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ALMAGESTTHE MAGAZINE

A J-Lab PublicationVolume 1, Number 2

November 14, 2015

I am excited to introduce to you the 2nd edition of Almagest: The Magazine! Our first magazine was published in the 2015 spring semester. This J-Lab Publication has proved to be a challenging, yet rewarding project for the staff and me to create. This magazine is referred to as a J-Lab Publication because journalism and mass communication students are the driving force behind the content. However, we could not have done it without the help of our graphic designers, Gopal Gurung and Koneisha Austin; as well as our advisors Dr. Linda Webster and SB Magazine Executive Editor, Devin White. Their guidance has helped us to create what you are holding in your hands right now. This issue contains amazing stories about our fantastic campus, students, faculty/staff, and organizations. One story in particular, written by Malvya Chintakindi, is about the Pioneer Heritage Center on campus that is a major historical contribtion to the LSUS campus and- well, you’ll just have to read about it for yourself. There are also some spectacular photo spreads in this issue by Jessica Ingram from students’ style to the Fall Fest Fair event this semester. I personally want to thank all of the magazine staff, writers, and advisors for their contribu-tions to this magazine. 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.

Happy Reading,

Emily WrightExecutive Editor

Editor’s Note

Emily WrightExecutive Editor/WriterBA in MCOM in Theatreemilykwright94@gmail.com

Gopal GurungCreative DirectorBA in Animation and Visual Effectsmailgopsag@gmail.com

Koneisha AustinDesign ContributorBA of Digital Arts Graphic Designshantewillie@gmail.com

Jessica IngramStaff Writer/PhotographerBA in MCOM in Public Relationsjessicaingramphotography@gmail.com

PUBLICATION CREDITSCONTRIBUTING WRITERSBlair Burlisonbulisonb08@lsus.eduMalvya Chintakindichintakindim20@lsus.eduSamuel Lloyd Coopercoopers15@lsus.eduKaylynn Henryhenryk29@lsus.eduKatherine Lejeunelejeunek74@lsus.eduADVISORSDr. Linda WebsterDept. of Arts and MediaChair, ProfessorLinda.Webster@lsus.eduDevin WhiteSB Magazine Exec. EditorDevin.White@lsus.edu

CONTENTS

01 Largest Freshman Class

02 Color Run

03 Red River Watershed

07 Pioneer Heritage Center

11 University Police Profiles

13 Inside The Port

17 Fall Fest Photo Spread

19 Campus Music

27 Debate Team Wins Overseas

29 Toy Exhibit at Noel Photo Spread

33 Campus Style: Fall Fashion

35 Balance Beyond Basketball

42 LSUS Partners with Military Center

46 Game Design at LSUS

Featured Contents

13The Port

35Athletic Program

33Campus Style

Almagest: The Magazine is a J-Lab publication of the Fall, 2015, MCOM 270 J-Lab class. Funding was provided by the following sources:- Dr. Dalton & Peggy Cloud Professorship in Communications- The LSUS Foundation- Dr. Linda Webster

Whether the students are straight out of high school, transferring from another university or are nontraditional students, LSU Shreveport has set a record for the largest freshman class in five years. According to the LSUS Common Data Set for 2014-2015, there was a total of 4051 students, 344 of which were first time freshmen. There was a retention rate of 68 percent of freshmen to return as sophomores. Though proud of these numbers, Chancellor Larry Clark has hopes to increase these statistics for LSUS. Chancellor Clark has been working diligently since his first day on improving the student experience at LSUS. Many students transfer from one university to another and applying courses from other universities is often a source of conflict. The administration has combatted this problem by partnering with BPCC and Southern University to make it easier for students to transfer from school to school. Since then, there has been a representative of LSUS on campus of BPCC available two to three times a week, whereas in the past they were only available once or twice a month. “On my first day, I was at Bossier Parish Community College with my whole leadership team and met with (former) Chancellor Jim Hen-derson and his leadership team so that they could talk because I felt personally that it was critical that we embrace the two community colleges as appro-priately and adequately as we could,” Clark said. The Chancellor is now working on build-ing opportunities for internships, career place-ment and graduate school. Clark has moved Kimberly Thornton from admissions to director of career services because he said career services is top priority and deserves full time focus. He said that helping students through the “red zone” is just as essential as education itself. Finding careers in the field that students have earned their degrees in is a very important issue that students are faced with. By working on the future after education this will attract new students to the university, retain currently enrolled students and help graduates get the careers they want. “I just graduated from BPCC, and I wanted to get my bachelors’ degree. I want to continue until I graduate, mainly to have better skills in

graphics and to find a better job,” said Steffon Bedford II, sophomore, graphic design major. LSUS has more than 20 undergraduate programs available to its students, with areas of study ranging from various medical fields to digital arts and even as specialized as cellular biology. There also are dozens of masters programs available to students. Recently, the U.S. Department of Edu-cation listed LSUS as one of the most affordable colleges offering high-quality classroom instruction in Louisiana. Tuition is approximately $3,356 for a full-time student taking 12 hours, and LSUS offers a number of scholarships to its students. “LSUS has a strong reputation behind it. When I took the tour I thought they had a great history program and it would be more affordable than at other universities,” said Catherine Green, freshman, history major. Despite LSUS being smaller than the main campus in Baton Rouge, it offers a more person-al learning experience. The ratio of students to teachers is usually 19 to 1, and a smaller class means that the student-teacher experience can be more individualized.

1 NOVEMBER 2015 | ALMAGEST: THE MAGAZINE

Largest Freshman Class in 5 YearsBy Jessica Ingram

ALMAGEST: THE MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2015 2

The second annual Color Run reins in a vibrant close to LSU Shreveport’s Week of Welcome. The race kicked off at 6:15 p.m. but by 6 p.m. there were only two shirts left at the Student Activities Board sign-up station. Students and faculty in white shirts were waiting like blank canvases to be splashed with paint. The Color Run took place on Aug. 27 by University Court Apartment Crosswalk. It was sponsored by the Student Activities Board and co-sponsored by University Court Apartments. Aside from the members of SAB, the event was accompanied by several other campus-wide organizations. Sororities such as Sigma Phi Iota used this opportunity to get to know potential pledges. “The Color Run provides students with a unique and healthy opportunity to participate in a popular trend free of charge,” said Lauren Wood, assistant director of student activities. The students ran 1.41 miles around the LSUS campus. There were six stations set up around the campus with students waiting to

By Jessica Ingram

Week of Welcome Races to a Colorful Close with 2nd Annual Color Run

The group photo of 250 students that participated in the 2nd Annual LSUS Color Run.Photo by: Jessica Ingram

Color Run 2015 Photo by: Jessica Ingram

digital arts major. The LSUS debate team manned the red station. They painted a large table with the words “caution” and “debate” and hid behind it await-ing runners to spray with paint. Students were overjoyed at the idea of working this booth. “It sounded like a great time, a time to meet people and to have fun,” said Elizabeth Kemp, senior, political science major. This is the second year the Student Activities Board hosted a Color Run. It was brought back this year because of its success last fall. “Last year, SAB had over 150 people show up, and this year we are expecting more,” Wood said. In all there were about 250 students that participated in the Color Run. The evening concluded with a group photo and a glow-stick party at the University Court Apartment Complex Pavilion. For more information on student events at the LSUS campus, please contact the Student Activities Board (318)797-5393.

ambush runners with an array of colors. They used fluorescent paints in pink, purple, green, yellow, blue, and red. Students and faculty volunteered to run the booths. “I work with SAB on Week of Welcome to introduce kids and new freshman to how things run on campus and I get to spray people with paint,” said Kaydi Glatt, sophomore,

Red RiverRed RiverWatershed Management Institute Research Projects

Across the highway from the LSU Shreveport campus there is a levy and electric fence guarding the Red River Watershed Management Institute’s (RRWMI) watershed facility and grounds. The build-ing is located on the waterfront at C. Bickham Park. The watershed is a wooden building on stilts that looks very similar to a house that would be seen alongside a river. The stilts are stained from the flood last spring and marked with a small laminated sign attached to the supporting stilt to show the height of the floodwater. Four years after the LSU System Board Regents established the Red River Watershed Management Institute in July 2001, it was finally installed by LSUS in 2005. The City of Shreve-port signed a contract with LSUS to manage the “living laboratory,” or the Red River Education and Research Park located on the 583-acre park known as C. Bickham Dickson. The Environmental Protec-tion Agency and the Anderson Research Foundation provided the funds necessary for LSUS to purchase the property over the levy and build the multispec-trum field research park.

By Jessica Ingram

Not only is it very fortunate that LSUS has this park adjacent to campus but it is the only col-lege in the country that has its watershed facility in such an immediate proximity. Topographically speaking, the Red River Watershed Management Institute is unique in the sense that LSUS campus has direct access to research and observe an ox-bow lake, such as the one located in C. Bickham Dickson Park. This allows both students and profes-sors to manage research at close range. Gary Hanson, director of the Red River Watershed Management Institute, has been direc-tor of the program from the very beginning back in 2001. “Our goal was to bring knowledge to the local officials about the capabilities and to protect the water resources. In addition to that, we want to train people and educate people in the understanding of our watersheds, including surface water and ground water by bringing students into an environment where they go into the field and get to work with the latest technology. Having the watershed lab on campus gives the professors

the opportunity to train students in the field,” Hanson said. The Red River Watershed Management Institute teaches biology students in a hands-on environment how to use the latest technology while training in the field. The students then bring the samples and research back to study them further in the labs on campus. When engineering the watershed at C. Bickham Dickson, Hanson and other faculty tried to keep in mind that this oxbow lake floods frequently throughout the year. They wanted to keep the area around the lake as natural as possible. They built the watershed on the flood plain and built the water-shed on stilts and designed a floating dock with the capabilities of rising as high as the levy. By doing this, the Red River watershed is unique, because there are no other watersheds built in an environ-ment quite like it. When the Red River flooded 15 feet above the road in the summer of 2015, it put the watershed’s architecture to the test. “In a recent meeting for a basin-wide study of the Red River the U.S. Geological Society

C. Bickham Dickson ParkPhoto by: Jessica Ingram

Survey, which is a biological, hydrological and geological whole spectrum long-term study, they came here to speak with us because they saw on the news our facility sticking up out of the flood waters,” Hanson said. Hanson has spoken with representatives of the Naval Oceanographic office in Stennis, Miss. in hopes of the Red River Watershed being used for a satellite that they are launching in the next three years. The satellite will be observing freshwater related issues, like flooding. The RRWMI plans to continue to monitor water and be a chosen site for the satellite of the Naval Oceanographic to study. The Environmental Protection Agency provided LSUS with a grant to help fund workshops on wetland protection and water-related studies for local high schools and middle schools. In the fall of 2015, LSUS hosted a tour group of 90 seventh grade students from Dallas-Fort Worth by taking them to the field station on the oxbow lake. The staff involved in the RRWMI want to teach students at a young age the importance of the wetlands ecosystem. Water is not the only avocation the Red River Watershed Management Institute focuses on. The institute also conducts biodiversity-related research projects. The RRWMI surveys the flora, fauna and wildlife in C. Bickham Dickson Park. During research they have found a rare plant known as carex

decomposita, a cypress-knee sedge. Along with these findings, the area has become a paramount for birds — 263 species have been catalogued at the park. The team at the Red River Watershed Management Institute concluded that C. Bickham Dickson Park offers many species of migratory birds and an abundance of natural resources, showing that this ecosystem is both healthy and functional. By utilizing biology and hydrology, the RRWMI also has played a role in the biological control of invasive species. According to Hanson, salvinia

molesta appeared during a flood in 2009 and made its way into a natural body of water where it rapidly took over. The plant floats above the water and is not rooted. Hanson said it’s believed to have been brought over from Asia and used to decorate koi ponds. Due to salvinia growing an inch per day, it would need to be regularly maintained in the koi ponds. It grows rapidly and needs to be regularly manicured. Home-owners would carelessly discard it, and as a result, the

Flood water level indicationPhoto by: Jessica Ingram

Inside Red River WatershedPhoto by: Jessica Ingram

salvinia made its way into our ecosystem through natural bodies of water. Since it has no natural predators, it easily suffocates bodies of water like Lake Bistineau. In response to this invasive species, a task force was created. Because this species is near impossible to eradicate, the solution was to cope with it and remove it as best as possible. The idea was to utilize the weevil, a small insect that eats plants, to slowly destroy the salvinia population. “The goal of the Giant Salvinia Task Force, which is the state’s optimal protocol right now, is the weevil and engineering a more winter tolerant weevil so that there is less die-off in the winter. salvinia has hair-like projections causing it to be insulated and resistant to the winter. By creating a more winter tolerant weevil, there will be less die-off in winter and higher population of the weevil in spring,” said Amanda Lewis, assistant to the director for the Red River Watershed Management Institute. Lewis also is an expert biologist with a vast knowledge on bats. In 2004, the RRWMI and LSUS students created an artificial cave for bats near the

levy. They recycled 26 large tires that were used in land mining. The bat habitat is 53-feet in length and is covered in Red River clay and river sand. Unfortu- natly no colonies of bats currently hold residency in this manmade cave, but there are hopes that one day it will be occupied by bats. “The bat species in our area did not evolve with caves. So they do not typically look for cave dwellings. The have a lot of natural habitats to roost in, such as, crevices in trees, loose bark and hallows. There are colonial bats in this area that could use it but bats are very finicky about their environment,” Lewis said. There are built-in access ports for graduate students to collect data, along with cameras and sensors to monitor motion going in and out the cave. There has been talks of eventually modifying the artificial habitat so that its humidity and temperature are more desirable for the bats to live there.

Red River Watershed and Research CenterPhoto by: Jessica Ingram

Pioneer Heritage CenterBrings History to Life

By Malvya Chintakindi

Despite being deaf since she was a child, Margaret Hutchinson continued to live in the same house after her parents’ deaths. All of her siblings moved to homes of their own but she didn’t leave the house. The ‘Caspiana House,’ in which Margaret Hutchinson resided, is one of the few remaining antebellum frame houses in northwest Louisiana. It is a classical revival cottage with a central hallway, which is 15 feet wide. According to the family members, the original roof was made of wooden shingles. The House was built by William Hutchinson in 1856 at Caspiana Plantation in Red River and was donated to LSUS in 1977. This style of house was not common because building it was a difficult task in the low-lying bottomlands along the Red River. Margaret, fondly called ‘Aunt Marge’, enjoyed arranging family gatherings and did so until her death in 1952. Such is the specialty of this rare antebellum house and is referred to as the ‘Big House’ or ‘Caspiana

House.’ It is one of the seven buildings being preserved by the Pioneer Heritage Center at LSUS. The Pioneer Heritage Center, founded in 1977 as a joint project of LSUS and the Junior League of Shreveport, offers answers to questions regarding the pioneers that settled in the northwest corner of Louisiana, the regions they came from, the way they lived and the way they adapted to life on the raw frontier. The Center has information about these settlers gained through careful research of the history and folk life of the pioneers who came to the Red River frontier. “Do not expect to see ‘history under glass.’ This is a ‘history laboratory’ where you can see how the pioneers built their first homes, how they clothed and fed the family, how they coped with sickness and hardships and how their diverse beliefs and customs contributed to the cultural mosaic that is Louisiana. This is an extreme-ly enriching learning opportunity,” said Marty Young, director of the Pioneer Heritage Center. The Pioneer Heritage Center is listed under the LSUS Continuing Education Department, though the Center serves independently. It is run by Marty Young who is the one-man army behind the activities of the Center. The buildings, exhibits and the trained volunteer interpreters who guide the visitors through the seven structures give insight into the diverse cultural history, the natural environment and the daily lives of the settlers in the region during the period from the 1830s through the 1930s. Exhibits and programs offer educational opportunities for all ages and hands-on activities for youth groups. ‘The Detached Kitchen’ is a structure included in the Caspiana House but it used to stand as an origi-nal shotgun house, which was built as a tenant farmer’s residence. It was donated to the Pioneer Heritage Center in 1979 and has been equipped with a hearth, a working fireplace and kitchen utensils that are representative of the time period. The interior walls were decorated with newspapers dating to the 1940s, which was a common

Marty Young answering visitors questions. Pioneer Heri-tage Center Director Marty Young keeps an eye on all of the activity at the annual event.Photo Credit: Dr. Linda Webster

practice for sharecroppers who could probably not afford wallpaper. Food was always prepared in the detached kitchen and carried to the main house for dining along a covered passageway between the main house and the kitchen. This tradition would continue throughout the antebellum years as a means of survival. Wood-burn-ing cast iron stoves were available in Shreveport during this period but open hearth cooking remained common in the rural area. On the Caspiana Planta-tion, the kitchen remained detached until the turn of the century. The layout of the Center then leads to the ‘Doc-tor’s Office’ which is adjacent to the Caspiana structures. The ‘Doctor’s Office’ was built on Caspiana Plantation and served area residents until 1930. It is a shotgun with ‘Victorian’ ornamentation that was originally built on Caspiana Plantation by Doctor Hartwell Lockwood Alison in 1903. The two rooms of the building include the front room, which was the original examination room and the back room, which was the pharmacy stockroom. “Due to shortage of doctors, the plantation mistress was largely responsible for the health of her family and plantation workers. She might be able to call on the local ‘granny’ or a blacksmith who was usually

the local veterinarian who taught her recipes to make medicines,” Young said. Seven different doctors practiced medicine in this house and descendants of all these doctors practice medicine in or near what is Shreveport today. The Hutchinson family donated the house to the Shreveport Medical Society Auxiliary. This organization moved the house to the Pioneer Heritage Center in 1982 and restored it to its present condition. The Doctor’s Office contains artifacts that were collected by the Aux-iliary from prominent local and area doctors that include some furniture and instruments, which belonged to doc-tors who practiced in Shreveport and the surrounding area between 1890 and 1940. In 1849, there were only 87 doctors in the entire western half of Louisiana. One of the most important structures of the Pioneer Heritage Center is ‘The Webb Commissary.’ It is a turn of the century of structure that is typical of the plantation commissary and the retail store of the 19th century and 20th century. The Commissary was donated to the Pioneer Heritage Center in 1982 by the Webb family and moved to the campus by the Junior League of Shreveport as its 50th anniversary gift to the Center. As an institution, the Commissary represents the change in the regional economy from slaveholder

Gregg Stephens (left) and Chad Manning (right) working on wall brackets in the blacksmith shop. Stephens normally drives a tractor at Louisiana Downs. He taught himself how to work metal by practicing on nails before moving on railroad spikes that he found abandoned on old rail lines. Manning works in the insurance industry and his history background comes in handy when he’s smithing at these events.Photo Credit: Dr. Linda Webster

to sharecropper agriculture. In the slavery era, planta-tions kept locked storerooms from which sugar, spices, medicines, and cloth were dispensed to the household and fields as needed. Following the Civil War and the change from slavery to sharecropping, laborers were free to make their own purchases. The typical plantation store was stocked with in-demand items and staple goods for the convenience of people on surrounding farms. This store also served as a social gathering place for social, political, fraternal and protective groups. “The present day visual form of this building provides clues to any passerby that a wide variety of services were available under the roof of this building and the porch area serves as an exhibit area for displays which depict various activities the commissary was used for,” Young said. Probably the structure with the most activity is ‘The Blacksmith’s Shop.’ It was built in 1880 as a barn on the DeSoto Parish farm owned by Jack Grigsby who donated it to the Center in 1985. The ‘jubilee’ farm owned by Goodloe Stuck, also from DeSoto Parish, donated many of the tools in this shop. The Blacksmith Shop is 18-square-feet and made of cypress logs, a common type of notching found in log house construction.

