Emily Wright Almagest Magazine.pdf · 3 Almagest : The Magazine | November 2016 month. “The ISA...

The time has come for the third edition of Almagest: The Magazine! This issue is packed with interesting and exciting material about ev-erything LSU Shreveport: From the founders of the university, to the weightlift-ing program, or to the inter-national student population on campus, you will learn what it means to be a stu-

dent on the historic campus. There are also colorful photo spreads that give a taste of the active student and Greek organiza-tions. Although there will continue to be fascinat-ing publications for semesters to come, my time has reached its end. I graduate in December to become an established alumna of LSUS. This is it… for now. I am privileged to have served as the executive editor and writer for the three editions of Almagest: The Magazine. It has

been a fun learning experience to work with fel-low students on creating the contents of each is-sue. I am especially honored and grateful to have worked with Devin White, executive editor of SB Magazine, as she has helped us to professional-ly-shape these publications. I also thank Dr. Lin-da Webster, my personal academic advisor, and the magazine advisor, for providing the wonderful opportunity to create these publications and the amazing support and advice given at each step of the publication journey. I want to thank the magazine staff, writers, and advisors for their contributions to this maga-zine, and all of the time and effort that went into it. I especially want to applaud our creative direc-tor, Junine Asuncion. She had only a few weeks to piece this magazine together and she did an outstanding job. I also want to thank the LSUS Foundation and the Dr. Dalton & Peggy Cloud Professorship in Communications funding for the opportunity to work with fellow students on such an enjoyable, academic publication.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

PUBLICATION CREDITS

Happy Reading,

Executive EditorEmily Wright

Mary Matthews Kristen Morgan

Contributor

Contributor

Contributor

Contributor Contributor

Contributor

Emily Wright

Venessa Reiher

Jessica Ingram

Executive Editor

Contributor

Contributor

Kandace Grey

Meghen Jones

Omenka Webb

Junine Asuncion

Elles Rock

Creative Director

CONTENTS

FEATURED CONTENTS

1 International Students

23 Color Run

11 The Noel Library

32 Weightlifting at LSUS

Greek Life at LSUS

5 The Washington Semester

25 Student Activities Board

17 The Bronson Hall

36

Campus Police41

47

52

Fall Fest

Student Involvement

45

Student Government Association

The Noel Library Bronson HallStudent Activities

Board

ADVISORSDr. Linda WebsterDept. of Arts and MediaChair, [email protected] WhiteSB Magazine Exec. [email protected]

Almagest: The Magazine is a J-Lab publication printed November 2016, by the MCOM 270 J-Lab class. Funding was provided by the fol-lowing sources:- Dr. Dalton & Peggy Cloud Professorship in Communications- The LSUS Foundation- Dr. Linda Webster

1 Almagest : The Magazine | November 2016

LSUS International Student Services Makes Major Changes

In January, there were 30 international students enrolled at LSUS, but in only two semes-ters, that number decreased to 21. “When I started at LSUS two years ago, I was completely lost, I had no guidance,” said Aastha Parikh, a sophomore international student, biology. This is a sentiment I can relate to as one of the 21 inter-national students enrolled on campus. LSUS has now imple-mented an International Student Services led by Claudia Lyons. The International Student Ser-vices has plans to make a lot of changes and provide more beneficial resources for inter-national students on campus. These improvements include immigration assistance, health insurance packages and schol-arships for international stu-dents. Becoming an interna-

tional student is a tedious and scary, but exciting process. Going to a foreign country to study is a fantastic opportunity that most international stu-dents agree they feel lucky to have. Until recently LSUS did not have a specific department assigned to assist international students. There were no health insurance supplements offered and no tuition waivers or schol-arship opportunities available. In an effort to recruit more international students, LSUS decided in 2015 to implement these changes. The Interna-tional Student Services has already started plans to recruit more international students on campus, provide more help and resources and an international community on campus where international students can inter-act with one another. International students on campus come from many different countries all over the

world including Zambia, China, Nigeria and India. Internation-al students often go to foreign countries alone without family and friends and tend to need a lot of support. As an international student, you are required to have a lot of things in place before you are permitted to study abroad. It is the respon-sibility of the student to provide proof of financial support to cover tuition, books and living expenses. The student must have health insurance which includes repatriation in case the student is injured or harmed while studying abroad. International students are required to take a full class load every semester which equates to at least 12 credit hours during spring and fall semesters and at least six credit hours for the summer. International students do not qualify for financial aid or government grants so they

By Kandace Grey

Photo Credit: Kandace Grey. International Student Services welcomes you.

Almagest : The Magazine | November 2016 2

are responsible for paying for classes out of pocket or through scholarships. All of these re-sponsibilities combined with the pressures to do well academ-ically makes having a support system imperative. Lyons started working at LSUS in July 2015. She has an impressive academic background, which includes starting an international student program at Southern Arkansas University at Magnolia in 1995. After developing the university’s International Student Services, which now has over 100 inter-national students enrolled, she retired in 2013. “I was at home for a couple of years. I became quite bored and then I got a call from LSUS,” she said. “They heard about the work I did at Southern Arkansas University and asked me to do a presentation and the rest is history.” Lyons said LSUS plans to attract more international

students to LSUS. “We have improved our website. We added new fea-tures to attract international students,” Lyons said. “LSUS also has a partnership with the Study in the States program, which displays information in major international consulates to provide students in foreign countries with information about the programs offered at LSUS.” Lyons said the partner-ship between LSUS and The Language Company (TLC) has provided recruitment opportuni-ties for international students to attend LSUS. According to its website, TLC - Louisiana was estab-lished in October 2014 and is located in the business education building on the LSUS campus. The Language Company offers English as a second language classes and cultural opportunities. The Lan-guage Company helps non-En-glish speaking people learn

English and adapt to the culture in Louisiana. Lyons said that a few students from The Lan-guage Company have already started the process of becoming international students at LSUS. One of the more exciting developments for international students on campus is the Inter-national Students Association (ISA). The ISA was formed at the beginning of the spring 2016 semester. The ISA started with only a few members and has grown in membership to ap-proximately 80 official members. The unique thing about the club is that it is not only open to students technically enrolled as international students but anyone who is interested in learning about different cultures or people who may have mi-grated to the United States and are now permanent residents or citizens. The ISA meets at least twice per month and celebrates birthdays for all members who have a birthday within that

Photo Credit: Kandace Grey. Inside the ISA Office.


month. “The ISA is a great place for international students to meet, share information with each other and most impor-tantly to take a break from their studies and have some fun,” said Aastha Parikh, president of the ISA. And “fun” is exactly the word used to describe the meetings. It is a cultural melting pot where you can meet and interact with students you would not meet ordinarily just walking around campus. Lyons, who is the faculty club advisor, said there are plans to increase more internationalization on campus. “We are planning a week of international awareness, where we will feature informa-tion about different countries,” she said. “We also are in the process of trying to get different flags put up on campus. We want to get flags from some of the countries where our interna-tional students are from.” “Being a part of the ISA gives me a sense of belonging on campus, I feel like I have found my people,” said Mukesh, freshman international student from India. ISA leaders plan to con-tinue to increase membership numbers and help attract more people from their own countries to come and study at LSUS. One of the most import-ant requirements for an inter-national student is to maintain health insurance while studying abroad. Health Insurance is quite expensive and includes a lot of factors to consider. Like most colleges and universities,

the LSUS International Student Services has now partnered with a few health insurance providers to provide easier and more affordable options for international students. A few of the options provided to interna-tional students include isoa.org, travelinsure.com and student-secure.com. Students have reported getting health insur-ance for as low as $45 a month. The introduction of these health insurance options has made it easier for a lot of students to ensure this requirement is met. “I have seen horrible situations in the past where accidents happened and the international student was not covered. One of our goals is to provide as much help as pos-sible for our students and that includes following up and ensur-

ing they have health insurance,” Lyons said. International students are required to show proof of their health insurance policies to the International Student Services. Other services offered by the International Student Ser-vices is post-graduation assis-tance for students. After interna-tional students graduate, they are able to apply to work in the United States for a year to gain experience in the field of their major. This is called Optional Practical Training (OPT) and is offered to most undergraduate international students after they have completed their degree. The International Student Ser-vices helps with this process. Lyons goes as far as reviewing the paperwork and forms with the students and ensuring that


they meet all of the require-ments so they can be approved. “I didn’t even know about Optional Practical Training (OPT) until Claudia told me about it. She is helping me with my paperwork so I can get work experience,” Parikh said. The International Student Services also notifies interna-tional students of on-campus work-study opportunities avail-able. The International Student Services also has graduate students working as graduate assistants. “By training these stu-dents on the ins and outs of assisting international students, they will be able to help assist more students with their needs,” Lyons said. She believes training student assistants will benefit

the program long term and provide more support for the students. The International Student Services currently has two graduate student assis-tants, who interact with students and follow up with each interna-tional student to ensure all their requirements are met. They are also learning the process of helping incoming international students with the enrollment process. As soon as you walk into the International Student Ser-vices, you immediately know where you are by the images of flags from countries all over the world and the six clocks telling time in different countries and time zones. But in case you missed that, a graduate assis-tant and a warm and welcoming smile from Claudia Lyons imme-

diately greet you. Lyons also recently pitched a scholarship program specifically for LSUS interna-tional students that has been approved. This program will be put in place to help international students with the cost of tuition and out of country fees. “The out of pocket fees for an international student can become quite high, and we want to reward international students who do well each semester with financial help and hopefully that will help them to remain interna-tional students,” Lyons said. International students pay approximately between $8,000- $9,000 a semester. The funding will be available to international students who are performing well, academically, and it will help alleviate some of the out of country fees. “I think it is getting a lot better now, so I would encour-age anyone to enroll,” Parikh said as advice to international students considering enrollment at LSUS. These changes will improve the morale and com-munity of international students on campus. “Well, I believe these changes will help our school culturally and economically,” Lyons said. With the constant talk of budget issues floating around LSUS, recruiting and increasing enrollment of international stu-dents on campus can only help. With the improvements being made to support and accommo-date international students on campus this will help to attract more international students to LSU Shreveport.

Photo Credit: Kandace Grey. Inside the ISA Office.


