Ariana Triggs/DIGEST SU Chancellor James Llorens explains to freshman students the importance of their first year on campus at the “First Year Experience” (FYE) held Monday March 17, 2014 in W. Stewart Hall Auditorium.
behind the program came from wanting to address the retention problem that the university faces. There The Center for Teaching was a need for a program and Learning Excellence that would help freshman (CTLE) was implemented into successfully matriculate Southern University and A&M College in an effort to assist students throughout their first year of college. The program is dedicated to academic improvement and advising through their offices located on the first floor of Harris Hall. Through the CTLE, the First Year Experience Program (FYE) was implemented into the university in an effort to successfully matriculate freshman and transfer students. Under its direction, Derrick Cavazos, Coordinator for First Year Experience, has a lot planned in order for freshman throughout the university. to get the most of their first year. There are several “When I first came to components built in to FYE Southern University I wish including Common Reads, there had been a program First Year Lecture Series, that was more tailored toward and First Year Fridays. freshman students and the “Hopefully I can get transition that we had to more involved in First Year deal with from high school Experience,” said Brittany to college,” said Cavazos, Chaney, a freshman nursing who’s been working on the major from Baton Rouge. program for two months. “I was never enrolled in Cavazos, who has served freshman seminar because on campus as an adjunct no one gave me an advisor. I professor and CTLE advisor, registered for my own courses said that the inspiration and I didn’t even know Meagan L. Wiliams EDITOR IN CHEIF
where the CTLE office was until today,” Chaney ended. Whether it’s adjusting to campus and recreational life, or keeping up with the course curriculum, others like Chaney are interested in
“Going from high school to college is a transition period and a lot of students tend to get lost in that, but we have resources on campus; students just have to learn how to utilize those resources.” Coordinator for First Year Experience
getting the help they need, but don’t know where to start. For this reason, Cavazos has incorporated “First Year Fridays” (FYF). FYF will begin on March 21st with the transitional series, “Navigating Turns,” lead by Dr. ValaRay Irvin, Director of the University Counseling Center. The FYE Program will work closely with The Center of Student Success (CSS) to provide a number of study skill workshops and informational forums in
order for every student to grasp its program’s mission. “First Year Lecture Series” (FYLS) was implemented to givestudentstheabilitydevelop socially and intellectually through the opportunity to meet and network with some of Southern University’s most prominent faculty and alumni. Freshman Seminar classes will incorporate “common reads” into its classes by assigning books that classes can read together; a strategy that will emphasize the importance of reading throughout any student’s collegiate experience. The first book will be A Lesson Before Dying, by Jane Pittman. On Monday, students heard from Chancellor James Llorens through their Freshman Seminar classes. “Don’t wait until the end of the semester to deal with issues or questions you may have on campus, ” Llorens said. Llorens acknowledged that the FYE program is put in place to help students within any aspect of their first year on campus. Some upperclassmen on campus find that the program is a great addition to the university and can increase communication between students and administration. “I wish I would’ve been better
informed of the consequences of not doing well in my classes. I would’ve liked to have been informed of who I needed to know, where I needed to go, and who I needed to talk to,” said Desmond Babin, a history major from Alexandria. Babin also believes that the lack of social media networks, when he first stepped foot onto Southern’s flagship campus, in 2008 could have aided in the miscommunications surrounding the university. “Now we have social media and it’s an easier way to communicate campus wide so that will aid as well,” Babin ended. “They have resources, and we hare here to show them how to use those resources,” said Cavazos. The FYE Program doesn’t end at the end of a freshman’s first year. As a returning sophomore, Cavazos intends to implement a second-year program called “Each One Reach One” for exceptional students who want to mentor incoming freshmen. For more information on the FYE or to find out how you can make the most of your first year, contact Derrick Cavazos at derrick_cavazos@subr.edu
Four students arrested in campus robbery Marchandrea Seals STAFF WRITER
DIGEST FILE
On Saturday, March 1, 2014 around 6 p.m. Four Southern University students are accused of breaking into a Ulysses Jones Hall dorm room on the night of February 26, 2014. The students demanded money and clothes from the dorm room residents at gun-point. An ongoing investigation taken on by the Detective Division of the University Police lead to the arrest and booking of four students into the
East Baton Rouge Parish Prison with two charges of attempted armed robbery and home invasion. The quad demanded money and clothing. Kailin Sylvain turned himself in and through further investigation Jaleel Bridges, Rodney Briggs, and Deylan Jones. More information will be provided in Thursday’s issue of The Southern Digest.
THE OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AND A&M COLLEGE, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA