October 30, 2014

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

The Newspaper of Lamar University Vol. 91, No. 9

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Countdown to Homecoming BONFIRE, PEP RALLY, TAILGATING TO CROWN WEEK-LONG CELEBRATION BRANDIANNE HINTON UP CONTRIBUTOR

UP Lainie Harris

Lamar University students crowd around to watch Lamar Alpha's step during the cake cutting ceremony in the Setzer Student Center, Oct. 27.

Homecoming week is in full swing as fun and exciting events on campus fill the week building up to Lamar football’s Homecoming game against Houston Baptist University, Saturday, at Provost Umphrey stadium.

The Bonfire and Pep Rally will be held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., tonight, at the bonfire field next to the driving range on University Drive. The bonfire will follow the “Firefighter Games,” which will be held from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Friday activities kick off with the Cardinal Craze Car Smash on the SSC back patio by the senior parking lot, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“We get an old junker-car donated from a local wrecking yard and we spray paint it with the colors of the school that we are fighting on Saturday — in this case, it’s blue and orange for the HBU Huskies — and we bash it up with sledgehammers,” Jeanes said.

No tickets or purchase is required for participation.

The world is not black and white. In Lee Blessing’s play “Eleemosynary,” three women live in a grey area searching for one need — forgiveness.

Lamar University will present the 1985 play, Nov. 6-8 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. in the Studio Theatre.

The three women are played

by Tracie VanLaw, Sydney Haygood and Hannah Barker.

“The play is about the relationships between a grandmother, a mother and her daughter,” VanLaw, Beaumont junior, said. “The mother and the grandmother have a very strained relationship. That kind of made the relationship between the daughter and the mother very strained as well. The grandmother actually ended up taking care of her granddaughter.”

The play takes place in the 1980s, but the audience transitions through the characters’ memories that take place in different years.

“It’s just three people,” VanLaw said. “There’s Dorothea, the grandmother, Artemis, or ‘Artie,’ the mother, and Echo, the granddaughter. I play Artie. She is a

biochemist. All of the women are very intelligent. Echo can spell words without even ever having to see them. Artemis remembers everything — every memory.

One of my monologues is talking about how I can remember my Social Security number, the ingredients for Raisin Bran, what I weighed when I was 12 and what my mother said about my weight.

“Dorothea is very intelligent as well. She is a little eccentric because she wanted to go to college, but when she graduated from high school, her father had her marry this guy that she was dating. Because she was kind of forced into the marriage, she didn’t get to go to college like she wanted to. She ended up getting pregnant about three weeks after they were married. Basically, everyone has always decided her life.”

In the 1940s, Dorothea met a spiritualist and he opens her eyes to the eccentric lifestyle, VanLaw said.

“She’s always wanted to escape her traditional lifestyle,” she said. “What I really like is the quote where the spiritualist asks her if she just wants to escape and she says, ‘What would my See ELEEMOSYNARY, page 5

See HOMECOMING, page 1

LU announces $1 million donation from Gill Foundation

LU theater to present ‘Eleemosynary’ Nov. 6-9 MALLORY MATT UP STAFF WRITER

“You just have to wear safety goggles,” Jeanes said.

A Halloween costume contest will round out the week of activities before game day, as students compete for best costume in the SSC Arbor from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Jeanes said that things will wrap up early, so that people can get to Halloween parties. The event will feature entertainment between categories.

“This is a collaborative effort between some of the entertainment and fashion groups on campus, so I think they’re really going to impress us with what they bring,” Jeanes said.

The categories for the costume contest are “scariest or funniest,” “most realistic or fantasy” and “best transformation,” which is geared specifically toward the community of make-up artists on campus.

Game day celebrations begin at 9 a.m. with alumni tailgating at the Montagne Center where there will be a live band, to be announced later, and food in

Sydney Haygood, left, Hannah Barker and Tracie VanLaw rehearse a scene from “Eleemosynary,” which opens Nov. 6 in the Studio Theater.

Lamar announced a major gift to support innovation-based entrepreneurship programs at the university, Thursday.

The Gill Foundation of Texas, founded by Jack and Linda Gill, will donate $1 million to support major initiatives at the university. Jack Gill, a graduate of Lamar University, holds a doctorate in organic chemistry from Indiana University.

Half of the gift will add support to the Jack M. Gill Endowed Chair in the College of Engineering, and half will support LU’s Center for Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship.

“This contribution from Linda and I is a vote of confidence in the capacity of universities to accelerate entrepreneurship in society,” Jack Gill said. “Entrepreneurship drives the economy and brings advances in science, engineering, and medicine to market so everyone can benefit.”

The gift will enhance the capacity and reach of the CICE to foster innovation at the university and technology entrepreneurship across the region, director Paul Latiolais said.

Part of the donation will be used to create student internships and crossdisciplinary teams to support new ventures in a “learning lab” environment in the new Business Accelerator scheduled for completion in early 2016, Latiolais added.

Center localizes cochlear implant services MICHELLE BURDETT UP CONTRIBUTOR Children and adults with profound hearing loss can regain hearing through Cochlear Implanting. As more individuals pursue Cochlear Implants, the need for a local mapping center has increased, and now the Lamar University department of speech and hearing has established the first Cochlear Implant Evaluation and Mapping Center in Southeast Texas.

“Everyone who has gotten a cochlear implant has gotten it in Houston, and they all have to go back and forth to Houston for mapping and adjustments,” Vickie B. Dionne, associate professor of audiology, said. “That is a big expense for time and

www.facebook.com/UPLamar

money — it takes a child out of school for an entire day and the parent out of work.

“By having it here, the child can come after school and the parent will not have to miss an entire day of work — it is a winwin for everyone.”

A cochlear implant is an electrical coil that is implanted into the cochlear — the auditory portion of the inner ear — that send electrical signals to tell the brain what to hear.

“The mapping is where we are going to look at how much electrical current is flowing across the coil, and here at the clinic we can go in and change the intensity of the signal,” Dionne said. “We do that because we want to be able to hear different sounds. We can test them and adjust

them to give them better hearing. Over time the connections can get muddy — skin can grow over them or the fluid may change — and so we need to change the current.”

Once a recipient has received a CI, they must attend intensive audiology appointments where doctors and audiologists examine the implanted electrode and refine the electrical currents that are sent to the nerve, ensuring the brain processes speech through the electrical stimulation correctly.

Children need to be evaluated every 3-6 months until they are adults, Dionne said. Adults are generally evaluated once See AUDIOLOGY, page 5

www.lamaruniversitypress.com

UP Michelle Burdett

A patient and her mother work remotely with Dr. Jennifer Wickesburg, audiology director at The Center for Hearing and Speech in Houston, to correct her cochlear implant at Lamar's Cochlear Implant Evaluation and Mapping Center.

www.twitter.com/UPLamar

INSIDE Thursday, October 30, 2014 University Press

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HOMECOMING •••••••••••••••••••• Continued from page 1 parking lot A-5 under the marquee.

“The Alumni Homecoming Tailgate is a great opportunity for LU alumni to get together before the Homecoming game for food, fun and fellowship, while they prepare to cheer on the Cardinals,” Linda Embs LeBlanc, director of alumni affairs, said in an email interview. “This year we will be serving gumbo, chili and Frito Pie, and a variety of beverages. In addition to alumni giveaways, we’ve added activities including washer boards and a photo booth.”

Stephen McKenzie, assistant director of marketing and promotions for Lamar athletics, said there will also be a tailgating spot for Bud Light, and Q94 will be doing a live remote broadcast from the event.

The Lamar University Homecoming Parade will begin at 11 a.m. It starts at the corner of Jim Gilligan Way and Jimmy Simmons Boulevard and ends at the Plummer Building.

After the parade, Lunch on the Lawn will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Cherry Engineering Building and will feature area food trucks.

“Hopefully, we’re going to have a beautiful day, and it’s so pretty out on the Cherry lawn.” Courtney Horton, assistant to the president, said. “We thought that would be a fun place for families and other guests to gather in the afternoon after the parade.”

Other game day activities will include a variety of events for students and alumni of all ages.

The Walk of Honor dedication will be held at 3 p.m. in the Quad on game day. President Kenneth Evans will speak at the official unveiling.

The Spindletop Yount Lee Equestrian Day will be held at the Spindletop Gladys City/Boomtown Museum from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., including a reenactment of the eruption of the Lucas Gusher.

An Art Extravaganza will be held in the Art Building featuring a show, sale and free paint workshop for all ages, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Tailgating activities include a Kid Zone at the LU Dauphin Athletic Complex Practice Field, 3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.

“We usually have three or four bounce house inflatables where kids can go and bounce and play around on the football practice fields,” McKenzie said. “We also have Big Red and LU, our mascots — they stop and visit for about 30 minutes and interact with the kids.”

The football team will participate in the Walk of Champions from Brooks-Shivers Dining Hall to Provost Umphrey Stadium at Completing the week of celebration, the Homecoming game against Houston Baptist University is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

NOTICE

“Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.”

— H.G. Wells

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.

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

CALENDAR October 30 Advisement begins for Winter Mini session and Spring 2015

November 1 Football: Lamar vs. Houston Baptist Provost Umphrey Stadium Kickoff at 6 p.m.

November 3 Last day to drop without academic penalty.

November 4 Last day for undergrads to apply /pay for Dec. 2014 graduation.

November 5 Speed Networking Setzer Student Center Ballroom 10 a.m. to noon

November 6 Registrastion begins for Winter Mini/ Spring 2015 - Special Populations Eleemosynary Studio Theatre 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

November 7 Eleemosynary Studio Theatre 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

November 8 Eleemosynary Studio Theatre 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

November 10 AP Fall II 11-weeks ends Academic Lecture Series: Judith Jamison, Alvin Ailey Artistic Director University Theatre 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

To submit a listing, click on the calendar link at lamaruniversitypress.com

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EDITORIAL 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.

UP EDITORIAL

DRIVE SAFE, WALK SAFE, KEEP LU SAFE Lamar is a walker-friendly campus.

In other words, one should be able to walk from building to building, or even to the other side of campus, without really having to worry about crossing busy streets or other dangers such as cars and motorbikes popping up in unexpected places.

It’s a great thing to be able to make it on foot to a class on the other side of campus within the 15 minutes between classes.

However, Lamar being a walker-friendly campus doesn’t mean that walkers can do whatever they want to. Walkers who aren’t aware of their surroundings can be just as dangerous as drivers who do not pay attention to their environment.

Don’t text and walk — especially when there are other people, or even worse, cars around.

It can get pretty busy around the center of campus between classes, and students walking around with their head down, looking at their phone, are bound to bump into other people, or objects.

More dangerous is when these texting walkers enter parking lots. Some people seem to think that it’s OK to walk into a parking lot without even looking up, and simply assume that all the cars will stop. It would probably be a safer choice to look up for a second, just to make sure.

Drivers don’t always see a pedestrian who suddenly appears from between two parked cars.

The same applies to people driving around campus, though. Please stick to the guidelines.

It’s not always easy to find a good parking spot, but don’t suddenly jump into fifth gear when a vacant spot opens up in the distance.

On Monday, one of our UP staffers got hit by a car as he was walking on campus. Luckily, he didn’t get hurt. That same day another UP staff member almost got into a head-on collision with a car driving in the wrong direction in a parking lot.

Our campus is generally a safe place for both pedestrians and drivers. Let’s pay attention as we walk and drive around a campus so that Lamar can keep its walker-friendly reputation.

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 ................................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, ......................................Jared McClelland Advertising .............................Melissa Conley

Thursday, October 30, 2014

UNIVERSITY PRESS

Talk, don’t shoot Removing stigma of therapy could ease violence Last week, the world witnessed yet another school shooting. Jaylen Fr yberg, a freshman at a Washington high school, opened fire in his school’s cafeteria. One girl was killed at the scene, another four were injured — one of who passed away Sunday in the hospital.

School shootings have become such a common event over the years that it’s barely shocking anymore.

That’s what’s truly shocking about it — the fact that a high school student can bring a gun into a school, shoot several of his classmates and, as in the most recent case, top it off with a bullet through his own head, and my first reaction is a weary, “Ugh, it happened again?”

When did we start living in a world where school shootings aren’t one of the most shocking things there are?

According to ever ytown.org, last week’s Mar ysville shooting was the 50th school shooting this year, and the 87th since Sandy Hook.

This is not normal, and it should never, ever become normal.