Most students buy textbooks, note-books, pencils, and paper for their first day of summer classes but for this class, sup-plies are notably different. For this course, students need a plane ticket and a good pair of walking shoes. Students spend 16 days in D.C. and walk an average eight to 10 miles a day during the walking tours. The Louisiana State University Shreveport’s (LSUS) Washington D.C. semester is a course that takes students out of the classroom and places them at the foundation of where U.S. history was born. Students fly into Washington D.C. and rendezvous at the Hotel Harrington; which will act as the students’ home and base camp for the entirety of the summer semes-ter. Louisiana State University Shreveport’s Washington Semester is actually the oldest Washington semester program offered at a public university in the south. Though the concept of studying abroad in Washington D.C. is not a new one, this summer semester is a game changer for students who want to gain worldly experience on a budget. Students must pay for their own plane tickets, which ranges from $350 - $600, to fly out of

Shreveport Regional Airport. Students could also fly from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and save an average of $150. Hotel Harrington is a fixed price of $800 for the 16 days of boarding. It is in a prime location for the students to stay because it is half a block away from Penn-sylvania Avenue, as well as the heart of the historical district and museums. Since a selling point of the Washington semester is learning abroad on a budget, Hotel Har-rington is not the newest of hotels. “I think the most difficult part was get-ting used to the room, everything in it was very old. It definitely wasn’t a Marriott but it was part of the experience,” said EMJ grad-uate, Kaylynn Craig. Hotel Harrington is 102 years old and is one of the top-rated tourist hotels in D.C. When students first walk through the hotel’s glass doors, there is a quaint old fashion check-in station. There is a little store that sells basic toiletries, snack foods, and sou-venirs. Also on the first floor is Harry’s Bar and Harriette’s Restaurant, so students don’t have to leave to eat if they do not want to. If students want to write home, there


is an antique brass mail drop that runs all the way to the 11th floor of the hotel and is still checked by a postman. Even though the hotel is over a century old, the antiquated air con-ditioner and heaters work, even if they are unconventional for most tenants. Though this hotel is a century old, it has fully functional cable and Wi-Fi. The staff that works there is really friendly and knowledge-able of the area and even helpful with how to use the subway system. For most stu-dents from Shreve-port, the idea of public transportation does not include traveling under-ground. The Metro is the subway station two blocks away from the

hotel and expands the range of sights students can see. Students are asked on the first day to purchase a subway card and are encouraged to learn how to navigate the different lines on the Metro, as well as embracing the big city culture. “The most difficult part aside from getting around is finding things to do on your own time. Everyone has different interests, and you may not like those things, so you have to get the con-fidence to go out and do them by yourself,” said Fatimah Smith, junior, history with a focus in political science. Dr. Bill Pederson has been hosting this D.C. program for 30 plus years and

Photo Credit: Jessica Ingram - Hotel Harrington


throughout that time he has devel-oped an insider perspective that allows... students to attend tours that most tourists will never get the chance to go on. This course is not the average touristy visit to Washington D.C., though students will see classic monuments like the Washington Monument. Pederson said he prefers to keep the

sched-ule open ended, meaning that depending on what is available in town or weather permitting, the day’s plans are always flexible for change. In 2015, the students on the Washington D.C. Semester had the opportunity to see President Barack Obama speak on behalf of Memorial Day. In 2016, stu-dents had the option of attending the Broadway production of the Wizard of Oz and offered extra credit to write about its connection to the populist movement. “This semester is so dynamic. You don’t just sit in a classroom and listen to a teacher talk about history. Instead you experience it, because you aren’t just walking around. Everywhere you step is essentially like you’re stepping on histo-ry,” said Jarrett Lofton, senior, political science, who attended the Washington Semester in 2015. During the 16 days students take notes while attending various tours and lectures in the city. Taking good notes is very important be-cause on the last day students take a final exam and are expected to write a paper at the end of the semester. Students walk an average of seven miles

Photo Credit: Jessica Ingram Reflecting Pool at the National Mall

Photo Credit: Jessica Ingram Dr. Pederson teaching in Smithsonian


a day on the walking lectures during the Washing-ton semester. Sometimes, even walking upwards of 12 miles a day, such as the walks to George-town and Roosevelt Island. “You inevitably learn something that could not be learned from a book. I think that you can learn through your feet. If you use a taxi or a bus you don’t learn like you would if you were just walking. You learn with your entire essence when you walk through the city,” Pederson said. Pederson said that when he turned 52 years old, he wanted to run his first marathon. He ran the White Rock Marathon in Dallas three times and decided if he could survive that, he could do the Washington Semester for another 20 years. Students unanimously joke that Dr. Ped-erson’s initial demeanor in the classroom threw them for a loop on the Washington Semester. “He always kept our group on our toes. I remember the first day. I couldn’t believe he walked so fast. Throughout the trip we would laugh because we wouldn’t pay attention for a second and realized he had left us behind at an intersection,” Craig said. The primary objective is to learn about the nation’s history and other various topics on these walking tours. Pederson said the Washington Semester expands the students’ horizons through the use of experiential education. After Pederson is done with his lectures, he ‘liberates’ the students and tells them to ex-plore the city on their own. A certain level of inde-pendence is expected of the students. Pederson is rarely seen after a lesson; he is rather elusive. He teaches the students the basics of the city the first two days and then encourages them to get lost and figure it out, which students can some-times learn the hard way. “If you cannot figure out the city you’re go-ing to learn how to survive or you’re not going to find your way back. It teaches you to collaborate with others to find your way around,” Lofton said. Like most learning abroad programs, there are many elements students have to get used to. Traveling from a smaller city to a large metropol-itan city, students can experience a little bit of a culture shock. In Shreveport, buildings are spread out, which requires residents to drive from place to place. In Washington D.C., walking everywhere is more realistic, and there is an abundance of


pub-lic transporta-tion options. Another obstacle stu-dents may face is when they are put in social circles they normal-ly would not be introduced to. Students have assigned rooms and roommates and are en-couraged to interact in a friend-ly manner. This circumstance influences students to branch out of their comfort zones and network. When students at-tend functions, like the Chinese Exclusion Case at the Supreme Court, they can meet people who they would never otherwise meet. Most degree programs offered on campus require up-per-level electives to graduate, which is why this program works for students of all majors. This course allows students to earn six hours of upper level elec-tives in the record-breaking time of 16 days which is technically one of the shortest semesters available at LSUS. For some students, the Washington Se-

mester is much more than a means-to-an-end for courses required for a degree. “Back home, there was no way for me to continue my education in my favorite field, political science,” said Shahab Ghobadi, senior, political sci-ence. He transferred to LSUS from Iran to study under Dr. Pederson. To him, the Wash-ington Semester was the most influential course. “I decided to leave the Middle East for the United States as a student. The deci-sion to come to Louisiana was spurred by my admiration for the ‘Great Emancipator’ and the fact that the International Lincoln Center at LSUS also serves as the headquarters of

the Association of Third World

Studies,” Ghobadi said. Pederson of the LSUS International Lincoln Center, leads this summer course. He is not a novice when it comes to traversing the streets of Washington D.C. He has been hosting this program since its infancy in the fall 1983. In May 1983, the Wash-ington semester was created as part of the American Studies Program at LSUS. The course was made possible by the endowment of the late Norman and Peggy Kinsey. Originally, LSUS created the Washington D.C. semester because Peggy Kinsey said that she remem-bered going on a travel program in high school and had learned so much from traveling. She wanted students at LSUS to

Photo Credit: Jessica Ingram. Ford The-atre

Photo Credit: Jessica Ingram. The Washington Monument

Photo Credit: Jessica Ingram. HillwoodManor Gardens. Student: Mary Matthews


have the same opportunity to learn. The Washington semester is unique to this area because compared to other colleges and universities, such as Centenary College of Loui-siana, it offers an abroad experience at a reason-able price. Though Centenary sends its students off for an entire semester, it would cost the stu-dents attending upwards of $30,000. Which is why offering six hours of credit in 16 days for the price of a Track-A Class in the summer is a rea-sonable deal for students. For more information about the upcoming Washington D.C. semester contact Pederson at the International Lincoln Center, Bronson Hall Room 321, or email him at [email protected].

Photo Credit: Jessica Ingram. James Madison Statue

Photo Credit: Jessica Ingram. Dr. Pederson Teaching in Library of Congress


The Noel LibraryBy Omenka Webb

It is not unusual to see or hear a leaky faucet. Small leaks coming from a roof are part of the normal wear and tear on a home or fa-cility. However, when it is literally raining inside a building it is unusual, especially at an educa-tional institution. Louisiana State University Shreveport is suffering from a lack of building maintenance. Many of the roofs on campus have leaks, some worse than others. The Noel Memorial Library, which houses the Noel Collection and the Noel Archives, and the health and physical educa-tion building have severe roof damage. When visiting the archives or col-lections, located on the third floor of the library, visitors will see shelves draped in plastic.

Shelves that are empty. Shelves wrapped with plastic in anticipation of rain. Then there is the odor of bleach and mildew. Dr. Laura McLemore, associate curator and archivist, has been head of archives and special collections at LSUS since 2004. Mc-Lemore, along with her staff of student interns and volunteers, collect, arrange, describe, preserve and make accessible to the public, students and scholars the documented history of Northwest Louisiana. She has been dealing with the leaky roof for a long time. She keeps a recording she made on her iPhone of the

sound of rain coming in her office and oth-er areas in the archives.

Photo Credit: Emily Wright. Noel Memorial Library


“We did have some repairs done to the roof,” McLemore said. “It’s leaking a little bit since then, but we’re hoping that the repairs are going to hold through winter.” The collections not only store and pre-serve rare books, records, art, maps and his-tory of Northwest Louisiana, but they serve as a primary place for students to obtain information and resources for their research papers. McLemore estimates the value of the archives and collection to be in the millions of dollars. One can only imagine the emotional toll that a historian might go through when re-alizing historical artifacts could be damaged. “I think anytime you see a problem and there’s nothing you can really do about it is stressful. The stressful thing is not knowing when it’s going to be fixed,” McLemore said. “I was in here for three days with a rain pon-cho on.” No damage has been recorded to any artifacts. Leaks are dripping near records and maps but preventive measures have been taken. The biggest risks in the archives are in the research reading room. All the vertical files, subject files and maps are located in there and leaks were severe in that section. Dr. Robert Leitz is the curator for the Noel Collection and has many concerns about the problems with the roof. Leaks have been discovered in the vault where the rarest books are kept. The oldest book in the vault is a book of poems published in 1492. Fortu-nately the leak is confined to one area, and they can anticipate it and have been handling it for a long time. “We’ve had this condition ever since the library opened in 1994,” Leitz said. “We’ve tried to fix it. We’re under state con-tract [but] that doesn’t always mean that the roof will be done in a timely fashion.” The worst-case scenario would mean the collections would have to be moved in order to preserve the artifacts. “If we had to move everything I think everyone would just about walk out,” Leitz said. “It would take a Herculean effort, but I doubt that it will ever come to that. It hasn’t come to that since 1994 so I don’t think it’s

going to be the worst of all possible worlds.” Local historian and Associate Profes-sor Dr. Gary Joiner said the main reason the school keeps having problems with the roofs are because they are flat. “One of the things to do is to come in and create a false roof, slant it and have drain ports for the water to come out,” Joiner said. “As it is the water stands and that’s the big issue.” The Noel library will have other ren-ovations besides the roof replacement and will have to remove important documents to create space. “We have a responsibility to preserve history and to function as a fully involved department, college and university. By taking out racks of things and getting rid of where documents used to be perhaps is not the best use but it’s a viable use,” Joiner said.

