusual to hear Southeast Texans badmouthing the area. Just this week, Beaumont was mentioned on “Saturday Night Live” after being named the least educated city in a survey.

Mark Nesmith is passionate about changing those attitudes. The Lamar alumnus will present “The Way Back Home,” an exhibition of his paintings, Saturday through Oct. 25, at the Art Studio Inc. The show opens with a free reception, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday.

The exhibition will showcase the beauty right here in our backyard, he says.

“Ever ything in this show is basically about Southeast Texas,” Nesmith says. “I grew up here in Beaumont. I spent about 14 years in Dallas and just moved back in 2012.

I started painting everything around me — people, places, events and whatever — as a way of feeling more comfortable and making myself feel at home again.

“There are local landmarks, some that people will know, some that I just happened upon. You’ll also see landscapes, crawfish boils, people, musicians and anything else in the area. It’s all just about Southeast Texas.”

Nesmith says he didn’t appreciate the beauty of the area himself until he left and came back. Then he realized that he wanted other people to see things the way he now does.

“Instead of looking around and saying, ‘Wow, this is an ugly place to live. Look at all those refineries and mosquitoes, and this horrible humidity’ — all of those things people complain about our area, I want peo-

ple to see all the things that are really and truly beautiful, amazing and inspiring every day, that we kind of overlook,” he says.

“That’s what I hope people come away with.”

Nesmith graduated from Lamar University in 1998 with a BFA. He is now the art teacher at Port Neches Middle School.

As well as painting, Nesmith is a musician who performs regularly, and the opening reception will feature music.

“We are working on arranging some live music by some of my friends who I will actually have paintings of in the show.” he said. “I may even do a music set myself.”

Nesmith says he encourages everyone

Artist and Lamar University alumnus Mark Nesmith, top, will present “The Way Back Home,” an exhibition of paintings, at The Art Studio, Inc., beginning Saturday. Nesmith’s work, including “Somewhere Under the Rainbow,” above, focuses on Southeast Texas landscapes,

ART •••••••••••••••••••••

Christopher Troutman, far left, and Keith Carter are among the artists whose work will be on display in the 2014 Art Faculty Exhibition at the Dishman Art Museum, Oct. 13 to Nov. 21.

Continued from page 1 terms of evolving their own artistic practice. I think art is just good for life — good for the community, and good for people’s spirits. One of the things that good art does is it takes you out of yourself — helps you to become more civilized and pay more attention to elements outside of yourself.”

Christopher Troutman, assistant professor of drawing, said that he hopes viewers will see the quality of the work and also hopes it will be thought-provoking.

“We’re always showing our best work, but especially this — there’s special pressure with this review coming up,” Troutman said.

Troutman said he is interested in everyday subject matter.

“I typically present it from an unusual point of view or exaggerated sense of depth,” he said.

“It takes that imagery out of its normal context for people. I hope it leaves an impression. A lot of it is based on things that I’ve seen, and if it’s something that I can remember, I try to make my own work have a memorable quality.”

Kurt Dyrhaug, professor of sculpting, said that the faculty exhibition is a wonderful celebration to begin the year.

“It’s always a wonderful time to have new students come to Lamar and see the activity that the faculty and department of art have been involved in,” he said.

Dyrhaug said that the exhibit provides an opportunity to teach students’ how to be professional.

“We hope that it influences the students,

to attend the event and relax.

“It’s important for us to take the time to enjoy these things ever y so often,” he said. “I think it’s about seeing things a little differently. Our day and age is so fast, so much of it flies by on a screen by Snapchat or Facebook. I don’t think most people have, or take, the chance to really spend any time looking at what’s around them.

“Artists of any kind are taking little moments, so that maybe it makes you stop for a second and maybe make you see something out there a little differently than you ever thought before.”

For information, visit www.artstudio. org, or call 838-5393.

UP photos

by Elizabeth Grimm

in the sense that they become excited about their studies in art, and they have an opportunity to see their professors and what they do as professionals,” he said. “(Students) will be able to see viewpoints and thought processes that faculty are involved in. Certainly, they’ll learn a little bit more if they ask more questions, which we always encourage. But they see the work in a professional setting and presented in a professional manner.”

Dyrhaug will have two new cast iron sculptures in the show.

“They reference some investigations I’ve had with nautical forms that we’re so close to in Beaumont,” he said. “They also have references to agricultural elements that I grew up with in Minnesota.