Past teenage shooters struggled with being bullied or with depression, but in this case, Jaylen Fryberg was a popular kid with friends and family, who had not too long ago been named Homecoming

COMMENTARY

by

Lauren Van Gerven

prince.

So what was his problem? Apparently, he had simply been turned down by a girl he liked. This is something that happens to ever y person at one point or another, and it’s definitely not a reason to buy a gun and go on a shooting spree.

Apart from easy gun access, mental health is an important factor in these school-shooting cases.

A lovesick 14-year-old needs someone to talk to. He needs to know that what he feels is normal, and that ending his life is not the solution. The last thing he needs is a gun.

A lot of schools and campuses have counseling available at their health center.

If they don’t, they should.

But also, it is important that students

Lauren Van Gerven is UP Editor

UP illustration by Desmond Pickens

Foul-mouthed fledgling feminists PRETTY PRINCESSES SHOCK WORLD INTO EQUALITY AWARENESS Potty-mouthed princesses.

The new viral video making the rounds has raised some concerns, but more importantly, it’s raising awareness.

The video starts out looking like a typical played-out, gender-stereotyped commercial with five little girls in princess dresses saying “pretty”— and that’s when it takes a new turn.

These little princesses start dropping f-bombs and dropping some facts.

This is where it gets tricky. Some people take offense to little girls saying the f-word.

Obviously, it’s not the cleanest way to get a point across, but at the end of the day it made people watch it.

Little girls cursing is shocking — but not as shocking as the facts they are talking about.

Women make 23 percent less than men for the exact same work. According to the American Association of University Women, the pay gap has barely budged in a decade.

COMMENTARY

by

Kristen Stuck

Women in every state experience the pay gap and it is in nearly every occupation. It’s far worse for women of color and it grows with age.

Probably the most shocking of the facts is that one out of five women will be sexually assaulted or raped by a man.

“1. 2. 3. 4. 5.”

The organization behind the video, FCKH8, drives this fact home by having these

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know that it is OK to go to counseling and to seek help. When one is having problems — no matter how big or small they may seem — the worst thing to do is not to deal with them.

Counseling needs to become more socially acceptable. One is not weak when one seeks helps to deal with certain issues. On the contrar y, it takes a lot of courage to face problems, and to open up about them.

At Lamar, there are two places students can go to if they need help with their problems. Students currently enrolled at Lamar can go to the Student Health Center to receive mental health/psychological counseling. The Psychology Clinic, located at 200 Social and Behavioral Sciences, offers counseling ser vices free of charge to Lamar students as well as to members of the local community.

So, if we are worried about someone, we should encourage them to deal with their problems and to seek help.

Violence is never the answer, and school shootings should never become “just one of those things that happens from time to time.”

Photo courtesy of www.fckh8.com

five little girls count out and ask which one of them will it be.

Annually, 1.3 million American women will be victims of rape or attempted rape.

Out of those assaults, 70 percent of the rapists will never spend a day in jail. Out of every 100 rapes, only 40 will be reported, 10 will lead to an arrest, eight will be prosecuted, four will lead to a conviction, and only three will spend at least a day in jail. The other 97 will walk free.

The girls go on to say that instead of ridiculing what women wear, we should just teach boys not to rape women.

Another issue that these little women bring up is the cost of telling a girl she always needs to “be pretty.” Although it is a compliment, it teaches girls that their bodies are more important then their brain.

It even points out that when someone tells a boy that it is bad to act “like a girl,” it comes down to society thinking that it is bad to be a girl.

Near the end of the video, adult women point out that instead of wanting to wash the girls mouths out with soap, that maybe society should clean its act up instead.

Personally, I think this is a brilliant use of these little kids. Some are arguing that it could be child abuse, but I think that is a pretty far stretch in this day and age. If allegations are true, Mama June from Honey Boo Boo has put her kids in far more danger than these moms have by letting their kids drop the fbomb in a video that has a deeper point to it.

So instead of focusing on one single word from the video, maybe we should focus on the other F-word — facts. Although we’ve come far in the fight for equality, we still have a long way to go.

Kristen Stuck is UP Managing Editor

Page 4A Thursday, October 30, 2014

University Press

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University Press Thursday, October 30, 2014

Chills in Southeast Texas woods

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CLOWNS, ZOMBIES AND CRIMINALLY INSANE COMBINE FOR SCARY EVENING AT THE HAUNTED VIILLAGE LAINIE HARRIS UP CONTRIBUTOR Deep in the woods and swamps of east Texas, a small village sits quietly waiting to scare the unsuspecting visitor. The village is built on the backstory of the Winslow clan.

Those searching for an evening of frights and terror need look no further than The Haunted Village, which consists of three different houses — House of the Criminally Insane, Coulrophobia and Undead Annihilation.

Located in the town of Dam B, between Woodville and Jasper. The oneof-a-kind attraction was opened in 2009 by Kevin Irvin.

The unique quality of The Haunted Village derives from the plot behind the scares.

“There are some haunted houses that you’ll walk into, and there will be a jail cell, and you turn the corner and there’s an alien scene, then you turn the corner and there’s a werewolf scene, and it’s just kind of things that are scary,” Kevin said.

Irvin’s mother, Sonja Cowart, wrote the story about the Winslow family who immigrated from Germany in the late 1800s. “(The Winslows) got here, bought some land and were digging on the land and found a mineral that had kind of a glow to it,” Kevin said.

“They started finding out it had some of the similar properties as uranium.

They started messing with it, making it pure and processing it in a factory, and when that happened they found out that it made people turn into zombie-like creatures, and it made all the animals grow large and scary — they kind of got ravenous and wanted to eat things. The state of Texas was so worried about it, because people were so wild and crazy, that they actually had to put an asylum on the property because they were too dangerous to move them — that’s where it all started.”

Spook houses became popular in the late 1970s, Kevin said.

“When I was a kid, in like sixth grade, we had a two-car garage where I lived in Groves, and I built one in the garage,” he said. “I had some pretty good little scares in there, and I just did it for fun. I handed out brochures and people came — I scared them. I was in sixth grade and I was scaring seniors, it was, like, power.

“We didn’t have a lot, probably

had about 50 or 60 people come from the area. My mom made some fliers for me and everything, and I always thought how cool it would be to have a haunted house.”

Together Kevin and his wife, Brenda, create the spooky characters and scenarios for the Haunted Village.

After about a year’s worth of research, they went to the TransWorld convention in St. Louis.

“You learn all about makeup and you take classes on sound and safety,” Brenda said, “It’s just basic how to scare and what’s scary, all that kind of stuff,” Kevin added. “We met a lot of the people off ‘Face Off,’ I’m really good friends with Tom Devlin. On our Facebook page we have a picture of a woman holding a baby, and he made the woman’s head for me.”

The couple say that they are looking to expand into the retail side of the business. They will sell props and makeup to other haunters.

They build all of the props in the Haunted Village themselves. They get ideas from research, watching scary movies and picking each other’s brains — figuratively, not literally, of course.

“We haven’t gone to a lot of haunted houses, so all the scares of ours are what come out of our brains,” Kevin said.

They ask each other questions like, “Do you think that’d be scary?,” and they tweak the ideas throughout the season.

“We built about five different props or scares at the haunt,” Kevin said. “We take our time, they’re all pneumatic and electronically controlled. I do hours and hours of drafting and drawing to get the ideas on paper and get it right — hours. I go through a lot of graph paper.”

When a friend suggested clowns at the haunt, the couple came up with the idea for Coulrophobia, which means fear of clowns. Kevin said that every time a different haunt is added, they work it into the story.

“The clowns are from a circus that came into town, and they were all the normal circus, carnival types, but when the factories were running the mineral the stuff got in the water and that’s how everyone got exposed, and that’s how the clowns started going crazy,” he said.

After attending Hauntcon, convention consultant Leonard Pickel visited the village.

ELEEMOSYNARY •• Continued from page 1 husband think?’ and he says, ‘The best thing about it is, no one holds an eccentric responsible.’ From then on, she never felt the need to listen to a thing anybody said.”

Once Dorothea became eccentric, that granted her freedom, but at the same time, that’s what ends up hurting the relationship between Artie and Dorothea, VanLaw said.

“She also kind of forced a certain lifestyle on Artie, which was done to her, because she was trying to get Artie to go to college and do all the things that she always wanted to do,” she said. “She pushed so much that she pushed Artie away. Because of all the things that happened, Artie doesn’t think that she can be a mother and so she actually leaves Echo with Dorothea.

It isn’t until Dorothea has a stroke that Artie comes back and they try to be a family. It doesn’t work at first but Echo is the one who tries to make it happen.”

The play is about the grey areas of life, VanLaw said.

“You want to be mad at Artie for not

“Most of his ideas were helpful, they really were,” Kevin said. “It has got us up to that next level. We’re at that level right now, if we finish having a good year this year, we can take a giant step. My goal is to really have a full-fledged haunted amusement park.”

Undead Annihilation allows customers to have a hands-on experience.

“We give the customers a paintball gun, and zombies try to attack them in our graveyard, and they get to kill the zombies,” Kevin said.

“All three haunts are over a football field long, the biggest one is 420 feet, that’s Coulrophobia,” he said.

Kevin said they are always looking for actors and are looking to start a social club — The Village Idiots.

“Basically, it’s going to be an acting troupe, that all year long we’ll do some benefit stuff and we’ll do some hanging out together, bowling and movies, and try to recruit good actors for the haunted house,” he said.

“We’re the Haunted Village, so we say, “Hey we’re the Village Idiots.”

Kevin plays the part of Augustus Winslow, the family patriarch.

“His ghost roams the property every night, and his body’s bound to stay here until all the things that he messed up go away,” he said.

An animatronic Augustus Winslow sits upon his crypt to tell the family’s story to arriving customers.

“I do anywhere from two to 25 people at a time,” Kevin said. “I sit them down and I have Augie Winslow, an animatronic, tell the story of the village, how everything happened as well as the rules. Then they can go to any of the three houses they want.”

After the season, which ends Nov. 1 this year, is over, the Haunted Village is dismantled. In January, the couple start working on the next season.

“Everything we’ve taken down for the year we have to put it back up, and then we have to build buildings, put in safety equipment, electronics, electrical,” Kevin said, “We start from scratch.

“It’s a business, but it’s really a labor of love — it’s just something we enjoy doing.”

The Haunted Village is open Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m. to midnight. Tickets are $10 for one attraction, $15 for two and $20 for all three attractions. Lamar students re-

taking care of her daughter but there’s reasons because of that,” she said. “You want to blame Dorothea for what’s happened to Artie, but no one is really at fault. There’s no person to blame. It’s not that simple.

The play is equally centered around all three of the characters. Each action that each character does effects the timeline.

And it’s not a straight timeline either. We go from the present to the past so often. It should be very clear with our transitions.”

VanLaw said it was clear when she first read it that it is a great play.

“It touches on serious things but it has a lot of humor,” she said. “It’s dramatic with comedic elements. The serious points that it touches on are definitely the relationships between the characters. There’s so many complexities behind these characters. They are very much three-dimensional and there’s a lot of grey area. That’s the thing — people want to blame someone but none of them are at fault. In my opinion, you kind of fall in love with all of the characters.”

Lexi McDonald wil lplay the part of Artie Nov. 8.

For more information, call 880-2250.

Photos by Lainie Harris

The Haunted Village in Dam B features a trio of frightening experiences including clowns, monsters and animatronic ancestors. ceive a $5 discount on the ticket including all three attractions, with valid ID. VIP tickets are $35. Active military get in free. Parking is free.

Tickets can be purchased at the Haunted Village and are available on-

AUDIOLOGY ••• Continued from page 1 a year or if they feel like something has changed and needs adjusting.

A child must be born deaf or have a profound hearing impairment from birth to age 10 in order to qualify to receive a CI. “When we have a patient who we think would be better suited with a cochlear implant, we refer the patient to an implant center and a surgeon for evaluation,” Dionne said.

Once the patient has received their implant, they are referred back to the clinic for maintenance mapping.

“We do not have a surgeon here that does implants locally,” Dionne said. “My audiologists that work with cochlear implants work along side a surgeon. The surgeon inserts the electrode and the audiologist does all the mapping.”

Dr. Jennifer Wickesburg, au-

line at dambhauntedvillage.com.

For more information, visit dambhauntedvillage.com or on Facebook at Dam B Haunted Village, email kevin@dambhauntedhouse.com, or call 466-8795.

diology director at The Center for Hearing and Speech in Houston, works alongside Lamar Audiology faculty, doctorate level students, and local CI recipients in a live, real-time interaction through a remote interface.

