ego MAGAZINE September 2011
Reintroduce HIMSELF ALLOW HIM TO
His name is Dr. James Llorens and he’s here to shake the foundation and make the necessary changes
+ PLUS + + + +
Banking On Banks SWAC or No SWAC What Do You Know About Bacon?! The Top 25 Things: Before You Leave SU
ego MAGAZINE ISSN 1936-1793 Vol. 5, Issue 1 SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY Suite 1064 – T.H. Harris Hall P.O. Box 10180 Baton Rouge, LA 70813 225.771.3004 PHONE 225.771.3253 FAX The EGO magazine is written, edited and published by members of the student body at Southern University and A&M College. The EGO magazine is published fives times a year with a run count of 3,000 copies per issue during the Southern University – Baton Rouge campus fall, spring and summer semesters. The magazine is free to students, staff, faculty every publication morning on the SUBR campus. The EGO magazine student offices are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Friday. The offices are located on the first floor on T.H. Harris Hall, Suite 1064. Copyright 2007 by the Southern University Office of Student Media Services. All articles, photographs and graphics are property of EGO magazine and its contents may not be reproduced or republished without the written permission of the Editor in Chief and Director of Media Services. The EGO magazine is the official student magazine of Southern University and A&M College located in Baton Rouge, La. Articles, features, opinions, speak out and editorials do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the administration and its policies. Signed articles, feedback, commentaries and features do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors, staff or student body. Southern University and A&M College at Baton Rouge is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097, telephone (404) 679-4500, Website: www.saccscoc.org.
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Morris Dillard Norman Dotson Jr. Sam Ross
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Wil Norwood Palmer Reed Trevor James
STUDENT MEDIA STAFF
Camelia Gardner, Ad Man. Fredrick Batiste, Pub. Asst.
From the Editor,
In the words of Lil’ Wayne, “sorry for the wait.” Throughout this past summer, I’ve struggled with what to say to you. For everyone who opens the ego magazine I hope that you are happy that you took the time to take a gander. Southern is in a rebuilding phase. Many of the new faces you see on campus are trying to make changes for the better. In fact, I myself have made a couple changes around the bluff hopefully you the reader can appreciate my work. As for new faces on the bluff we have Chancellor Dr. James Llorens (pictured on the cover) and our new men’s basketball coach Roman Banks. Two people who have come back home LaCumba Land to make necessary improvements. For those that have been waiting to crease the pages of the ego and start reading and looking at the pictures, I’m sorry to inform you there aren’t any more pictures in the entire ego. So just read and I promise we’ll paint a mental picture of everything for you. If you looked to check man you are gullible, but I’m glad you’re taking the time out of your day to read the ego magazine. Now I don’t do shout outs, but I do have some people I need to thank: I would like to thank everyone who helped write, or even inspire some sort of creativity for this month’s ego magazine. Without yawl there wouldn’t have been a first edition like the one you are currently reading. I would also like to thank Human Resources. Ms. Smart thank you! Ms. K. Selders thank you!!! Without you I would not get paid!Thanks to KutPro for casting for the SWAG 101. Thank you for reading the ego magazine and enjoy. Sincerely,
D.K. ClarkIII
2012
Southern University
Study Abroad Mexico Senegal China Belize
Change your life through participation in the SU Study Abroad Program For more information contact the Center for International Education 1100 Harris Hall, Southern University and A&M College Tel. 225-771-2613 Fax 225-771-2654
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Ego Magazine | Picture Perfect
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We’ r e moving
FORWARD
Picture Perfect
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Waking up early on a Saturday morning, Chisolu Isiadinso (pictured left) and members of her court, led students over the hump to begin the annual repainting of LaCumba’s footprints leading future Jaguars home to the bluff.
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PAINTING THE HUMP Picture Perfect
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*Photo by www.jetlens.com
Picture Perfect
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STUDENT MEDIA Write • Photo • Video • Online
We Love
SU SU
Come excersize your first amendment rights! Join student media as apart of the Southern Digest, The Ego Magazine, or the Jaguar Yearbook. Positions are available for beginning staff writers, reporters, photographers, sports writers, and graphic designers. Stop by the Office of Student Media to complete an application. NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED, WE WILL TRAIN YOU! Only thing needed is hustle, desire, a willingness to meet deadlines, attnetion to details, accuracy and a need to see the TRUTH.
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Suite 1064, Harris Hall (across from the bookstore) • call 771-2231 Ego Magazine
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ego MAGAZINE
SEPTEMBER
&
FEATURES COVER STORIES
42 Necessary SWAC Expansion
Making money is the motive, but the SWAC isn’t motivated. BY D.K. CLARK III
14 The Top 25 Things: You MUST Do Before you Leave Southern University Boogedy Boogedy Boogedy
BY D.K. CLARK III
24 10 Years Later
Remembering the events of September 11, 2001 BY NORMAN DOTSON Jr.