Navigating through the Center then leads to the ‘Thrasher House’ which is at the end of the circle of the Center. It was built in 1856 near Castor, La. This was donated by Aubrey Thrasher in 1981. Thrasher House is a fine example of the Log Dogtrot house that became the typical plantation home of the Upland South. The dogtrot derives its name from the open central hallway that was supposedly the favorite spot for dogs to catch the summer breezes. It makes use of the Georgian symmet-rical floor plan with two rooms divided by a central-open hallway and uses the log construction techniques that were of German influence. “Log Dogtrots were especially popular in northwest Louisiana and became an ‘emblem’ of the culture of the area. The early pioneers lived in log hous-es no matter black, white, rich or poor. The early pi-oneers’ first concern was to produce enough food to feed their families and any slaves they may have had,” Young said.The last structure of the Center is the church. The riverfront mission of First Baptist Church of Shreveport was established as a ministry to the people living on the red river front during the great depression of the 1930s.

Mary Mitchell “hand quilting” in the country store. Mitch-ell took up quilting in 1993 after promising a friend that she would join a group after she finished her master’s degree. She in in the process of creating a 50th class reunion quilt that will include the signatures of everyone attending.Photo Credit: Dr. Linda Webster

Vintage clothing expert, Jan Pettiet, discusses fashion from the late 19th century.Photo Credit: Dr. Linda Webster

It is natural to wonder how much it would actually take to maintain these seven glorious structures and run the Center. But, the Center does not have a part in what the students pay for going to LSUS. There is an author book-signing event in the spring and the annual fundraiser every fall, which is the main source of income that helps run the Center. “The Center is self-funded and self-generated. Additionally, the annual fundraiser helps the Center to repair or change the facility usage and do the restorations when required. A large part of the money received from the fundraisers goes to restorations,” Young said. This Center has an excellent outreach within the community in Shreveport. The Pioneer Day event, which takes place every fall, celebrates everything the Center does throughout the year with demonstrations and exhibits at the Center. “Outside organizations involved with the Center mainly consist of Northwest Louisiana Gardeners Association that help the Center manage the flower beds. The Red River Smiths is a local blacksmith organi-zation that helps with the Blacksmith shop and put on a show at times. Additionally, Boy Scouts of America sends volunteers every now and then to help with the Center’s work,” Young said. Young is hoping to start a folklife lecture/work-shop series at the Center along with the Blacksmith workshops and classes such as Dutch oven cooking

which is the most famous one. He is a very busy man who goes to various schools in Shreveport, dressed in various costumes like that of a Blacksmith or a chef to educate children about the history of the region. He has at least given around 100 tours in the previous academic year. One of the main problems faced by the Center is the lack of awareness about this valuable treasure among the student population at LSUS. There are opportunities such as internships and work study positions that can be made use of by any student interested in learning about the Center or to work for the Center for class credit. “This is great place to learn about the history of the region and Louisiana as a whole. It’s located right on campus and needs to be utilized as much as possible,” Young said. Young is very interested in providing tailor-made internship positions and work-study positions to students who are keen on utilizing this Center’s resources. He pointed out that the Student Activities Board at LSUS needs to concentrate on organizing more activities or events surrounding the Center or in the Center itself to create components of student life there. “I wish the Center had more activity through LSUS’s on campus students because this is an oppor-tunity to take pride in our history while also learning valuable lessons,” Young said.

Marty Young surrounded by artifacts in his office.Photo Credit: Malvya Chintakindi

Campus’ FinestMeet the University Police

By Samuel Lloyd Cooper

The University Police at Louisiana State University Shreveport are not just security guards or “rent-a cops.” Many of the officers students see every day have decades of prior experience in law enforcement. When asked about “a typical day,” Police Chief Donald Wray said there was no such thing. “We want a ‘typical day,’ but every day is different. We are prepared and trained for shootings, but we hope that never happens,” Chief Wray said. Almagest: The Magazine was curious to learn more about the men behind the badge. Meet the LSUS campus’ finest.

Officer Glyn Best Best retired from the Shreveport Police Department (SPD) as a sergeant with 20 years’ experience. While at the SPD, Best was a patrol officer and then supervisor for the first 10 of his career. For the second half of his career, Best was a detective and eventually a detective supervisor. He joined the University Police in 2005.

Officer Richard Lopez Lopez retired from SPD as a sergeant with 27 years’ experience. He served on the Special Response Team unit for two years, in the K-9 unit eight years, and in the mounted and bicycle unit six years. Lopez came to LSUS in 2012. 11 NOVEMBER 2015 | ALMAGEST: THE MAGAZINE

LSUS Police cruiser.Photos by: Jessica Ingram

Chief Donald Wray Wray worked for Southern Arkansas University Police from 2001 to 2013. While there, Wray was the sergeant in charge of investigations and Training Coordinator from 2010 to 2013. Wray came to LSUS after that as a patrol officer. He is a certified instructor in DWI Standardized Field Sobriety.

Officer Lance Cole Cole served on the Desoto Parish Sheriff’s Department for almost 11 years. Cole Worked as a K-9 officer and an investigator, and as a Narcotics Investigator in the Tri Parish Task Force. Cole came to LSUS in 2004 and received the Outstanding Service Award in 2010. The patrol officer served as Interim Chief of Police from January 2015 to April 2015.

Officer Leonard Bonnette Bonnette has been working at LSUS since 2004, but he has been in law enforcement for 41 years. When he graduated from high school he joined the Air Force and became a security police officer. Bonnette started working in the canine division of the military, and after he got out of the military, he began working at the SPD. Following 26 years with the department, Bonnette came to LSUS where he received the LSUS Outstanding Service Award in 2005.

Officer John Webb The newest officer on the force is John Webb. Webb served for more than 25 years in the SPD. Webb started on the midnight shift of the patrol division and worked his way up to lieutenant before retiring.

Many LSUS faculty, staff and students have

been to or have heard of The Port. The Port is

located on the first floor of the University Center on

campus. The staff at The Port believes that everyone at

LSUS is family and wants to provide the best food and

service. Steve Sittenauer, The Port director, has been

managing the cafeteria for 11 years.

“Many changes have been made since I first

starting working here,” Sittenauer said.

The Port has 26 years of food services and

catering experience combined among the management

staff and a combined 18 years of experience among the

talented cooks, according to the LSUS website. The

Port is staffed and operated by four full-time employees

and two student workers.

As students walk from the northwest side of

campus toward the University Center (UC), they pass

a wall of windows looking into The Port, some of which

display colorful calligraphy showcasing the fraterni-

ties and sororities on campus, as well as other student

organizations. Once in the UC, there are two bright red

neon signs on the left accompanied by water-like waves

with the words “The Port” in between the blue streaks.

As one walks through the arch of the cafeteria,

many tables and chairs line the windows and walkway.

Many different types of food smells hit the nose and

make the stomach growl even louder than before. In

between four columns sit three blue spacious couch

sets with individual chairs and round tables for students

to lounge and enjoy their time together.

“I enjoy having a place to hang out with friends

and classmates to talk about homework and life,” said

Rachel Ebarb, senior, accounting major.

INSIDETHE PORT

By Kaylynn Henry

Many students take time out of their busy school

day to enjoy what The Port has to offer. The Port is not

just a food venue; it also offers a wide range of other

student activities.

In the far right corner of the dining area sits

a stage and piano. Sometimes students will enter-

tain each other with melodies throughout lunch and in

between classes. The stage area is also used during

Common Hour as the center of events, including Coffee

House Debates featuring the LSUS Debate Team, Bin-

go Common Hour, Karaoke Common Hour, and more.

“I enjoy spending time in The Port because it is

usually quiet and peaceful,” said Windy Ryan, senior,

elementary education major. “It’s a great place to sit

back and relax. I usually grab a large Icee and study for

class or hang out with friends between classes.”

As one walks into the line to order food, a cou-

ple of soda machines can be seen, which include an

Icee machine and a freezer filled with juice. Sittenauer

said that the when he first started working at The Port

all of the fountain drinks were behind the counter.

“We had a bunch of student workers and when

the students placed their order the workers would

The Port entrance.Photo by: Jessica Ingram

prepare their drinks. So I brought them to the front counter so now it’s all self serve like you would see at most fast food restaurants,” he said. Along the way students can make a salad or enjoy daily soups. The Port always has hot pizza ready for anyone to grab a slice for a quick meal or snack. As everyone is walking to order their food, there are multiple noises surrounding them. Throughout the day you can hear students and staff filling up cups of ice and soda, different cooks calling out numbers to announce an order that is ready. Diners can hear multiple conversa-tions buzzing around about how class was or counting down the days until the next school holiday. Following the order line, coolers are filled with various drinks, such as tea, Coke, water, Dr. Pepper, Gatorade, and the much needed energy drinks and milk. At the register there are assortments of chips, fresh baked cookies, fruit, and candy. Once at the register anyone can order anything off the menu. The Port menu also offers breakfast, which includes breakfast tacos, sausage, egg and cheese biscuits, cereal with milk, and muffins. People can order single items such as pancakes, eggs, hash browns or grits for a fraction of the price. “My favorite menu item is muffins for breakfast and the club for lunch,” said Tiffany Gomez, senior, biology major. As soon as the order is paid for diners receive a receipt with a number on it, then the cooks

quickly begin to prepare the food. A few minutes later, a cook comes around a corner saying the number on the receipt and the food is ready. “The Port is a great place to pick up food because everything is prepared quickly and the lines move fast,” Gomez said. Across from the cashier is a gourmet coffee bar that is stocked with multiple types of coffees and smoothies. The coffee bar features locally roasted gourmet coffee. Early in the morning students and faculty flock to the coffee bar to get morning refuels to start their busy day off right. Some students use the coffee bar for an afternoon pick-me-up from pulling an all-night study session; others find it a nice wake up between classes. The coffee bar features cold and blended beverages, coffee, espresso drinks and coffee alternatives. The menu lists five options for cold bever-ages, which include iced café latte, iced chai latte, iced chocolate latte, iced white chocolate latte and an iced caramel macchiato. The menu has four blended beverage options including creamice caramel, creamice chocolate, creamice white chocolate, and creamice cherry. The cold and blended drinks are available in one size, 16 ounces, and all prices start at $3.10 and increases to $3.60. The rest of the menu has two size options of 12 ounces and 16 ounces. The coffee bar also offers six different espresso options including: café latte, vanilla café latte, cappuccino, chocolate latte,

The Port coffee shop.Photo by: Jessica Ingram

white chocolate latte, and caramel macchiato. They offer fresh brewed coffee with 75-cent refills. For the people that don’t like or want coffee, The Port offers alternatives such as hot tea, chai tea latte, hot chocolate, gourmet hot chocolate and smoothies. Four smoothie flavors are available including mango, strawberry, strawberry banana, and piña colada. Along with different beverages, The Port offers all of the fixings to make coffee any way you want it. Sugar, Splenda, and multiple types of creamer help fix up any type of coffee. For lunch The Port offers 19 different combo meals for everyone’s enjoyment. The combos include the entrée, a side and a drink. The side options are fries, chips or salad. The lunch combos are cheese-burger, hamburger, Philly steak, fried chicken breast, shrimp, shrimp po-boy, steak fingers, catfish, chicken tenders, hot winds, club, ham and cheese sub, turkey and cheese, BLT, chicken or tuna salad croissant, grilled cheese, grilled ham and cheese, and garden vegetable burger. Sittenauer said that the top-sellers are grilled chicken sandwich, chicken tenders and hamburgers. “My go-to meal at The Port is the chicken fingers and a strawberry banana smoothie with extra whipped cream,” said Alexis Yarbrough, sophomore, education major. Along with breakfast and combo meals, The Port menu has a section titled “Good Stuff.” Under this category lists a lot of fried food such as fries, cheese fries, chili cheese fries, onion rings, mozzarella sticks, stuffed jalapenos, Frito pie, hot dog, chili dog, and pizza by-the-slice. Another category on the menu is salads and soup. The Port offers five different salad options ranging from grilled chicken salad to Caesar salad and multiple soups of the day. Additionally, The Port works well with students and faculty with food allergies. Sittenauer asks in detail what the allergy is and lists off everything that The Port has to offer that doesn’t contain the allergen. He then makes sure the food is properly prepared and not cross contaminated. For the average college student, the prices at The Port are reasonable and have multiple options for everyone to choose between. Peyton Gosdin, fresh-man, community health major, and Macie Mosley, junior, secondary education major, both agree that their favor-ite thing about The Port are the cheap prices on food and drinks. The prices range from as low as 69 cents

for eggs to $5.65 for grilled chicken breast or shrimp po-boy. The Port is open from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. giving students and faculty a way to start their day with a good meal and have plenty of time to grab food throughout the day. The Port offers food and a place for students and faculty to sit and relax, but not many people know they also offer catering. The Port offers catering for on-campus and off-campus events as well as occasions including employment fairs, charity and alumni dinners, homecoming and prom, staff luncheons and wedding receptions. Their motto is, “whether it’s big or small, we can make it happen!” They offer various menus to choose from or they can accommodate the menu to the likings of the event. “We mostly cater to on-campus events. Septem-ber and May are our busiest times to cater because that is when the administration caters a lot, but all together we probably have 10 catering events a month,” Sittenauer said. Some of the menus are vastly different than what is offered on The Port menu. Some of the dinner ideas for catering is called “The Captain’s Main Course”

Steve Sittenauer director of The Port. Photo by: Jessica Ingram

and includes options such as blackened tilapia, BBQ brisket, herb baked chicken, and crawfish etouffee. Splashy salads include tossed, Caesar, spring mix, Italian pasta, potato salad, macaroni, and fruit salad; cole slaw is also available. They also offer “Sailor’s Side Items” which has options including rice pilaf, cornbread dressing, rosemary new potatoes, and steamed cauli-flower and broccoli just to name a few items. Dessert options include cheesecake, apple pie, bread pudding, pecan and pumpkin pie, and four different cake options including carrot, chocolate, coconut, and tiramisu. Catering services are available seven days a week with flexible hours. Sittenauer and the assistant manager, Jeff Stewart, typically are the workers that prepare catering meals unless it is a big event and all-hands are needed. Along with hours that work well with a lot of class and work schedules The Port is the place were a lot of Student Activities Board (SAB) events are held. The SAB hosts Grocery Bingo multiple times every school year. Grocery Bingo is a fun night where students come together and can win different prizes including gift cards and groceries. “My favorite event held in The Port is Grocery Bingo, because it’s a fun game that you can win free food and great prizes. I mean, what college student doesn’t love free stuff, right?” said Ashley- Kate Mcnatt, junior, kinesiology major.

The Port has also been the location of Paint-ing with LSUS, a spinoff of Painting with a Twist and teaches students how to paint a picture. During basketball season SAB hosts an overtime party to cele-brate the sport. Pizza is usually provided and is a great way to get students involved in the sporting events and hang out afterward for a great party. Also hosted by SAB are comedy hour and karaoke hour that take place throughout the school year. These events allow students to relax between classes and catch a few good laughs here and there. The SAB is not the only organization that hosts events in The Port. The eating area also is a location for the Coffee House Debate hosted by the award- winning debate team. The debate team always picks an interesting topic to debate over, and it usually involves the latest event going on in the world. The fall semester’s debate was about whether Donald Trump or Kanye West would be a better candidate for president of the United States. All together, The Port does so much that goes unnoticed. The staff and cooks provide a nice and welcoming environment for both faculty and students to come together to enjoy a good meal. The Port also caters to special events all around the area and provides a fun, spacious place for events to take place for LSUS students.

Students eating in The Port.Photo by: Jessica Ingram

Fall Fest 2015Photos by: Jessica Ingram

Hobbies may include singing, dancing, sewing, cooking, building, hunting, camping, and swimming, but for 60 members of this Shreveport group that ex-ists on the LSU Shreveport campus, their interests rest in talent, skill, family, and community. However, their focus is not on academics, but the focus is instead on music. It is Monday evening, the time is 6:30 p.m. and members of the band continue to straggle in for the rehearsal at 7 p.m. Some musicians carry small black cases with handles, others have large black cases crossed over their shoulders and resting on their backs. Still others enter the building empty-handed as they walk into small storage rooms on the side of the rehearsal place to bring out drums, basses, and other musical instruments. Papers shuffle and period-ically fall to the floor as the musicians organize their sheet music into the correct order for the rehearsal.

Instruments sing while the musicians softly warm up their instruments for the work ahead. “The concert band provides a great opportuni-ty for beginning and experienced musicians, students, and retired band directors to have an outlet to play,” said Kevin Wolfe, a board member for the band. “We provide a place for band musicians to hone their skills and make great music for the community.” All walks of life are represented: young and old, working or retired, white and black, experienced and beginner. The noise in the room grows continuously louder as the hand on the clock in the back of the room moves closer toward the seven. People talk to one another, introduce new friends, catch up on the events that happened over the weekend, and softly practice their instruments. Some players who travel out-of-state to come to the rehearsals on Monday evenings stand for a while,

The Shreveport Metropolitan Concert Bandat LSUS

The Band

By Emily Wright

The band’s rehearsal space in the Community Outreach Building.Photo by: Emily Wright

stretching their legs. The individuals who travel a fair distance to participate include musicians in Many, La. who travel two hours, and a couple in Tenaha, Texas, who travel a two hour drive round-trip. “If you’ve got it in your spirit, you’re gonna do whatever it takes,” said the retired director of the campus-based band, Allen Swilley.

