Volume 72 ISSUE 5

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

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Volume 72, Issue 5

Spring Jaguar Preview Day

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Leah Williams

The Southern Digest

The rain could not stop this year’s spring Jaguar Preview Day. Last Saturday, high school students from all over the country, along with their families, were able to learn more about Southern University and tour the campus.

Throughout the afternoon, Jaguar Ambassadors escorted high school students around the campus in an attempt to leave a lasting impression on the students. A junior class Jaguar Ambassador from Westwego, Louisiana, Kayon Johnson, said that the ambassadors also try to get to know the prospective students a little better.

“As a Jaguar Ambassador, we are the first faces that prospective students who want to come to Southern University see, so we greet them. We also try to get to know them, and know where they’re from. Then, we just kind of show them around campus and give them a little insight about what goes on at Southern University,” said Johnson.

High school freshman from Memphis, Tennessee, Kristen Tolbert, said that

Paris Duncan

The Southern Digest

new things that I haven’t seen at other campuses. Now, I’m really sure that I want to come to school here. I’m excited for the basketball game too,” said Kristopher.

At the end of the afternoon, the high schoolers and their

In the recent years, Historically Black Colleges and Universities have undergone many trials when it comes to education, accreditation, and meeting the needs of its students. Louisiana schools such as LSU and Southern University have increased fees by 5% in the last year.

According to the Advocate, Governor John Bel Edwards has done an exemplary job of not increasing budget cuts in the last two years and upcoming years.

However, the report also issues a statement from President Ray Belton that goes as follows, “While we recently celebrated the Legislature’s passage of a standstill budget — not to be confused with full funding — for higher education, this budget does not take into account mandated costs.”

To understand the inner workings of the bill, one must first understand the

See PREVIEW page 3

See HIGH GROUND page 3

SU Honors program associate, Mr. Eric Pugh speaks to a perspective student during the 2019 Spring High School Preview Day inside F.G. Clark Activity on Saturday, February 23. (DIGEST FILE)

on the campus tour, she learned about how classes work in college. “It was fun and informative. We got to see the different halls and classrooms, and learn how classes work. They told us about when we would have class and how long classes last,” said Kristen.

Her brother, high school senior who is also from Memphis, Tennessee, Kristopher Tolbert, said that this experience helped him make his decision to come to Southern in the fall. “I knew Southern had a good business program and I want to major in business, but I saw a lot of

Students in Suits:

Plant Presence in North BR

Career Week Spring 2019 Diamond Butler

The Southern Digest

Last week, several workshops and seminars were held leading up to the Career Fair. These events give students the tools and information needed to succeed in a professional setting, and it helps with gaining internships to prepare them for the career lifestyle of their choosing.

“We have two career fairs every year, one in the spring and one in the fall,” says Director of Career Services, Tamara Montgomery, in a past interview with Black Enterprise magazine.

Throughout the week, representatives held

Higher ground ahead for Land Grant campuses

information sessions at the College of Business, giving advice to first-year students.

They then talked to students providing information on how to achieve their many career goals.

On Tuesday, there was an event that was called “Career Advice and a Slice,” which was held by the spokesperson, Laquitta Thomas. This event was opened to all students of Southern University.

Representatives from different companies from across the company came to give Southern University students advice on going through an interview process.

Companies such as Blue Cross Blue Shield, The CIA, Teach for Life, University

Keenon Glover

The Southern Digest

Essilor of America employee and Southern University Alumna, Lashanda Reed Larry, (left) consults with Doctoral student, Ruth Mbah during the Career Advice & Slick hosted by Career Services held on Tuesday, February 19. inside the Royal Cotillion Ballroom (Diamond Butler/DIGEST)

View Academy, and WBRZ, among others, participated in the festivities reviewing students’ resumes and advised on how to improve them. In the event there were twelve stations and at each station, students were given

10 to 12 minutes to simulate interviews and to go over resumes.

Career-orientated events like this one are beneficial to See CAREER WEEK page 3

www.southerndigest.com THE OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AND A&M COLLEGE, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

The conversation surrounding the environment of East Baton Rouge has been a considerably prominent issue, primarily focusing on how it can affect the health of the parishioners. With power plants and oil refineries scattered all throughout the area, it can be hard to not contemplate the possible dangers those industries may bring.

While discussing those who have been displaced with the coming waves of these businesses, Professor Robert See PLANT page 3

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Editor-in-Chief...................................Jacqueline Morgan Managing Editor................................... James Eaglin, Jr. Copy Editor............................................Contara Mayfield A&E Editor................................................... Najeri Evans Multimedia Editor.....................................Devin Hadrick News Editor....................................Gabrielle Hutchinson Photo Editor.................................................. Keith Lewis Commentary Editor.................................. Leah Williams Sports Editor........................................Debrandin Brown Staff Writer....................................................Aliya Creecy Staff Writer................................................... Dante Davis Staff Writer................................................Keenon Glover Staff Writer................................................ Alesha Bethea Staff Writer...................................................... Ella Dodor Staff Writer.............................................. Kiyanna Givens Staff Writer..........................................Cameron Fontenot Staff Writer................................................ Jaila Lavender Staff Writer................................................ Tyler Thomas Staff Writer........................................... Garland Johnson Staff Writer..............................................Diamond Butler Staff Writer..................................................Paris Duncan Staff Photographer.................................... Sydney Brown Staff Photographer..........................................Bailie Boyd Staff Photographer..................................... Kyndall Jones Staff Photographer.............................Khidhr Al-Mustafa Staff Photographer...................................Destiny Speaks

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Tutoring Center for Student Success offers free and friendly academic tutoring to SU students seeking to improve or maintain their knowledge base in Math, Chemistry, Biology and Nursing classes. Our centers offer assistance Monday – Friday from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. The learning centers are located in Stewart Hall, Room 155 and Pinchback Hall, 1st Floor.

Traffic and Parking Friendly Reminder via the Director of Traffic and Parking: Please ensure all parking tag decals are visible in vehicles, which includes: laying flat on dash or hanging from mirror. If you have more than one tag i.e. commuter decal and handicap, please make sure both are visible. If you are faculty in a reserved spot, please be sure your number matches your parking spot.

Home Depot Retool Your School We need your help again. Last year, you helped us win $40K to repair and remodel parts of the John B. Cade Library. Let’s do it again to continue to make our campus beautiful. Vote now and vote often for SU in the The Home Depot: Retool Your School Program! Use the hashtags, #southernu_rys19 and #rys10strong, in your posts on social media about the competition.

Art Gallery The Visual and Performing Arts Gallery is hosting “Exploring the Mediums until February 28 on Mon.-Thurs. from 10am-4pm.

From 10am-4pm.

Staff Photographer...............................Da’Ravia Douglas

EDITORIAL POLICY

Staff editorials represent the opinions of the author and the majority opinion of the Southern DIGEST Student Editorial Board, which is comprised of the student staff of editors and columnists. The Southern DIGEST provides an open forum to educate, inform and enlighten the students, faculty and staff at Southern University, Baton Rouge, La.

PUBLICATION ASSOCIATIONS

The Southern DIGEST is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), Associated Collegiate Press (ACP), College Media Advisers Association (CMA), Full member of the Associated Press (AP) and the Louisiana Press Association (LPA).

The Office of Student Media is a division of the Office of Student Affairs.

