UNIVERSITY PRESS
The Newspaper of Lamar University
Vol. 94, No. 8 November 2, 2017
A swinging time Campus comes alive with Homecoming activities Sierra Kondos UP staff writer
Lamar University’s Homecoming 2017 is in full swing with the week-long celebration continuing today with a Homecoming spirit booth on the Student Organization Annex Lawn at 11 a.m. “We will be giving out more Homecoming swag,” Ce’nese Wooten, cardinal activities board student director, said. Brandon T. Jackson will perform a Homecoming comedy show in the Montagne Center at 7:30 p.m. This is a change from the originally scheduled Wild ‘n Out comedians, The Hudson Brothers. Jackson is best known for his role as Grover Underwood in the Percy Jackson series of movies. Friday’s activities begin the run down to Saturday’s game and parade with The Cardinal Reunion BBQ at 3 p.m. at Cardinal Park. “We want this to be like a family reunion for all of us,” Wooten said. “We are all Cards and we want to celebrate our Homecoming together.” The Homecoming Pep Rally and Bonfire will be start at 6:30 p.m. on Spindletop Field opposite the Spindletop/Gladys City Boomtown
Museum, followed by a Dance Marathon at 8:30 p.m., in the Sheila Umphrey Recreational Sports Center. Saturday’s big day begins with The Spindletop Antique Car Show, 11a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Spindletop/Gladys City Boomtown Museum. The Homecoming Parade begins on the Rec Center parking lot at 2 p.m., followed by the Lamar vs. Central Arkansas game at 6 p.m. at Provost Umphrey Stadium. Homecoming events kicked off Monday with Beaumont Mayor Becky Ames and LU President Kenneth Evans announcing the royal court nominees on the Brook Shivers Dining Hall Lawn. The announcement was followed by the Homecoming block party. “The block party was a huge success, over 500 people showed up,” Wooten said. “We had a jumpy thing and a mechanical bull. There was a lot of fun food like funnel cakes, cotton candy, popcorn and sno cones. Then D.J. Smooth moved everyone to the block party and had the crowd rocking and dancing on stage.” Wooten said student organizaSee HOMECOMING, page 2
UP photo by Ashley Kluge
Students dance, above, at the Homecoming Block party, Monday, on the Dining Hall Lawn. Events also included a bungee frame, right.
Health Center offers flu shots for LU campus Chandler Smith UP contributor
The Student Health Center is offering flu shots to all Lamar University students, faculty and staff, by appointment, for $25. “The flu vaccine is the best way to prevent influenza on campus and in the community,” Shawn R. Gray, Student Health Center director, said. “The fewer people who contract the flu, the less likely it is to spread.” Gray said everybody should be concerned about catching the flu. “It is a highly contagious virus spread through the air,” she said. “Influenza season begins in October and usually through April.” Gray said flu symptoms are well known. “If you catch the flu, you will experience high fevers, body aches, some coughing and generalized fatigue,” she said. Gray said that receiving a flu shot at the beginning of the season not only protects the person receiving the shot, but also protect others from the flu. “It can keep you from getting the flu, keep you out of the hospital and others out of the hospital,” she said. “It is a preventative measure to those with chronic conditions that
may worsen if they got the flu. It protects pregnant women before and after birth, and it protects their child from the flu after birth.” Flu symptoms can keep students out of classes, Gray said. “You will not be able to go to class due to weakness and fatigue for at least two weeks,” she said. “If you have ever had a cold, you can get the flu. Both are viruses. Viruses show no prejudices on who they infect. “Illness is part of living in a society. Steve Jobs was one of the wealthiest men in the world but all of his money could not stop him from getting sick.” Gray said the only downside to a flu shot is that one has to get one every year. “The influenza virus mutates and, therefore, becomes resistant to vaccines, so new ones need to be manufactured to match the specific virus of that season,” she said. According to the Center for Disease Control, there are about 31.4 million cases of the flu every season, or about five to 20 percent of the United States population. The CDC also states that around 200,000 Americans are hospitalized because of the flu. For more information, call 880-8466.
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Be a Healthy Card Peer program offers well-being education Elijah Porchia UP contributor
LU’s “Healthy Cards” is a program that offers students the opportunity to educate their peers about health. “The reason that students should sign up for the program is really the leadership they’re going to get out of this role, plus the education there going to get,: Marie Murray, a
health education specialist in LU’s Health Center, said. “A lot of times I get students that are interested because of their major, like nursing students and exercise science students. “Also, I got a graphic design student who gets to come in and design my fliers, so a lot of these students are getting some sort of experience that’s going to help them in their future.
“What I want students to bring to the program is a good attitude about it. I don’t care what your major is, it’s really just wanting to have that leadership role and having a good attitude about it.” Before students are hired on, they will watch a peer education training video, Murray said. See HEALTHY, page 2
McClinton to lecture today Rosevelt Mathews UP contributor
Nechele McClinton, Lamar University assistant director of residence life, will present the lecture, “Leading Out Loud,” at 2 p.m., today, in 702 Gray Library. The lecture is the latest in the Redtalks series. “Often, when we think about leadership, we think about qualities and characteristics,” she said. “So, I really want to shine the light on the characteristics that introverts have that make them good leaders as well, helping them identify if they’re introverts and extroverts, and if they are an extrovert, how they connect with their introverted friend.” McClinton said she wants the audience to get a better
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understanding of who they are ,and understand the different qualities of leadership whether they be introvert or extrovert, as well as ways to communicate with others who may have different leadership styles. “Having my doctorate in educational leadership and being a supervisor for many years, I speak through experience in dealing with self-discovery in leadership,” she said. Kelly Williams, coordinator for LU Success and REDtalks,
said leadership development is important for students. “I feel a lot of students would be interested in developing leadership skills,” she said. “I hope they obtain the knowledge that they need to gain valuable leadership skills. As well, I want them to walk away feeling inspired to be leaders on campus, in organizations or where they work, or even in the classroom.” For information, visit lamar.edu/redtalks, or call 880-7209.
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