Photo Credit: Laura McLemore. Laura McLemore


“But you don’t throw out the baby with the bath water. That’s pretty close to what we’re having to do.” There are LSUS students who are not aware of the Noel archives or Noel collec-tions or just have no desire to visit or take advantage of its many resources. LSUS student Lauren Washington is aware of the archives and collections, and understands the significance of it but her schedule doesn’t allow time to visit or use their resources for her schoolwork. She uses resources from the Internet for her research. “It’s good for people that have time to use it but not everyone does,” Washington said. Fine arts major Brandon Hillary has been attending LSUS since the beginning of the fall semester. He was surprised to know that the library had the archives and collec-

tions on the third floor, and said there needs to be more advertising informing students that they are there. “Academics are our further experience as college students to better ourselves espe-cially when it comes to pursuing the oppor-tunities we need in our future and especially in our careers, ambitions and goals,” Hillary said. There are those students that are familiar with the archives and collections and recognize the value of having them on cam-pus and do take advantage of thieir resourc-es. LSUS student Joseph Bryant has visited it and utilized their resources for his school-work. “I think it’s a vast treasure trove we have here at LSUS, not just LSUS but the community as a whole,” Bryant said. “In fact, my brother and I went there when he was do-ing a paper. It [the archives and collections] was really informative, chock full of informa-tion and in a convenient order.” The Noel Library is not the only roof in critical need of repairs, which means the Chancellor has to make a crucial decision on which roof is repaired first. “There are significant problems on the campus. The library building and the H&PE building are both critical,” Clark said. “With H&PE there are people involved. You can remove people if you have to from where it’s leaking but you can’t remove all the library materials and collections. Some of the books in the printed collection go back to the time of the start of printed books. We submitted for both buildings to be repaired. Both buildings were on the state emergency repair list but the state didn’t fund the list.” According to Clark, before the board of supervisors meeting took place, the library roof was not on the list for repairs. The state did not fund for deferred maintenance even for critical emergency repairs, such as the repairs for the library and H&PE buildings. Instead they gave each university system $5 million, Southern University, University of

Photo Credit: Dr. Larry Clark. Larry Clark


Louisiana and LSU systems, and told them to make the decisions on how to allocate that money. The library roof was not calculated in that $5 million. “I told them we absolutely had to have one roof or the other and the library was the most important of two critically important roofs to get done,” Clark said. “Surprisingly they put it into the $5 million. So with support, they changed it and we were able to get it funded.” Of that $5 million, LSUS is allocated $550,000. The Office of Facility Planning and Control (FPC) manage the finances; the money does not physically come to the cam-pus. The repair for the library can cost any-where from $250,000-$550,000 or more. If any money is left over the Chancellor will not be able to start working on the H&PE build-ing. He will first have to obtain permission to put any remaining money towards repairs on the H&PE building. The Chancellor would first need permission from the LSU system and state for funding permission. “The state is putting up money for proj-ects and if any money is left over from any particular endeavor, because the state has

severe budget problems, the state is seeking to get back every dollar they don’t have to spend,” Clark said. “If the [library] repairs cost more than $550,000, then I have to come up with the difference at the university here. The project will get done.” According to the State of Louisiana Division of Administration, FPC is responsible for administration of the state’s capital outlay budget process. This includes preparing pre-liminary state construction plans. FPC imple-ments proposals for state and local projects. Moreover, FPC generates funding for these projects by using a mixture of state general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, state and federal cash and often fees and self-generat-ed funds. The proposed construction budget is contained in House Bill 2 (HB2). FPC also administers the state and non-state projects that are ultimately funded, overseeing the contracts from planning through construction and project completion. As Vice Chancellor of Business Affairs, Mike Ferrell’s duties include the over-seeing of facility services, which includes mainte-nance.

Photo Credit: Omenka Webb. Leaks in the Noel Library


According to Ferrell, 100 percent of the library roof will be replaced. Prior to this it had been receiving patch repairs. A capital outlay project was submitted in the summer of 2015 as an emergency project number one priority to replace both roofs and perform other repairs around the campus. The capital outlay project is given to the LSU system and is mixed in with other LSU projects. LSU selects the top 10 projects based on priority. Then the capital outlay proj-ect is given to the board of region and they select the top 20-30 based on priority. The capital outlay project is given to the Louisiana State Legislature and they come out with the HB2. “They did not fund any emergency project,” Ferrell said. “They gave each sys-tem $5 million.” Ferrell reiterated the fact that the money doesn’t come to the LSUS campus. It stays in the State Office of Facility Planning in Baton Rouge. All projects are managed by the office, but the individual systems can dictate how the money is spent. “In August [2016] the bond commis-sion approved to go forward with the 5 million dollars for each system,” Ferrell said. “We’re hoping in October that letters of credit will be

issued to facility planning to fund all of the projects throughout the state. At that time we will hire an architect to design the roof.” Winter is approaching and the work that has been done on the Noel roof is patchwork. The roof continues to leak. But because of all the political red tape, work has not started. This project was submitted over a year ago and even though money was approved it still is not a done deal. The bond commission has to issue letters of credit or sell bonds in order to finance the project. “Bureaucracy takes time,” Ferrell said. “I hate to say it but we’re probably looking at January or February before any work starts at the earliest. You get what you inspect not what you expect.” Hopefully, McLemore will not have to stress over water coming in the archives, potentially damaging historical artifacts. Hopefully Leitz can be at ease after 24 years of painstaking roof problems. Hopefully all the roof will be repaired soon and space will open up for more historical artifacts that Join-er wants there. And with some luck, maybe the state budget will be fixed and the school can get a complete makeover. That might be just a little too much hoping.

Photo Credit: Omenka Webb. Books being covered up by a blanket for protection


Photo Credit: Victoria Horton. Repairs in the LSUS Campus.


Students, faculty members, and visitors spend hours on the campus of Louisiana State University Shreveport every day. However, they probably never noticed that there are only two buildings on the campus that bear names of famous persons, namely the Noel Memorial Library and William Howard Bronson Hall. Bronson was born in Dadeville, Ala. The town is located about an hour northeast of Montgomery, and also fairly close to Birming-ham and Atlanta. Dadeville is a relatively small town with around 3,000 citizens. In small towns like Dadeville people tend to know each other very well and support each other. Growing up in such an environment might have been the reason why Bronson later on had the desire to support his community and fellow citizens. The town represents an important landmark in edu-cation because it was home of the first medical school in Alabama, which opened in 1852.

Bronson’s academic references are rather im-pressive. First he went to Auburn University. He later transferred to the University of Alabama where he got his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1933. Afterward he went on to study at Harvard and earned a law degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge in 1938. Bronson did not move to Shreveport until he was 26-years-old. There, he practiced law with the law firm Tucker, Bronson, and Martin. When he moved to Shreveport, Bronson resided at 6024 East Ridge Drive. Green grass, expensive houses and well-trimmed yards can be found all over this wealthy neighborhood. Living in this neighborhood, Bronson might have made contact with influential people, who also lived there. Those people could have been able to support him in his efforts to improve the com-munity.

William Howard Bronson Hall on Campus of LSUS by Vanessa Reiher

Photo Credit: Alan English, President of The Shreveport Times. William Bronson


He later became the general counsel of Ewing Corporations. In 1952 he became pres-ident of The Shreveport Times, the Monroe News-Star, and the Monroe Morning World after the former president John D. Ewing had died. Simultaneously, he became president of the ra-dio station KWKH in Shreveport, and chairman of the board of the television station KTHV in Little Rock, Arkansas. Furthermore, Bronson was the director of the State Fair of Louisiana, the director of the Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, and orga-nizer and member of the Executive Committee of the Council for a Better Louisiana. On top of that, he was a member of the executive Com-mittee of Kansas City Southern Industries Inc. and Louisiana & Arkansas Railways. Bronson was passionate about improving education and giving young people the oppor-tunity to learn. One of the many actions he took in order to achieve this goal was to support LSU Shreveport in the process of changing from the status of a two-year institution to the one of a four-year institution. In 1972 Bronson played an important role in the negotiations, which helped achieve that status. In 1969 he was appointed to the Louisiana Coordinating Council for Higher Education, representing LSU Shreveport. The Council coordinates all public higher education in Louisiana.

Honoring a Hero of the Community It is interesting to get an insight into the process of the liberal arts building being renamed and the exact reasons for choosing Bronson’s name. The request of renaming the building was officially approved on May 12, 1975 at a meeting of the Louisiana State Board of Supervisors. Prior to that, the LSUS Long-Range Planning Committee had issued a resolution introduced by Oliver P. Stockwell. The resolution was issued to pay respect to Bronson and honor him by naming the building after him. At the meeting in the board room on the Baton Rouge campus, the recommendation was approved. One of the board members at

the meeting by the last name of Gravel used to be Bronson’s classmate at LSU. Knowing him personally, he was only one of the many peo-ple who enthusiastically approved the idea. In the LSU Board Minutes from 1975, the specific reasons for why the committee came to their conclusion are listed. William Howard Bronson was a recog-nized leader in church, civic, business, educa-tional and legal circles. For many years Bronson was a moving force in community improvement and development in the Shreveport-Bossier area. Education was one of his chief concerns and the object of numerous endeavors by him for improvement and extension of opportuni-ties for all students. Furthermore, Bronson had made a great impact on the community, be-cause he was one of the original members of the Louisiana Coordinating Council for Higher Education and, as such, played a significant role in extending higher education to students in the Shreveport-Bossier area, such area having benefited immeasurably because of his dedicat-ed leadership as a good citizen.

Naming Campus Buildings

An article in the Los Angeles Times reveals the partial truth about the process of naming campus buildings. The article states that money is the key to having buildings, schol-arships and even objects like elevators named after one. “You name it, we’ll name it” is the name of the game. This process might sound rather immoral to the average person, but there is a good reason why universities take part in this kind of business. That reason, of course, is money. The article states that because of cuts in government aid in recent years, state schools have adopted a much more aggressive attitude toward fund-raising. In most cases, it is not even only the buildings that are the object of desire, but rather whole universities or de-partments, since buildings come and go, as the article suggests. Bronson’s case, just as many others, dif-fers from the situations described in the article.


There are still many buildings and universities named after important personalities, and people who made great achievements for their commu-nity or in the field of education. There were no sources that clearly stated whether or not Bron-son donated money to the school. However, the way in which he supported LSUS is worth the honor of having the building bear his name. One aspect that should be noticed is that the liberal arts building was built while Bronson and the Coordinating Council fought for LSUS’s expan-sion. That might be a considerable reason why it was that very building which eventually was named after him.

Life on the LSUS Campus in 1975

In the eighth volume of the Almagest in 1974/75 they officially announced that the liberal arts building is now William Howard Bronson Hall. The building was completed in 1973. It covered 115,200 square feet, had 58 classrooms, departmental, faculty and student organization offices, four seminar rooms, a speech correction facility, fine-arts classrooms and audio-visual storage rooms. It was the only building with elevators accessible to everybody. The number of rooms in the building has not changed over the years, but there are numerous rooms that are unused today. When the liberal arts building was finished there must have been a lot more faculty than today, since many of the now empty and unused rooms were used as secretaries’ offices. Furthermore, the audio-visual storage rooms are not needed anymore, since nowadays the information can simply be stored and saved on a computer.

The Bagatelle from 1975 offers insights into the life of an LSUS student. One aspect that is different from life on campus today is the way the students dressed. Leggings or sweatpants were nowhere to be found. Students used to dress much nicer. Furthermore, many pictures in the Bagatelle show students smoking on campus. In August 2015 LSUS became a tobac-co free campus and said goodbye to a habit that was also present in the 70s.

It is quite amusing to look at what has not changed about students at LSU Shreveport. Students have never liked hours of walking from room to room in order to locate your class or to be told that the course you want to take is not

offered. Also common were losing your parking sticker and having to go back to each room to find it, when all along it was tucked nicely away in your card packet. Let us not forget about the headaches from concentrating on what courses to take and what courses not to take. Thus, the student life in the year the liberal arts building was renamed Bronson Hall, really only differs from today because of the lack of advanced technology. In the 1970s students had to wait in line for hours to sign up for classes. Being able to sign up online makes a student’s life much easier. Other than that, the life of students at LSUS has been rather difficult ever since.

Two More Years for LSUS

The economic situation in the late 1960s and early 1970s brought a much-need-ed change to the Shreveport area. Economic

Photo Credit: The Manifest. A look inside Bronson Hall in the 1970s.


stability and growth of population called for an improved opportunity for education. The Shreve-port Chamber of Commerce President, James C. Gardner, predicted economic growth for the Shreveport area in 1971 in a speech he gave at LSUS. The economy had stabilized and the city was able to focus on economic growth. Gard-ner promised that the 1970s would bring many improvements for the citizens of Shreveport, one of them being the opportunity for better edu-cation. Also, the Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce, John D. Caruthers, said that Shreveport and the opportunities it will be offer-ing in the 70s would be exciting. The city had suffered a major loss of pop-ulation from 1960 to 1970 because many young people migrated to Houston and Dallas. The two cities provided better opportunities in the field of work and education, but also appealed to young people because of the exciting social life they offered. However, the American Rose Center, LSU Medical School, the Red River Navigation and the enlargement of the State Fair Stadi-um would turn Shreveport into a more exciting place. Furthermore, the construction of Inter-state 49, which links Kansas City to New Orle-ans through Shreveport, added even more to the city’s growth. Also, the LSU Medical School provided more than 500 additional jobs, making Shreveport the medical center of the Ark-La-Tex. Shreveport was growing rapidly, but it still was the only city of its size in the U.S. that did

not have a tax-supported senior college. That is why both city leaders and citizens called for the opportunity of a four-year college. A headline in The Shreveport Times titled “Coordinating Council Okays Four-Year Status for LSUS” on Jan. 21, 1971. Prior to that, the LSU Board of Supervisors had sent the request for adding two years to LSUS’s schedule to the Coordinating Council. However, approval by the council did not mean the goal was achieved. The recommendation also had to have the approval of the legislature. A two-thirds vote of both houses was required. The Shreveport Times article describes the discussions within the council as a lengthy debate during which the opposition to the proposal gradually melted away. At first the council turned the application down in an eight to three vote. Bronson was one of the three men voting for the immediate expansion of LSUS. The people opposing the application did so, because they wanted to wait until LSUS and Southern University had merged. Even though enabling students to have a full college education might seem to be a good thing, there were hurdles that had to be over-come. Originally, LSUS and Southern-Shreve-port were supposed to establish a plan for the development of a unitary system, also called the master plan.