SU Agricultural Center Small farmers from throughout the state will gather at Southern University’s Felton G. Clark Activity Center from March 14-16 to attend the 9th annual Louisiana Small Farmer Conference.

Call to Visual Arts Students are invited to submit artwork for the SUBR Campus Wide Invitational Student Art Exhibition Visual Arts Gallery/Frank Hayden Hall Spring Semester March 14 – April 11, 2019 SU Land-Grant Campus The Southern University Ag Center and College of Ag will host its 25th Annual Black History Quiz Bowl on Thursday, February 28 at 3 pm in the 3rd floor auditorium of T.T. Allain Hall.

All SU students, groups and organizations are encouraged to participate. Teams can signup at www.suagcenter.com or in room 102 of Fisher Hall. The deadline to sign-up is February 21. For more information, email owusu_bandele@ suagcenter.com.

School of Nursing Applications for admission to the School of Nursing are now available online at subr.edu.

The deadline to apply is March 1, 2019.

Wesley Center at Southern University The Wesley Center at Southern University will have worship service on March 31, 2019 at 3:00 pm. This one hour

PRESS RELEASE

SUBMISSIONS POLICY

The Southern DIGEST welcomes letters from readers commenting on current issues and other matters of general interest to the SU family and public. We set aside this space to publish these letters for others to enjoy. This newspaper is not responsible for individual opinions expressed on its editorial and commentary pages. The Southern DIGEST reserves the right to edit any contributions and or reject them without notification. Authors are encouraged to limit the length of submissions to 300 words. Letters should not include libelous statements. Offensive and personal attacks will not be permitted. The DIGEST will not print “open letters” addressed to someone else. All contributions must be type written, signed and must include the author’s address and phone number. Unsigned letters will not be printed. Southern University students should include their majors, hometowns and year in school. When referring to specific DIGEST articles, please include the date and title. All materials should be directed to the editor in chief of The Southern DIGEST, P.O. Box 10180, Baton Rouge, La. 70813. Materials may be delivered by hand to the DIGEST office located in Suite 1064 Harris Hall or can be e-mailed to digest@subr.edu.

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PRESS RELEASE CONTACT:

Sharon Saunders Special Assistant to the EVP/ EVC (225) 771-2930

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service is open to all students and community residents. For more information feel free to call us at 225-772-5445.

Intramural Sports To all students that signed up for indoor soccer, we will have a meeting to pick teams on February 27 at 5:00pm in the Rec Center. Please be on time so that we can get everyone on a team. For more information, please contact Coach Tanner@ 7713212.

Tennis Lady Jags tennis will host Grambling State on March 2 at 12pm.

Baseball Jaguar baseball will head to LSU to play against the Tigers on on February 27 at 6:30pm.

The baseball team will host Eastern Illinois from March 1-3. Times are 6pm, 12pm, and 1pm.

Softball The softball team will travel to Hattiesburg, MS on February 27 to go against Southern Mississippi.

Time is TBA. Basketball Men and women’s basketball will host Alcorn State on March 2.

Women tip-off at 3pm and men at 5:30pm.

Bowling Bowling will participate in the Mardi Gras Challenge right here in Baton Rouge from March 1-3. Times are TBA. Track and Field Track and field will be sprinting to Hammond, LA to go against the Southeastern Lions on March 2.

Time is TBA.

Be Heard.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FIRESIDE CHATS LAUNCHED TO HEAR STUDENTS’ CONCERNS

Do you know of any

BATON ROUGE, LA — The Office of Academic Affairs has scheduled Fireside Chats, with a focus on the freshman class, to introduce them to the administration and to hear more about their Southern experience. The first Fireside Chat was scheduled for Tuesday, February 26, 2019, in Totty Residence Hall, but has been rescheduled for Thursday, March 7, 2019.

pressing issues on

“I want the students to join me as we provide them with a forum to have a conversation about their first-year experience,” said James H. Ammons, executive vice president/executive vice chancellor. “We want students to know that they have a group of caring and committed leaders who are willing to help them to reach their goals.”

All of the Fireside Chats will take place in the residence halls, except the final session which will be in the Student Union. Food and refreshments will be served. The in-person chats also are open to any student who would like to attend. The schedule for the Fireside Chats are as follows: Totty Residence Hall Shade Residence Hall White Residence Hall Boley Residence Hall Bradford Residence Hall Smith-Brown Memorial Union

March 7 March 19 March 26 April 2 April 9 April 23

Students with a grievance or general questions that they would like addressed during the inperson chat, should send the concern prior to the event to firesidechats@subr.edu.

“This gives us time to investigate the matter and address it,” said Ammons, who also noted that the administration will try to answer any questions students may have during the session. “I hope to see you there.”

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campus affecting students? email us digest@subr.edu You may also stop by our offices located at 1064 T.H. Harris Hall

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The Sentinel Of An Enlightened Student Body since 1926

Tuesday, February 26, 2019 - Page 3

PLANT from page 1

Signage near the water planet.

(Khidhr Al-Mustafa/DIGEST)

Bullard of Texas Southern University had this to say, “People are talking about this economic recovery and the rebirth of clean energy and renewable energy, but what we have is energy apartheid, where poor communities and poor communities of color are still getting the dirtiest of the dirty energy.”

The most prominent argument in support of this industrialization is the large economic influence these corporations can introduce to the region. As reported by the Advocate, the booming oil industry could potentially introduce the area of Baton Rouge to 3,300 jobs in 2019.

This hasn’t subsided the concern over the everlasting effects, considering how the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) reported in 2018 that the population of Louisiana is 700 times more at risk for cancer than the national average.

Caleb Holmes, a Political Science major from Shreveport, and member of the 771 Alliance of Southern University, gave insight to

the issue surrounding the environment of East Baton Rouge saying, “No one is going to turn down the payment.

I’m not a biologist; I’m not a scientist in that regard, but what I can tell you is that a few miles up the road there is a superfund site, which essentially means that the federal government has come in and said ‘okay, this company has destroyed this area so badly, they are now mandated to clean it up and must take all the precautions to do so.”

Holmes continued, “That same superfund site is a large body of water that drains into the Mississippi river, which comes right by our campus, so that material is in the water, and is seeping out into the water that the students have to use, especially when they’re near the administration building, the cafeteria and virtually the entire campus.”

His concern is extremely similar to that of Dr. Bullard, and it seems this conversation is also active outside of environmental groups.

When Arissa Hebert, a Freshman from Ferriday, Louisiana, was asked about her opinion, she expressed her fear that, “these refineries are probably not only polluting us as humans, but are probably also polluting the animals that we have in our community.

If there was some way [the plants] could relocate, that would be perfect.”

The growth of the oil industry in Baton Rouge was slowed when issues between the United States and Chinese governments arose, but this issue is far from a complete halt. Only time will tell whether the sacrifice of community and environmental health will bring enough prosperity, or if it was all in vain.

any college student. Delaijah Ferguson, a social work major from Zachary, Louisiana, says that “I learned what to expect once I graduate and that I would need a lot of motivation.”

Employer representatives also gave students an insight into what any future employer will be looking for in an employee, The support serves to calm a students, and alleviate fears of not being able to handle the professional world.

After graduation, there can be a lot of difficulties that would make a person want to give up. However, within these workshops, some of the representatives have experience with those challenges and gave tips on how to work through them.

Southern University student from Zachary, Louisiana, Tori Bonds agrees, commenting, “Even though there will be times when you want to give up, you have to continue to

CAREER WEEK from page 1

PREVIEW from page 1

push through.”