12 What Do You Know About Bacon?!? EPIC Mealtime has taken over the internet with their creations for every Tuesday BY SAM ROSS
34 Ol Glory Days
26 The Man with the plan
In “Stumps” second season what wil football have in store for Southern and the community. BY MORRIS DILLARD
How he is going to rebuild trust as well as the University when he takes the helm BY D.K. CLARK, III
38 Banking on Banks
Southern University’s new basketball coach, Roman Banks, returns home to Jaguar Land. BY D.K. CLARK III
18 SWAG 101
Changing your outfit from the classroom for evening events. BY ASHNEY WILLIAMS
48 Kitchen Cut-ups 50 Why You Shouldn’t Drink Bottled Water
52 The Darkness on OUR Campus
54 Final Words Ego Magazine | September 2011
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you
WHAT DO
KNOW ABOUT
BACON ... By Sam Ross
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Ever wonder what some of your favorite not-so-healthy (but delicious) foods would taste like all-in-one? Epic Meal Time, a popular YouTube cooking show, provides quite the experience and a mega OMG fest for millions of viewers by combining random, extremely high-calorie, artery-clogging foods together. Epic Meal Time’s YouTube videos have garnered well over a million views on the videosharing website. The cast members of Epic Meal Time consists of the show’s host, narrator and co-creator, 25-year-old Harley Morenstein; co-creator, Sterling Toth, who acts as cameraman; Alex Perrault, Tyler Lemco, David Heuff, Josh Elkin, and Ameer Atari. Last summer, buzz surrounded a video Morenstein and Toth posted to YouTube of them creating what Morenstein calls, “a pizza more disgusting than we ever thought possible.” The pizza was made up of a Baconator, a Big Mac, a Taco Bell Crunch Wrap, Popcorn Chicken and Chicken Nuggets, onion rings, and last but not least, the world’s most famous side, french fries. By now, you’re probably wondering how such bizarreness came to be. According to Moreinstein, the show’s creator and an ex-school teacher, “We have a video on the internet that’s so old…it’s me, I’m eating a really huge hamburger at Wendy’s with like six patties, 18 strips of bacon, and there’s epic music playing. I like to think about it as the birth of Epic Meal Time.” Shortly after posting the video, it received well over a 100,000 views. The phenomenon known as Epic Meal Time can easily be considered somewhat of an… extreme sport for eating. Yeah. That’ll work. Morenstein likes to think of the cooking show as “Jackass in the Kitchen.” Even right down to its logo, which is a skull with a pot on its head with two kitchen knives as the crossbones, Epic Meal Time is like a cooking show spinoff of the popular MTV series. Since the show’s debut in October of 2010, it has released an episode every Tuesday. Epic Meal Time has also signed with Internet television network, Revision3, since its launching. This past March, Epic Meal Time made an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. As for what’s next for Epic Meal Time, Morenstein says, “Coming in 2012, it’s going to be edible toilet paper. It’s going to be made of cheese. No, but seriously…I know a lot of our fans love some of our sayings. So, t-shirts. We started writing a cookbook, recipes and stuff like that.”
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25 The Top
THINGS YOU
MUST DO
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BEFORE YOU GRADUATE
Fried chicken, red beans and rice, cabbage, and a sausage on the side; going to the dinging hall on Monday is always a must for Jaguar students! But if you don’t have a meal plan to get in or just have some extra Jaguar bucks get a plate from the Home Zone in the Union – they add a little more love to the food.
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Attend a party in the Palisades, but make sure you bring a friend with you because you never really know how the night is going to end when you’re in the Palisades. You might need someone to make sure you get home safely and don’t just wonder off into someone else’s apartment because it can get confusing inside the complex.
Swipe your friends into the dining hall during breakfast, lunch or dinner. No one wants to eat alone and not everyone has a meal plan so share a delicious meal from Mayberry with a friend. They might need it more than you think.
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Join a campaign team during campaign week in the spring semester – you won’t have to wash clothes to get a clean shirt for the rest of the spring semester with all the “Vote for Me!” apparel being passed around on the yard.
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Walk from the front of campus by the bookstore to the back of campus.
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Host a game night in your room/ apartment. Everyone loves playing Taboo, so invite your friends over and enjoy your evening. Plus if you’re lucky someone special might come by to play with you.
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Attend at least one open mic that’s held on the yard – enlighten yourself and expand your horizons. You never know you might find that you’re a poet and didn’t know it.
Go to a Jukebox field show practice. Why shouldn’t we be able to enjoy the fact that the best band in the nation is here at Southern University.
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Ride the Jaguar train all the way around campus in the direction you didn’t mean to go.
Study all night in E.C. Pinchback or T.T. Allain. They are the only two buildings on campus that are open 24 hours during the week other than residence halls. So for those nights you really need to understand the information have a study party in Pinchback or T.T. Allain.
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Appear in the Ego Magazine. Yes, just once see your face on one of these pages and keep it for the rest of your life.
Now you must sing the chorus to “Neck” enthusiastically during every football games that the Jukebox plays the song.
Just one semester you have to indulge yourself – go EXTRA ham – and spend all of your Jaguar dollars in the Union within the first month of activating your card. Now that’s really going DUMB!
Eat your to-go plate inside the dining hall. If you thought you weren’t going to stay and then suddenly saw someone you wanted to break bread with, sit on down. Take out that clean fork and knife, stick your straw in your cup and enjoy your food. Plus, if you finish you still have a to-go plate to fill for your late night snack. It might seem wrong but you paid for the food already, claim your food and save the greenbacks you earned working at Sonic last summer because you’ll need it for number 2 on this list. DON’T PEEK!
Study hard with a man of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated. Scholarship and manly deeds are two of their precepts – duh you want to study with one!