Photo Credit: The Almagest. This view of the campus was taken from atop the soon-to-be-completed Liberal Arts Building (now named Bronson Hall).


Facing Opposition

LSUS’s four-year status faced opposition, but so did the existence of the school in the first place. First efforts to establish a branch of LSU in Shreveport were made in the post-depression era. The movement was initiated in early 1937 by the Queensborough Civic Club, and was joined by other community clubs later on. Oppo-nents, however, argued that establishing LSUS could endanger the existence of Centenary College by taking away their students. The LSUS movement eventually died, and did not get revived until 1956, when local civic leaders addressed State Representative Frank Fulco and State Senator Jackson B. Davis to introduce a bill to locate state-funded college facilities in Shreveport. The two called for surveys to see wheth-er the area really did need those colleges. The outcome was clear. The surveys showed a definite need for both black and white state-sup-ported facilities. Governor John McKeithen authorized both colleges in 1964. However, it was him who vetoed all the expansion bills that should turn LSUS into a four-year institution in 1969. Those bills had already been passed by both the House and the Senate. One of the people opposing the four-year status for LSUS was Albert Dent. He was one of the two African-American members of the council, and brought up the tensions between the two schools with Southern being a predom-inantly black school. The history of LSUS and Southern and their relationship to each other is rather interesting. The South was trying to resist the desegregation laws passed by the Supreme Court in 1954. The laws in the U.S. were changing towards desegregation, but the Southern states reversed the segregation laws more slowly than others. State legislators, may-ors, city councils and other people holding high positions tried their best to establish Southern Shreveport and LSUS as de facto segregated schools. They were hoping most African Amer-icans would go to Southern, and most Ameri-cans of European descent would go to LSUS, but they could not legally enforce it. Therefore, a different approach had to be taken in order to

de facto segregate LSUS and Southern. Both LSUS and Southern Shreveport were opened in 1967 as two-year institutions. Since there was not a legal way of achieving segregation, the campuses needed to be placed in certain areas of Shreveport. LSUS’s campus was built in a predominantly white and wealthy area, whereas Southern Shreveport was built in an area called Cooper Road, which before 1970 was known as Martin Luther King area. Cooper Road was a predominantly black neighbor-hood. The area was annexed to Shreveport in 1970. Because of the specific placement of the schools LSUS became a predominantly white and Southern a predominantly black school. The schools were not segregated by law but by reality. Dent thought it was necessary to hold up the approval of the four- year status for LSUS until the two institutions began to operate in a unitary manner, just like the master plan sug-gested. Thus, LSUS being the only school to change its status would have violated the mas-ter plan. This is when Bronson gave one of the probably most important statements up to that point by saying: “The position you have taken will lead to one of two ends. One, in Shreveport there will never be an accommodation of those students who are unable to go the distances necessary to get to other schools, or, two, you say here and now we will eliminate Southern in Shreveport. That question is not before the Council at this time. If it were, I would vote against it”. Bronson also argued that master plan requirements for the development of a unitary system also have not been met in Baton Rouge, and New Orleans, where both LSU and South-ern have campuses. It was after Bronson gave this convincing speech that a compromise, which did not include the total merge of the two institutions, was made. When LSUS became a four-year institution Southern Shreveport re-mained a two-year school.

Support for Bronson’s Cause

Unfortunately, Bronson’s powers were


limited. He did have the power to influence the people of Shreveport through his newspaper, but he did not have the opportunity to change decisions made by the legislature. This is when another very important man needs to be men-tioned, namely Governor Edwin Edwards. On January 26, 1972 the Shreveport Times published Edward’s statement about the expansion of LSUS in which he stated “This coming May when the Caddo delegation intro-duces a bill to obtain legislative confirmation of four-year status for LSUS, the delegation can tell the other legislators that the governor wants the bill passed and is anxious to sign it”. The support of the governor, however, did not automatically finalize the expansion of LSUS. Even if it is passed by the house and signed by the governor, there is no guarantee that the expansion of LSUS could happen within two years due to financial challenges. The plan was to expand to a three-year institution in 1973, and finally, to a four-year institution in 1974. Another important person in the process of turning LSUS into a four-year institution was Donald E. Shipp, the dean of the school. Like Bronson, who used his newspaper as a medium to communicate with the citizens, Shipp also ap-

pealed to the citizens in the Bossier and Caddo parishes. In an article in the Shreveport Times on Feb. 5, 1972 he addressed the readers direct-ly by saying “If you think this obvious gap in Louisiana’s system of higher education should be filled, then let our newly elected legislators know”. Shipp became the chancellor of LSUS when it was granted two extra years. Since LSUS was not a university before, and therefore did not consist of multiple colleges, only one dean was needed. However, when LSUS be-came a four-year university, the head of the in-dividual colleges became deans, and the former dean became the chancellor. Bronson, Edwards, Shipp and many oth-ers helped turn LSUS into a four-year institution and gave thousands of students the opportunity of a higher education over the years. Turning LSUS into a four-year school was one of the promises governor Edwards had made to the North Louisiana citizens. After signing the legis-lation, he gave the pen to Sen. Don Williamson and told him to give it to Bronson, who had led the drive to secure the degree-granting status for LSUS. The next time you walk by Bronson Hall, or any other named building in a city or on a campus you might stop and think about what is hidden behind the name. Buildings bear much more than a name. Names open the door to history.

Photo Credit: The Manifest. Governor Edwards.


Photos Courtesy of Brooke Rinaudo.

2016 Fall Color Run



You stifle a yawn after that 10 o’clock morning class, throw a backpack over your shoulder, and straggle down the stairs into the sunlight and cool air- and that’s when you hear it: music. Random thoughts drift through your mind about where the noise is coming from and who is behind it. “It’s probably just a student kill-ing time until their next class,” you say to your-self. After making your way to your car, the curiosity of the captivating tune compels you to turn around and silence your pounding thoughts. Off to the sidewalk you go, weaving your way back to the center of campus, the music grow-ing louder and less mysterious. You quicken your pace to ensure you have enough time to arrive at the sound before it disappears. The university clock bell chimes- it’s 11 o’clock, Common Hour when every student on campus is free from attending class, and so commences the 11 consecutive chimes. “What the heck?” The center of campus, the University Center Mall, is shrouded with students. Tents bend to the subtle wind, groups laugh, others pass out free goodies, the smell of food fills the air, and then you see the source of your won-dering- a band set up on the UC steps. Inflatables cover most of the grassy ar-eas next to the tents. Greek sisters are paint-ed in bright colors and show off their pilot pride with LSU Shreveport T-shirts. Even Superman, a witch, and a werewolf are on campus- wait, no those are just students dressed in Halloween costumes. Welcome to the Fall Fest Fair. It is time for free food, music, hanging out with friends, perusing student organization tables, signing up for a few of them, and enjoying the social side of college life. If you are wondering who to

thank, it will be these guys: the Student Activi-ties Board, more commonly known as the SAB. SAB is a major factor that plays a role in student life on the LSUS campus. The mem-bers brainstorm, plan, organize, and manage their events so that students can interact with each other, get to know the campus, and have fun making memories at the university.

The executive board includes the Presi-dent, Lance Rich, Vice President, James Bohn, Secretary, Fatimah Smith, and three executive members who support the group in decisions and events, Shandrea Lyons, Jasmine Turner, and Katy Woodel. “Every student on the whole executive board on the SAB has responsibilities,” said Lance Rich, president of the SAB. “They have to be at meetings and they have to be at events and help with the setup, management, and take down. My job is to organize the agendas for the regular SAB meetings and participate in weekly meetings with the director and assistant director of student activities to discuss what needs to happen for events.” Executive members are required to work at least five hours a week during the fall and spring semesters, which usually covers weekly activities and the preparation for those campus events. “Some weeks like Fall Fest, we go way over five hours without exception because of the daily events that we have scheduled, but some weeks it’s pretty tough to get five hours because there is not much going on,” Rich said. “The SAB meetings are one of the biggest be-hind the scenes part of the activities students see and attend on campus- a lot of discussion and thought and work happens at these meet-ings and they’re open to the student body.”

The Student Life behind the Student LifeBy Emily Wright


SAB secretary, Fatimah Smith, said she grew to like LSUS more because of her involvement in the club and the impact their events have on students’ lives. “I’ve always liked being involved in school, I mean being paid is a bonus,” Smith said. “But having people say ‘Hey, thanks for the free food!’ or ‘Thanks for the event, I really enjoyed it,’ makes me happy and I like being a part of SAB for that reason.” Angel Martin, director of student activities, said the organization is a vehicle for students to grow in their leadership skills. Some of the members she re-

membered being extremely shy but who have now become very vocal and are involved in various hap-

penings on and off campus. “They don’t realize that the fact that they get

to meet and help plan a calendar that affects thousands of students means they’re making decisions ting to transfer over to what I like to call a ‘Big Boy’ or ‘Big Girl job,’” Martin said. “The SAB works with other organizations on campus

to provide for certain events and acts as an outlet to allow other organizations to get themselves out there through

things like organization fairs,” Rich said. “Without SAB, over half of the events on campus that students can

participate in would be gone.” Since students are paying for activities on cam-pus through fees included in tuition, the SAB are eager to serve students and present events that positively impact them. One of these plans is to partner with student organizations and provide

Photo Credit: Emily Wright. The 2016 bonfire.


food, supplies, or funding for its event to show-case student life and involvement on campus and in the community. “It’s something that we’re trying to push,” Martin said. “I would rather we put our money to-wards a student organization’s event like a fund-raiser or a weekend community event instead of spending the same amount of dollars on an event where we pass out free candy to students or have a tie-dye your T-shirt day. As long as the organization’s event serves all students, we will fund the event in some way because I think it’s great to support student organizations and give them a platform to host events that would appeal and mean more to students.” She said that a Greek event may want them to provide catering from Raising Cane’s to feed 30 people, or the International Student As-sociation may want supplies to decorate a room for a celebration party. “We have had students come to me or to the SAB meetings and tell us their ideas and in-quire about the options of the SAB co-sponsor-ing an event and providing desserts or drinks,” Martin said. “It just needs to be a clear idea for the event that serves students and outlines how much it will cost or what they are requesting for us to do.” The SAB President said that he feels the organization is the fuel for the fire for students who are excited about student life at LSUS. “We are a commuter college where a lot of people just go to class and leave,” Rich said. “It’s amazing how many people don’t even know about events that are out right in the center of campus, and very loud, and they still don’t know

those exist.” On the second Wednesday of every se-mester, SAB holds a “Join SAB” Party where in-terested students can come and ask members questions about what the SAB is and what they do, as well as contribute to discussions about ideas and events they would like to see happen on campus. Of course, it is not a party without food and games, and the members make it worthwhile with a free lunch and games. The members also boost awareness for their group by posting the Toilet Paper in each stall of every bathroom on campus to let stu-dents know what activities are going on that week in student activities, rec sports, and oth-er organizations. At times, postings in the bath-room newsletter include information on scholar-ships, job openings on campus, and fundraising events. Information is provided on how to con-tact SAB to have something posted in the Toilet Paper, which is also emailed to every student at the beginning of the week for an electronic reminder of campus events. The members of SAB are constantly thinking about the tough question of how to in-crease awareness to students about campus events. But they are more than thoughts and words, they make decisions and then put them into action to see results. “We’ve been working on being more in-volved in freshman orientation to ensure that students know about our organization from day one,” Rich said. “We would be happy to take sug-gestions on how to increase awareness. Those students who don’t know about our events are

Photo Credit: Emily Wright. Students chowing down on free crawfish at the 2016 Spring Fling event hosted by the SAB.