“One thing I fell in love with was various machinery and tools and equipment that you find on a farm,” he said. “Of course, I didn’t know what they were used for because I was a city boy, but they were beautiful and powerful,

and so I do reference those elements quite frequently in my work. Moving to Beaumont, which is certainly more nautical — a port town, that was another whole new set of influences that came into my work.”

Other faculty scheduled to participate include Xenia Fedorchenko, Rose Matthis, Donna M. Meeks, Sherry Saunders, Prince V. Thomas, and Linnis Blanton.

Dyrhaug said that as a faculty member, it’s important to engage students.

“That’s one of our responsibilities,” he said. “Also, I think it’s a wonderful recruitment tool. It’s something that we do because it’s part of our responsibility — and we’re excited about it.

“I think (visitors) are going to see some wonderful works of art by a very diverse group of faculty. We’re very engaged in what we do.

We’re very involved in our creative research.”

For more, call 880-8959, or visit finearts comm.lamar.edu/dishman-art-museum.

Page 6 Thursday, October 2, 2014

ALFPA to host informational meeting Tuesday

University Press

TRAVIS MYERS UP CONTRIBUTOR

UP Molly Porter

Fall weather moves in

Members of Release, a student organization, take advantage of the cooler weather to play Spike Ball in the Quad in front of the Carl Parker Building, Monday. Temperatures are expected to stay in the low 80s through next week.

EIA seeks new members with mixer Wednesday MALLORY MATT UP STAFF WRITER Salsa dancing lessons and free food will be available when the Education Initiative Association hosts the EIA Mixer, 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, in 206 Setzer Student Center.

“You’re also going to get to meet all the members and learn what we do,” vice president Richard Rosario said.

The organization visits different high schools to talk to students about the importance of education. The organization offers tutoring to the students for tests like the SATs. They also assist with the college application process.

“This is for any ethnicity, but we do have a large number of Hispanics because we’re bilingual and they feel more comfortable with us,” Rosario said.

Education for all is only part of the organization’s mission. The EIA also has a heavy focus on immigrants’ rights and to giving voices to Hispanic students.

Rosario cites the Beaumont Independent School District.

“They got grants to have translators at the schools, but Hispanics never saw any translators,” he said. “Anyone who was on free or reduced

lunch got this SAT waiver to waive the fee to take the test. Every time (Hispanics) would show up to the school’s office, the administrators would all of the sudden run out of waivers, but after the student would leave, another student would go in and walk out with a waiver. That’s something we’ve been trying to fight and going to BISD for. It wasn’t so much for the takeover, we just wanted the Hispanic people to have a voice.”

Rosario said the EIA aims to help everyone to be civically engaged.

“We get everyone registered to vote — that is not ethnicity based,” he said.

Voting has been a problem within the Hispanic community, Rosario said.

“They normally don’t vote because they don’t trust institutions,” he said. “Back in countries like Mexico and such, the political system is very corrupt. Normally there’s several candidates, but everyone already knows who’s going to win even if you all vote for another candidate. America is not like this. America is different, and our objective is to tell everyone and try to get them to trust.

“Some of the politicians have come up to us and asked us, ‘How do we get the Hispanic community to vote?’ and our big thing is to tell them that they have to engage them. You have to give them something to vote for you for.”

The EIA started off originally as students promoting the Dream Act, a piece of legislation that would allow undocumented students, and those serving in the military, to obtain citizenship. It was in Congress, but failed to be enacted into law.

“Once that failed, they turned it from the Dream Act to the Education Initiative Association to have a broader perspective of what we’re going to do, because now we do civic engagement, education and immigrant rights,” Rosario said. “Us trying to get the Hispanic community to trust a Democrat right now is very difficult, because President Obama has delayed the Dream Act, and it’s very difficult for us to tell them to support the Republicans because the Republicans, right now, are against it.

“The Hispanic community has nowhere to go.

Democrats aren’t fulfilling promises, Republicans don’t want (Hispanics) here, so they just don’t vote — and that’s what our thing is, you have to vote.”

Rosario said he hopes the mixer will inspire people to join the organization.

“Education Initiative Association isn’t just helping our immigrant community, it’s helping our community at large, because you do want to go forward in education,” he said.

For more information, email initiativetoedu cate@gmail.com, or call 234-1123.

The Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting will host an informational meeting at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, in 131 Galloway Business Building.

ALPFA is a student organization that deals with business opportunities and networking.