The Band’s Purpose The Shreveport Metropolitan Concert Band (SMCB) at LSUS was established in 1984 and is the premier community band in Shreveport. The SMCB is the oldest, continuously operating community band in Shreveport. The band’s handbook and membership guide explains they have a “no chair auditions” policy. So the placement seating of musicians is based on seniority in the group, the performer’s experience and desires, dependability, and cooperation. The orange metal chairs are positioned in a semi-circle with the conductor’s stand at the front. The walls of the building are lined from top to bottom with a black egg-crate pad that absorbs the sound of the orchestra when they play. The metropolitan band provides two concerts a year with one being in the fall and the other one in the spring. The band also provides the music for the fall

and spring LSUS graduation ceremonies. The concert band plays music for special events in and around the community including the Red River Revel and Holiday in Dixie events. The band has even played concerts at the Louisiana Boardwalk in Bossier City and the Fourth of July event in Jefferson, Texas, which they have done for 20 years. They also have played in various parks in the area in conjunction with a City of Shreveport summer program of weekly concerts in the park. In addition, the band plays at the Barksdale Air Force Base for the ceremony and luncheon for the retirees of the program and to honor the purple hearts and POWS. They play two or three times a year and have done so for a number of years. “That’s a neat thing to do when you honor all of those people who’ve been out there fighting and especially for the purple hearts who had to be shot to do that,” Swilley said. “There was a guy that was a survivor of the Bataan death march. The Japanese captured all these Americans when they were fight-ing over there in the jungles. The Japanese marched them through the jungle. They call it the ‘Bataan Death March’ because they were going to Bataan where the prison was. They lost over half of the prisoners from different things like exhaustion, malnutrition, and bugs. But this guy was a survivor.”

The members of the band preparing to rehearse.Photo by: Emily Wright

The Band’s Retired Director Swilley has been in the community group for 22 years. He joined the band in the summer of 1993, but it was not his choice. “I had a friend in the band and he decided that I ought to come join, so I did. I played clarinet and started on the back row and gradually worked my way up to the front,” Swilley said. “The director of the band at the time was moving, so the board asked me if I would fill in until they found somebody. I filled in for a year and auditioned for the role of director with several others, but they finally said I should go ahead and be the director since I was filling in for one.” After two decades with the band, Swilley retired in 2015 as director. The director of the band is a paid position, but it is not enough to support oneself. “They paid just enough for me to keep coming,” he said with a smile. Before Swilley could lead the LSUS-based band for 22 years of his life, he would need some knowledge and skills to develop that talent into a lasting art. “I started out in the fifth grade and in a classroom I was sitting next to a friend of mine who would get up every day and go out. So I asked him what he was doing and he said ‘I was going to band.’ And I said ‘Oh, okay.’ He played trumpet,” Swilley said with a smile. “So I went home and asked my parents ‘Can I join the band and

can I play trumpet?’ Because friends wanna do the same thing. They said ‘Well, I don’t know.’” He said his aunt had been in the band and had a clarinet, so he wrote her a letter to ask if he could borrow her instrument. She said ‘Yes,’ so he started playing the clarinet in fifth grade and went all the way through up to his high school graduation. In his senior year of high school he was drum major. “Now this part gets interesting because it came time for graduation and I had no idea what I was going to do. So my band director said ‘Let’s go over and let you play for the clarinet teacher at Northwestern and see what he says,” Swilley said. “So I went over and audi-tioned and he said ‘Well, if you’ll come over here, we’ll give you a scholarship to play in the dance band and you can major in music.’ I told my parents that this sounded like a pretty good thing to do, so that’s what I did. At Northwestern I played in a dance band, but we called it a stage band at the time, that played every Wednesday night. I was a leader in that group for a while. I learned how to play saxophone because I had to play sax to be in the dance band, so I took the horn and a book home and taught myself how to play. Then I graduated and got a job teaching. It seemed like that was the thing to do.” Swilley worked as an itinerate string instructor teaching orchestra at schools in the Queensborough

The members rehearsing on Monday night.Photo by: Emily Wright

area including the Midway, Fair Park, and Claiborne schools. He eventually reached the point of retirement and worked as a band director at the Ridgewood Middle School for two years before he retired.

The Band’s Name The Shreveport Metropolitan Concert Band was born 31 years ago, but it went by another name then. “It started out as an Alumni Band at Byrd High School. They were building up to the ultimate reunion. Some of the Alumni, there were only fifteen of them, de-cided to get together and make a band, and they did,” Swilley said. “The band director at Byrd at that time was Ned James. Now Ned is playing the concert band right now. He’s a band director in Caddo Parish. The SMCB was originally called the Byrd Alumni Band.” Ned James, the original conductor of the band in 1984, said his most memorable moment while in the band was the first concert they ever performed. The concert took place outside of the Centenary Amphithe-ater. The metropolitan band came to the LSUS campus in 1990 with Jimmy Reynolds as director. Reynolds was a Byrd alumnus and taught as band director at Louisiana Tech University and Ohio State University. He later taught band at Byrd High School. In the end, the Byrd Alumni Band ultimately became the Shreveport Metropolitan Concert Band when it made LSUS its home because Swilley said members wanted to leave a bigger footprint.

The concert band has been at LSUS through five chancellors since the band came to campus. Dr. E. Grady Bogue, chancellor (1980-1990), who played the French horn and had a friend in the concert band, was another help in getting the band to campus. “Jimmy and Dr. Bogue were in conversation with each other about where the band could move to,” Swilley said. “Jimmy was moving to California at the time, but before he left he wanted to make sure there was a firm foundation for the band. That’s how the band came to LSUS.”

The Band’s Location and New Director Before coming to the Community Outreach Building behind the Red River Radio Station on campus, the members of the band moved around all over campus to find rooms to fit their growing numbers. Swilley said with a chuckle that they have been in every building on campus. “We started out in the theater and rehearsed on Mondays, but of course they had conflicts with people wanting to use the theater so they looked around and found another place for us. We sometimes had to go back to rehearse at Byrd when we couldn’t rehearse at the theater,” Swilley said. “We went up to the second floor that used to be the old library building on the LSUS campus, but now it’s the Technology Center. There was a huge room up there and we spent three or four years there. We also used to rehearse downstairs in what used to be the old mailroom in the Technology Center.

Photo by: Emily Wright

Then we went back to the theater. We have been in the Community Building for six or seven years.” With Swilley’s retirement this summer, Joe LeBlanc stepped in as band director. He started in August 2015. On the Monday night rehearsals, LeBlanc steps up onto the black conductor’s stage in front of the orchestra. The platform is a small square shape that stands three to five feet tall. He raises his voice to get the attention of the talking musicians, then welcomes them to the meeting. He briefly discusses the night’s order of events before lifting his hands to direct the orchestra in front of him. In his left hand he holds a short brown stick, called a baton, to direct the tempo of the pieces being played by the band members. The musicians begin to play while watching LeBlanc for their music cues. They lift their instruments, take a deep breath, and move their fingers to create a roaring, full sound of harmony. The space fills quickly, like helium blowing up a balloon, until the room is singing with pure, complete reverberations. In the ‘90s LeBlanc was with the Byrd Alumni Band, but then stopped when he started teaching as a band director. He came to Shreveport in 1986 as the Caddo Parish band director. Before that, he was the CEO and Director of the Texas Air Force 5th 31st

Reserve Band. He has played at the SMCB on-and-off for the last several years, but has played consistently for the past two years.

The Band’s Publicity and Members The concert band generates interest and draws members by way of online promotion. The SMCB promotes itself on Facebook and at other events in the community, but most interested individuals find the band via its webpage at smconcertband.com. Swilley used to have an SMCB booth during the Week of Welcome Fair at LSUS to generate interest among students about the band and the opportunity to play. The Fair takes place on the University Center Mall on campus and involves music, food, and a student organization fair. Kevin Wolfe, along with his wife Linda, also a board member, play in the band. They usually arrive 30 to 45 minutes early to the rehearsals so they can place the sheet music out on a table for the musicians to pick up as they come into the room. Wolfe also begins to pull out the percussion instruments to set the instruments in place for the rehearsal. This year marks his second year to play in the band and although he started out playing the violin, he now plays the auxiliary percussion because of the need for the instrument.

Director Joe LeBlanc leading the band during the rehearsal.Photo by: Emily Wright