Photo Credit: Emily Wright. A make-your-own picture frame activity during Common Hour.


most likely ignoring our weekly emails, the Toilet Paper postings, and the various posters that we hang up around campus. If students don’t first have an interest in student life, they’ll soon forget there’s a student life on campus at all.” Executive board member Shandrea Ly-ons said she learned about the Student Activi-ties Board during an organization fair during her freshmen orientation. She really connected with the students representing SAB. “I really liked what they were saying about providing student life activities,” Lyons said. “When I was in high school I pretty much did the same thing: student council, student government and stuff like that, so I thought SAB would be something interesting and different to join. When I first came to college I wanted to make sure that I made my involvement everything I could make it.” Lyons said being involved with creating cam-pus events was something she did not believe she would be doing in college. “I like it because it gives me a different college experience than I thought I was going to have,” Lyons said. “I just thought I was going to hate it altogether, but it actually made me like it more and then it was easier for me to get my peers involved. I just love SAB.” The $6 student activities fee that each stu-dent pays covers all of the events put on by the SAB and all of the events hosted by Rec Sports, in addition to the freebies, food, prizes, T-shirts, crawfish, and gift cards given out at those events. The fee also pays for the tents provided to the

student organizations during the fair on the UC Mall, inflatables, DJs, and performers. To help with the upkeep of the building that houses the student activities office and many of its events, a portion of the small fee is deducted to pay for rooms and equipment in the University Center. The Student Organization Council and Student Government Association also receive funding from the fee for scholarships and their small op-erating budgets. Other organizations included in the fee are the debate team, Spectra Magazine, and the Almagest Student News. The student activity fee is only included in the tuition and fees payment for on campus students. Every student pays $6 for each credit hour of class enrollment, so a part-time student may pay only $36 for student activities, whereas a full-time student pays $72. The fee caps out at 12 credit hours, or $72, so students enrolled in

Photo Credit: Emily Wright. Lance Rich, president of SAB, speaking at the 2016 “State of the U for YOU” event.

Photo Credit: Emily Wright. Lance Rich, president of SAB, speaking at the 2016 “State of the U for YOU” event.


13 credit hours or more do not may more than $72 for the student activities fee. Student activities gets about 40 percent of the entire fee, which includes the salaries and benefits for the director and assistant director, wages for student workers, paying for licenses to play music on campus, insurances for events and staff, the weekly events hosted by SAB, supplies for events, the distribution of freebies, and office supplies. “Just as an example, say 2,200 students pay $72 each that generates $158,400 per se-mester for fall and spring,” Martin said. “Let’s say that we bring in about $316,800 a year for the student activities fee, but that amount is what starts to get broken up between those de-partments like the SAB, Rec Sports, the UC, and other campus utilities. So it seems like a lot until it gets nickeled and dimed so that $35,000 of that is about what we can spend each fall and each spring semester. We get about a little over $100,000 for student activities to use for events.” Back in the day, in the ‘80s, student events at LSUS were a bit more extreme than they are nowadays. For example, the Fall Fest of 1985 featured students listening to various bands, us-ing a sledgehammer on an old car to ease those college semester frustrations, enjoying crawfish, running in a three-legged race, competing in a treasure hunt for $100, making caramel apples,

rocking out to an air band concert competition, watching a Chinese Dragon show and martial arts presentation, and playing volley-ball. “One Spring Fling in the ‘80s was spon-sored by Bud Light and they actually had beer out at the event and students were repelling off of the side of the University Center,” Martin said. The Spring Fling of ’82 featured separate men and women mud wrestling competitions and an array of venders selling ice cream, snow cones, Natchitoches meat pies, Cokes, and pop-corn. Several clowns also entertained students with stunts and the giving-out of free balloons. A tug-of-war contest drew a fair-sized crowd while teams with a cumulative weight of up to 2,000 pounds tried to out-pull each oth-er. Students competed for prizes in a hay dive and a belly dive, where they slid down a greased piece of plastic. One of the funniest activities, the Best Buns in Town contest, presented men and women wearing shorts and bending over to be judged by students who had the best “buns.” The winners won $25. Since its opening in 1967, LSU Shreve-port students have been entertained with events and activities to encourage and foster a college social climate. Because the executive board members are required to attend each event on campus, Rich said with a laugh that he cannot help but

Photo Credit: Emily Wright. Students learning more about the SAB at a Join SAB Party.


feel like there’s student life at LSUS. Students who are not yet a part of any organization or find the idea of creating events exciting should attend a meeting with the student activities group to learn what student life is all about. “I think student activities give you the com-plete college experience,” said Chelsa King, as-sistant director of student activities. “When stu-dents get involved in campus events they tend to do better academically and then they also have that social life outside of class. Student activi-ties is a great way for our Pilots to get a chance to meet people in a social setting and to be in-volved.” While the president of SAB encourages members to be open and creative about event ideas, Martin said she has to say no to some of them, or size down the event, to be able to afford that one event plus all of the other events that are strung along throughout the semester. “At the beginning of the year I break it out into what I expect to spend on events and we al-ways have enough funds for them,” Martin said. “We also use the end-of-the-year funds that come from enrollment being higher than we predicted or not spending as much money as we thought we would. There is always some wiggle room so that we never cancel or postpone an event due to funding, only because of a lack of interest or participation, or the weather.” Planning and running an event, Rich said, is a surprisingly useful thing to learn how to do.

“I’ve been on the SAB for three years and there’s literally no better job that you can get paid to do than giving away free stuff to people,” Rich said. “They’re happy, you’re happy, everyone’s happy. It’s rewarding on a campus like this be-cause the average student that isn’t involved in anything thinks there is no student life on this campus and it’s nice to be the student life. At ev-ery single event that isn’t super small, like Fall Fest, someone discovers that there is student life on this campus and you get to see that and it’s really cool. It’s always crazy to see the surprise on people’s faces like ‘What? This happens?’ ‘Yes, this happens.’” Students who wish to make an impact on the types of events offered are invited to tell the members of the activities organization so that their ideas can be used for campus events. “Students are welcome to come to meet-ings and to come to our events because we’re happy to have them,” Rich said. “And when they come to meetings, students don’t have to have the intention of joining SAB. If they just want to give us their ideas for the rest of the year and then never come back, then that’s okay.” The SAB makes use of online surveys on the LSUS website and their Facebook page to understand which types of events students would like to see more of and at convenient times. The complicating aspect is that each student feels dif-ferently about the events they are interested in and what they would like to have offered.

Photo Credit: Emily Wright. Students lining up for free gourmet hot dogs during the 2016 bonfire.


“I could ask one student about an event they would like to see on campus and another student will answer the question with a complete-ly different answer,” Martin said. “One student may want a game show event, but another may want a special speaker event.” The SAB fully understands that many students work while going to school at LSUS, have personal and family responsibilities, and are non-traditional students. Evening and night events are put on schedule for the fall and spring semesters to accommodate those students who may be on campus later in the day for classes or who are traveling from the end of the work day. Martin said if non-traditional students tell the SAB that they want a certain event at a cer-tain time, then the board will most likely put it on because they appreciate input from students who really care about student life and aren’t able to come to other events. “A lot of people from the outside don’t un-derstand why someone might be super enthu-siastic about this campus that is clearly a small and tight-knit community and doesn’t have some

sort of party atmosphere or average college at-mosphere,” Rich said. “But I’ve enjoyed every minute of it and there’s a lot of fun to be had. I freaking love LSUS.” To see a calendar of student activities and events, visit lsus.edu/student-life. There is a link on this webpage where students can also print out the student activities and Rec Sports calen-dar. To be a member, the LSUS student must attend three consecutive general SAB meetings and two events in one semester. The student must also be in good academic standing with the university. New members are accepted through-out the year and there are no dues. SAB meeting times can be found on the LSUS calendar on the website. If you are interested in learning more about the SAB, how to join, or how to partner with the organization for funding, send them an email at [email protected], or visit their Facebook page at Facebook.com/sabatlsus, or their Instagram feed at sab_lsus.


As Dr. Kyle Pierce looks around his gym, the clang of the weights ring out in the back-ground as athletes from all over the world train in the LSU Shreveport Weightlifting Program. Meanwhile, LSUS students walk to and from class, completely oblivious of the world-re-nowned weightlifting program only a couple buildings away on the same campus. LSUS weightlifting garnered recent atten-tion following the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. Dr. Pierce, who is the international coach for Ghana, participated in the games this summer as a coach, and Kendrick Farris, who has been weightlifting with Dr. Pierce at LSUS since he was 11, competed in his third Olympic Games this summer. While LSUS has only recently been gar-nering large amounts of attention in the media, the program is by no means new to LSUS. When Dr. Pierce arrived at LSUS in

1990, it wasn’t long before he had the LSUS Weightlifting Program in motion. By 1991, LSUS hosted its first meet and had a female weightlift-er win fourth place at nationals. Since then, the university has hosted 23 events, 18 being na-tionally recognized events and six of the events internationally recognized. Students from 26 separate states have come to LSUS specifically for the weightlifting program as well as students from four different countries. While students do come from all over the world to train at LSUS, Dr. Pierce does not do any recruiting for the team. “No, we don’t recruit. They just want to come here and train with this program, and we’ve brought a lot of students into LSUS through weightlifting who wouldn’t have been here otherwise. I think that says something,” Dr. Pierce said. One thing that attracts local people

World-Renowned Weightlifting Attraction in LSUS’ Own Backyard

by Elles Rock

Photo Credit: Jessica Ingram. A student, Devon Cloud, weightlifter at the LSUS Weightlifting Center.


from the community to LSUS weightlifting is the opportunities for kids. Local kids are wel-come to come in and start training with LSUS Weightlifting under Dr. Pierce and some other volunteer coaches any afternoon of the week or on Saturday mornings, completely free. This is how Kendrick Farris was first introduced to LSUS Weightlifting. He came in when he was 11 to start training and now, years later, he has competed in three consecutive summer Olympic Games. From the time LSUS weightlifting started in the early 90s, they have opened their doors to anyone and everyone who wants to learn the sport. Because the team is not a part of the NCAA, they are technically considered a club. This status is what gives so many people the opportunity to get involved. It’s for this very reason that Pierce has been able to get so many to come and join the program. Though he does not recruit, when someone new comes in the gym Pierce has a way of convincing them to get on board, to stay, train and compete. “The first girl who ever competed at LSUS was a student I taught in one of my activi-ty classes. I introduced the class to weightlifting, and she was the last one I would have expected to pick it up, but she stayed with us. She com-peted and she did really well,” Dr. Pierce said. On any given day of the week (except Friday), between 3 p.m.-7 p.m., as well as Sat-urday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the USA Weight-lifting Center, which is housed in the health and

physical education building, is open to whoever may want to learn more about the sport and train. In addition to dedicated team members, LSUS weightlifting also has some dedicated volunteer coaches. Volunteer Coaches Danny Schlag and Josh Redden can be found in the weight room, after work and school, lifting and training others. Schlag is taking classes toward his master’s de-gree at LSUS and Josh Redden is an adaptive P.E. coach for the Bossier Parish school system. “My reasons for coming to LSUS and training really are multifaceted. I jumped at the chance to work with people of all ages. We have kids come in here who have never lifted before all the way up to Olympic athletes. I also really wanted to work with Dr. Pierce. It’s a dynamic team. It’s diverse, and we really have a lot of fun,” Redden said. A huge draw for the LSUS team is the diversity factor. This program is known all over the world, due in large part to the coaching and traveling done by Pierce. Karla Hernandez-Leon is an LSUS weightlifting team member who moved to Shreveport from Mexico specifically to be part of the weightlifting program at LSUS. Leon first heard of the program when competing at the California State Games in 2011. In February 2012, Leon came to Shreve-port for the first time to visit LSUS and check out the program. Even with her limited knowledge of the English language, she knew that LSUS