Throughout a student’s college career, there will be opportunities for them to gain tools that will help them in the professional world. There are other ways that Southern University students can learn career skills for a professional setting.

Students can schedule an appointment at the Career Service Center, which is located in T.H. Harris Hall in suite 1100. The faculty members are happy and willing to help. There is also the Career Service mobile app which can connect students to different services like Handshake, Big Interview, Interview Stream, and Jobs4Jags -- all which help users increase their professional skills. For any additional information, students can go to the Southern University website, www.subr.edu and visit the Career Service Center page.

families were able to attend the women’s and men’s basketball games against the Alabama A&M University Bulldogs in the F. G. Clark Activity Center for only five dollars.

Through the pouring rain, Jaguar Ambassadors were still able to bring the students around campus, then back to the F. G. Clark Activity Center, where tables were set up around the Dome for various departments and organizations on campus.

Many high school students enjoyed this part of the day, because they were able to learn about just a few of the many organization here at Southern. Also, they were able to learn about the various different majors and minors that Southern has to offer its students. Southern University’s own DJ Major DJ’ed the event while the students walked around, gaining more information from tables that sparked their interests.

At 3 pm, the prospective students began to find their seats in the Dome for the tipoff against Alabama A&M. During media timeouts, the Jaguar Geaux Team selected high school students out of the crowd to participate in different games, such as “Name That Tune.”

In the midst of the Southern spirit, the women’s basketball team won with a score of 68-60. The men tipped-off shortly after 5 pm, winning as well with a score of 59-49.

Although Jaguar Preview day was smaller this semester than it was in the fall, it was still a productive day with a fun-filled atmosphere for the prospective students.

HIGH GROUND from page 1 meaning of “mandated costs.” These costs include the use of technology, health resources, and other on-campus obligations such as activities and the upkeep of buildings.

In spite of the payment of general cost of admissions and campus fees, there is still a need for funding programs and renovations to create advantageous places of learning that would be beneficial for faculty, staff, and students alike. Examples of those needs include updated facilities, state of the art dormitories, improved roads and infrastructure, more certification and program opportunities, scholarship opportunities for lower income students, and supplemental education grants.

This is no new proposal, only an amendment to the Higher Education Act of 1965. This act came after the Land Grant Act that allowed black students to attend college with their white counterparts.

At one time, Alcorn State University was the only university open to blacks and operated using a land grant. That remained so until the Land Grant Act passed in 1890, requiring states to open their land grant opportunities to black students or issue revenue to black institutions that served as funding for an alternative education open to blacks.

After the passing of the Land Grant Act of 1890, 16 other historically black schools were founded. However finances still remained a problem for these institutions. To rectify this in the following years the Higher Education Act of 1965 was passed.

“The Higher Education Act of 1965 was passed to strengthen the educational resources of the colleges and universities of the United States and to provide financial assistance to post-secondary students,” as explained

by Investopedia, a financial vocabulary resource.

HBCUs are funded by the Title III

which, “authorizes both mandatory and competitive funds for undergraduate, graduate and professional programs at eligible institutions “to strengthen academic, administrative, and fiscal capabilities,” according to New America Publications, a resource used for policy interpretation.

In light of all these advancements for the funding of HBCUs the Renovation Bill was born. This bill was introduced in December 2017 and amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify the HBCU Capital Financing program. The terms of the adjustment is to guarantee low cost private loans to HBCUs for infrastructure repairs, maintenance, and construction, according Congress.gov.

As for the future of Southern University, this entails improvement of buildings, a more handicap accessible campus, improved roads, and overall maintenance. Even still, lawmakers and HBCU administrations have been

working with the Trump administration to gain more support in the mission of HBCU upkeep and financial aid for students.

Zoie Harris, an Animal Science Major from Baton Rouge had this to say when asked how possibly the Reno Bill could help impact her university for a better experience,“The innovations should go towards new desks particularly in Hayden and parts of TT Allain, majority of our classrooms still hold desks from years ago when my parents were in school. Most of our buildings need new desks, but Southern has been a working progress moving forward with our infrastructure.”

Even though we have fighters in Washington defending the honor of HBCUs, there are things you can do individually as a constituent of the institution. Seek information about bills, amendments, and the university’s budget. After all, these are your dollars; witness them at work.

Sports southerndigest.com

Page 4 - Tuesday, February 26, 2019

The Sentinel Of An Enlightened Student Body since 1926

As Said by Scottie; Four Factors in Being A Better Fan

BETTER DAYS:

Debrandin Brown

The Southern Digest

Junior forward, Osa Wilson, pushes the ball up the court during the Jaguars inner conference matchup against Alabama A&M on Saturday, Februrary 23 inside F.G. Clark Activity Center. (Destiny Speaks/DIGEST)

Jags End Losing Streak; top Bulldogs Debrandin Brown

The Southern Digest

The Southern Jaguars men’s basketball team took on Alabama A&M in what was a closely contested and defensively oriented affair.

The first half of play saw aggressive play from the Jags, who came out focused offensively and defensively against a skilled Alabama A&M team who was coming

off of a loss vs Alabama State University.

Behind the scoring of Sidney Umude, the Jags were able to build an early lead of 21-10 midway through the first half of play. Umude would finish the game with 18 points and would lead both teams in scoring.

When asked about Umude’s performance after the game, Head Coach Sean Woods

praised his play, but also noted that, “we have to get that contribution all of the time [from him] in order for us to achieve our goals going forward.”

After leading by as many as 16 points with less than five minutes left in the half, the Jags relinquished their lead by way of turnovers and inefficient offense for a stretch in the latter parts of the first

half.

Behind the scoring of Sidney Umude and Richard Lee, the Jags took a 36-28 lead into the locker room heading into the second half of play.

Unlike the first half of play, the second half saw Alabama A&M knocking down threepointers in an attempt to fight their way back into the game See BETTER DAYS page 5

Tennis Remains Hopeful Despite Loss to Hornets Alesha Bethea

The Southern Digest

Southern University’s women’s tennis team took on the Alabama State Bulldogs on Friday aiming for their first win of the season. With their first matches kicking off at 8am, the team had an early start to their day.

Although the Jags were hopeful coming into Friday morning’s contest, the game quickly went away from them as they continually fell behind all morning.

Tanaka Chakanyuka, a civil engineering major from Zimbabwe, recounts her singles match, revealing, “I really think that I was pretty good when it came to...attacking. My only problem was getting the balls in, so I need to work on my consistency. I need to work on those attacking shots [to] make sure that I actually get the target, but I wasn’t defending a lot so that’s pretty good. I’m happy that I wasn’t just waiting for [my

opponent] to make a mistake...I really think that tennis is mostly a mental game, so I just have to prepare my mind…[and] work on my mentality.”

Stephanie Mbaya, a junior from Nairobi, Kenya, was able to attest to the team’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as what she does to prepare for her matches normally, and this match in particular.

According to Mbaya, “I feel like we’re mentally stronger now [but] we all really need to work on...fighting for the important points. I think about my match before I go on. That includes my strategy, what’s working, what’s not, what the person on the other side is doing, and just fighting for every point” Ultimately, the Lady Jags dropped the days’ contest with a score of 0-4, as they continue to search for their first win of the season.

The Digest got the opportunity to speak with the women’s head tennis coach, Jeff Conyers, about what he believes the team needs to work on in

order to build on the progress they have made this season in the future.

Jeff reports to the Digest, “Definitely being relentless, that’s our motto at Southern, and knowing what it means to be a Jaguar.

So, I think everybody needs to try to find out what it means to be a Jag right now [and] what it means to be relentless... once we get that worked out I think everything will be alright,” It is clear that Coach Conyers sees the potential in his team’s ability to rise to the occasion and claim a victory.

Southern University’s women’s tennis team have their eye on the prize. With a common goal and a clear understanding of what they must improve on, the Lady Jags will look for a better showing Saturday as they take on Grambling in Baton Rouge at 12pm.

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In Louisiana, basketball has always been the 2nd option for fans behind football, and on Southern University’s campus, this trend is no different.

As far as basketball is concerned however, Southern University’s Geaux Team, among many others, have been on a mission to raise fan attendance and participation during home basketball games.

One member of the Jaguar Nation who has become a fan favorite during his tenure at Southern, Scott Hendon, was able to give insight into the possible reasons behind a lack of fan attendance, as well as possible ways to improve it moving forward.

Some of the biggest factors that Hendon says he sees in a lack of fan participation at basketball games are a mixture of promotion and a lack transportation.

“Basketball in the SWAC isn’t really promoted or invested into the way that football has been. [For the most part] it’s left up to the students to promote the games campus wide, and that’s hard to do,” admitted said Hendon, a sophomore political science and education major from Tallulah, Louisiana.

With a handful of the student body being the the primary promotion team for an entire sports team, frustration on the hand of the Hendon and student organizations such as the Geaux Team is understandable.

As far as transportation goes, the strenuous weather conditions experienced in Baton Rouge may play a bigger role than many may think, according to Hendon.

“We’ve had some freezing games, hot games, rainy See BETTER FAN page 5

Sports southerndigest.com

The Sentinel Of An Enlightened Student Body since 1926

Tuesday, February 26, 2019 - Page 5 BETTER DAYS from page 4

Senior guard, Danayea Charles, shuffles back to set the offense during the Jaguars matchup against Alabama A&M on Saturday, February 23, inside the SU Mini Dome. (Destiny Speaks/DIGEST)

Lady Jags defeat Alabama A&M to claim 3rd Straight Victory Debrandin Brown

The Southern Digest

After a blowout win against Mississippi Valley State coming into Saturday night’s game vs Alabama A&M, the Lady Jags looked to continue their winning ways on the first of what will be their final 3-game homestand of the season.

The first quarter of the game saw strong play from Southern’s bench unit led by Brittany Rose and Amani McWain, who combined for 14 points on the night. Southern’s bench unit outscored Alabama A&M 14-7 on the way to a 2016 lead early in the first half.

Throughout most of the first half of play, the Lady Jags remained in the lead, but through tough defense on the part of Alabama A&M, were unable to build a solid lead in either the first or second quarter.

The 2nd quarter of play however, saw the Lady Jaguars starters getting involved offensively for

Southern, with senior guard Skylar O’Bear carrying her share of the offensive load, knocking down two big shots to help the Jaguars go into the half with a 32-28 lead.

While the first half saw multiple players step up and make shots for Southern, the 2nd half saw Alyric Scott put Southern’s offensive load on her back as she scored 12 of her 16 points in the 2nd half of play.

While Southern’s lead was consistent throughout the game, missed opportunities were left on the court throughout the first half, whether through easy missed baskets early in the game or the teams 41% free throw shooting through the first half.

“We’ve been kind of lukewarm at times. [But] we shot the ball well from the freethrow line [at certain points in the game], and we’ve done some things in practice to try and improve that,” said Coach Funchess after the

game concerning the team’s lack of consistency at the free throw line.

In the 2nd half however, these problems were rectified as the Lady Jags increased their field goal percentage exponentially, shooting the ball 12-27 from the field and 3-4 from behind the arc, while also knocking down 9-13 from the free throw lines.

The 2nd half of play also saw contributions from Taneara Moore, who finished the night with 8 points and 11 rebounds, and Rishonti Cowart who finished with 8 points and 4 rebounds.

“She’s one of our [best] midrange jump shooters, and we wanted to get her in and take advantage of that zone. And when she got the open looks, she knocked them down and got us rolling a little bit,” said Coach Funchess in regards to Cowart and what she was able to provide for the team after he admitted she wasn’t feeling well at halftime.

Between Skylar O’Bear,

who finished the night with 16 points and 9 boards, Moore and Cowart, the trio of starters combined to finish the game with 32 of the Jaguars 68 points.

On the night, Southern outrebounded Alabama A&M 5134, and talking to Head Coach Carlos Funchess after the game, he acknowledged that his squads rebounding was an area of emphasis going into the night’s game.

“I thought that was going to be one of the keys to the game; us getting those offensive boards and getting second shot [opportunities],” said Coach Funchess. “We had a size advantage at the four spot, and I think we took advantage of it and that helped us pull out the win.”

The Lady Jaguars defeated the Alabama A&M Lady Bulldogs 68-60 to continue their dominance in the SWAC as they look to finish out their final home stretch of the season undefeated.

after falling down big earlier in the game.

Richard Lee, who knocked down three-3 pointers in the first half of the game, continued his hot shooting from the field in the second half of play. Lee finished the game with 12 points, going 4-10 from the field while tallying four rebounds.

While Alabama A&M would make a push to get back into the game later in the 2nd half behind a late three-point shooting streak, Umude and the Jags wouldn’t relinquish their lead at all in the 2nd half of play.

Getting contributions from all over the floor, including Umude who would score 8 points in the second half, the Jags were able to hold on to their lead late in the fourth quarter to defeat the Alabama A&M Bulldogs by a score of 59-49.

“We haven’t been making shots, especially on the road.

But were able to come home and make some shots,” said Coach Sean Woods when asked how his team came out with the win after losing the last couple of games.

Although the Jags were able to secure the victory against Alabama A&M, this was their 5th win of the season, and as such, the men’s team is currently on the outside looking in as far as tournament talk goes.

“Even though it’s been a tough season, these guys haven’t quit. They’re defending like no other, [and even in loses] we’ve been putting on a clinic defensively,” said Coach Woods in reference to his team’s struggles this season and their response to that adversity.

The Jaguars will face Alcorn at home next Saturday at 5pm on Senior Night to finish their home schedule out strong.

@southernu_osm

on Instagram

BETTER FAN from page 4 games, and [it gets to the point] where students who have to walk all the way from the back of campus are saying, ‘I’m not doing that’....I feel that in the future, SGA has to work to somehow make some sort of transportation, whether that be trying to get two or three shuttles [or something] to make transportation easier,” said Hendon.

As far as what the student body itself can do to make game days better however, Scott gave his own list of ways to give the Jaguars a real home court advantage when they step on the court.

The first two features on his list were straight out of football’s Coach Odum’s book of fandom, which encouraged a real Southern experience for visiting teams and fans. “[First] you’ve got to be willing to talk s**t. [And secondly], you’ve got to be rude to the enemy,” said Hendon.

Hendon also credits Coach Odums for putting emphasis on the aggression factor on part of Southern fans. “[Most importantly], we have to be supportive and show support win or lose,” said Hendon.

On the part of the university and the student body, there are a multitude of ways to improve fan attendance as well as increase the notoriety of our home court advantage in the SWAC. Going into the final stretch of this season, Scott emphasized just how much the basketball teams need student support going into March, especially with tournament play likely being a huge factor in the conclusion of our highly-seeded women’s basketball team season.