“ALPFA is the premier business organization for expanding opportunities of Latino leadership in the global market,” Dianne Cortinas, LU chapter president, said. “ALPFA’s mission is to create opportunities, add value and build relationships for its members, the community and its business partners, while expanding Latino leadership in the global workforce.”

The organization consists of more than 23,000 members for professionals and students with chapters nationwide.

Treasurer Elizabeth Flores said that Lamar alumni Luis Lopez, an accountant for Deloitte Consulting LLP and a member of ALPFA, will assist the group throughout the year.

“He is always willing to work with students — he’s awesome,” she said.

“He just has amazing things to say. It’s just that relationship that you get from being with ALPFA — you get to meet people, you get to make connections and network.”

The group is planning a trip to the national conference in Florida.

“ALPFA is a big thing,” Flores said. “It’s not only for schools, but actual business leaders join ALPFA. There’s a professional section and a student section. (At the conference), the professional side and the student side join together and network with each other. It’s a great thing to have on a résumé and it’s a great experience for students.”

Flores said the group was chartered in the spring, and is open to everyone.

“Membership is open to anyone who shares our values, vision and mission,” Cortinas said. “Anyone that has a business major or minor is welcome to join. They can attend any of the meetings and become a member.”

The group will have a display set up in the Galloway Building, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Friday.

For more information, visit alpfa.org.

Blessings for furry friends at Lamar Catholic Student Center MALLORY MATT UP STAFF WRITER

UP Mallory Matt

Father Tino Barrera,director of Lamar’s Catholic ministry, right, blesses Romeo, held by his owner Eric Darby, Beaumont junior, Tuesday. The center will hold a pet blessing Friday.

For many people, pets are family members and loyal companions. With that in mind, the Lamar Catholic Student Center, located next to Kampus Korner, will host the annual pet blessing at 3 p.m., Friday, in honor of the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. The ceremony will last five to 10 minutes.

“It’s just something for reminding us that they were created by God, too, and it recognizes them with their dignity as animals,” Father Tino Barrera, the center’s director of campus ministry, said.

The pet blessing is the Catholic tradition. St. Francis was known to be fond of nature and animals.

“It’s said that in the nativity scene for Christmas, (Francis) is the one who constructed it in the way we see it today — with animals added, Barrera said.

“Pets are a part of God’s creation, and so the church traditionally will bless all animals, usually around the feast of St. Francis,” he said. “The actual feast of St. Francis is Oct. 4, a Saturday this year.

“The folktale is that when he was practicing his homilies, he would go out and practice preaching to the animals.”

The ceremony has regular attendees every year, Barrera said.

“I always take my dog to get her blessed,” Sara Gubala, CSC volunteer, said. “This year, it’s particularly important for me because my dog is going to have surgery the next week, so either way, I was going to get her blessed

somewhere.”

Gubala will bring dog and cat treats to pass out at the ceremony.

“If you have a cat, bring it in a crate or something, unless you’re certain that they’re not going to get loose, because there will be lots of dogs,” she said. “If you bring anything that’s not domesticated, you should bring it in a crate, like if you bring a chicken or a pig. Somebody brought a micro pig last year.”

All denominations are welcome to bring their pets to be blessed, Gubala said.

“Everybody loves their pets whether they’re Catholic or not,” she said.

All animals must be leashed or in a kennel.

For more information, contact Kelly Delarosa at 924-4363.

God’s Economy NOTICE OF OPEN HEARING

The key to understanding the bible...

Lamar University invites students to attend an open forum on Wednesday, Oct. 8, at 3 p.m., in the Setzer Student Center Ballroom on the Lamar University campus to consider the following topic for discussion:

“...in order that you might charge certain ones no to teach different things nor give heed to myths and unending genealogies, which produce questionings rather than God’s economy, which is in faith.”

(1 Timothy 1:3b-4)

LAMAR UNIVERSITY DESIGNATED TUITION FEE

Free & non-credited classes at 5:30 p.m. every Thursday during the fall semester, in room 112 of the Family and Consumer Science Building. Come and join the class!

Sponsored by Christians on Campus

SPORTS UP SPORTS BRIEFS Men’s Golf Sophomore Mans Berglund fired a one-over par 214 to lead Lamar to a sixth-place finish at the Fighting Irish Golf Classic Tuesday at Bridgman, Mich. Lamar finished the three-day, two-course tournament with a 294-295-295—884 to climb one spot on the final day of competition.