Photo Courtesy: Dr. Kyle Pierce. Dr. Pierce and Kendrick Farris at the 2016 Olympics.


is where she wanted to take her next step in the weightlifting world. After deciding she wanted to come to LSUS, Leon still had a major hurdle in front of her: she had to pass the TOEFL exam. The TOEFL exam is a standardized test used to measure the English language ability of non-na-tive speakers who are trying to enroll in En-glish-speaking universities. Leon had already taken the test once and failed before officially deciding to enroll at LSUS, but with her final de-cision of knowing where she wanted to be, the urgency of needing to pass the test increased. Leon took the test two more times, still unable to pass. It was then she decided to come back to Shreveport to train for a month during the summer of 2012. Being in Shreveport that month, she worked with many young kids and helped train them in the gym. She was put in an atmosphere with no other choice but to learn and speak English. At the end of the month, Leon attended a competition in Houston to help with the team. During her stay in Houston, after an intense month of training in the gym but also with the language, she took the TOEFL test for the fourth time and passed. She officially moved to Shreveport in the fall semester of 2012, started school, started training, and secured her student visa. Four years later Leon is still in Shreve-port, working at LSUS during the day and train-ing in the evenings. She continues to compete with the LSUS team. “What really drew me to LSUS was Dr. Pierce’s coaching. He has this way of being able to personally motivate people. If I’m in the gym and I’m frustrated he just tells me that each day that I am in the gym is a day I am getting better at the sport. He reminds me to take it one kilogram at a time,” Leon said. Leon claims that her experience with LSUS weightlifting has not just developed her into a better athlete but also a better person. “When I was in Mexico, my coach kept up with every aspect of my life in the gym, but here I’ve had to determine the self-discipline to do that for myself,” Leon said. “Without that self-discipline I would never reach my goals, not

just in weightlifting, but in life.” Leon is not the only person to come out of LSUS weightlifting who believes the program is as successful as it is because of Pierce. Former LSUS weightlifting trainer Mike DeSilva said the only reason the weightlifting program is what it is today is because Pierce has cultivated a family atmosphere among those who train at the gym. “He’s no ordinary coach. He’s an extraor-dinary coach, so it’s an extraordinary program. People flock to that program because of him,” DeSilva said. It’s that family atmosphere on the LSUS weightlifting team that really made the difference for Leon. Coming from a different country and being so far from home and her family, Leon really craved that feeling of belonging. “My favorite memory of LSUS weightlift-ing is the very first competition I ever went to with the team. Everyone on the team came and we all rented a van and drove up together. Just being with the team was so much fun,” Leon said. Leon went on to medal in all three events at that competition: snatch, clean and jerk, and total scores. Many of those involved in LSUS weight-lifting believe the program has seen such suc-cess in drawing team members in from all over the world just because people are excited by the mere idea of training with Pierce. He has differ-ent ideas. “I think a lot of people are drawn here because they like the idea of training with an Olympic athlete. I also think the education is a big draw. When students come here to weightlift they are also assured to have a good educa-tion,” Pierce said. “This team is about excel-lence: excellence in the weight room, excellence in being a good citizen, and excellence in the class room.” One thing that sets the LSUS Weight-lifting Program apart from other programs is its workouts. Pierce is passionate about imple-menting workouts that are scientifically evi-dence-based training techniques. His doctorate is in health education so many of the elements of the LSUS workouts are from aspects of


Pierce’s education, but also things that he has picked up from friends and mentors in the sport over the years. “A lot of people train and do not know why they train the way they do, but with evi-dence-based training, we know exactly why we train the way we do,” Pierce said. “I have had people come up to me in various parts of the world and say that they are using our training methods. We do not sell it but I know people have taken photos of it. It is nice if it helps somebody in the sport.” It is those evidence-based training princi-ples that Pierce built the program on, and they have proven very effective. “Just the fact that there’s an athlete out of that gym that has competed in the last three summer Olympic games says a lot about the quality of the program,” DeSilva said. The future for LSUS weightlifting is bright. In addition to continuing to compete, Pierce is working on creating opportunities for LSUS students and students in Ghana to be able to do some exchanges. “I would like to have more international exchange among student weightlifters. Travel is such an eye opening and mind opening expe-rience, and it enhances education in so many ways. We have had a lot of teams from other countries come and train here, but I would love to create more of an opportunity for our students here to travel and train in other places,” Pierce said.

In addition to travel and exchange op-portunities for current students, Dr. Pierce is also excited about the opportunities to work with people with disabilities and students in the gym. “We do training with para people here, too,” Pierce said. “I love to get people with all kinds of disabilities lifting in the gym.” To those who have been a part of LSUS weightlifting, they cannot say enough about the positive impact this program has had in their lives. The phenomenon of the program is that it is something that has taken LSUS’ name and reputation into the farthest corners of the earth, and yet, so many of LSUS’ own students do not even know the program exists. “This is my third year here at LSUS, and I had no idea about the success of this program. It’s crazy that there are Olympic athletes and coaches on our own campus and I did not even know,” said Kristen Morgan, mass communi-cations. “It’s always cool to find out about cool things happening in our city, so it’s even cooler that this is something that is happening on our own campus.” The Weightlifting Program is LSUS’ bur-ied treasure. Students walk past the HPE build-ing on campus every day without ever uncov-ering the riches buried in the first floor weight room.


Assistant Director of Student Activities and Greek Advisor, Chelsa King, stares blankly ahead, sitting in her LSU Shreveport office dec-orated with Greek letters, thank you notes, and motivational quotes on the walls. Her eyebrows lift and the look of worry draws across her face, as she ponders the future existence of the fra-ternities and sororities at LSUS, known as Greek Life. “I think Greek Life would have a very small impact on an ‘e-campus,’” King said. “I think we would definitely see a decline if that were to hap-pen at LSUS.” Greek Life on campus has existed almost as long as LSUS has existed. Over the last 49 years, it has accumulated 10 Greek charters, seven active and three inactive, with over 100 members. The seven active charters are Phi Mu, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Kappa Sigma, Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, and Zeta Phi Beta. The three inactive charters include Delta Sigma Theta, Phi Lambda Chi, and Zeta Tau Alpha. A Greek organization is a social organiza-tion whose primary focus is community service and giving a helping hand to those in need. To become a Greek member at LSUS, students have to have a GPA of a 2.25, or a 2.0 from high school as an incoming freshman, and remain in good standing after initiation. Each individual Greek organization has philanthropy, or a charity, where the profits of their fundraisers, donations, and philanthropy events provide financial support for the group they represent. These philanthropies reach all across America. Phi Mu’s philanthropy is Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals based here in Shreveport at Christus Schumpert. The sorority’s annual events include a Lilly Bingo Night where the members award the bingo winners Lilly Pulitzer themed prize baskets and several raffle prizes through-out the night. Last year, they raised over $3,000. Hoopapalooza is hosted during both the women’s

and men’s basketball games for one Saturday evening providing a donation table, a free throw competition for the basketball players, and a craft and game table for the Miracle children who attend the game. Kappa Sigma’s philanthropy is the vet-erans of the military and their annual event is a see-saw-a-thon which takes place for an entire weekend during the spring where each member must ride the see-saw for a given amount of time. They invite a local band to perform and have a crawfish boil for all of the guests. Guests are wel-come to ride the see-saw and participate in the other games. Many restaurants around Shreveport such as Raising Cane’s, Rotolo’s Pizzeria, and Chipot-le allow LSUS’ Greek organizations to hold fund-raisers at their facilities throughout the year. Being a member of Greek Life brings many opportunities outside of community service to the active member. “Phi Mu has brought me so many friends. It has helped me get to know the other Greek organizations on campus, too. Not to mention, the people that I’ve met through Phi Mu. I love the fact that I can walk in class on the first day of school, see someone wearing a letter shirt and immediately have someone to sit by,” said Mor-gan Teakell, a senior in Phi Mu Sorority. “I get to blow off some steam with my sisters at our social events. Phi Mu makes me healthy and it makes me happy.” While the students involved on campus enjoy their organizations, LSUS’ student body seems to be declining right under their nose. Over half of the 4,000 students enrolled at LSUS are in a graduate program or are online students. The role of an “e-campus” has increased in many schools and has been nationally recognized. According to ecampusnews.com, “More recently, [e-campus’s] great claim to fame has been as a cost saver, a scalable way to enroll large numbers of students with minimal financial outlay.”

Maintaining Greek Lifeby Kristen Morgan


Other schools in Louisiana that share some of the same characteristics with LSUS are experiencing the same decline in students enrolled in classes on campus, but are trying hard to work through it. Nicholls State Uni-versity in Thibodaux, La, with a student body of about 5,400, enrolls many graduate stu-dents and online students, as well. Its Greek Life community is slightly larger that LSUS’ Greek Life, but is very involved on campus just the same. They are heavily advertised on the school website and keep information and application packets online so the interested students can access them easily. Louisiana State University in Alexan-dria, a sister school of LSUS, has a student body of slightly over 3,000 students and just recently added an active Greek charter last year. Being the small school that they are and offering similar graduate programs like LSUS, the Student Affairs Vice-chancellor, Dr. Eamon Haplin, hopes this change will perhaps grow their current student body involvement. “We are always looking for ways to en-hance the college experience for students and the sorority’s addition is another step forward for LSUA,” Haplin said. So with this inevitable change that LSUS is experiencing, how will Greek Life survive? How will it continue to thrive in a university where less and less commuter students are enrolling each year? Hannah Sharrow, an on-line student at LSUS, said that Greek Life can

make a positive impact on an e-campus. “I think it would be fresh and something new, it would be a great impact. Most peo-ple join Greek organizations for a variety of reasons: a support system, philanthropy. As an online student, I would love to be a part of something like this for these two reasons. It just has to be convenient,” Sharrow said. Bridget MacDonald, a graduate student who is a Phi Mu alumni member, said there are ways Greek Life can remain a strong presence at LSUS through its recent changes. “For Greek Life to survive, I think they need to help the school in recruiting potential students locally. They should make their pres-ence more known in the community so high school students can see that they can be a part of Greek Life at LSUS just like at a larger school,” MacDonald said. “Greek has always been a popular thing, not only on this campus but on campus-es nationwide and worldwide. People come to college with going Greek being one of their

Photo Credit: Emily Wright. Greek organizations advocate for breast cancer awareness during the Fall Fest Fair of 2016.



goals. As long as we have students, Greek Life is going to exist. We just have to find different ways to cater to the students who are on cam-pus,” King said. Not only does Greek Life benefit its own members, but even non-members are affected by the organizations. “I think the networking and community outreach and service allows me to benefit from Greek Life,” said Elizabeth Cockerham, a grad-uate student at LSUS. “Everyone benefits from Greek organizations.” “I could definitely benefit from Greek Life. I have seen how being a Greek benefitted others and I would love to have the opportunity to do that as an online student,” Sharrow said. Though these online and graduate stu-dents feel positive about their distant relation-ship with Greek Life, Jordan Gantt, a senior in Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity, shares a differ-ent view. “I honestly do not think that LSUS’ Greek Life opens its doors to online students, but for good reason. Most of the things Greeks do are held on campus when most of us are al-ready here. I just believe it to be extremely diffi-cult for individuals who take only online classes to be involved and gain the full experience that the rest of us have obtained,” Gantt said. Sharrow shows interest in Greek Life and the good things she’s seen done by them, however, she agrees with Gantt. “Honestly, it would be extremely hard for me to be involved. I think most of the meetings and events are on campus and in Shreveport, so an online student who couldn’t attend class-es on campus would most likely have a hard time joining any organization at school,” Shar-row said. Teakell also said that the doors were not very open to inviting online students and grad-uate students to be a part of Greek Life.With recruitment finished for the semester, the active organizations added some new members in the last couple of months. Mallory Davis, a junior initiate of Phi Mu, said Greek organizations are important, not just for the community but for the nation.