“Never give up on your team, because

when times get tough, that’s when they need you the most,” said Hendon in a final message to the Jaguar Nation who may need the extra push to come out and show support.

The final home game of the 2018-19 regular season is on March 2 vs Alcorn on Senior Night, so come out and support the Jags as they look close the season out to a full house at the F.G. Clark Activity Center.

Photos of the Week southerndigest.com

Page 6 - Tuesday, February 26, 2019

The Sentinel Of An Enlightened Student Body since 1926

Active underdgraduate and Alumni members of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. joined together to stroll for the Alpha Sigma chapter 2019 KAPPAWEEK at the Kappa house on February 22. (Da’Ravia Douglas/DIGEST)

Vice President of Regions Bank, Teri Thomas shares ways that students can save and budget thier income, during the financial literacy event hosted by the Alpha Sigma chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity, Inc. on Tuesday, February 18. (Kiyanna Givens/DIGEST)

Students talking to Sherwin Williams representatives at the spring 2019 Career Exploration Career Fair on Wednesday, February 20 in the F.G. Clark Activity Center (Ella Dodor/DIGEST)

Team “10k” performs for the old school round during the Shimmy Like A Nupe competition in the University Activity Center on February 21. (Bailie Boyd/DIGEST)

A statue of the Royal Family includes a king, his wives, and servants is completely made of brass and was donated by a west African country named Benin; it sits in Southern University Museum of Art. (Jaila Lavender/DIGEST)

Senior guard, Richard Lee, prepares to release a jumpshot over A&M’s Walter Jones, Jr. during the Jaguars game versus Alabama A&M University on Saturday, February 23 in the SU Mini Dome. (Destiny Speaks/DIGEST)

Photos of the Week southerndigest.com

The Sentinel Of An Enlightened Student Body since 1926

(right) Porfolio Development & Integration Lead for Essilor of America, Callie Harris, consults with Freshman, mechanical enginerring major, Dailynn Thomas, during the Career Advice & Slice event hosted by Career Services on Tuesday, February 19. in the Smith-Brown Memorial Student Union.

(DIamond Butler/DIGEST)

SU Agriculture Science students allow visitors to pet a rabbit while learning about environmental importance and the inhabitants of local bayous on February 23 during the High school Day 2019. (Keenon Glover/DIGEST)

A classic UNO game seems to get interesting at the Girls Night presented by the SUBR Society of Women Engineers. (Khidhr Al-Mustafa/DIGEST)

Members of the Alpha Sigma Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity, Inc. stroll during their Kappa week at Pretty Wednesday. (Khidhr Al-Mustafa/DIGEST)

Tuesday, February 26, 2019 - Page 7

Senior forward, Sidney Umude, squares off against A&M’s Gerron Scissum at the tip off the Jaguars game versus Alabama A&M University on Saturday, February 23 in the SU Mini Dome. (Destiny Speaks/DIGEST)

Contestant #5 Maya Kleinpeter performing the opening number at the Miss Krimson and Kreme pageant on February 20, 2019 in the Event Center. (Kyndall Jones/DIGEST)

Arts & Entertainment southerndigest.com

Page 8 - Tuesday, February 26, 2019

The Sentinel Of An Enlightened Student Body since 1926

Movie Night at the Southern Grind Cofé Dante Davis

The Southern Digest

The Southern Grind Cofé played host to Southern University’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, for a movie night on Thursday, February 21. The feature flick for the night was The Hate U Give, a movie about a young black girl who witnesses the death of her friend at the hands of a police officer, and, like any good movie experience, included free drinks and snacks.

The president of the NAACP, Kelsey Perine, decided to show The Hate U Give specifically because the movie highlights issues within the black community such as police brutality, double consciousness, and snitching, “[the movie is] about kids our age, issues that affect our community, and I just hoped that it would start a good discussion so that we could find some

Students awaiting the start of The Hate You give During Movie Night at the Southern Grind on Thursday, February 22.

(DeBrandin Brown//Digest)

solutions.” Towards the larger goal of creating discourse, following the movie, there was a planned Q&A session.

Unfortunately, due to slight delays, the Q&A session was canceled. Nonetheless, the event was a success and

according to a sophomore in attendance from New Orleans, Derrick Stewart, “It was a good experience, very professional and well organized.”

Several other attendees had similar things to say about it,

with the general atmosphere of the movie being one of positivity and enjoyment.

Kelsey also agrees with the success of movie night and is hoping to use the positivity and feedback from this event for events in the future, “I believe it was a great turn out and the NAACP is looking forward to put on more in the future.”

The host for the night, Southern Grind Cofé, is a relatively new business as it approaches its first full year of business. The shop itself sells freshly baked pastries, smoothies made from fresh fruit, and any type of coffee or espresso and markets itself accordingly as an organic coffee and smoothie shop.

With it being located less than five minutes away from Southern’s campus, located directly off of Scotland Avenue, the shop is within walking distance for on campus students without vehicles. All this makes the Southern Grind Cofé the perfect local to host events

SUGC Performs at Shell Oil Refinery Celebrating Black History Month Kiyanna Givens

The Southern Digest

Thursday of last week, Southern University’s very own gospel choir led by Southern faculty member and choir director Ernest Bowman, Jr., assisted by Southern student Roland Stewart, was invited to be apart of a black history program at the Shell Convent Refinery in St. James Parish, Louisiana.

The Southern University Gospel Choir (SUGC) sang three selections. The first song was “He’s Alright” by Edwin Hawkins. The next selection was “Keep on Believing” by Jeffrey Williams And the final song the choir sang for the evening was “The Old Time Way” by J. Lindsey Williams.

These are all well known written songs by prominent African-American artists in the gospel industry.

SUGC member and junior social work major from Baton Rouge, Deijon Hughes said, “Representing the Southern University Gospel Choir at Shell Oil black history celebration was very monumental to me. It allowed me to to see that God is taking the gospel choir to different

Members of the Southern University Gospel Choir rejoice during Shell’s Refinery & Adminastration: Black History Program on Thursday, February 22 under the direction of Earnest Bowman Jr. in Covent, LA. (Jodeci Ashford/DIGEST)

levels. It allowed us to be open to a new atmosphere; to just honor God anywhere any place and not be restricted to only praising him in the four walls of a church.”

The crowd was engaged throughout the entirety of the performance. At the end

of the performance, Southern University Gospel Choir received a standing ovation from the crowd. An employee in the process operations field at Shell by the name of John W. Barnes gave his praise to the choir by saying, “[SUGC] is the best choir that I’ve ever

heard.”

A maintenance analyst by the name of Karen Smith organized and also hosted the event. Karen is from Philadelphia and she now works Louisiana at the Shell Convent Refinery.

During an interview, the program coordinator confidently spoke about her goals for this event and said, “It’s Black History Month and I am apart of Shell Black Network. We decided that we wanted to host a program. We invited high school students from the parish and some of the refinery employees to come and celebrate black history. This is our first time ever planning this event. We will do it again and we will invite SUGC next year as well.”

Anyone wanting to know more about the gospel choir can visit their website at w w w.sugospelchoir.com.

The gospel choir also has an Instagram page (@su_ gospelchoir). Anyone that wants to join the gospel choir next semester or anyone that wants the choir to perform can visit the website and social media listed above.

for any and all organizations that are struggling to get events approved on campus.