“Mans was solid throughout the week,” head coach Brian White said.

“He has really been playing well for us the last couple of weeks. We did a good job of bunching our 2-4 golfers together, but now we need to work on getting them closer to our top player overall. We played well this week, but we still have things to work on coming out of this tournament.”

Berglund climbed a spot on the leaderboard on Tuesday's final round, to finish tied for fourth overall with a three-round 71-72-71— 214.

Sophomore Louis Bemberg improved every round after opening the tournament with a seven-over 78. He followed that up with a 75 Monday morning, and capped off the tournament with a two-over 73.

His three-round score (226) placed him in a tie for 29th with teammate Gregory Wiggins.

The Cardinals will take a monthlong break before returning to action.

Lamar's next tournament will take place on Nov. 3, when they travel to San Martin, Calif., to compete in the Gifford Collegiate.

LADY CARDS SOCCER DRAWS, LOSES ON TOUGH ROAD TRIP LANE FORTENBERRY UP CONTRIBUTOR The Lady Cardinals played two tough soccer games away this weekend.

They fell to Stephen F. Austin 2-1 in overtime on Friday, then tied Houston Baptist 1-1 on Sunday.

They are now 3-6-1 on the season with a 1-1-1 conference record.

“The game plan against SFA was great and that’s what kept us close,” coach Orlando Cervantes said. “We had a chance to score our last couple of goals and had two key missed shots in the last 5-10 minutes and didn’t capitalize.

We fought them well all game long. The last goal to tie that sent us to overtime got away from us. We’re a good team, but not great yet.”

LU’s Jannet Hernandez scored while goalkeeper Bailey Fontenot had 10 saves.

Lamar was outshot 21-13.

The winning goal was scored for SFA with just 69 seconds left to play in overtime.

“We had chances to score in overtime to finish the game against HBU,” Cervantes said.

“Bos played really well and we attacked well. We have to get better at finishing the game.“ Alejandra Amador scored and Fontenot dialed in four saves and now has 60 saves on the season.

Kristin Bos extended her Lamar career record with her 15th assist.

“We’re feeling good looking forward to this weekend,” Cervantes said. “It’s going to be nice being back at home with our home crowd. We’ve got to start taking it game by game and not get ahead of ourselves. It’ll feel good to have our home crowd with us to lift us up.”

The Lady Cardinals host Nicholls at 7 p.m., Friday, and Southeastern Louisiana at 1 p.m., Sunday.

7 Thursday, October 2, 2014

UNIVERSITY PRESS

LU DROPS SLC OPENER

Carl Harris, above, runs away from defenders in the 42-10 loss against Sam Houston State University in Provost Umphrey Stadium.

UP Coty Davis

CARDINALS FALL TO BEARKATS, WOODARD TAKES RESPONSIBILITY GRANT CRAWFORD UP SPORTS EDITOR @GrantLamarUP The Lamar football team suffered a disappointing 42-10 loss to Sam Houston State in the team’s first Southland Conference game, Saturday, at Provost Umphrey Stadium.

Head Coach Ray Woodard took the blame afterwards.

“We had an opportunity tonight to step up, play a ranked opponent, and take the next step,” he said. “I’m very disappointed in the game and I take full responsibility for it. We didn’t get the job done tonight and it’s my fault.”

The Cards struggled to create any productive drives in the first half, against a Bearkat’s team who had the SLC Defensive Player of the Week, defensive end P.J. Hall. Lamar trailed Sam Houston 19-3 going in to the locker room.

“We didn’t do enough right in the first half to give us a chance,” Woodard said. “We fought in the second (half), but you can’t spot a team a 16-point lead like that.”

Lamar fumbled the ball a total of seven times, losing three of them.

Senior Caleb Berry also threw one interception during the first drive of the game, which helped SHSU score 17 points off of turnovers.

“We left some scoring opportunities on the field with fumbles and a missed field goal,” Woodard said.

“Ball security is a problem, and that’s very uncharacteristic of us. We just didn’t play our game tonight.”

Although the time of possession was split between the teams, the Cardinals were forced to start most of their drives deep in their own territory. Woodard said it was due to a multitude of factors.

“Defensively, you’ve got to stop them from getting to half field,” he

said. “I thought their punter was outstanding — nailing the ball down. On kickoff returns we didn’t get the ball out enough. It was a combination from all three of those things.”