“Dr. Wickesburg has access to our computers and can manipulate it throughout the therapy and mapping sessions.” Dionne said.

“She may also guide the doctoral student during the therapy session so that they may learn as we go along.”

In addition to providing critical services, the clinic will educate and train audiology doctoral students who have had limited exposure to CI patients until now. The collaboration allows audiology students to gain hands-on experience with all three devices during their clinical rotation.

Dionne said that one little girl had not had a mapping session in two years due to the difficulties of getting to Houston.

“She was not getting benefit from her Cochlear implant,” Dionne said. “She has been in school and probably not shown as much progress as she should have had she been able to hear.”

Sertoma awarded the department a grant to purchase the equipment for the expansion, including remote conferencing interface equipment, pediatricfriendly furniture, unique clinical toys and a desktop computer to run the implant software.

The center will initially see 24 CI patients a week. The number will increase over time as training progresses.

“Our goal is to see better results for these kids and for them to have a more positive outcome at school,” Dionne said. “What I think we will see with adults, is that they will be more comfortable with not having to travel to Houston, so they will benefit more from their CI than they would have before.”

Page 6A Thursday, October 30, 2014

University Press

University Press Thursday, October 30, 2014

Page 7A

Football looks to crown Homecoming festivities with win GRANT CRAWFORD UP SPORTS EDITOR @GrantLamarUP The Cardinal football team is coming off of a bye week headed into this year’s Homecoming game against Houston Baptist University. With an extra week to prepare, head coach Ray Woodard said the team will be rejuvenated after a long rest.

“I thought (the bye week) came at a good time,” he said. “Right in the middle of conference play. We’ve played four tough ones, and we’ve got four tough ones left. We should come back very refreshed.

“I know I’m excited. It’s Homecoming week. It’s a big game. I’m excited just to get back and get to work.”

HBU recorded their first South-

land Conference win of the year last week, when they defeated Nicholls State, 31-21.

The last time Lamar played, they traveled to Nicholls State and defeated the Colonels, 63-21. Senior Caleb Berry had a career game, becoming the school’s all-time leader in completions, total yards of offense and passing yards. His performance earned him a spot on the National Performer of the Year watch list.

“Caleb has earned this honor,” Woodard said. “He has really taken it upon himself to get better through discipline and hard work. We are all very proud of what he has accomplished, and what he will still accomplish here at Lamar.”

Berry will look to continue his hot streak against HBU, who allowed al-

The Lamar Lady Cardinals pounded out 24 hits on the day as they swept Weatherford College by scores of 11-8 and 10-0 in a fall softball doubleheader at Port Arthur Memorial High School, Saturday.

Casey Cromwell and Sable Hankins each had five hits on the afternoon for Lamar, while Taylor Duck blasted a three-run home run in the nightcap.

“I was very happy with the way we hit today,” Lamar coach Holly Bruder said. “We had a good week of practice working on being aggressive at the plate and on the bases, and it paid off today.”

Lamar received a strong starting effort from pitcher Laura Napoli in the second game. The freshman right-hander allowed two hits over five innings, striking out three, to earn the win.

Shannon Sain pitched two innings of one-hit relief with one strikeout to wrap things up.

“We did a lot of good things today,” Bruder said. “We played solid defense in both games and we got great pitching in the second game.

That’s the way we have to play if we want to contend in the Southland Conference this spring.”

Starter Lauren Dannelley was the winning pitcher in the first game, allowing two runs over four innings, striking out four.

downs.

“They like to run the ball first, to set up the pass,” Woodard said.

“They’re kind of similar to Nicholls, as far as their philosophy goes. If we can get at them early, and make them throw the ball more than they want to, then it takes them away from what they do best.”

The Huskies held their last opponent to a scoreless fourth quarter last week, and completed the comeback to beat Nicholls. Lamar will look to have Berry connect with his big-time receivers, Mark Roberts and Reggie Begelton, to prevent that from happening this week.

“When we’re on offense, you’ve got to be concerned about Mark beating you over the top,” Woodard said.

“Marks been seeing a lot of zone on his

side, and that’s opened up Reggie more underneath. When you put Reggie and Mark on the same side, they’re going to get a lot of attention.”

Lamar is now 5-3 (2-2 SLC). The last time LU had a winning season was in 1979, and Woodard said he likes their chances to change that.

“We’re more confident going into the last four games,” he said. “We’re well aware that we’re 5-3 right now. For a team that’s 2-2 (in conference), we have a lot left to play for. I like how we played over at Nicholls, but we know we have four tough teams next. I like our team. We’re in a good spot, and we know what we need to do.”

The Homecoming game will kickoff at 6 p.m., Saturday, at Provost Umphrey Stadium. The game will be aired on ESPN 3.

Soccer

UP SPORTS BRIEFS Softball

most 400 offensive yards last week.

“Caleb doesn’t make every pass, but he does a good job at going to his second and third choice and finding the open guy,” Woodard said. “Caleb is way ahead of a lot quarterbacks.”

This week’s Homecoming activities include a bonfire and parade but Woodard said it shouldn’t cause too much of a distraction for the players.

“I told our players, our part of Homecoming is to win the football game,” he said. “We’ll be ready to play.

We’re going to have our normal routine and do everything we need to do to get ready.”

HBU had 266 yards rushing in their last game. Lamar will need to force long third downs, and Woodard said he wants to do that by stopping their running ability on first and second

The Lamar Lady Cardinals saw their hopes for a berth in the Southland Conference Tournament come to an end as they played to a scoreless tie at Incarnate Word in a women’s soccer game Sunday in San Antonio.

Bailey Fontenot made six saves for Lamar, as she extended her school career record for shutouts to 14. Fontenot moved to within one of Jennifer Gibbs’ LU career record of 326 saves. Fontenot’s efforts weren’t enough, however, as the Lady Cardinals (4-11-2 overall, 46-2 Southland) were shut out for the fifth consecutive game. Lamar is 0-4-1 in that span.

Senior midfielder Kristin Bos appeared in her 76th game in a Lamar uniform, as she moved past Lisa Topping into sole possession of the Lamar career mark for games played.

Lamar dominated play, outshooting Incarnate Word 26-14, but Lamar had just three shots on goal. Heather Kowalik made three saves to pick up the shutout for Incarnate Word (2-11-3, 2-4-3).