This is especially true since owner, Horatio Isadore, is a Southern graduate from the Agricultural Science Department. Isadore is also more than willing to host more events for organizations in the future as one of his primary motivators for opening up a coffee shop down the street, five minutes from Southern was to serve Southern students, “It’s y’alls, it’s open for the students. I never had nothing like this when I went to Southern.”

With the success of the NAACP’s movie night, more events from other organizations looking to host off-campus events will attempt to make the Southern Grind Cofé the location of said event. If this projected trend continues, then the Southern Grind Cofé will become the spot to be.

Feature: southerndigest.com

The Sentinel Of An Enlightened Student Body since 1926

Tuesday, February 26, 2019 - Page 9

The History of Mardi Gras Rocelyn Hamilton

The Southern Digest

It’s that time of year again where people are gearing up for one of the most highly anticipated holidays, Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras is a time where people let loose and party down Bourbon and the French Quarter and enjoy the many different parades during the celebration.

Also known as ‘Fat Tuesday’, Mardi Gras has its roots as a pagan tradition and dates back to spring celebrations and the ancient Roman festivals like Saturnalia and Lupercalia.

The holiday typically starts twelve days after Christmas and runs up until the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent where people fast and give up certain habits for 40 days leading up to Easter. Because of this, Mardi Gras serves as

the prelude to Lent, where people indulge in merriment, food, and sometimes alcohol.

This year, the holiday falls on March 5.

Although Mardi Gras is mainly associated with being in New Orleans, it originated in Mobile, Alabama. Their first Mardi Gras celebration was in 1703 when the French settled at Twenty-Seven Mile Bluff, the first settlement of Mobile. They held a celebration and continued with traditions from their homeland of France.

The first recorded parade was in 1711 and it included a bull-head that was rolled on wheels down Dauphin street by 16 men. Parades really were not a major part of Mardi Gras until the 1830s, when a man named Michael Krafft and his friends raided a hardware store and paraded through downtown Mobile with rakes, cowbells,

(Rocelyn Hamilton/DIGEST ART)

and other farming tools.

They called themselves the Cowbellion de Rakin Society, which is believed to be the first parading mystic society.

Later on, several members moved to New Orleans and continued their traditions.

While New Orleans and Mobile typically share some of the same Mardi Gras traditions, one tradition that

What To Wear And What To Bring: Parade Edition Aliya Creecy

The Southern Digest

Parade season is the most “lit” season of the year, especially in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The food, music, and culture during parade season is very lively and unique, unlike any other state’s celebrations.

New Orleans is definitely the place to be, as the experience is unforgettable.

However, there are some crucial tips for what to wear and bring that should be taken into consideration before partaking in any parade festivities.

Check the weather ahead of time. Louisiana is usually very hot and humid during this time of year.

That means plenty of water or juice is needed to stay hydrated. Light weight and looser clothing is most likely the best choice. Staying cool is the key to feeling good in Louisiana’s mostly “spicy” climate.

Because of the hot climate, a protective hairstyle would potentially be more comfortable. A bun or braids would last longer in most cases than a fresh

silk press or flat ironed curls. Individuals with locs or longer hair may want to keep some hair ties close by.

A hat is also recommended for the days when the sun is beaming bright.

Ladies who wear makeup should invest in a longwearing foundation, a press powder and a long lasting setting spray. It’s a heartbreaker to look down and see a melted face all over a new shirt.

An important clothing tip would be to invest in a small backpack or fanny pack to carry items like a cell phone, keys or wallet in. Also pack tissue or wipes and sanitizer. Bringing a purse or bag that requires in-hand carrying may not be as convenient. You’ll need both hands to catch beads and other goodies that are thrown off of the floats. It’s also easier for items to get stolen that are not securely attached to the body.

Shoes! Shoes! Shoes!

Unless the plan is to enjoy the agonizing pain of your feet pulsating after standing for so long, some comfortable tennis shoes

are highly recommended.

Hours of walking and standing can be harsh on the feet if comfortable shoes are not worn. Parade routes can also get pretty nasty after beads are thrown and horses have come and gone.

It’s definitely not worth messing up brand new Nikes or Adidas.

Speaking of standing, it would be beneficial to invest in a foldable picnic chair to bring along. Parades can last for hours and multiple parades happen on the same day following right after one another.

When planning to attend multiple parades, a portable charger will come in handy. Safety is very important during this time, so it is imperative that every person has some form of communication.

Parades are more enjoyable when a group goes together. Each person in the group should exchange numbers to stay in case anyone gets separated.

What is worn and brought to parade festivities can almost always affect the experience. Planning ahead will ensure a great time!

distinguishes Mobile from New Orleans is the throwing of Moon Pies during parades.

In the 1950s, Cracker Jacks were originally a staple favor, or ‘throw’, thrown into crowds but float organizers wanted to find something that was lighter and less harmful to people. Eventually they were banned because of the sharp corners of the boxes. They

then turned to Moon Pies, which were soft but still had some weight to them.

Other traditions associated with Mardi Gras have a history of their own. The traditional dessert king cake is said to date all the way back to Medieval times as different cultures celebrated the twelfth day of Christmas with sweets and gifts. During this time, kings would visit newborn baby Jesus and bring sweets and gifts of their own. These cakes are fried and frosted in the traditional Mardi Gras colors. With each cake a tiny plastic baby is baked inside of it. Whoever finds the baby in their piece of cake will be rewarded with ‘good luck’.

That person is responsible for bringing the king cake to the next party, or throwing the next king cake party.

Mardi Gras has been cancelled only a handful of times, both cities continue to attract large audiences for those looking to enjoy the plethora of parades, balls, and other festivities to celebrate the unique holiday.

Let the Good Times Roll! laissez le bon temps rouler QUIZ Kiyanna Givens & Kennon Glover/DIGEST

Though it is most commonly associated with New Orleans, where did Mardi Gras actually originate in the United States?

1. Tensas Parish, Louisiana 2. Mobile, Alabama 3. Orleans, France 4. Baton Rouge, Louisiana Mardi Gras comes the day before which season?

1. Lent 2. Carnival 3. Summer 4. Christmas What are you legally required to have in order to ride a float?

1. Beads 2. A Job 3. A Mask 4. Clothes matching the theme Mardi Gras is historically linked to which holiday?

1. Holi, of the Hindus 2. Saturnalia, of the Romans 3. Feast of Saint Patrick, of the Irish 4. Fete Guédé, of Haiti What is Mardi Gras also known as in Ireland, England, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada?

1. Pancake Day 2. All Saints Day 3. Ash Wednesday 4. Good Friday Which country brings in 70% of its tourism off of the season proceeding Mardi Gras?

1. Czech Republic 2. Brazil 3. Bangladesh answers on page 10 4. Mexico

Arts & Entertainment southerndigest.com

Page 10 - Tuesday, February 26, 2019

The Sentinel Of An Enlightened Student Body since 1926

Triumph and disappointment for Spike Lee at Oscars Lynn Elber

Ap Television Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Spike Lee’s first-ever competitive Oscar award turned a mostly staid ceremony into one with joy and passion, but that later gave way to frustration.

Lee, who captured the best adapted screenplay trophy for “BlacKkKlansman,” jumped into the arms of presenter, longtime collaborator and close friend Samuel L. Jackson when he took the stage Sunday to accept his award with Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott. The audience gave him a standing ovation.

But Lee’s mood appeared to turn sharply when the trophy for best movie went to competitor “Green Book.”

Seated in the audience, a visibly angry Lee waved his hands in disgust and appeared to try to walk out of the Dolby Theatre. He made his way back to his seat and later backstage to answer questions.

“This is my sixth glass, and you know why,” he said, smiling and holding a champagne flute aloft when he met with reporters. He briefly touched on his reaction to the “Green Book” win.

“I’m snake-bit. Every time someone’s driving somebody, I lose,” Lee said. He was drawing a parallel between “Green Book,” about the real-

Top 10 Places to Visit In New Orleans During Mardi Gras 1. Manchus Chicken 2. Cajun’s Seafood 3. Cafe Du Monde 4. Aquarium (IMAX) 5. Bourbon Street 6. Chicken and Watermelon 7. Golden Wings

Spike Lee poses with the award for best adapted screenplay for “BlacKkKlansman” in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

life Southern journey of a white man driving AfricanAmerican pianist Don Shirley, and the 1989 best-picture Oscar winner “Driving Miss Daisy,” about a wealthy white woman and her black chauffeur.

“Green Book” has been lauded by its makers and cast as tribute to racial tolerance, but critics have condemned it as sentimental and outdated.

Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” was a best original screenplay nominee and not in direct competition with “Driving Miss Daisy,” he noted, wearing rings bearing the words “LOVE” and “HATE” on his left and right knuckles, recalling a key prop from “Do the Right Thing.”

The veteran filmmaker had waited a long time to be recognized by his peers in the

movie industry beyond the honorary Oscar he received in 2016 for his contributions to movies, earning his first Oscar nod for his 1989 film.

On stage as he won his award, Lee was the epitome of excitement. After unleashing an expletive as he warned Oscar producers not to put a clock on his speech, Lee noted that his award came during Black History Month, and recited a litany of facts, among them the 400-year-old enslavement of Africans and transport to America. He also said his grandmother was a graduate of the predominately black Spelman College, despite her mother having been a slave.

“Before the world tonight, I give praise to our ancestors who helped build this country,” Lee said. “We all

connect with our ancestors ... when we love our humanity.”

He also waded into politics, citing the 2020 presidential election and calling on people to mobilize and “be on the right side of history. Make the moral choice between love versus hate.”

“Let’s do the right thing — you know I had to get that in there.”

Lee’s film includes footage of Trump after the 2017 violent white supremacist protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Lee did not directly name Trump at the Oscars but Trump tweeted Monday that Lee did a “racist hit on your President.”

Trump claimed that he had “done more for African Americans” than “almost” any other president.

8. River Walk 9. French Market 10. Jackson Square GARLAND JOHNSON/DIGEST

laissez le bon temps rouler Quiz ANSWERS 1: b. Mobile, Alabama 2: a. Lent 3: c. A Mask 4: b. Saturnalia, of the Romans 5: a. Pancake Day 6: b. Brazil

Regina King wins Oscar for ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ Lynn Elber

AP Television Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Regina King’s flowing gown nearly tripped her up on the way to collect her Oscar trophy, the actress’ only misstep this award season.

King was honored as best supporting actress for “If Beale Street Could Talk” at Sunday’s ceremony, a final flourish to a run of victories including a Golden Globe trophy, Independent Spirit award and numerous honors from film critics’ groups.

King, who gave an impassioned acceptance speech at the January Globes calling for equal opportunity for women in Hollywood, paid tribute at the Oscars to her mother, God and the writer whose work was the basis for “If Beale Street Could Talk.”

“To be standing here,

representing one of the greatest artists of our time, James Baldwin, it’s a little surreal,” an emotional King said. She lauded the late Baldwin for birthing the story and writer-director Barry Jenkins for nurturing and surrounding it with “so much love and support.”

“So it’s appropriate for me to be standing here, because I’m an example of what it looks like support and love is poured into you,” she said.

King switched her attention to her beaming mother, who had accompanied her to the ceremony.

“Mom, thank you for teaching me that God is leaning, has always been leaning, in my direction,” King said, concluding her speech with “God is good, all the time.”

Amy Poehler, one of the presenters of King’s trophy, offered her more kudos

Regina King poses with the award for best performance by an actress in a supporting role for “If Beale Street Could Talk” in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

(Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

backstage: “What an amazing speech by Regina,” Poehler said.

King’s heels caught in her gown as she started to take the stage. Coming to her rescue:

Chris Evans, aka Captain America, who helped steady her as she got untangled.

The other nominees in the supporting actress category were Amy Adams for “Vice,”

Marina de Tavira with “Roma” and Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz for “The Favourite.”

Commentary southerndigest.com

The Sentinel Of An Enlightened Student Body since 1926

Tuesday, February 26, 2019 - Page 11

Career Fair or STEM Fair?

Alesha Bethea

The Southern Digest

If you are not a STEM major then the likelihood that you’ll find a company interested in supplying you with an internship, job opportunity or scholarship information is low. The companies that attend our career fair have such a small, and specific demographic of students that they look for that we shouldn’t even call it a career fair. Just say it’s for STEM majors and keep it pushing.

It’s so upsetting that STEM majors are treated like such a priority while other majors are left out to dry because there’s already so many easily accessible

opportunities available to STEM majors outside of our institution. It’s so much easier to find a sizable scholarship, internship, paid or otherwise, or job opportunity when you’re a STEM major versus other majors. The career fair, however, would be the perfect chance to give other majors the exposure to resources that they lack. Why not facilitate their success succeeding college as well?

This blatant favoritism of students who are STEM majors over students who aren’t makes me wonder if Southern University even reaches out to those companies which would be interested in students of various majors. It’s not like the STEM field is the only

prevalent career field in our society. We still need teachers, policy makers, marketers, physical therapists, social workers, psychologists, lawyers, etc. Believe it or not, the world didn’t just suddenly stop needing these other professions. In fact, we will always need these professions in order to continue to grow as a society. Shocking, I know.

So, why should those of us striving to fill those needs be treated like second class citizens at what is supposed to be a fulfilling event for all students? It’s not right, and it’s not okay.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that Southern should just rip the opportunities away from

STEM majors and make them fend for themselves. Just because it’s easier for them to find promising opportunities within their field doesn’t mean Southern shouldn’t assist them in obtaining them. I do believe, however, that Southern needs to branch out and expand the list of corporations that we ask to attend. Show the entire student body that, no matter what degree they’re going after, that there are opportunities available to them. A lot of students aren’t sure where to start when it comes to searching for resources. The career fair is supposed to be an outlet that assists them with their search. It can’t do that if it’s only catering to a select few

students.

Also, let it be known that I understand there is a higher demand for those persons pursuing STEM majors.

Statistically speaking, in this day and age there should be a higher ratio of companies seeking STEM majors than companies seeking otherwise attending our career fair.

Nevertheless, the career fair should be a place where students of all majors can dress business professional, print out an ungodly number of résumés, and find a good amount of companies interested in recruiting people within their field.

Speak Up and Never Remain Silent Diamond Butler

The Southern Digest

In college, a person should be able to feel safe in their learning environment, especially females. In today’s world, females already have a difficult time because we are continuously judged. It is even worse when women in college are trying to better themselves by gaining a higher education, but are still at risk of being sexually assaulted.

In a college, or a professional setting, women should not have to fear being sexually assaulted by someone in a higher position.

In this #METOO era, women and men are coming forward

by the droves. Some of these assaults happened years ago, but predatory behaviors were accepted for so long, it became a norm and was overlooked.