Quarterback Berry threw for 244 yards and one 32-yard touchdown in the second half. Berry said the team needs to execute better moving forward.

“They’re a very good defense,” Berry said. “You saw they were able to get takeaways, so I’m not going to discredit them, but we should have moved the ball more.”

Berry said he has a “next game mentality.”

“It’s an attribute you either have or you don’t,” he said. “I think the most of the guys on this team have that attribute. I’m looking forward to them getting this hump off our back and moving forward. This is in the past. This game’s in the books, and we’ve got to move on to the next one.”

Coach Woodard will now be focusing on their second conference matchup against Abilene Christian University, who won their first two conference games against Incarnate Word and Houston Baptist.

“I’ve watched them play, and they’re a very good football team,” Woodard said. “We’ve got all, but one of the conferences games left. Our season is still in front of us. I thought Sam Houston did a great job after feeling like they got embarrassed at home, and we’re going to have to do the same thing. This is not a time for us to sit around and mope. I told them if they’re not disappointed, they’re not my kind of players. I want them disappointed right now, but we’re going to have to shake this off and move on.”

The Cardinals will hit the road against the Abilene Christian Wildcats, Saturday, in Abilene. The game starts at 6 p.m.

Volleyball rallies to best SHSU in SLC opener COTY DAVIS UP CONTRIBUTOR The Lady Cardinals opened their Southland Conference volleyball schedule with a victory after rallying from two sets down to defeat the Sam Houston State Bearkats, Saturday, in McDonald Gym. This is the first victory for the Lady Cardinals this season after a tough 0-12 start. However, head coach Alan Edwards said opening the conference schedule with a victory is all that matters.

“People are going to write us down as 1-12, but as of now, we are 10,” he said. “This is a huge conference win against a team who will finish well in this conference. (They are a) very resilient group of kids and I am very proud of them.”

Early on, it seemed unlikely that the Lady Cardinals would come out with the victory after dropping the first two sets 24-26 and 21-25.

Heading into the break, Edward said he told his team that even though they were down two sets, they had to stick to the game plan.

“Volleyball is not a sport where you can have one big play and win a game or match,” he said. “We had to continue focusing on execution over time, applying pressure over time, and just being good for the long haul.

“At some point, we had to decide who we are going to be as a team — and I think today you saw a team grow up.”

The Lady Cards returned from the locker room full of intensity, taking the next two sets 25-22 and 25-17, setting up a winner-takes-all fifth set.

UP Coty Davis

The Lady Card’s volleyball team, above, celebrates during the fourth set of the 3-2 victory over Sam Houston State in McDonald Gym, Saturday. Lamar rallied from two sets down to take the Southland Conference opener and record their first win of the season.

Middle blocker Chelsea Grant, who had 17 blocks and nine kills for LU, said one of the biggest keys heading into the final set was trying to stay mentality focused.

“We were so pumped going into the fifth set, the biggest thing for us was to stay focused on keeping the momentum on our side, but yet staying mentality focused,” she said.

The fifth set was competitive, but the Lady Cardinals prevailed 16-14.

“It felt really good to finally win our first game of the season,” Grant said. “We worked so hard during preseason, even though we didn’t come out with the record we wanted, but we worked really hard and it finally showed on the court today.”

After the game, Edwards said the victory is a great way to start the conference schedule, setting the team up for success throughout the rest of the season.

As the Lady Cardinals prepare for their next game, Thursday, when they travel to face arch rival McNeese State, Edwards said the biggest thing is to keep the momentum going.

“I tell my girls every week that our practice play must look the same as when we step out on the floor,” he said. “We’ve just got to keep doing what we are doing. Big plays will come our way, but it’s about what we can do over a course of a match.”

Padilla visits LU small business center Page 8 Thursday, October 2, 2014

University Press

Jose Antonio Padilla Salgado, the director of the Olancho Valley Small Business Development Center in Catacamas, Olancho, Honduras, recently visited the Lamar University Small Business Development Center as part of the 2014 Small Business Network of the Americas Fellows Program.

“For me, it is important to know about cultures, such as how people act and how they perform everyday activities,” Padilla said. “This gives me a better perspective in decisionmaking. I think that being here and taking all this information in is going to help us in our center.”

The Lamar Small Business Development Center and the Olancho Valley Small Business Development Center were two of the 16 SBDCs in North, Central and South America chosen to participate in the SBNA Fellows Program, made possible by the U.S. Department of State’s Professional Fellows programming. The

SBNA Fellows Program matches SBDCs in the United States with foreign SBDCs to participate in a cultural exchange.