Linda, however, has been in the band for years and plays the clarinet. Wolfe said that even though the band is made up of older musicians, the group is a great outlet for young players to learn what it is like to play alongside other musicians in an orchestral setting. “High school students have an enjoyable expe-rience when they are with us,” Wolfe said. “Teachers that are in the band bring students from their school to the SMCB for a semester or a few weeks to gain the experience of playing in a band and being surrounded by musicians. We also provide an opportunity for students to earn credit by playing with the band.” LSU Shreveport offers the one credit hour music course, MUS110: Shreveport Metropolitan Concert Band at LSUS, for students to have a practical application of playing in an orchestra. The 2015-2016 LSUS catalog states that students must have consent of the department and prior experience in woodwind, brass, or percussion instruments to enroll in the class. The music that is studied and performed in the course includes all combinations of wind and percussion instruments from the Renaissance period to modern day. The course listing also has the option of repeating MUS110 for a maximum of three credit hours. Wayne Sistrunk, a retired 71-year-old who used to work as an electronics technician for AT&T, walks

into the Community Outreach Building with his flute case and heads to his seat at the front of the orchestra forward-facing the conductor’s stand. He has been playing the flute since 1957. Sistrunk has played for 20 years in the concert band and loves to play music. He also was in the first graduating class of LSUS in 1975. He encourages anyone to join in the band so long as they like to play and learn. “Teamwork can take individual talents and combine them into something far greater than the individuals,” Sistrunk said. “And that’s with everything, but especially music.” Ronny Smith, a retired individual who worked in the petroleum field in Shreveport, plays trombone. He arrives early to the rehearsal so he has time to talk with LeBlanc and visit with friends in the band. He had not played the instrument for 50 years and two months exactly, but he realized how much he enjoyed playing trombone and went into his barn and pulled his old instrument out of storage. Smith had forgotten the notes and music so he bought a book to help him learn and has been at the concert band for one year. He also commutes from Texas to rehearse. He said playing in the band is great for LSUS because it represents the university and its organizations. Nevertheless, Smith said the music the

band plays is also beneficial to keeping the band and the music itself represented in this contemporary age. “Much has been lost of this music, so I think it is good that we keep playing it so that it stays alive,” Smith said. Bill Boyd, another member of the band, taught Smith trombone lessons in childhood. Smith said Boyd charged $5 a lesson and he went a couple of times a week after school. The oldest player recently retired at 93. Bill Tebow, the band’s former percussionist, played in a dance band for the army during the World War II era. The Byrd graduates and original members of the band included local men who each had the same passion for music. Irving Selber, a trumpet player, was one of the family members of the Selber Bros. department store in downtown Shreveport. Next, Bob Dunkleman, who also played the trumpet and thought he was Harry James II (a popular player in the ‘40s), was an engi-neer who worked in England, met a friend, came back to the U.S. and opened a business called Frymas-ter that makes the frying and cooking equipment for McDonald’s. Yet another trumpet player in the original band, Dr. Ben Levy, was a physician in town. John Richie, baritone, was an attorney in Shreveport, whose son

still carries on the business. Last, but not least, Hyman Gardsbane was a local optometrist who played the clarinet. Billy Guin, an 87-year-old man and clarinet player, is the last member of the original band. He said the Shreveport Metropolitan Concert Band works to bring about an appreciation for the classic band idea. “The concert band keeps the classic band idea alive, which keeps us alive,” Guin said. He also said the value of this band and the wide range of music they play, from the classical period to other classic pieces, such as Amazing Grace, God Bless America, and contemporary music, is beneficial to everyone involved from the musicians to the audience.

The Band’s Future The Shreveport Metropolitan Concert Band’s original Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was written and signed in 1989 when the band joined the LSUS family. An MOU is an official document of agreement between two parties. Wolfe said it was written for a five year period with an annual review. “At that time we added ‘at LSUS’ to our name. The last MOU was written in 2013 for a period of two years. When Chancellor Clark arrived, he elected to keep that MOU until it expired,” Wolfe said. “The

annual review is designed to allow either party to recommend changes as necessary as the relationship evolves.” Until recently, however, there has been a change in the structure of the financial needs of the university. “A little over a year ago, Chancellor Clark had just taken the LSUS reins and met with Mr. Allen Swilley, our director at the time,” Wolfe said. “Mr. Clark was concerned for the financial situation at LSUS and was looking for ways to increase the school’s revenue. During that meeting, Mr. Clark indicated he needed all facilities associated with LSUS to generate income if at all possible. At that time, the building we are using for rehearsals was not used for any other purpose. Mr. Clark decided to use the facility for community outreach in the form of classes that would be taken by community members.” Some of the first classes have included dance and sewing classes, as well as a Lego project this past summer. The band’s MOU with LSUS was set to expire in September of this year, but Chancellor Clark and Lottie Huckaby, the continuing education interim director, were able to extend the expiration to Dec. 16, 2015. “Mr. Clark wanted Ms. Huckaby to be involved with how the facility would be used and help decide whether they would allow our band to continue to use the facility without generating any revenue for the University,” Wolfe said. “Unfortunately, he has not been able to hire a director as yet and the MOU is about ended. We are hopeful that once a director is hired we will be able to craft another MOU to keep us on campus.” Wolfe said Huckaby has been very helpful in getting the extension for the MOU, which will allow the band to stay on campus until December 16 of this year. “My understanding is that the chancellor does not want to make any long term commitments for the facility until the new director of continuing education is on board. We do not pay anything for the use of the facility and appreciate that very much. The current sharing of the facility has worked out well and not caused any problems for us at all.” Wolfe said the band has always, and still does, have a great relationship with LSUS. Moreover, the

band members hope that the collaborative relationship will continue into the future. “The band leadership is truly hopeful that LSUS will allow us to continue on campus and are therefore not pursuing any other venue,” Wolfe said. “If we were to start looking we would need a place to store some of our instruments and equipment in addition to a re-hearsal hall. That would not be easy to find. We would be looking at churches and other schools in the area. Such a move might also require us to rent the space, a cost we do not currently have with LSUS. We are confident it won’t come to that.” The Band’s Memories In the last few years, Swilley said an interesting phenomenon has occurred. Some of the young women who play in the band are married to Airmen at Barks-dale. These families have started having children and there have been six band babies in the last three years. Swilley started collecting pictures of the growing number of babies that are a part of the metropolitan band’s community. As Swilley reminisced about his time at the band, he said his most memorable moment was in the late 80s while standing on the stage in the Strand Theatre. They played concerts at the theatre, one concert for four years, through sponsorships and did so for fundraisings in order to help people in need. “The first time I walked out on stage and looked out over the audience was overwhelming,” Swilley said. At the end of the day, Swilley said the band is like a family. They meet together, share their passions with each other, and have a collective bond of music to hold them close to one another when the reality of life strikes. And no matter what the future holds for the band or for any of the members, they will still be able to hold fast to their memories and their music, which are both inseparable to the human condition.

Debate Team Wins OverseasBy Jessica Ingram

LSUS debate team, represented by three students and Director of Debate Trey Gibson, traveled across the globe to represent the U.S. in the Montgomery Cup British Exhibition Debate Tour in March. This was the second time in 17 years that LSUS took part in the competition. They not only made history for LSUS but they made the entire nation proud. “It’s really neat when you are sitting in the lower Parliament hall in St. Andrews, Scotland where the Scottish Parliament met in the 1600s and the convener says ‘LSU Shreveport,’” said Gibson. Gibson has been mentoring the LSUS debate team since 2007. He has 25 years of experience in debate and truly takes pride in his students. One of the students is Elizabeth Kemp, who scored 12.5/19 of the U.S. points that won LSUS the Montgomery Cup in 2015. Due to Kemp’s expertise in the art of debate, she specifically has been requested to return in the 2016 competition. “We don’t just walk in and debate and say ‘Nice to meet you’ and then leave. I still have Facebook friends from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. It was really cool to meet a lot of new students. We have a lot more in common than you’d think,” said Kemp, senior, political science major. The debate group completely embraced the European culture by not only touring many historical sites

but also by participating in a completely different style of debate. LSUS usually practices a “line by line format,” which means that the debater has to discuss a detailed point on their given topic. Very similar to the way U.S. would hold a presidential debate, each speaker is given several opportu-nities to speak by providing an argument, asking questions, the rebuttal and conclusion. The United Kingdom’s style of debate reflects the way its Parliament would run. This leaves each opponent one chance to speak instead of back and forth but the debater can interject with questions while the opposition speaks. According to the International Debate Education Association’s website, “Debate is not a forum for asserting absolute truths, but rather a means of making and evaluat-ing arguments that allows the debaters to better understand their own and other’s position.” “Debate teaches you that you have to be very impartial in life because you are put in situations where you have to act impartially,” said John Griffin, senior, criminal justice major. Students tend to acquire more skills than just the art of controverting when they participate in an organization like debate. There is quite a bit of strategy involved along with critical thinking skills and the use of time management.

Trey Gibson, director of debate, (in purple) speaking to members of debate teamPhoto by: Jessica Ingram

“The other thing I am really proud of is that the average GPA (of a student in debate) is around 3.4. There have been plenty of studies out that support that debate increases critical thinking skills and grades go up,” said Gibson. Typically when participating in a debate tourna-ment, students are given a time limit of about 30 minutes to research their topic, come up with an argument and provide detailed points they want to convey. These skills help students to participate and study more efficiently in classes. “School-wise the prep we have to do before rounds

helps me to take notes more quickly in classes. It helps me with papers because we are constantly trying to find evidence and make sense out of the information so that it can be presented to other people,” said Kamaya Jiles, junior varsity debater, sophomore, digital arts major. The debate team is participating in the first tournament of the 2016 season on the weekend of Aug. 10. They will be competing at Lee College in Baytown, Texas. There are typically eight to 10 tournaments per season. For more information on the LSUS Debate Team or if you are interested in joining, please contact Trey Gibson 318.797.5081.

Mock practice debate. (Left to Right: John Griffin acting as judge, Rhys Waters opposition, Kamaya Jiles affirmative) Photo by: Jessica Ingram

Trey Gibson talking to students about topics for practice debatePhoto by: Jessica Ingram

Noel Collection

Look back in time to prepare for family winter entertainment! The James Smith Noel Collection at LSUS is presenting an exhibit titled “Whimsical Wonders: Toys, Games, and Other Amusements from the Past.” The materi-als on display will include many fine examples of pastime entertainment from the 1800s and early 1900s, including puzzles, porcelain dolls, and hand-cranked box theaters. The exhibit also explores the art of souvenirs and the fine

illustrations that were used in panoramas and fold-ing peep shows for remembering special occasions. Come visit us in the Noel Collection to explore and learn more! The exhibit will run now through December and is open Sundays from 2:00-6:00 p.m., Mondays from 8:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m., and Tuesdays- Fridays from 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.To arrange a tour contact Martha Lawler at 318-798-4163 or Martha.Lawler@lsus.edu or visit us online at jsnoelcollection.org.

The descriptions of the photos were written by the Noel Collection catalogors, Amy Blackburn, Aimee Plaisance, and Martha Lawler.Photos by: Emily Wright

Admit One: Moving Picture Shows Come one, come all! These moving panorama shows are designed with long strips of paper wound between two vertical rollers. The entire illustration and rollers are placed into a show box with a key that rotates the rollers to the left to “play” the show. Kids can enjoy the full performance experience by advertising their shows with posters, passing out admission tickets, and narrating the illustrations. The Historiscope shows the history of America through the end of the American Revolution. While passing by this hand-colored scene, the narrator will explain the plight of Patriot Army at Valley Forge in December 1777. The Myropticon tells the history of the American Civil War; this scene reveals telegraph corps quickly installing telegraph wires to help the federal government maintain communication with the commanding officers in the Union Army.

Game Night! Games and puzzles have been popular pastimes for generations. All of the games in this case have more than one way to play, which allows for many hours of family entertainment from a single purchase. The antique puz-zle has six sides with six illustrations to create from the blocks,. With the cards from the game Trolley (1888) game provides three different sets of rules depending on the level of difficulty or a group’s preference of gameplay.

The box the puzzle is stored in.

Six-sided puzzle. Card game.

On commencera á 6 heures precise!

This unique French toy theatre captures the vibrancy and wonder of the marionette-centric performances that became popular in the 1840s. These performances combined the Italian genre of commedia dell’arte and its signature masks with puppetry and street entertainment. As the small figures facing the stage show, this art form was popular with children and adults from all walks of life. As France progressed through the nineteenth century to La Belle Époque, these rough street performances began to transform into a distinct art form in their own right.

The front of the peep show.

Navigation Station Humans have been navigating the world by using star charts and compasses, similar to the highly decorative versions here, for many years before the development of GPS technology. The game Astrophilogeon (1828) is a geographical and astronomical card game that comes complete with a little book on astronomy and geography. In this game the players take turns trying to match the coordinates of constellations (celestial cards) with geographical locations (terrestrial cards), or vice versa, to win a trick.

Compass.

CampusStyle

By Jessica Ingram

“I lean towards Audrey Hepburn’s style. It is business but casual. I always want to dress appropriate for any situation I may be thrown into.” Ashley Cannon, psychology

graduate working on biology

degree

“I lean towards the preppy style or with an edge, sometimes incorpo-rating both to add more flavor and make it more interesting. I typically dress with different palette for dif-ferent seasons, so if it’s a gloomy day I may wear a neutral colors. Or grey or like when it is spring, I’ll wear something brighter.” Cadarius Perry, community

health major with concentra-

tion in physical therapy, junior

“I generally just put on whatever is closest and hope it looks good, though some days I really want to do the punk-rock thing and then other days I just want to wear a really twirly skirt and ballet flats.” Catherine Green, history major,

freshman

“I typically like to wear dull col-ors because I don’t like to draw attention through my clothes. I’d rather do that with my personality. As far as accessories go, I have an extremely unhealthy addiction towards ties. I have a huge tie collection.” Daniel Jordan, field and organismal biology major,

senior

“My style is to wear clothes that are vintage and edgy. I feel like the vintage style is girly and by adding an edge to it makes it more your own.” Fatma Ibrahim, bio-chem-

istry major, freshman

“I like to mix it up but still typically lean towards the preppy style. I also like the old school retro style, like the 90s and then business casual.” Jarrett Lofton, mass

communications major, senior

“I like to wear black T-shirts that have movie or book statements on them, especially horror movies because I am a big film fan. I’m wearing a shirt that has Necronomi-con from Evil Dead. As far as acces-sories go, it’s usually my headset or computer bag. ” Jeremiah Brown,

English major, sophomore

“I love to dress for fall and es-pecially like the colors. Like my sweater is a pretty cream color and my pants are fall color. I also love to accessorize by wearing long chain necklaces and rings from Rue 21.” Mariah Ford, business

major, freshman

“I don’t typically accessorize but I always wear earrings, you will nev-er see me without them. I love to shop at Charming Charlie for stud-ded earrings. I feel like they make the outfit.” ShaVanety Jones,

psychology major, junior

Eighteen years ago the Dock at LSU Shreveport was an empty ghost town. Meanwhile, five miles across town a legacy of coaching basketball was born that would change the destiny of LSUS athletics forever. In 1997 LSU Shreveport had three sports: baseball and women and men’s basketball. However, the athletic program’s part-time coaches and limited funds prevented the program from being able to con-tinue. There were only enough funds to support the continuation of one sport. The continuation of the program rested in the hands of the students by voting via a student referendum to incorporate a higher tuition so that the sports could continue. Dr. Terry G. Harris, LSUS athletic council chair and English professor, remembered that it was only by a narrow margin that the referendum favored a non-increase. Despite all options explored by the Athletic Council, the Dock, the name given to the basketball court on the first floor of the Health and Physical Education (HPE) Building, would serve as a ghost town for the next six years. Ultimately, the students were devastated by the removal of women’s and men’s basketball but realized it was too late. According to the history on the LSUS athletics website, a dock is “a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships. The exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language and is sometimes referred to as a dockyard or shipyard where the loading, unloading, and building of ships occurs.” For six years, there was no building victories, no loading school spirit and support, and no unloading of hard work and practices. The Athletic Council was determined to bring this back. But how?

In 2003, the Athletic Council increased the athletic fee in tuition. This was the first step in bring-ing back the program. Men’s and women’s basketball, along with the already existent baseball, were the first three sports introduced in the 2003 reinstatement. Harris reports that women’s soccer was later added as a Title Nine compliance factor. Title Nine of the includes three requirements “Prong One: Propor-tionality: Male and female athletes are “substantially proportionate” to their respective undergraduate enrollments OR Prong Two: Demonstrate a history and continuing practice of expanding opportunities for the underrepresented sex (usually females) or Prong Three: Completely and effectively accommodate the interests and abilities of the underrepresented sex.” During the same time, LSUS was part of the Gulf Coast conference. However, another conference, known as the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC), was flourishing in intercollegiate athletic sport member-ships among universities in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee. This was not a good thing for LSUS athletics. While LSUS had two men’s sports and two women’s sports, the active existence of these did not benefit LSUS if there were not comparable competitors within the conference for athletes to compete with. While the reinstatement of the program appeared to be a victory in moving forward towards success, LSUS athletics now had yet another problem to over-come- finding a new conference that included congruent competitors. LSUS joined the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and also coincided as part of the Red River Athletics Conference (RRAC). Over the past several years the LSUS Athlet-ics Association has struggled with various obligatory circumstances. The continuance and success of the

Balance Beyond Basketball Kyle Blankenship

LSUS Men’s Pilot Head Coach

By Katie LeJeune

LSUS athletic program is dependent upon two things: meeting eligibility requirements and having adequate funds to support the program. First, the program had to meet the addition-al conference requirement, two sports in each season. According to Harris, this included men and women’s soccer for the fall, men and women’s basketball for the winter, and baseball and women’s tennis for the spring. Secondly, there must be an adequate amount of funds available to finance all six sports. Yet, proving to be another challenging circumstance for the athletic program to overcome. One of these times was in the spring semes-ter of 2010. The athletic fee is included in the tuition of traditional LSUS students. Traditional, meaning the student is enrolled in classes on the LSUS campus. Students enrolled in the LSUS Online e-campus do not have the athletic fee included in tuition. The number of online students continued to increase. As a result, the finances for athletics began to decrease. This hit home for the students on campus. Unlike 1997, students were determined not to let the

unity of school spirit and support become a thing of the past. In April 2010, the students voted on another athletic fee increase within the tuition. In one of the largest voting turnouts in LSUS history, 594 students voted to increase the athletic fee, while 422 students voted not too. Despite the collaborative efforts of the student body, men and women’s soccer were cut in 2013-2014. The removal of soccer in the athletic program was devastating, but it wasn’t something that the Pilots allowed to dampen school spirit. Cross-country replaced soccer as a more financially convenient sport, and the requirements of the conference could still be maintained. While LSUS may not have comparable attendance to that of LSU, or other Louisiana college basketball games, it certainly exceeds in school spirit and wins. In fact, LSUS ranks No. 1 in the most wins in the state of Louisiana for men’s basketball since 2003.