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Eat the free crawfish at Springfest – and bring a water bottle to fill if it’s on the Mayberry lawn because it will be hot, and that’s a guarantee.
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Stay for the 5th quarter! The Human Jukebox plays the best music after the game anyways, so why not stay and listen.
Everyone loves a home cooked meal – that’s a given – during your time at Southern, pick a day, or night, to cook a meal for someone of the opposite sex. Ladies, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. For the fellas, a woman loves a man who can do something serious in the kitchen, not just hit buttons on the microwave. Put in some work and it will all pay off in the end. If you’re too shy to cook and have one-on-one time cook something to you know best and have a potluck dinner.
For Men: Keep a pair of basketball shoes, shorts, a couple of extra tee’s, and a towel in your trunk at all times.
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For Women: Must keep an SU themed “Love Pink” hoodie on your backseat at all times because it gets really cold in Pinchback late at night and keeping warm is the key when your “study buddy” isn’t around.
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You MUST pay your respect to LaCumba at his cage although he is no longer with us. His spirit still lives strong on SU’s campus
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Must skip at least one class because it is raining too hard on any given day. Teachers normally allow students three days a semester to miss class without lowering their grade or some other type of creative punishment.
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Must have at least one racist experience while having fun at LSU. Trust it happens to everyone, but you’ll appreciate SU a little bit more when you get turned around in Tigerland.
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You must attend at least one Bayou Classic! It’s a Southern tradition to drive or ride down to New Orleans the Friday after Thanksgiving Day and start celebrating with the rest of the Jaguar family. Friday’s funtivities normally include the Greek Step show and the always-exciting Battle of the Band (Grambling never really shows). If you don’t experience the weekend at least once before you graduate from Southern then you have not lived a full life as a student of this illustrious institution. Don’t be a square – go to the Bayou Classic!
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Fill out your paperwork for graduation in a timely manner, so you can hurry up and give back to the students of Southern University. Ego Magazine | September 2011
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SWAG CLASS 18
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is in
Session Ego Magazine | September 2011
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It’s Friday, your last class ends at 5:50, and there is an event on campus for 7. You don’t want to wear the same clothing to the event that you wore to class, but you don’t have time to do a complete outfit change. So what can you do? The best thing is to do a simple conversion of your daytime outfit into a night outfit by switching out the accessories and one or two pieces of clothing.
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Women
for the
For jumpsuits, dresses, and rompers a neutral belt and shoes can be worn for the day, while a metallic, studded, or rhinestone encrusted belt and shoes can be switched out and worn for a night look.
If jeans are not dressy enough to wear for the evening, simply switching them out for a skirt may be all you need for an evening look.
{ } Instead of a complete outfit change, a change from toned down necklaces, earrings, rings, and bracelets can be switched out for more decorative sparkling jewlry for the evening.
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10
YEARS LATER ...
Ten years ago on September 11th the world stood in awe of the smoke and flames pouring out the Twin Towers in New York City and the Pentagon. The country, shocked and afraid, hopelessly gazed upon these blazing buildings burn and crumble
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as rescuers tried to save as many lives as they could. 2,996 people died that day in result of this attack on our nation, of these nearly three thousand lives 411 of which were rescue responders, 19 were hijackers and the rest were victims. Plans have been made to commemorate this historic day’s tenth anniversar y for the families of the victims and rescuers. September 11th is one of the most tragic and memorable events of our time and a constant reminder of how precious life is. Ego Magazine | September 2011
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Llorens . . .
James
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Llorens When seeing him for the first time you might wonder, who is that guy? Well that guy in the picture to the left is Southern University and A&M College’s new chancellor. As the Llorens’ era begins ego sat down with Dr. Llorens to get a more personal view of the man and what he has planned for the flagship campus.
Sidenote: Yes, he took that 10 percent paycut to help SU unlike some other administrators.
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Being from Alexandria, what were your thoughts about Southern during your childhood and early adult life?
There were two universities when I was a child. You had Grambling and you had Southern University. When I was a freshman in high school Southern would host the 4H events so there were always events going on at the campus. I even my wife, my sister and my brother-in-law who are all Jaguars.
Do you think being former dean of the Graduate School has prepared you to take the helm of Southern Universities flagship campus and the way Southern does business?
I actually started teaching before I finished my Ph.D. At time Dr. Jewel Prestage, an Alexandria native, was Dean and she asked me while I was studying at LSU if I would like to teach on her campus. Spending time in the undergraduate departments was beneficial to me while I finished my Doctorate degree. I knew from pretty much the beginning that I wanted a leadership position here at Southern. It helps that Baton Rouge is home. All of my opportunities and experiences, have prepared me for the next step. It’s not just the way Southern does things but it’s understanding what the strengths and weaknesses are of the University. In my time I was away I had time to think about what would I could do if I had the opportunity to make things better and that’s what drove me compete for the position of Chancellor. I applied for the job before however it wasn’t my time. God has a plan for everyone, and this is my time.
Right now, the feedback about Southern University hasn’t been positive. With your fresh outlook on the Chancellor position how are you going to regain the trust of alumni and current students? That word ‘trust’ comes up in a lot of alumni conversations.