The Lady Cardinals close out their 2014 season when they host Central Arkansas at 7 p.m., Friday ,on Senior Night.

There are special Halloween activities planned. Tickets are available online at www.LamarCardinals.com. Tickets may also be purchased from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. weekdays at the Montagne Center ticket office or by calling 880-1715. Tickets will be available at the Lamar Soccer Complex box office.

UP Michelle Burdett

Wheelies & baskets Students and staff participated in Intramural Sports’ wheelchair basketball tournament, Oct. 23, as part of October’s National Disability Awareness Month. The event was held in McDonald Gym. The participants included both wheelchair users and able bodied, with all competing on equal terms. The action was competitive but the players also had a lot of fun. Jason Harrington, intramural and sports club coordinator, said he hopes the event will lead to a new wheelchair basketball league next spring.

UP Coty Davis

L AMAR UNIVERSI T Y ACADEMIC LECTURE SERIES PRESENTS

Judith Jamison Artistic Director, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater 50th Hall of Fame Inductee at the National Dance Museum

Monday, November 10, 2014 7:30pm t Lamar University Theatre Free Public Lecture

“People come to see beauty, and I dance to give it to them.”

– JUDITH JAMISON

(409) 880-8137 t LAMAR.EDU The Academic Lecture Series is hosted by the College of Fine Arts and Communication and is paid for by student service fees.

COMING NOVEMBER 20

Brandon Price to speak at entrepreneur lecture series

Page 8A Thursday, October 30 , 2014

University Press

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Emerging Innovations in the Life Sciences (and Why You Need to Think Like an Entrepreneur)â&#x20AC;? will be Brandon Priceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s topic for the latest talk in the Entrepreneurial Lecture Series, scheduled for Tuesday at 11:10 a.m. in Landes Auditorium in the Galloway Building.

The lecture series, sponsored in part by ExxonMobil and hosted by the Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, features successful entrepreneurs who share their experiences with students in the College of Business and the community.

Price has more than 30 years experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, and co-founded Biogenin, a Mexican company that develops and licenses human and veterinary pharmaceuticals for Latin American markets. He has been CEO of four biotechnology startups, and has worked for Cardinal Health and Ortho Diagnostic Systems. In addition, Price co-founded the Institute for Cell Analysis at the University of Miami, Fla. and the International Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence at the University of Guadalajara.

He has served as board chair of the Virginia Biotechnology Association, Marylandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s counterpart, MdBIO, and was named 2001 Biotechnology Leader of the Year in Virginia. Price sits on the board of directors of four companies and chairs the Advisory Board for the Professional Science Management Program in Bioinformatics at Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, Va.). He is a visiting professor at the University of Guadalajara School of Business where he teaches the course â&#x20AC;&#x153;Entrepreneurism and Business Planning.â&#x20AC;? He holds Bachelor of Science and doctorate degrees in biophysics from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and is the author of more than 50 articles in the scientific and business literature.

The lecture is open to the public without charge.

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; WORLD VIEW â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

Sharmin Jahan, Dhaka, Bangladesh graduate student What is the most common misconception about your home countr y?

First, they ask, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Where is that?â&#x20AC;? Then I have to explain to them the location is geographically around India, the Bay of Bengal, Myanmar. Some people do know the country because of the cricket team, or the Nobel Prize-winner Muhammad Yunus, or the independence war we had.

Some donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even know that it is a country. A lot of people think we are a part of India, but India is a friendly neighboring country â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Bangladesh is not a part of India.

What would you like people to know about your home countr y?

We are a country who has fought for their language, we had a war based on the language because we were a part of Pakistan. We were known as East Pakistan before 1971 and they imposed their language on us â&#x20AC;&#x201D; we speak Bengali, they speak Urdu. They kind of imposed their language on us and we wanted to keep our language so this is one of the most significant things about us, I feel, and something to be remembered for.

Apart from that we have a very good cricket team

and we have Nobel prize winner professor Yunus.

We fought our independence war within nine months and liberated ourselves, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great country with culture.

What is a big cultural dif ference between the U.S. and your home countr y?

Thanks to technological advancement I really didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel any shock personally. I did not face the language shock because I studied under British and American curriculum. I was shocked, in a good way, in that I felt that when I came here I would feel like an alien â&#x20AC;&#x201D; no one would want to talk to me and I would feel like a loner, apart from other foreign students. But surprisingly, the day I started at Lamar I got to my class and the first significant thing I felt was that everyone had a smile on their face, they greet you with a smile. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know, maybe itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a Texas thing, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brilliant, I love it. Wherever I pass, people I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know will smile or say, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hi.â&#x20AC;? They open the door â&#x20AC;&#x201D; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like etiquette here is really gentle and good. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more of a surprise rather than a shock.

I love it, I love the hospitality, I felt welcomed here.

What would you like people in your home countr y to know about the U.S.?

I would say, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe what the media says, because media portrays every culture as they want people to see it. A part of it may be true but a part of it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, and people from my countr y or any countr y should not stereotype Americans based on what they see in the media, good or bad. People here are good, they are hospitable and they are ver y nice, and I would like to tell them that they should erase that idea from their mind of typical Americans, just swipe that out of your mind. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not trying to be diplomatic here because this is how I generally feel. I have classes where my professors ask me to give a presentation about what attributes you want from your culture to be a part of this culture and what attributes from this culture do you want to be a part of your culture?

The first point I mention is that (Americans) are really nice â&#x20AC;&#x201D; I would tell people in my home countr y not to stereotype them. I am going back in December. I am counting the days â&#x20AC;&#x201D; I miss home.

World View is an ongoing series that aims to spotlight the international diversity that adds to Lamar Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rich culture.

Compliled by Mason Malmay

Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Economy The key to understanding the Bible... â&#x20AC;&#x153;...in order that you might charge certain ones not to teach different things nor give heed to myths and unending genealogies, which produce questionings rather than Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy, which is in faith.â&#x20AC;?