Every day someone gets sexually assaulted. Many don’t say anything because they fear being criticized. Will they get help or even be taken seriously if they come forward? Keeping quiet leads to a life with severe mental dilemma, which isn’t a way to live.

By now, most people heard about the protest on February 13. Chancellor-Dean of the Ag Center, Bobby Phills, resigned from his position for “a personnel matter.” But really, it was because of allegations

of sexual misconduct with female students. Four women came forward and admitted to experiencing sexual misconduct from Phills, but it still wasn’t enough for the school to take the reports seriously.

Southern was going to “possibly” rehire him. That just makes you wonder why a school with such a tremendous impression in the African American community would ignore the concerns of African American female students when they are placed in these uncomfortable situations. It’s like the university is saying they don’t care about the wellbeing of their female students.

Southern needs to make changes in how they handle sexual misconduct. It’s wrong, and immoral to ignore the victims and rehire him. You should be protecting the victim because at the end of the day, they have to live with the memory of what happened.

There also needs to be new ways to protect women from being sexually assaulted on campus. In addition, annual seminars should be held for students and faculty to learn what to do if they’re in an uncomfortable position, or sexually assaulted.

If you ever become a victim of assault, immediately contact the HR department and

Y’all Do Know We Have a Women’s Basketball Team...Right?

Ella Dodor

The Southern Digest

So we just gonna keep acting like Southern’s women’s basketball team isn’t dominating the court? Oh y’all didn’t know that, huh?

Probably because you don’t show up to the women’s games as much as you do the men’s.

Well let me be the first to tell you our girls are out there killing the game. I don’t even like sports that much, but the girl’s played with so much aggression and passion that I couldn’t keep my eyes off the court. I was literally on the edge of my seat because I felt like I was watching a movie.

Unfortunately, they don’t get the credit they deserve because y’all think it’s cute to only show up and show out when the boy’s play.

Let’s talk about that real quick, shall we? The record for our women’s basketball team is 15 wins and 10 losses. The record for our men’s basketball team is 5 wins and 21 loses.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Read it again to make sure it sinks in. Our women’s basketball team record is substantially better than that of our men’s yet the amount of support and recognition they get is drastically different. Am I missing something? I must

be because why else would y’all be putting our men’s team on a pedestal and leaving our women’s team on the back burner? Is it really so difficult to show up a little earlier to support your Lady Jags? All I’m saying is, I’m gonna really need y’all to keep that same energy you have for the men’s games for the women’s games too.

By the way, this message doesn’t just apply to our women’s basketball team, either. Y’all are apprehensive to support any and all of our women’s sports teams. If they’re not the cheerleaders or the Dancing Dolls then virtually no one seems to care.

Just because it’s blatantly obvious during basketball season doesn’t mean I don’t peep y’all’s absence from the other sports too. But, I digress.

There’s only one home game left on March 2 against Alcorn State, and it’s senior night. If supporting the seniors in their last home game isn’t enough motivation to go, then I don’t know what is. What I want for y’all to do is throw on some Southern paraphernalia, grab those streamers y’all kept from football season, and hitchhike a ride from somebody to the mini dome to see our girls in action. Spoiler alert, they do not disappoint.

Check out our website for more exclusive content: www.southerndigest.com

the campus police or Baton Rouge Police Department.

Also, receive counseling. It’s unhealthy to keep all that bottled up. There’s a student health center and counseling center right here on campus.

There’s also the Baton Rouge Sexual Trauma Awareness & Response (STAR) Center, which offers 24 hour assistance. They all have resources that will help you through this, you don’t have to go through this alone. Always speak up. They will never silence us!!

SUBMISSIONS POLICY

The Southern DIGEST welcomes letters from readers commenting on current issues and other matters of general interest to the SU family and public.

We set aside this space to publish these letters for others to enjoy. This newspaper is not responsible for individual opinions expressed in submissions, editorials, opinions and commentary pieces. It is the sole opinion of the writer and does not reflect the views of any professional faculty, staff or administrator of the University.

The Southern DIGEST reserves the right to edit any contributions and or reject them without notification.

Authors are encouraged to limit the length of submissions to 300 words.

Letters should not include libelous statements. Offensive and personal attacks will not be permitted. The DIGEST will not print “open letters” addressed to someone else. All contributions must be type written, signed and must include the author’s address and phone number. Unsigned letters will not be printed. Southern University students should include their majors, hometowns and year in school. When referring to specific DIGEST articles, please include the date and title. All materials should be directed to the editor in chief of The Southern DIGEST, P.O. Box 10180, Baton Rouge, La. 70813. Materials may be delivered by hand to the DIGEST office located in Suite 1064 Harris Hall or can be e-mailed to digest@subr.edu.

Commentary southerndigest.com

Page 12 - Tuesday, February 26, 2019

The Sentinel Of An Enlightened Student Body since 1926

Plants in SU area and their effect on students Ella Dodor

The Southern Digest

Chemical plants in Baton Rouge, more precisely, in the Southern University area, have been emitting polluting chemicals into the air, water and soil. Regulations and projects have been put in motion to ameliorate the cleanliness of the air in Baton Rouge.

Although there is progress being made to diminish the pollution, there is still a large amount of pollutants being released into the atmosphere every day. These pollutants affect the inhabitants of the area the most.

Many plants, such as ExxonMobil, pay penalties to “improve” pollution control.

But, they’re really just paying penalties to the surrounding area inhabitants to die slowly.

Payment, however, does not clean up the air, or make the damages on the ecosystem any less.

According to The Advocate, ExxonMobil agreed to pay a penalty, and improve pollution control at three of their Baton Rouge plants as part of a settlement with federal authorities who accused them of violating the Clean Air Act. The Clean Air Act, however, was put into motion to resolve the air and pollution related problems. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Louisiana has been trying to improve the air quality for some years now.

In their 2013 Transportation

Apartments that currently house Southern University students sit behind these gates near the plant. (Khidhr Al-Mustafa/DIGEST)

Water plant near the campus of Southern University. (Khidhr Al-Mustafa/DIGEST)

Technology Deployment Report, Louisiana Clean Fuels reported that within their covered area, almost 1 million gallons of gasoline equivalents and almost 5,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions had been reduced mainly through their activities.

In the case of Southern University, the money is going to the school, but the students are the ones who live on campus, or accommodate to find housing near campus and suffer the most from the pollution. When coming to Southern, the students are not being informed of such pollutions. The advocate also said that they’re not aware of the risk that they’re being

exposed to. As a matter of fact, most people aren’t aware of certain facts about ExxonMobil. Many don’t know that regulators said the company spewed unlawful amounts of chemicals linked to cancer and smog at eight facilities in Louisiana and Texas.

Should the school really get paid for students to get intoxicated? Living in such environmental conditions can have short term, as well as long term effects on health.

It can impair the immune systems and other systems of the body. Also, it causes headaches, and respiratory problems.

A Southern University, computer science major, from

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Candace Chatman said, “I didn’t know that Southern received money for the pollution. If the money is being used for campus restauration, that’s understandable. It doesn’t help the on-campus students however. It would be better if the money was refunded back to the students.”

This affects the whole ecosystem, and there should be a bigger emphasis on this issue. Most of the time people do not make a big deal about environmental problems, but those are the most serious ones and no action will be taken unless something happens.

(Jairus Moore/DIGEST)