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When we talk about alumni giving or even talking to others even in anecdotal conversations or whatever, we spend a lot of time around the word ‘trust’ in the institution. My wife and I have a lot of friends who are Southernites, and their lack of trust come from the vast amounts of negative publicity that has come out about the University in the past several years. You have to over come that, and demonstrate through leadership and your personal life. You try to build that into the culture of the University, and the issue of trust is based off one or two instances that have put doubt into the people’s minds. Those few instances are not indicative of the whole University. I know the strength of the staff and faculty, so we have to be upfront and tell the community who we are and stand by our promises with honesty and integrity. It’s not about who has been here nor individual egos — it’s about the students. We’re going to do this until the trust has been regained, which doesn’t happen day one. By demonstrating from day one, and throughout my tenure in office we have to hold ourselves accountable to the students of Jaguar Nation. There are many people out there in the community who can and want to give, we just need to show them we can be trusted with their gifts. Not only alumni, but people in the business community and the corporate world who want to help promote Southern in the state AND in the region.
There are several schools that have their own department of grants and sponsored research. Do you think Southern would be able to build up that program for interested faculty and students to find the money to fund research?
Southern actually has an established office of grants and sponsored research headed by Dr. Stubblefield the Vice Chancellor for research, so I think the mechanism is there just needs to more strongly support the professors. They are there to help and support to help the university in writing and obtaining those grants for research projects and we definitely want to increase the strength of
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their office and their relationship the faculty, as well as students.
Former Chancellor Lomotey had a weekly open door forum for students every Wednesday for an hour. Do you think you’ll be able to offer time for students to voice their issues questions or concerns in a similar manner? Will you be able to offer more time than just one hour?
What I promise to establish is to institute not only the formal means of open door policy, but to be out and available as much a possible not only to student leadership but to the student body as a whole. During my interview process, I mentioned establishing more of a student leadership program where we assign 15 to 20 students around the campus to become more involved with corporate leaders, community leaders, and government leaders. By joining students for something as simple as lunch or whatever it maybe, it’s not going to be so much a structured one hour a week because that won’t be the only time I am available to students. Anyone that knows me I don’t care much about being tied behind a desk, it’s a matter of getting out on the campus and seeing whats going on and how we’re serving the students. Even all the way down to the physical facilities, I have to be out of the office to get valuable interaction with students. The most rewarding calls I received after my appointment were from former students whom I had connected with over the years.
What are you going to do to get better publicity for Southern University?
There are two ways to do that. First, I think Ed Pratt our Media Relations person is great, working with him to make sure we get the good news out. The other thing is just being available out in the community as much as possible, working with business and social organizations. As Chancellor I have to have personal contact with the community as the face of the University and be able to respond honestly to questions. Honest communication in letting people know what we’re doing right and when something goes wrong we do not try to hide it. I’ve gotten a large number or request already about talking to groups about what Southern is doing, and I’m going to try to keep that up with people as long as I can sharing the good news of Southern University.
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Currently our admissions office does not have recruitment tools such as a view book for interested students. With recruitment and retention being mentioned every year at SU, what plans do you have to we give them the resources they need to better recruit students to Southern? We have to! We did that at the graduate school where it was a matter of having materials that went to recruiting affairs. We are facing tighter budgets but we do have Title III funds that are available and there is no excuse not to get as much information out there as possible. Using electronic media to get information out to perspective students and applicants. That’s going to be a primary concern, and from July 1 it is my primary concern to reach out to students who are considering Southern. Once we evaluate what we’ve done we have to immediately plan and put the resources into the office of admissions to promote Southern for the incoming class in fall 2012. Once they are here we have to make sure that the first year students are receiving strong advisement to build that strong foundation for their career. Being three to four semesters ahead to ensure graduation on time, and that has to be done to make sure students are lingering in the University College. I look forward to speaking with students about in what ways we can make the first year experience even better.
better prepare our undergraduate students for graduate programs. We can’t afford to think we can afford to operate in our own little isolated environment. We have to communicate with other institutions around the country and around the world. If we can get our students to take a semester or summer abroad, we can can better prepare students for the global world and give them a more global experience.
With so many programs being cut out, what can we do to get those programs back or to stop the bleeding? If the Board of Regents determines that the program is a low completer, only graduating a couple students a year, doesn’t make sense to still maintain that program. We have to consider the model that we use to prepare our students and a lot of cases we hold on to something just because we’ve had this program for 40 or 50 years. We might be able to better serve students by creating a hybrid program in some situations. It’s not just in Louisiana but across the country all of high education is having to take a look at their degree programs. While taking a look at the programs and seeing are we offering the right degrees, and are the curriculum preparing students to be competitive and offer quality academic programs.
Your connections with other school (attended ) will enhance Southern’s communication with other Universities?
Do you think you would be able to use you contacts to have more donations to SU?
One piece in particular that’s in the works is a friend of mine who is the graduate dean at the University of Florida and I have been talking on a regular basis about in creasing the number of students who enter a master’s program at Southern but then attend another institution for their Doctorate. Students finishing with an undergraduate degrees are entering a very competitive workforce so graduate degrees are becoming necessary to prepare someone for a longer career. We have room for growth in the masters program and
Both at the chancellor’s level but at each college and school, we have to demonstrate to the community, business, and governmental leaders the quality of students that are graduating from SU and hopefully we’ll be able to reintroduce ourselves to those who have the resources to bring them back to the university. They have to know about us so we establish basic advisory councils to bring in the people who are willing to help. We need the people with the resources and income to give back to the University.
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This page is not blank. This page is _ _ _ _ _, a symbol of power, limitless possibilities, and character. On this page you find swag. Trending yet subtle, this page is proud to be _ _ _ _ _. Are you?
Ol’ By Morris Dillard
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DAYS southerndigest.com/the-ego-magazine
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*Photo by Trevor James
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Did the Southern Jaguars 2010 football season prove, once and for all, the value of an established Division I-AA football program? Or did it demonstrate how overdrawn that theory is? It’s been assumed that the jaguar nation has high expectations for their team, but the bar is being set lower outside the state. In short, the embattled football program is currently on a oneyear post-season ban because of substandard scores in the Academic Progress Rate or APR. The APR measures classroom performance of student-athletes on every Division I team. Once again, the fall semester will kickoff football and all eyes are on Southern. Only this time, the Jaguars will try to reinsert themselves among the elite in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. That’s good news for the nation. It’s hard to imagine a football program with 11 black national championships not make it to the post-season. In addition, the 2011 schedule has given the nation a more difficult decision than anticipated. This fall, the Jaguars will enter the season with seven starters returning on offense, an offense that ranked eighth in the SWAC in total offense with 308.9 yards per game. Two positives are that whoever wins the starting job at quarterback, will be protected by an experienced offensive line and will be able to rely heavily on senior wide receiver LaQuinton Evans, who led all receivers with five touchdowns last season.
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However, the biggest concern of the Jaguars roster is the defense, which allowed 33.8 points per game and ranked ninth in the conference. This group, which returns five starters but struggled to stay consistent at times last fall. Plus, losing defensive end Jordan Miller, who’s eligibility ran out in 2010, was an enormous blow to the Jaguars. Still, there are a lot of strengths on this Jaguar team, but the defense should be very fun to watch this fall. Defensive tackle Casey Narcisse and middle linebacker Corey Ray are back to full speed and are considered top players at their positions. The Jaguars always seem to have the talent to compete for a SWAC title, but underachieving has become a serious problem in Baton Rouge. Southern won two games last season, including a 3817 loss to in-state rival Grambling in the Bayou Classic. Head coach Stump Mitchell, who is entering his second season, is still looking for playmakers while realizing the pressure to win in the SWAC is much more difficult than the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. As a coach, Mitchell went 8-24 at Morgan State and was the running backs coach for the Washington Redskins in 2008. If he wins in 2011, it should be enough of a vindication of his coaching ability that could survive over the next three to five years. But if the Jaguars take another step back towards mediocrity, it’s more likely that the “old bald coach” would find his coaching stool hot heading into 2012.
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*Photo by D.K. Clark III
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Banking
n
Banks By D.K. Clark, III
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Southern University’s new basketball coach, Roman Banks, is returning to Jaguar Land in hopes to return the “Ol’ Southern Spirit” to the men’s program.
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Southern University’s men’s basketball program has struggled over the past six years with a record of 57 – 127 since 2005 for us to witness as an old era came to an end at the close of last season. Now, things are looking up for the men’s program as former assistant coach to the Jaguars returns home. Roman Banks is no stranger in the Mini Dome. In fact, he was chief recruiter for the Jags eight years ago before leaving to join the program at Southeastern Louisiana. Banks is a native of Shreveport so he knows Louisiana basketball. He uses his keen sense of talent and knowledge of the Ark-La-Tex region to build a foundation for his teams. Want proof? Just look at the seven winning seasons he helped produce at Southeastern – the most of any Division I school in the state of Louisiana. Banks didn’t just start recruiting
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top players. He was responsible for the recruitment of two-time Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year Adarrial Smylie and Dionte Harvey, the 1997-98 SWAC Newcomer of the Year. The man knows talent. In fact in his own career he was named to the All-Southland Conference second team in 1989-90 after averaging 14.7 points and dishing out a career-high 157 assists. He helped Northwestern State to their first winning season in five years and helped the team establish 23 school records while leading the nation in team scoring, averaging 95.0 points per game. Ironically, we haven’t had a winning season in what . . . five years? Banks also brings a true knowledge and conception of the game of basketball and what the game brings to the community -socially as well as economically. Maybe we should make him President of the SU system.
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He also brings a strong work ethic. Immediately after setting up his office he held a one-day basketball camp for local high school students. In his one day camp he not only taught the players skills they can take into the upcoming season but fed them AND let them enjoy some of the perks of attending Southern University. While teaching players the game of basketball, he is also very conscious of the lack of young black coaches at the college level. Banks says, if you look on the sidelines of different collegiate programs, it is very rare that you see a young African-American in a suit instead of a jersey. This year former point guard and graduate student Brandon White will be one
of those young faces in a suit. “Getting experience early in your coaching career is key to successful careers as a coach,” says Banks. As the season opener gets closer, the players are feeling the change. With the new system there is a considerable increase in structure and Banks is implementing what is normal for leading basketball programs. Weight lifting, conditioning and STUDY HALLS are all norms at the nations top basketball programs. The only dark cloud for the men’s program is they can’t participate in the SWAC Tournament – but we won’t need to if we just beat up on the SWAC in the regular season.
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Necessary
SWAC
EXPA Current Map of SWAC States
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NSION By D.K. Clark, III
Bigger is not always better. Smarter is always the goal one should have when progressing, but then again there is always safety in numbers. Over the past five years every FCS Conference has expanded except for the SWAC. Stagnant. Across the country, other NCAA Division I conferences are pursuing, if not reaping the benefits of conference expansion. Leaving Southern in the middle of a nationwide shuffle sitting in the same 1934 seat collecting dust. Why shouldn’t Southern demand better. We have the largest stadium in the conference — the other larger ones are owned and maintained by their respective municipalities, cheaters — we are
competitive and have one of the largest draws in the conference in the Jaguar Nation. Not to mention we do have the number one marching band in the nation according to HBCU Digest. However, SU remains seated with a front row seat watching as other schools are making money using revenue sharing and making huge progressive changes. With every great takeover there is a plan and a committee that meets and debates what the next step will be. So ego took a look at some of the options Southern has for it’s athletic future -
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The Guaranteed Money The distribution of the money between the schools in the SWAC starts evenly, but is based upon a 15.5 share system. As one of the 10 memebers of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, each institution is automatically awarded one share of the total revenue. That one share is approximately the equivilant of $45,000 (for the 2008-2009 academic fiscal year). As for the other 5.5 shares, each institution’s athletics program has an opportunity to win one share fo the following: football championship, men’s basketball regular season championship, men’s tournament championship, women’s basketball regular season championship and/or women’s basketball tournament championship, as well as a half of a share for a football championship runner-up appearance. If two athletic programs tie for a regular season championship, the share is then split between the institutions that were tied. In addition, a Thursday night broadcast football game on ESPNU is worth about $25,000 for each SWAC participant. Winning programs bring more money to their institution and in return that helps athletes by providing more scholarships, and better equipment for the program.
Joining another conference? Over the past few years NCAA Division I schools have been severing ties with their conferences in order to gain something for their respective institution. Exploring other conferences with other schools moving in the same direction, because everyone knows there is safety in numbers. However, some are asking the question about what about loyalty — loyalty only lies with your alma mater (or alma matta for those who don’t know Latin). Other institutions are realizing that in the landscape of athletics and academics, these conferences are just clubs in which its members happen to have the same goals and interest. The responsibility then falls upon the institution to find the right match with financial stewardship, the culture of the institutions, geographical location, and enrollment of the other institutions. Similar to how one would join the chess, Latin or one of those other clubs that no one knows about —we’ve all seen the pictures of clubs we never knew existed in the yearbook. The pressure from guidance counselors and family members to get into a “good” school provoked all students to “join” a club or have
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extracurricular to fill that blank on applications. This little practice translates to the university level — which “clubs” provide the best perks for the Institution that look good to students filling out its application. If Southern were to stay a FCS Division I school the only really
In the 2011 football season the NCAA records 126 schools that play football as a varsity sport and are memebrs of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA from 1978 through 2005. The teams in this subdivision complete in a 20 team playoff for the NCAA Division I Football Championship at the end of the season. responsible step would be to slip into the Southland Conference. Southern fits perfectly into the Southland, which is losing three
southerndigest.com/the-ego-magazine
SWAC Super Conference States more marketable allows for greater television agreements and schools next June — the University of Texas - Arlington, University higher revenues across the board. Currently, the SWAC has nine of of Texas - San Antonio, and Texas State University — footprint the most profitable football classics in the nation – the other three with three schools just in the distance from the Bluff to Jackson. are played by either Florida A&M University (Orange Blossom The farthest travel for a sports team would be Texas A&M - Corpus Classic and the Florida Classic) or Bethune Cookman University. Christi who doesn’t offer football. Who doesn’t want to run around Not forgetting the only guaranteed television spot on a major on the beach before and after a big game? The average cost to send a network (NBC) every year with Southern vs. team away in the Southland would decrease Financial issues extrend beyond Grambling in the Bayou Classic. because the Southland is already divided the obvious lack of money to pay If Bethune Cookman and Florida A&M into East-West divisions. This geographical for academic “extras.” Some teams were to join the SWAC the 12 team system proximity is important for any expansion, would increase the revenue pie exponentially. according to Commissioner of the Southland have to actually go out and make money for their cash-strapped The 1/10th portion that Southern and the Conference Tom Burnett. Geographic athletics departments. Teams in other SWAC schools currently getting, the proximity is builds a natural rivalry, says high-profiles sports like basketball 1/12th would be much larger. The revenues Burnett, and is on the master checklist and football often have to play big- created by the conference through NCAA for any conference seeking expansion. money guarantee games to bring allocations, BCS distributions, Conference However, unfortunately the Southland is more funding to their athletics member yearly dues, media rights (ESPN, currently not pursuing any institution to department. Those guarantee etc.), sponsorships, conference events, join them nor have they done the research and CD/Fund/Money Market Accounts required to know who would be a good fit for games could keep a men’s basketball team on the road (and would be doubled because of the stronger their Collegiate Social Club. out of the classroom) for much of its conference play. With the addition of On the chance that any conference were pre-conference schedule. FAMU and BCU, they bring their Classic to consider asking SU to join their social - National Collegiate Athletics Association games but strong heritage and travelling club of universities, they know we’d bring fans. When fans travel that increases gate the $100 million impact to New Orleans and vending revenues for the host school. and guaranteed national television spot Fans that travel to games normally don’t come alone; they bring every Thanksgiving holiday weekend as our collateral. At the end their families and sometimes friends to the game. The average FCS of the day, who really knows because Commissioner Burnett says, Division I attendance is 9,425. Fans that travel help surpass the “conference re-alignment has been unpredictable.” national average. Who knows if the other bands took more time to practice, they might bring even more fans when they play Southern. Although it probably still wouldn’t be any competition for the Human Jukebox. Funds for the Athletics Departments across the board would An average FCS Division I school’s revenue comes anywhere now feel the pinch of being stuffed too full, and their books could from 40 to 80 percent of student activity fees and other money that be written in black ink instead of red. More scholarships could does not come from their respective states. Being that the SWAC is be given to players and ease some of the woes of recruiters. The an FCS Division I conference most if not all of the school’s within players could feel better while playing with newer equipment and the SWAC are going through the same financial burdens. Some more fashionable uniforms. Students and Alumni would be able to are hiding it better than others, while some are simply not talking support their schools on TV or in larger stadiums because the fan about it. With the financial woes being something all schools have base is so large. For those who it matters to, the students and the in common the next best thing to do would be to create a Super community, having better facilities improves everyone’s life. Conference to create an even more marketable conference. Being
Remain a SWAC school?