(1 Timothy 1:3b-4)

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1B Thursday, Novemeber 7, 2013

UNIVERSITY PRESS

SPECIAL SECTION STORIES, DESIGN AND LAYOUT BY GRANT CRAWFORD • PHOTOS BY JARED MCCLELLAND

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

2B Thursday, October 30, 2014

UNIVERSITY PRESS

Building on success LADY CARDS HOPE TO REPEAT

BY BUILDING ON FOUNDATION OF ‘D’ The Lady Cardinals basketball team ended their 2013-14 season on top, owning a share of the Southland Conference regular-season title. They finished 13-5 in conference play (18-5 overall), and competed in the WNIT, making their fourth postseason appearance in five years.

The team aims to continue that success and head coach Robin Harmony said the players have taken every practice very seriously.

“They’re exhausted,” she said. “The month of October is the hardest month for a basketball team, because we are lifting four times a week, and we do practice 20 hours a week. It’s just a matter of hanging in there and staying healthy. We get the most out of every practice we have.”

Last year was Harmony’s first season as head coach, and she coached a pair of AllSouthland Conference players in Gia Ayers and Dominique Edwards. Ayers is gone but Edwatds returns to anchor the team.

“I think that Dominique Edwards is

Lamar guard, Addesha Collins, right, dribbles down the court during practice in the Montage Center, Oct. 22.

Senior Dominique Edwards, far right, attempts a layup over teammate April Levy.

Guard Baileigh O’Dell, below, is guarded by Levy. Coach Robin Harmony watches over practice. bottom, and O’Dell prepares to shoot a free throw, bottom right.

the key to our team,” Harmony said. “She’s a senior, she should be first or second team all-conference. She’s the one that’s going to have to be leading offensively, defensively and boarding. She has to be consistent and play every game for us.”

A 5’11” forward, Edwards averaged the second most points for Lamar last season with 14.1.

She appeared in all 31 games, and led the squad in rebounds, averaging eight a game.

Edwards said the team will need to stay focused for them to feel the thrill of winning this season.

“We’re going through the hard parts of practice,” she said. “As long as we keep the bigger picture in mind we’ll be alright. I’m ready.

We’ve been saying the first game can’t come fast enough. I know it’s going to be rocky at first, because we’re still adjusting, but we’re ready to go ahead

and tackle the season.”

Edwards said Lamar needs to have multiple threats offensively, including both outside and interior play.

“Collectively, we’re going to have to have a lot of weapons,” she said. “We can’t have just one person shooting threes, because we can all pull threes. We can’t have just one person driving to the rim, because we all can do it.”

Another threat returning for the Lady Cards is senior Shauna Long. The 5’4” guard appeared in all 31 games last season, including a career-high performance when she scored 28 points in a victory over Texas State. She led LU in three-pointers, recording 67. Long’s 118 career three-pointers puts her fifth on Lamar’s all-time list.

“I’m really excited about the season,” she said.

“This will be my last year, so I want to go out with a bang.”

Now in her fourth year, Long said the process of trying to be a leader came naturally to her over time.

“It’s expected,” she said. “Since we were able to be with coach Harmony last year, a lot of the returners are able to step up, be leaders and fill their role. I think we’ll have to make sure all the new girls are adjusted to the defense. We have to make sure that everyone is completely bought into the system.”

Also returning from last season are senior Caroline Adesulu, and sophomores Kiandra Bowers, Bethany Cox, and Joann Lira.

The incoming players this season consist of five freshmen and three transfer students.

“We’re going to be really young,” Harmony said. “The good thing is, once we get the new players learning our system, we’ll be a lot deeper than we’ve ever been.”

Harmony said she expects to have two freshmen in the starting lineup.

“One of them is kind of on the verge of making the starting lineup — Laka,” she said. “She’s a post player from Tennessee, and she’s just getting better and better every day.”

Laka Blache, 6’0” forward, ranked 448th nationally by ESPN out of high school.

The other likely freshman starter is 5’3” guard, Baileigh O’Dell. Prior to Lamar, she became the all-time scoring leader at Verdigris HS in Claremore, Okla.

“She’s going to be our two-guard,” Harmony said. “She can also play some back up (pointguard). She’s a great shooter. She’s probably the best shooter on our team, as far as consistency.”

Another expected starter is transfer student Addesha Collins. The junior joined the team after playing two seasons at Tallahassee Community College, where she averaged 13.9 points a game.

She was also named All-County MVP her senior year of high school in Anniston, Ala. “Collins will start as our point guard,” Harmony said. “That’s the biggest position — it’s your floor general. Gia Ayers is a tough thing to replace.

Addesha is quick. She’s a great kid, a hard worker, but she’s not 5’8” like Gia was. She has some really big shoes to fill.”

The Lady Cards profited from the three-point line last season, making 248 treys, and allowing only 177. Harmony said their production from behind the arc is just one of their identities.

“We’re the only team in the conference that will go in for a point-blank layup, and then kick it out for a three,” she said. “It’s not because we want to, but because they really can shoot the three.

We’re always going to be long three-ballers, because we have four kids on the floor at the same time that can just shoot it. That’s why we spread our offense out. We just give them the green light.”

Lamar went the entirety of the 2013-14 season running a full-court defensive press. Harmony said they’ll look to continue that defensive scheme this year.

“Our philosophy is defense,” she said. “We’re more athletic, and we’re going to rebound better.

We’re actually quicker. We’ll be pressing full-court for 40 minutes. We’ll take advantage of wearing the other team down, and not giving them a lot of time on the shot clock.”

Lamar’s schedule consists of 11 non-conference matchups, which include road games against Oklahoma and TCU, before starting SLC play against Nicholls State.

“We have a really hard-knock conference schedule,” Harmony said. “Last year we played these teams at home. Now, it’s the second-half of our contract, that was done before I got here, that we are fulfilling. So, we’re going to have a tough road in the beginning.”

For the Lady Cards first game, they’ll tip-off at 7 p.m. against Louisiana-Lafayette in the Montagne Center, Nov. 14.

“It’s hard to believe that November is right around the corner,” Harmony said. “The best part is actually making it to the games. We’ve done the recruiting and three months of conditioning, so the fun part becomes now.”

Story and Layout by Grant Crawford Photos by Jared McClelland

MEN’S BASKETBALL

3B Thursday, October 30, 2014

UNIVERSITY PRESS

Burying the past CARDINALS BOLSTER ROSTER, LOOK TO FUTURE GRANT CRAWFORD UP SPORTS EDITOR @GRANTLAMARUP

“Last year is dead and gone as far as I’m concerned,” Tic Price said.

