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Project New Dorm Nathalie Trow-McDonald Staff Writer
The Louisiana Schoolfor Math, Science, and the Art’s projected new residence hall is coming closer to being a reality. Architects from the firms Ashe, Broussard, and Weinzettle from Alexandria and Tipton and Associates from Baton Rouge are currently finishing up the first stage of planning, the Schematic Design. This phase includes creating the general layout and design of the building as well as the location of the building. The new co-ed dorms are projected to break ground in the fall of 2015. The dorm is being funded through the state and will cost approximately $20 million to construct and furnish. The estimated construction time is two years, so the building should be finished by the fall of 2017. Though that means none of the current stu-
dents may get the chance to live in the new dorm, many are still curious about it. The building will be located on Eagle Field in close proximity to the CPT. So close, in fact, there will be a covered walkway that will connect to the breezeway on the south side of the CPT. Kiss those long, rainy, clothes-soaked walks back to the dorm goodbye! For those of you that are still hung up on the fact that the building will be on Eagle Field, do not worry. The architects plan to leave about half of Eagle Field open for continual athletic and recreational use as they have designed several outdoor areas with seating and landscaping. The dorm is going to have two four-story wings, one for boys and one for girls, which will only be connected by a common lobby on the
The Renaissance
September 2014
Eagle Field, the future home of the new residence hall. Taken by Nathalie Trow-McDonald
first floor. There will be a new swipe card system in the dorm that will be used to enter the building as well as either of the girls’ or boy’s wings, but not both. “Twenty-four-hour
security will make sure that no one gets confused as to which wing is for girls and which is for boys,” said Dr. Patrick Widhalm, Executive Director of the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts.
The Renaissance will continue to report on the residence hall as more information becomes available. The next issue will contain information on the suite layout and how each hall will be set up.
Au revoir summer readings Isabela Walkin Staff Writer
It was The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks for the summer of 2012 and The Last Lecture for the summer of 2013. But last school year, as the summer of 2014 approached, word of a summer reading was nowhere to be found. Had school administrators ditched the idea of a school-wide summer reading assignment? Indeed they had. “If there is a common reading, then, in theory, we start the new year with an assignment that everyone can talk about
because they’ve all shared it, and we’ve encouraged the faculty to try to work it into their classes,” said Dr. Clayton Delery, Director of Academic Services. In the past, faculty members experienced trouble with fitting the readings into their curriculum. “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks had a lot of cross-curricular appeal, but, for instance, the foreign language faculty didn’t really have a way to work it into anything,” said Dr. Delery. “And we faced similar problems with The Last
Lecture.” The math faculty experienced issues incorporating the assignment into their teachings as well. The problem of finding a book that would provide ample and diverse material resulted in the administration’s decision to scrap the idea of a reading assignment this past summer. There were varied reactions among the student body. “I think we should’ve had something to read,” said Jordan Thibodeaux (’15). “It’s nice to have a shared reading assignment, gives you a nice
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lead into school and gives us a communal experience to talk about.” Others, such as senior Clarissa Waldrep, supported the decision. “Having no summer reading gave me the chance to read books I wanted that I couldn’t during the year,” said Waldrep. “The work I had during the year left
almost no free time, so I caught up on reading over the summer.” For those who were relieved about not having an assigned reading this summer, do not get too excited. Dr. Delery left the fate of the summer reading assignment unclear, mentioning that it may very well be revived in the future.
The Renaissance
September 2014
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Louisiana School buildings enter the National Historic Registry Sebastian Brumfield-Mejia
Staff Writer
The National Historic Registry inducted buildings located on the Northwestern State University campus in a ceremony held at the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts gymnasium on Aug. 18. The new historical district includes Warren Easton Hall (1928), Russell Hall (1937), the Alumni Center, (1927), the Lee H. Nelson Hall (Women’s Gymnasium) (1923), Varnado Hall (1939), the Infirmary (1920), Morrison Hall (1950), Fournet Hall (1950), Family and Consumer Sciences Building (1950), Nesom Natatorium (1939), A. A. Fredericks Fine Arts Center (1940), Caspari Hall
(1939), Trisler Power Plant (1939), Print Shop (1955), the Columns (1832), Northwestern State College gate (1944), NSU entry gates (1910), Normal Hill Quad (1913) and the Fournet/Morrison/FACS quad (1950). Among the inductees were LSMSA’s High School Building (HSB), Music and Arts Building (MAB), and the gymnasium itself. To enter the National Historic Registry, a requirement is that the building is at least fifty years old and that the integrity of the building has not been damaged in any way. The gymnasium has been around since 1929, while the HSB and the MAB have been around since 1938. The gym was
The LSMSA Gymnasium which was recently inducted into the National Historic Registry. Taken by Aliyah Newell
The LSMSA Gymnasium while it was being renovated. Courtesy of Dr. Patrick Widhalm
Along with the LSMSA Gymnasium, other buildings on campus like the Main High School Building (HSB) were inducted. Taken by Aliyah Newell
included in the registry due to its connection to the Louisiana State Normal School, presently known as Northwestern State University, which once was the state’s college for teachers. The former name for Northwestern State University is only found on the outside of the gym. LSMSA buildings have been well-maintained over the years, with recent renovations of the MAB and a new floor addition to the gym being some of the major
improvements. The gym has changed much from the early days of LSMSA, when it had holes in the roof and was little more than a hollow shell restored in 1992 when the Student Activities Center (SAC) was added. “The gym floor was completely refurbished with funding from the LSMSA Foundation and in July, the alumni Social Service Weekend including painting the SAC,” said Dr. Patrick Widhalm, the school’s Executive Director.
The LSMSA Gymnasium before it was renovated. Courtesy of Dr. Patrick Widhalm
“In the past three to four years the gym has become more of a place for recreational and athletic activities on campus,” Widhalm said. With most of the student services moving to the Center for Performance and Technology (CPT) building on campus, the gym has been able to host athletics rather than administration.
A stone plaque on the outside of the LSMSA gymanism reads Louisiana Normal College, Northwestern State University’s former name. Taken by Aliyah Newell