Ego Magazine | September 2011
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K itchen Cut-ups Tired of walking around with your hair not done? Can everyone see tracks in your head? Do you think you paid too much and got too little? Well we at ego are tired for you! Please don't walk around anymore with a lace fronts or dirty weaves. We took the time to find two trust worth Kitchen Cut-ups who have reasonable prices for unbelieveable work. Please take our advice if this page speaks to you . . . we don't want to have to call you out. So hit them up on twitter and schedule an appointment.
@yelladiamonds
From Lake Charles, Louisiana, Miss Shandrika Green has been studying the art of hair growth since she was in the 10th grade when she started attending a school for beuticians. Her mother, who happens to be a stylist, really motivated her into learning more about her craft. Now at Southern, she’s helping Miss Southern and her court stay beautiful by travelling with them to keep their “doo’s”. For only $65 for a sew-in she won’t break your “pre-refund check” bank roll. Miss Green even says, “I like to make people look and feel prettier.” According to her she knows the damage that something as simple as a Chi flat iron can do to hair, so she only uses equipment and products that promote healthy hair growth.
@NatuRallyMaKin
“The way you look has the ability to change the way you feel about yourself. Sometimes outer beauty has an effect on inner beauty and I like to help people feel good about themselves.” Marlana McCants is a woman of many hair styles herself. If you need your locks tightened up starting at $15 you won’t have to walk around looking like Sideshow Bob, or you might want to get a quick weave for the weekend. Miss McCants gets a natural high by helping other women look and feel beautiful and that inspires her to continue to do hair. Hailing from Oakland, California, Miss McCants genuinely takes pleasure in her craft.
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Ego Magazine | September 2011
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Bottled water is healthy water -- at least that what the bottling companies would like for you to think. Just look at the bottled water labels or ads: deep, pristine pools of water; majestic alpine peaks . . . In reality, bottled water is just water; however that fact isn’t stopping people from buying a lot of it. Here are some solid reasons to kick the bottle water habit.
WHY YOU
STOP
BOTTLED U.S drinks
90% Or more of the cost of bottled water goes to things other than the water itself -- bottling, packaging, shipping, marketing, etc Bottled water = less attention to public systems Many people drink bottled water because they don’t like the taste of their local tap water or becasue they question its safety. Only the affluent can afford to completely switch their water consumption to bottled sources. Once distanced from public systems, these consumers have little incentive to support bond issues and other methods of upgrading municipal water treatment.
PET water bottles account for 50% of all the PET bottles and containers collected by curbside recycling. Bottled water produces up to 1.5 million tons of plasitc waste each year. That plastic requires up to 47 million gallons of oil per year to produce.
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gallons of bottled water per capita per year
There’s a simple alternative to bottled water; buy a stainless steel thermos, and use iit. Don’t like the way your water taste? Inexpensive carbon filters will turn most tap water sparkling fresh at a fraction of bottled water’s cost. southerndigest.com/the-ego-magazine
SHOULD
DRINKING WATER
The value placed on bottled water Some brands of water are sold in 20-ounce bottles and can be purchased from vending machines alongside soft drinks -- and at the same price. Most brands are essentially filtered tap water, bottled close to their distribution point. Therefore, water can be more profitable than gasoline.
$
In the U.S., bottled water cost between $0.25 and $2 per bottle while tap water cost less than $0.01
The largest consumer markets for bottled water
1. 2. 3. 4.
United States Mexico China Brazil
Global sales of bottled water
174.2
in million liters
There’s very little empirical evidence that suggests bottled water is any cleaner or better for you than tap water. In theory, bottled water in the US falls under the regulatory authority of the FDA. In practice, about 70% of bottled water never crosses state lines for sale, making it exempt from FDA oversight. On the other hand, water systems in the developed world are well-regulated. In the US, for instance, is regularly inspected for bacteria and toxic chemicals.