“We’ve poured the dirt on and buried it.”

The Lamar basketball team ended their 2013-14 season with dramatic changes in the program’s personnel.

With five games remaining, the decision was made to fire head coach Pat Knight and appoint Price as interim head coach. The Cardinals finished the year 4-26, 3-15 in the Southland Conference.

Price is now permanent head coach and he said he expects his team to forget last year’s woes.

“We’re like every other team in the NCAA, we all have to start at the bottom of the mountain, and then it’s that challenge to get to the top,” he said. “If we have the toughness and focus, then we have a shot, just like anybody else.

When it comes down to it, nobody can stop us but ourselves.”

Lamar revamped their roster over the offseason, including the addition of LeMon Gregor y, a transfer student from Angelina College. The 6’10”, 255pound center averaged seven points and five rebounds a game for the Roadrunners.

“We are very excited about the addition of LeMon,” Price said. “He is going to be able to help us in a lot of ways because of his size. During the offseason, I really felt we needed more help under the basket. We had to have some muscle. LeMon helps fill a big need for us.”

The addition of Gregory bolsters a signing class that already consisted of guards Zjori Bosha and Quan Jones, as well as for wards Zachar y Hollis and Dontavious Sears. They join standout guards Kevin Booze and Benquan Petty as newcomers for Lamar.

“We’ve really stepped it up with recruiting,” Price said. “We’ve got some amazing assistant coaches that are just relentless when it comes to recruiting.

The players have been very influential with our recruiting class as well. It’s total team work with us, on and off the court.”

Senior Donovan Ross said he thinks the team now has the members to compete with sizeable competitors.

“We have a lot more athleticism,” he said. “We have a lot more big guys.

When we play bigger teams, we should be able to handle them now. With the new players and new coach, there’s just a new vibe around campus.”

Ross started all 30 games for Lamar last season, finishing third on the team in average points scored with 11.4. He also had a team-high 20 blocks.

“I think I’ll be able to perform

pretty well,” he said. “I’ve been working hard all summer. I feel very confident in my game right now.”

Ross said he thinks the defense will be a major factor in the team’s success.

“Coach has been preaching to us about our defensive effort ever since the first day of practice,” he said. “Defense is going to help us win games.

I’m very excited about this season.”

The Cards have only seven wins to show for the past two seasons, winning just twice in front of the Lamar home crowd last year, and Ross said he hopes to give fans more to cheer about.

“We just need to have a better season than last year,” he said. “Our fans were kind of disappointed last year, but this year we’re hoping to be more successful for our fans. The supporters that come out every year deserve it.”

Returning for his senior campaign, Anthony Holliday said he is beyond excited for their first test against SMU, who reached the finals of last year’s NIT tournament.

“I feel pretty confident about the team,” he said. “We just have to refine some of our plays and defensive schemes, and I think we’ll be fine by the first game.”

Holliday was riddled with injuries last season, but managed to play in 28 games with 18 starts. The 6’1” guard is enthusiastic about this year’s personnel.

“I think the guys on the team are excited to play basketball,” he said. “I think we’ll be able to actually win some games this year. This team is more driven. People work harder on this team. We just have better overall human beings on this team, and basketball players as well.”

Lamar’s 2014-15 slate consists of 14 home dates, as well as road games at SMU, Indiana, Arkansas State and Iowa State. They also will play four teams who advanced to postseason play in 2014.

“This is a very challenging schedule we will be facing,” Price said. “I really like this non-conference schedule that we’ve put together, because every team brings a different style of play.

That is really going to challenge us. So by the time we get to conference play, we will have seen them and have some experience in how to handle certain situations.”

Even though they only won three games in the Southland Conference, the Cards did not have the worst conference record last season, beating out ACU and Houston Baptist, who each had two victories. This year’s SLC also includes a Stephen F. Austin team that went 32-3 overall a season ago and advanced to the 2014 NCAA tournament.

“As you look at this schedule, there is not a night where we can take off,” Price said. “Our guys have to be mentally and physically ready to go

The Lamar basketball team, top left, plays a scrimmage game during a recent practice in the Montagne Center.

LeMon Gregory, top right, practices his free throw shots.

Coach Price, above, directs the Cardinals around the court. Guard Kevin Booze, far left, dribbles down the court in search of a pass. Gregory, left, drills with assistant coach.

Photos by Jared McClelland ever y day, since several of the teams we face in the non-conference advanced to postseason last year — either NCAA or NIT.” Returning players include 6’10” senior Sebastian Norman, juniors Matt Hancock and Donnell Minton, and sophomores Preston Mattingly and Marcus Owens. Lamar will also acquire the help of senior forward Tyran de Lattibeaudiere. The 6’6” Jamaica native sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules.

After all the changes the team has gone through in a short period of time, Price said it feels almost like he is rebuilding the entire program.

“It’s been an adjustment pretty much for everybody,” he said. “They’re good guys. They work hard for me. I do think that after this team goes

through a maturation period, that they’ll respond well. They’ve got the discipline and determination to excel.”

Price said that he’ll have to wait and see how his team performs before assigning any team roles — he won’t be able to rely on any one individual.

“It’s going to have to be a committee of people,” he said. “We all have to row this boat in the same direction. We have the motto for our team — ‘Strong Together.’ Not just as a team, but as a community. We have to support each other and get behind this team.

“And this team is going to continue to play hard. They’ve got to be known for their blue-collar work. This is a blue-collar town and they’ve got to play like they’re blue collar workers.”

In an effort to raise excitement for the upcoming season, Lamar players

and coaches hand-delivered season tickets, Saturday. Price said he hopes to make this a team that the city of Beaumont can get behind.

“I want to put in the kind of work that can make our alumni, students and the community proud of our brand,” he said. “We have to protect our brand, and our brand is Lamar University. I’m just working on focusing on the task at hand — to show progress in this program and to build it the right way.”

The Cardinal’s first game is at SMU, Nov. 14. The game will be aired on ESPN 3.

Price said he’s personally preparing for the season his own way.

“I’ve been coaching so long I don’t get too excited anymore,” he said. “I don’t get too high, and I don’t get too low. I just know I have a job to do.”

Page 4B Thursday, October 30, 2014

University Press

a L

a s B k e r t a b a m

ll

2014-2015 Good Luck Cards $ Lady Cards on your 2014-2015 Season