Padilla’s visit to the U.S. was the first phase of the program. David Mulcahy, director of the Lamar SBDC, will visit the Olancho Valley SBDC in Honduras in early 2015 for the second phase of the project. The cultural exchange is facilitated by the Office of Citizen Exchanges, part of the state department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in conjunction with the international non-profit organization World Learning.

“I think David is going to learn, too,” Padilla said. “Every day that we speak and talk to each other, I know that they learn something from me, too, so it’s mutual.”

Upon first arriving in the U.S., Padilla attended the 34th annual conference of the U.S. Association of

Small Business Development Centers in Grapevine, Tex. Padilla then travelled to Beaumont for the two-week fellowship with the Lamar SBDC. “When you meet another person and you see the work they’re doing, you have a different view, and you start adapting these things,” Padilla said. “While the businesses they advise are different, the structural and organizational things here are almost the same. That’s the good thing in coming here.”

The Lamar SBDC offers free consultations to local businesses as well as low-cost training programs and seminars. The Lamar SBDC is a member of the Texas Gulf Coast SBDC Network, which now serves 32 counties in south and east Texas.

“Sometimes you have the financial product, but you need the advising,” Padilla said. “People always think that they only need the money, but the advising helps with knowing

Jose Antonio Padilla Salgado how their business will do in the future. In order to achieve this, you need a business plan, market research, and financial analysis. That’s what a center does. It helps to support and to grow the business

through advising.”

For more information on the Lamar SBDC or the SBNA Fellows Program, contact David Mulcahy at 880-2367 or visit www.lamarbmt.sbdc network.net.

Math pathway to success for TALH’s Chris York

Chris York

By the end of 10th grade, Chris York of Beaumont had already completed Calculus I, Calculus II and self-taught himself advanced mathematics. His local high school offered no additional math courses.

Good family friend and former LU professor Joseph Watt recommended York consider Lamar University’s Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities. Watt taught engineering at Lamar from 1965 to 1996.

York applied to, and was accepted into TALH, a residential honors program for gifted and talented Texas high school-aged students who seek to develop their full potential as citizens and who show special interest and aptitude for study in the Humanities.

“The administrators are very supportive,” York said of the Academy’s leadership, “and so are the students.”

York’s mathematical journey began in 4th grade, when he found a book titled “Painless Algebra” at a school book fair. By the 8th grade, he was a regular consumer of well-known online calculus notes posted

by LU’s associate professor of mathematics Paul Dawkins.

York’s studies resulted in advanced placement credits for Calculus for Business

Application, Pre-Calculus, Calculus & Analytical Geometry I, and Calculus & Analytical Geometry II. At the Academy, York continued to excel taking the advance level mathematics course Ordinary Differential Equations at the age of 16. He achieved a perfect GPA in his first semester, was recognized on the President’s List, and continued to exhibit academic prowess in the spring in both Linear Algebra I and Calculus III. At the conclusion of the semester his perfect GPA and status on the President’s List were intact.

He is now enrolled in Real Analysis I, a senior level mathematics course. The 2015 National Merit Scholarship Program also commended York for his scholarship.

In addition to his course work, York is actively engaged in the learning community of Lamar University. He competed in April at the 94th Annual Meeting of the Texas Section of the Mathematical Association of America at Texas A&M International University in Laredo as a member of Lamar’s mathematics team, earning 1st place in the calculus bowl.

His peers recognized York’s mathematical prowess and leadership and elected

him president of the Lamar University Math Club. He also serves as a teaching assistant to Valentin Andreev, professor of mathematics, where he helps grade group assignments, attends classes and assists students in learning the material.

York is working on an independent research project titled, “Enumerating kth Roots in the Symmetric Inverse Monoid,” in response to a paper published in the undergraduate math journal Pi Mu Epsilon, published in 2012.

He will present his research at Lamar’s STEM conference, Saturday, and at the Texas Undergraduate Math Conference Oct. 17-18, at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches.

He will graduate with a degree in mathematics and a minor in physics. His career goals are to earn a doctorate in pure mathematics and teach at a prestigious university.

For information on the Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities, email texas.academy@lamar.edu, or call 8392995.

Visit TALH at www.lamar.edu/texasacademy-of-leadership-in-the-humanities or on Facebook at texas.academy.

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