115.3
2006
2011
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SVU and U.S. Education Secretary
sheds light on the darkness on college campuses
Law and Order: SVU’s Christopher Meloni, (Elliott Stabler), Neal Baer, Executive Producer, Arne Duncan, U.S. Department of Education Secretary, and Russlynn Ali, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights shed light on a commonly “swept under the rug” issue. Rapes and sexual assaults are often taboo to discuss but are rapidly affecting college campuses constantly and consistently. “Sexual violence is one of those issues we all wish didn’t exist. And too often, our society has chosen to ignore it rather than confronting it openly and honestly,” said Secretary Duncan. Law and Order: SVU’s actor Meloni expressed the need to address this issue with the release of “Gray” episode addressing issues of campus rape and alcohol abuse. “The best of what we do is confront issues that people are all too quick to sweep under the rug or just to confront because it’s very uncomfortable and it’s very unpleasant,” said Meloni. During a conference call concerning the guidance for institutions Secretary Duncan shared the rapes spread and impact outside of higher education. “And the problem is not limited to higher education. Recent data shows there are nearly 4000 reports of sexual battery and over 800 reported rapes and attempted rapes in our Nation’s high schools,” said Duncan. Baer and Duncan want to address the issue through education and enlightenment. “This is a problem that’s not just talked about and we want that problem to be discussed. The show is viewed each week by 53 million people and that’s counting USA, cable, and networks,” said Baer. Duncan addressed the need to advocate and achieve the goals of gaining justice for the victims. “We need to help institutions better understand how to prevent sexual violence, ensure that it gets reported, investigated, and dealt with swiftly and appropriately and make sure all students feel safe,” said Duncan.
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Duncan hopes that the information will assist students to be prepared and know how to handle these complex situations. “Our primary goal is prevention through education. We need to raise awareness on this issue because sexual violence has no place in society and especially in our Nation’s schools. Our hope is that through the dissemination of great information that we can significantly reduce the number of these incidents and use the education process as a prevention tool-as a prevention strategy. So we’re very hopeful that going forward we’ll have many fewer young people victimized by this kind of behavior,” said Duncan. Melon discussed the influence and power that the episode hopes to instill in its viewers. “The best part of what we do, it’s the education and its sense of empowerment,” said Meloni. Baer discussed the need to bring up the conversation in an effort to educate. “I hope that it (the episode) really brings the issue to the forefront that we need to talk about alcohol abuse on college campuses and its relationship to date rape,” said Baer. The purpose of the guidance on campus sexual violence conversation is to address responsibilities of the high school/college campuses and notifying victims of their rights. Russlynn Ali, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights said, “The guidance seeks to provide assistance to universities so that all students on campus know their rights and know their rights to both report incidences of sexual violence to adults on their campus, and that there are proper and well publicized grievance procedures so that students know where to go in the event that they are a victim.” Ali distinguished the difference between filing criminal charges and civil rights responsibilities. “Criminal charges are different from the Civil Rights responsibilities outlined in our guidance today, “ said southerndigest.com/the-ego-magazine
Rape Statistics
Focus Pay Sooth on your attention yourself Take care First get Be in the breathing to what’s with of grounded present by taking around something yourself deep you safe and breaths secure
Steps to deal with Flashbacks of Sexual Assault
Ali. Beyond television and conversation in the Baton Rouge help for victims of sexual abuse is not far from reach. The Baton Rouge Rape Crisis Center works to provide services for those in need after a sexual abuse or to aid in prevention. According the The Rape Crisis Center’s website, “All services of the Rape Crisis Center are free and confidential.” They offer services including: 24-hour hotline, Individual counseling, Support groups, Hospital advocacy, Courtroom advocacy, and Outreach and Education. Anyone who is the victim of a sexual assault is encouraged to report it and if you or a friend in a sexually abusive relationship can call The National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1.800.656.HOPE.
Local Hotline 1.225.383.RAPE National Sexual Assault Hotline 1.800.656.HOPE BR Rape Crisis Center www.brrcc.org 225.389.3456
2 minutes someone “Every in the U.S. is sexually assaulted ”
-U.S. Department of Justice: Bureau of Justice statistics. 2007. Crime victimization study
every 6 women has “1beenouttheof victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime ” -U.S. Department of Justice: National Institute of Justice. 2000
every 33 men has “1beenouttheof victim of an attempted or completed rape in his lifetime ”
-U.S. Department of Justice: National Institute of Justice. 2000
“There were 90,427 forcible rapes reported in 2007 ”
-U.S. Department of Justice: Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Report. 2007
“Almost 2/3 of sexual assualts are committed by someone known to the victim” -U.S. Department of Justice: Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2007
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Final Words -
Times are hard everyone. We need the LaCumbanati to cease and desist all activity so the students of Southern University and A&M College can prosper. This is a key rebuilding era, so we need everyone to take their time and commit to SU. Students, you must go to class and pass your classes. If you didn’t notice many of our classmates didn’t return this fall for school due to financial aid not being available due to higher academic requirements. We are the driving force behind our institution, it’s time for us to come together and make some demands to the administration to get things done for the better. Instead of just sitting on our hands and hoping things will get better or complaining about the way Southern is to its students, we have to voice our needs and wants. For the community and alumni, we need you to give back to Southern. Whether you donate money, time, or those delicious food plates that sometimes grace our campus, we need it all. Come on the yard and take a look around, you’ll see some construction going on and we just need bodies who want to see this University succeed. We need your help so we can make proper decision and hold our administration accountable. As for the ego I hope you enjoyed everything you read or saw. Stay tuned for the homecoming edition. Cojolo suave! -- ego
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DEATH to the
LaCumbanati
Stay tuned for the Homecoming Edition of ego MAGAZINE Ego Magazine | September 2011
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WE ARE
AMERICA’S FRONTLINE
What’s your reality?
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