“Greek Life is much different than regu-lar community service organizations because the larger picture is also there. As our chapter helps our area, all chapters help all of America and that makes a huge impact,” Davis said. The knowledge and impact that Greek organizations leave on members reaches new initiates quickly, and it never leaves the ones who have been a part of it for years. “Joining Phi Mu was a way for me to be involved in college like I was in high school. There are so many fun things in Phi Mu. This is my senior year and the two most frequent emotions I’ve experienced are happiness and sadness,” Teakell said. “Now that I know what’s going on and I know how to do things, I look back and wish I would have started my first year as an active like this to be more involved with Greek Life.” Gantt highlights the challenges that hap-pen while being a Greek member and a normal member of everyday life.

“I do believe that going Greek was a great decision and has given me numerous opportunities for my future and I’ve had a lot of fun, but there are still times where we struggle. I have been an executive officer for two years now and balancing my time between school, work, and Greek Life can be difficult some-times,” Gantt said. For LSUS’ Greek Life community to be able to prosper, the organizations will have to learn to cater to the growing demand of on-line students if they want to continue to recruit members.



“I feel like Greek Life can survive if we as Greeks can be flexible for graduate and online students. If we could bend our rules so that they could join, that’s how it’s going to sur-vive,” Teakell said. “If LSUS becomes where a majority of its students are online and not here, then we’re going to have to fix ourselves to form to that, or Greek Life may not survive.” Sharrow and Teakell share the same mindset when thinking about how Greek Life can adapt to a technology-based campus. “Part of being an online student for me is the convenience of being able to plan out my own schedule for school work. I feel like this is the reason a lot of people are enrolling as online students and adapting to the online environment would be great for organizations to accumulate more members,” Sharrow said. Gantt suggests that stronger public rela-tions from the Greeks would be very beneficial in maintaining the charters on campus and continuing to gather members.“A major influence on getting people to go Greek is visibility. The most effective thing any organization can do is be seen and look pre-sentable. If people see Greek organizations throwing events and having fun, then that

makes more of a good impression on the cam-pus community,” Gantt said.

“Greek PR has definitely gotten better since I’ve been out of Phi Mu. The presence on campus and getting out there in the community is great. The unity I see within the chapter and with other Greek organizations make me proud and they have come a long way in a few short years,” MacDonald said. King said that Greek organizations are very strong recruiters for LSUS and can re-main strong on campus by using their leader-ship skills, just like Teakell. “I think Greek would be great at help-ing recruit students. If Greek Life is the leader of everything that we’re doing here as far as pertaining to student activities, participating in events and having huge events, that will attract more students to go to our school,” King said. Both Sharrow and Cockerham suggest making special events and designated time with non-traditional students during the recruit-ment process. “Find a way to include online students who want to join through technology. For ex-ample, Skype is great for video calls,” Sharrow said. Cockerham added, “Maybe they can make a graduate section within the chapter and give those students less tasks than active members, but more tasks than alumni so they can still be involved.” It is natural for members who are in-volved in LSUS’ largest organization commu-nity to be concerned about their continued existence in a world that is ever changing and gaining more and more technology every day. If Greek members unite and begin to adapt to these changes by meeting non-traditional stu-dents’ needs, it will keep student life at LSUS at an all time high. With the confidence, posi-tive attitudes, and benefits that are constantly reaching different people across the nation, it is with great hopes that Greek Life not only at LSUS, but on campuses everywhere, remains successful and continues to pledge new mem-bers for years to come.

Photo Credit: Emily Wright. Phi Mu promote their Dance Marathon that benefits the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.


LSUS Campus Police: Not just Campus Police OfficersMary Matthews

“The stars are always on top” said Lou-isiana State University Shreveport campus Police Officer Lance Cole as he began taking the Louisiana State and American flag off the flagpole that is located in the center of the LSUS campus. Every day, one of the campus police duties is raising and lowering the flags. The flags are folded vertically in half, and then folded in half again to where the stars of the American flag are on top. Officer Cole then carefully folds the flag back and forward into a triangle shape being very careful not to let the flag touch the ground. He repeats the same process with the Louisiana State flag. LSUS has some of the most well-trained police officers in the business with many years of experience in law enforcement.

Each LSUS campus police officer is Louisiana Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certified from a law enforcement-training program. This means that the LSUS campus police officers were full-time commissioned police offices before being hired to work at LSUS. Consisting of mostly retired police officers, LSUS police officers together share more than 50 years of experience in law en-forcement. Officers work 10 hour shifts a day and together patrol LSUS’ campus 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week. Even during Christmas break when everything is closed, LSUS campus police are still patrolling. The campus police officers come from all different backgrounds. Many of the campus police officers have worked for the Shreve-

Photo Credit: Jessica Ingram. LSUS Officers, Tracy Tramnell and Glyn Best, folding the American Flag.


port Police Department specializing in detective work, K-9 unit, and are even instructors for DWI Standardized Field Sobriety. Other officers, like Officer Leonard Bonnette, come from a military background working on the K-9 unit for the Air Force. “When I get in I’ll make a loop around campus and make sure that there is nothing out of the ordinary. A lot of the times you have pretty much a lot of the same things going on at campus so it is not hard to spot something that is out of the ordinary, like somebody might come on campus at night or sometimes we might have different activities that are being set up,” Officer Bonnette said. By 7 a.m., Officer Leonard Bonnette is already on duty. The flag has been hung, coffee has been drunk, and the LSUS campus doors are opening. LSUS campus police officers spend the morning patrolling the LSUS cam-pus in search of any misconduct from the night before. LSUS officers spend most of their day patrolling campus and student housing to en-sure safety on campus, but this is not their duty. Officer Bonnette has been working as a campus police at LSUS for 12 years. “The main thing about watching out for students is to be vigilant and ride around. Once you have been here for a while you know the people who belong on campus,” Officer Bon-

nette said. The police officers patrol the campus so that students and visitors are aware that the LSUS campus police are available if they are ever needed. They use their time patrolling to examine the campus and observe any kind of special activity. LSUS campus police officers’ visibility on campus deters criminal activity, makes visitors on campus for special events (like the Color Run) feel safe and secure, and makes the campus police officers seem more approachable. “In my opinion, campus safety is an environment where students can participate in activities on campus without having to be afraid of something. The police are supposed to en-sure a safe environment for the students,” said political science major Fatima Smith. Student safety is first and foremost the greatest concern of campus police. This is why patrolling LSUS’ campus takes up the majority of the day and is a very important part of LSUS campus safety. A freshman safety seminar is organized every semester by campus police to acclimate new students to the protocols of campus safety and college life. The safety seminar is for new students and helps educate them about the stu-dent conduct codebook. The campus police offi-cers give the new students a rundown of what is expected at LSUS. At the beginning of each

Photo Credit: Jessica Ingram. LSUS Officers folding the state flag.


LSUS semester, parking tickets are more likely to be given to set the tone for the new school year and restore order. In August, the LSUS campus police officers hold a meet-and-greet in the University Center called Donut Patrol. During the event, LSUS campus police officers to get to know the students and the students get a chance to get to know the officers. Located in each parking lot, in front of the university center, and by the library on LSUS’ campus is a blue and red emergency call box attached to a light pole with a blue and white sign on the top reading “Call Box.” The LSUS campus police have placed emergency call boxes throughout campus, and recently these call boxes have been covered in plastic making them unusable. The call boxes are old and LSUS campus police officers have been running tests on the call boxes in order for the LSUS campus maintenance team to restore them. The call boxes are now functioning prop-erly. In cases of emergencies on campus, the call boxes are located all over the LSUS campus but are most commonly found in the parking lots. If there is an emergency, students can hold down the button on the call box and the button will page the LSUS campus police officers who will then respond to the scene. Across the highway, over the levee, down a gravel road, and through an electronic gate is the Louisiana State University Shreve-port Anderson Watershed Research Station also known as the Red River Watershed Man-agement Institution. Biology students get a hands-on approach to working in the field and train using the technology equipment located in the watershed building. One of the campus police’s duties is to patrol the Red River Water-shed site and make sure the property is safe and secure for students and visitors. LSUS hosts several special events on campus throughout the year. During any special event on campus, the police officers work with the Shreveport Police Department to ensure the safety of visitors on campus. They coordinate parking for students and visitors to maintain order and structure for the visitors and they also

monitor the campus to make sure that visitors do not linger on the premises after the special event. Occasionally, they escourt student work-ers who take money to the bank. The campus police are the foot soldiers of LSUS and are the most identifiable employ-ees of the university. Campus police stand out because of their patrol cars and police uniforms. Because they are very visible at all times, they tend to be the ones who are asked for directions around campus and they are al-ways willing to lend a helping hand. “It is good to see the officers driving around campus when we get out of night class. For the ladies and even the young men, when they leave the classroom at 9 o’clock at night, it is good to see the campus police out there in the parking lot,” said Arthur Hicks, junior. The officers are not your run-of-the-mill average Joes. LSUS’ campus police will do just about anything to lend a helping hand to the students on campus. “I had two flat tires my freshman year at LSUS and I asked campus police if they would keep a watch over my car, and they called me every two hours saying that they had done a pass and no one had messed with my car. When I returned they actually helped me put the two new tires that I had bought on my car,” said LSUS student Alexander Woods. The LSUS campus police officers are known for being extremely friendly and have made themselves approachable for students, faculty, and visitors on campus. They go out of their way to offer encouragement to all stu-dents, even though it is not in their job descrip-tion.


SGA Creates the Changeby Meghen Jones

Seeking to better Louisiana State Univer-sity Shreveport, the Student Government Asso-ciation (SGA) is working on new ways to benefit students. While the SGA is working on new bills to pass this school year, students do not seem to know what they do. This organization goes un-recognized because students do not notice the things being done. Amy Schreiber, senior, general studies, did not know that the SGA has been working to better the campus. “I did not know that the organization was trying to better the campus by creating new [bills]. I knew that the student government was trying to better our campus, however I did not know they had the power or opportunity to create new [bills],” Schreiber said. The SGA is a governmental body that consists of 30 students. Within this group there are 27 senators and three executive officers. This organization focuses on policies, procedures and different aspects to improve campus life.

“The reason why the [SGA] is so import-ant is because it allows us to have a seat at the decision making table and that is the most im-portant thing that happens. Without the students this institution does not exist. We are LSUS,” said Dennis Henderson, SGA president. This organization has different committees within itself. These committees consist of a public relations committee, student affairs and market-ing. The public relations committee helps the SGA gain community involvement outside of school. “Here recently I gave a presentation about leadership and leadership skills to the student council at Airline High School. So that was an SGA thing. Now we’re looking to do it at other schools,” Henderson said. Henderson wants to make sure that the administration and staff are working in the stu-dents’ favor. “Everything that goes on in this institution is supposed to be driven by the student. It’s sup-

Photo Credit: Emily Wright. Dennis Henderson, SGA President


posed to be for the students,” Henderson contin-ued. He believes that if we are not at the tables to ensure that things are done, then we are failing ourselves. Henderson makes every decision based on what the students want. In order to do this, he knows that he needs student participation. A recent issue that the SGA has faced was a class being held during Common Hour. Com-mon Hour is a time that students are not sup-posed to have class, but have free time to partici-pate in various events. Immediately, the SGA began seeking a solution. They took into consideration that if one class does it then so can others. “We began talking with Paula Atkins, the dean of students, and eventually began working with the faculty president, Dr. Meeks,” Henderson said. The SGA wrote a resolution that asked for the faculty senate and university to adopt a policy statement. “There’s nothing in [the] books that really protect us. It is just an understood thing,” Hender-son continued. Students, like computer science major Kathy Tong, have been affected by this class. “I will not be able to participate in events that only happen during Common Hour and take part in group organizations. [I’m] in the game de-velopment club and with one of my classes being during Common Hour, I can’t even attend our group meetings,” Tong said. Schreiber also believes that not having classes during Common Hour is beneficial for all students. “I believe it benefits me because it leaves me the opportunities to join extra-curricular activ-ities like student clubs, organizations, sororities, and more,” Schreiber said. She feels that these things allow students to socialize and experience campus life. Without the Student Government Associ-ation getting involved, this is an issue that could have continued. “A lot of the SGA initiatives that have taken place on this campus have gone somewhat un-der the radar. You see them more often and the

reason why is because there hasn’t really been a name recognition,” Henderson said. Some of the things that the Student Gov-ernment Association has done were getting TVs in the hallways. The hand sanitizers around cam-pus and colorful signs were also done by SGA. This organization is the reason for the sign in The Port that tells students their order is ready. “Everybody sees, but think it’s just new. We’re trying to get our voices out there a little more because we really do impact the school,” Henderson said. One of the bigger issues that gained at-tention was that the students need a crosswalk crossing from LSUS Housing and Wal-Mart. This has been an ongoing project for two years. “This is something where we’ve had to work in conjunction with the university, the city of Shreveport and the Louisiana Department of Transportation. All three of these entities have to work and come together to get this done,” Hen-derson said. The crosswalk is currently in the process of being tested to see if it is warranted. This is ex-pected to be done by the end of the fall semester. Students who live in campus housing need this in order to safely cross the street. Without the SGA, students are unable to have a political body that fights for them. They keep students informed about what occurs on a national level as it pertains to LSUS. Last semester they discussed campus budget issues and the closure of schools. At this point they began hosting different events to keep students informed. Henderson discussed infor-mation with students by visiting classrooms. “I’m very fortunate enough to have pro-fessors who allow me to go into their classrooms and take up classroom time to give these speech-es,” Henderson said. He has been able to speak to both small and large classes. The largest class he has spo-ken to consisted of 176 students. These classroom visits allow him to get polls and student perception. One way that students can speak with the senators and executive officers is by stopping by their office. The Student Government Association


has an office on the second floor of the University Center. Students are able to stop by and receive help or advice. Another way students can contact them is by “We Create the Change.” This was a bill that was created for students to bring issues to [their] attention. “You can put in information that you think or believe should be done about the school,” Henderson said. He wants to know what the issues are with students’ solutions. He is a believer in people giving solutions to problems, instead of complaining. “It’s solutions that move people,” Hender-son said. They are working on a comment box that will be placed in The Port. This will allow students to get in touch with someone. All they need to do is fill out a sheet of paper and put it in the box. While working to benefit the students this organization is seeking to help faculty.An issue that the faculty has faced is that there has not been a raise in nine years. This is some-thing that the SGA decided to take action about. “We supported the idea of a student fee. It benefitted us not to do the fee, but through tuition increase now. So the first time in nine years our

faculty will receive a raise,” Henderson said. He believes that it is important to make the faculty and staff happy as well. The Student Government Association is looking forward to town hall meetings that they will be holding. This is a new addition this semes-ter so that students can get involved. This gives students the chance to be heard. “If students aren’t participating in it, then it does us no good. Participation is what drives everything,” Henderson said. He mentioned that without a response they cannot do much.He recalled when the SGA held a vote through Moodle. Out of 4,200 students about 400 voted for the constitution. He emphasized that students should be aware that it is the Student Government Asso-ciation that can help better campus lives. He mentioned that the students are what make the institution. “We the students, we deserve everything that we can get out of this institution,” Henderson said. He is willing to do what he can to make sure students get the best. For more information on the Student Gov-ernment Association, contact Dennis Henderson at [email protected].

Photo Credit: LSUS. Dennis Henderson and students at the HEAT Rally


Student Involvementby Elles Rock

Photo Credit Emily Wright. Students having fun on the UC Mall during the Fall Fest Fair

LSUS’ opportunities for student in-volvement and caliber of organizations in which students can engage have increased substantially over the past few years, yet, student participation in these organizations has stayed the same. For example, in the 2013-2014 school year, LSUS formed a cross-country team for both males and females, and made scholarships available for students who participated. Moti-vating students to join the team, despite the offer of a scholarship, has been an unexpect-ed hurdle. “I tried to get my friends to join with me for weeks after I decided I was going to join the team. I even told them they could get scholarship money just for joining, but no one would do it with me,” said Rikki Ad-ams, an LSUS student who joined the LSUS cross-country team this year. “I really thought about joining the team, mainly because of the money, but when it came down to it I really don’t have the time, and I don’t like running too much anyway,” said Kelsey Hill, an LSUS student who ultimately decided against joining the cross-country team. LSUS has not always had problems with student participation. For a number of years there were more sports teams, clubs,

and organizations to be a part of on campus. Over time, however, some of these activities have dwindled. The LSUS soccer team is one exam-ple of a student activity that is no longer ac-tive. LSUS cut soccer during the 2013 school year due to budgetary concerns. Another example is the LSUS Almagest. The Almag-est is the student-run LSUS newspaper. Throughout the 1970s, ‘80s, ‘90s, and 2000s, students published a weekly print edition of the Almagest capitalizing on student activities on and off campus. It was easily accessible to students and encouraged students to get involved on campus. During this time, the Almagest re-ported about activities and events within the LSUS community. There were “Letters to the Editor” spaces, where students and clubs could take out ads to make announcements, a sports section and even cartoons. The Almagest itself required student involvement, as it was a student-run publication. Alan Rock, LSUS business school student from 1987-1989, said the Almagest played a major role in his involvement in campus activities during his time at LSUS.“I remember checking in with the Almagest when I was a student to see how our sports teams were doing. I would look each week to


find out when the next games were and read recaps of the games I missed,” Rock said.In 2010, the print edition of Almagest stopped being printed and distributed weekly on ac-count of printing costs. The Almagest is still released today online, however, there is a lack of readership. Dr. Linda Webster, department head of the college of arts and media, said as she read through old versions of the Almagest for her own research, she noticed a drop-off of student and faculty morale surround-ing involvement in various LSUS activities around the mid 1990s when the internet craze began. She is not the only source to indicate “loss of morale” as a reason for lack of student involvement. Loss of morale is not a new problem facing LSUS. Almagest pub-lications as far back as the 1970s allude to this issue. A survey was conducted and reported of professors from LSUS in the April 1978 edition, citing “loss of morale” among a list of answers for the question, “What is the big-gest problem facing higher education today?” Student and faculty involvement in campus activities is a huge part of higher education. If morale is lost in the pursuit of higher educa-tion, then morale is most definitely lost in the participation of student and faculty involve-ment in campus activities while in pursuit of higher education. A major factor in the decline of student participation lies in the fact that LSUS is a commuter campus, not a residential campus. Students live and spend time elsewhere and come to campus for class at LSUS, as op-posed to our Baton Rouge counterpart LSU, where students live and spend time on cam-pus and are looking for things to do. Brandon Denley, former LSU student explains that students on residential cam-puses, like LSU, have a lot of time to kill. It is for this reason that participation in campus activities is a general motivation for these students. “College students at LSU are so in-

volved in other things because they live on campus, and may go to class for three hours a day. Then they have the rest of the day to figure out how to spend their time. Getting involved in student organizations just seems to be the most logical solution because they are already on campus,” Denley said. Webster represents the same idea, but in the context of LSUS. “The LSUS campus is the not the LSUS student’s community of choice. They come to campus to get things done and go back to their lives. If anything, they bring their communities of choice with them to campus through the use of mobile phones and social networking.” In other words, students are coming to LSUS but they are not really invested. They have the opportunity to be invested in the ac-tivities and worlds of their choice while phys-ically on campus, so why would they need to get involved in on campus activities? Is the Internet a detriment to student participation in on-campus activities or could it be a power wielded to LSUS’ advantage? One campus resource to give some perspective on whether or not the Internet can be used to LSUS’ advantage where on-line appeal is concerned is the school “Toilet Paper.” No, not the rolls of tissue found in the bathrooms across campus, but the school newsletter posted in every bathroom stall at LSUS. The Student Activities Board (SAB) publishes this bulletin announcing all of the school activities taking place on a weekly basis. The Student Activities Board decided to take the newsletter into an online format at the beginning of the 2016 spring semester in the form of a weekly “Toilet Paper” email sent out to all LSUS students. Angel Martin, director of student activities, explains that the SAB took the newsletter into a digital format in an effort to reach a more widespread audience of LSUS students.


“The ‘E-Toilet Paper’ was spurred out of an effort to streamline our office op-erations,” Martin said. “Each week, [prior to the 2016 spring semester] student activities drafted both the Toilet Paper and a weekly email. The email contained a lot of informa-tion in table form, and we were very aware that most students deleted the message. Since many people already recognized the ‘Toilet Paper,’ it made sense to send the pub-lication as an electronic newsletter instead of a wordy email that duplicated the information already in the print version.”

Taking the “Toilet Paper” digital is just one example of attempts made by LSUS personnel to motivate student participation in an online format. It is too soon to tell whether the online version of the bulletin has actually impacted student participation or not. How-ever, Martin claims that where many students used to delete the SAB email without ever opening it, data collected by the board shows more students are opening and reading the email now that they see it is associated with the “Toilet Paper.”

Another example of LSUS using the Internet and social media to motivate student participation is the 2015-2016 PRSO (Pub-lic Relations Student Organization). Katie Lejeune, former PRSO president, started an Instagram for LSUS PRSO in an attempt to boost morale for members and potential members.

“I thought getting PRSO on social me-dia would be a great way of inspiring student

participation in the organization, motivating students who were already members and advertising what we do for free in a culturally relevant way,” Lejeune said.

Lejeune’s challenge with using a social media platform to motivate student participation has been establishing a base following. Despite her best efforts to motivate her fellow classmates, the issue that Lejeune was facing with Instagram for LSUS PRSO was students either did not know about it, or they did not care.

According to a presentation put to-gether by the chair of the retention committee at LSUS, understanding students’ motivation for attendance in the first place is a major key in retaining students until graduation. The problem is that LSUS did not catch wind of this issue and do something about it when it was first presented in the ‘70s. The problem concerning lack of participation in campus activities today revolves around the fact that students are no longer here to participate in these activities in the first place. Students at LSUS today are motivat-ed almost exclusively by the guarantee of a degree. The only way for participation to improve in campus student activities now is to change students’ motivation for being here in the first place. The LSUS institution as a whole has to prove to students that LSUS is more than just a commuter school, but a community in which students want and need to be involved.

Emily Wright Almagest Magazine.pdf · 3 Almagest : The Magazine | November 2016 month. “The ISA...

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