Most wins in the state of Louisiana since 2003 - Men’s Basketball

Many years before the LSUS athletic program faced challenges, Kyle Blankenship faced the real-ization of his future. Blankenship grew up around sports, and developed a passion for basketball at an early age. Blankenship’s grandfather was a Hall of Fame Coach for Spiro High School in Spiro, Okla., from 1952-1970. Blankenship’s grandfather coached basket-ball, his teams were 382-95 (.800 winning percentage), including one stretch of nine consecutive years without losing a home game. His football career record was 118-53 (.690 winning percentage). He was inducted into the Oklahoma Coaches Hall of Fame in 1972. Basketball was part of who Blankenship was, and exactly what he wanted to be. Blankenship’s basketball skills led him to excel in the sport, and eventually earn an all-district title in high school at C.E. Byrd High School. As fate would have it, Blankenship’s coach while playing at C.E. Byrd, was Coach Chad McDowell, former LSUS men’s basketball coach, and now, current LSUS athletic director. “Of all the coaches I’ve played for, Coach McDowell has been the one that has had the most influence on my career, not just on the court, but off the court as well,” Blankenship said. “Coach Blankenship has taught us plen-ty of things on the basketball court, but one thing that really sticks out is when he conveys that we, as both players, and men, can control two things at all times- our attitude and our effort,” said C.J. Hyslop, senior, business management major, and Pilots basketball player. “No matter what situations arise on the basketball court, we can always be in control of those two things. But that doesn’t just apply on the court, it applies to our lives. No matter life’s circumstances, we always need to look at it with a positive attitude and keep pushing forward. He doesn’t only preach it, but he lives it.” After Blankenship finished his college basketball career at the University of Tulsa, he coached at Lamar State University and Rogers State University. He joined the LSUS coaching staff and in 2012 became head coach for the men’s basketball team. While Blankenship’s family followed their grandfather’s legacy and coached football, Blankenship surprised them by opting to coach basketball. “My grandfather was known more for his associ-ation with coaching football, but basketball was actually my grandfather’s favorite sport,” Blankenship said. “It is in my blood, coaching is the family business. I knew my

playing career would one day end and coaching basket-ball is what I wanted to do for a living.” With a love of basketball running through his blood Blankenship acquired values at 14-years-old from Coach McDowell that extended beyond the lines of the court. “I learned what it takes to be a leader, a role model, and the importance of knowing how to make a positive impact on players as a coach,” Blankenship said. Today, this legacy of coaching beyond the lines of the court continues to be practiced within the LSUS men’s basketball team. During the 2012-2013 season, the Pilots finished Blankenship’s inaugural season ranked at No. 4 in the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Final Hyslop was referring to a particular incident last year in which Blankenship’s grandfather was in the hospital and passed away. Hyslop said his coach never faltered, not once did Blankenship ever put forth anything less than 100 percent for his players.

McDowell (left) with Blankenship (right) –C.E Bryd

Coach Kyle Blankenship (middle) with dad (left) and grandfather (right) after beating #1 ranked Columbia in the national tournament to go to the Fab Four.

Locker Room, Kansas City

“I couldn’t think of a better example that I would want to have in my life on a daily basis other than Coach Blankenship. He always has the players’ best interest in mind and will do anything for us,” Hyslop said. In 2012, Blankenship’s very first year coaching at LSUS, he led the team into uncharted waters for the first time in history by coaching a team that made it to the NAIA Fab Four. Going beyond trophies, it was about relationships formed and lessons learned, the type of investments and awards that would not collect dust sitting on a shelf. During the 2012-2013 season, the Pilots finished Blankenship’s inaugural season ranked at No. 4 in the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Final Coaches’ Top 25 poll after their remarkable run in Kansas City at the Fab Four. Even after the final buzzer sounded on the 2012-13 season, LSUS’s name was still mentioned on the final day of the Buffalo Funds-NAIA National Tournament.

Recognized for their outstanding display of character and sportsmanship throughout the entire National Tournament, the Pilots claimed the Dr. James Naismith-Emil S. Liston Team Sportsmanship Award. In addition, Coach Blankenship was recognized with the Charles A. Krigel Award, which is presented to the coach of the squad that earns the Naismith-Liston Sportsmanship Award for his leadership to his team. However, when asked about the success in his first year coaching, Blankenship failed to mention any of the awards, achievements, or record statistics. Blankenship sat up in his chair as he began to explain the investments that mattered most — the relationships with his players and the impact he aspired to make. Blankenship described how just that same week alumni players who played in the 2012-2013 season texted him reminiscing on how much the memories made that week in Kansas City meant.

Coach Kyle Blankenship in action with the LSUS Men’s Pilots basketball team.

“That was something special to be able to experience at a national level, it is something we think about often and are striving to recapture,” Blankenship said. Dr. Harris was with Blankenship and the players that week in Kansas City. He told a story about a letter the University received from a parent following the Kansas City Fab Four appearance. The story illus-trates the gratitude of a young boy, a young boy who was touched and impacted so much that his mother felt the need to personally express in writing her appreciation and admiration for LSUS and the athletes that represented it. During the most important moment of the season, when all the hard-work of the players was only moments away from paying off, LSUS players took the time to notice this one little boy. In the fast-paced chaotic arena, the LSUS players invited the child to watch the game courtside and join them as they gave it their all. As the most pivotal moment in the season, players chose to briefly step off the court and make an impact on a child by inviting him to join them on the court. Even now, this type of integrity remains a constant aspect in the LSUS men’s basketball program. “Coach Blankenship always tells us when we leave here, he not only wants us to be better players, but also better men,” Hyslop said. Recently, the LSUS Pilots men’s basketball team received the Championship of Character Award by the RRAC for the second year in a row. The mission of the RRAC focuses on implementing five core values within their conference: respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership, and sportsmanship. Coach Kyle Blankenship acknowl-edged these values as a young player from Coach McDowell long before the RRAC incorporated them in their mission. Coach McDowell coached the 2005-2006 men’s basketball team that was named as the No.1 team in the country. McDowell was awarded a feature piece in SB

Faith & Family Christian Magazine. He was asked what the greatest honor he could ever receive would be. His response was, “I’d like to make the Daddy Hall-of-Fame.” McDowell flashed back to the magazine interview. He said he remembered when he went home to share the news of being ranked No.1 in the country with his wife, Jennifer, and after congratulating him, she let him know that they were out of milk.

McDowell explained while on the way to get milk he told himself, “You know, you’re on top of the world over being ranked No.1, and you go home and your wife humbles you. Life moves on, there are bigger things than being No. 1. Would I be this excited if I made the top 25 as a husband and a daddy? Would I strive as hard to be No.1 in that role?” McDowell said that his drive and motivation come from the Lord. In fact, he is a big advocate of the character-driven athletics program. During the interview for this piece, he called each of the coaches of the LSUS athletic program and asked them on speakerphone what the five core values were. McDowell explained that the LSUS athletic program emphasizes and instills within players the importance of implementing five core values and that being a champion of character can carry an athlete much further in life’s journey than any championship ring. The servant leadership of the men’s basket-ball is demonstrated every year at the LSUS Phi Mu’s “Hoop-A-Palooza” event to raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals. “The men’s basketball team comes out during half-time of the women’s game to shoot free throws. Audience members can place bets on who will make the most baskets and all proceeds made during the game go to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals,” said Kaylynn Henry, LSUS senior and Phi Mu philanthropic chair. “My first year here we won the National Sportsmanship award at the National Tournament. I think that’s not only a reflection of the values I strive to instill in the program, but also the standard that was set before me by Coach McDowell and also the players he coached,” Blankenship said. “In a way, we carry the torch, we have, and will continue, to build on the team with the most sportsmanship that exercises discipline on and off the court.” The LSUS operating budget’s total expenditures reported $31,082,093 for the 2014-2015 fiscal year. Of that amount, zero dollars were allocated towards the athletic program. Yet, in 2013, the year that soccer was cut, 46 percent of traditional out-of-state enrolled students were athletes involved in at least one LSUS sport. LSUS athletes enrolled as traditional students have contributed to over $2.5 million in tuition over the last five years, an average of $450,000 each year. Athletes are required to adhere to certain academic requirements in order to remain eligible and

active participants and must complete 24 hours as a full-time student over the course of one academic year in order to be eligible for the upcoming year. Additionally, athletes must maintain a required GPA minimum. Since the 2003-2004 reinstatement of the athletic program, the recognition of academic excellence among LSUS athletes has increased by 177 percent. “Academics are of the upmost importance. We want our kids to come in here first and foremost to graduate because the ball will stop bouncing one day or another so they have to have a credible fall back. For most guys they don’t play professional ball so we stress academics as much as any other university in the nation,” Blankenship said. These players are models for the university, contributors to the percentage of academic excellent students, and they assist other university programs through servant leadership while attracting positive press that highlights the university. Student support and attendance is vital for the players and coaches. The players display service through various platforms of the LSUS community. “Basketball is not an individual sport, it does not matter specifically who the glory goes to. One thing I learned from Coach McDowell is that the greater power of we is me,” Blankenship said. There is a potential for growth in reference to the student support of LSUS athletes. Dr. Harris has a picture in his office dating back to a few seasons ago

where students came dressed up as their heroes as a theme for student support for one of the home games. Covered in bright body paint, students are seen in the photo standing shoulder to shoulder, scream-ing and cheering for the young men that sacrificed so much time and effort into being honorable athletes, role models, and representatives of LSUS. Senior player, Breion Beaver, criminal justice major, can attest to this. “We love when the students show up to our games. Attendance gets us extra motivated to perform at a higher level. The stu-dent body does a great job of creating a fun college basketball atmosphere. We have some of the best fans. It makes everything better when you’re playing for a packed house,” he said. “We strive to have a servant-leader mentality. I think you see that when you come to our games both through our guys and the sportsmanship they display,” Blankenship said. Admission for home games is free for students that present a valid ID. The next home game will be against Tougaloo College on November 30, 2015. Come unload your school support at the Dock beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the HPE building, and help recreate the student section full of hero costumes and roaring screams that cheer on the real campus heroes — the Pilot athletes.

Student Section Picture in Dr. Harris’ Office.

LSUS Partnerswith New Military Center

By Blair Burlison

Dr. Gary D. Joiner sits at his desk with a straight back and folded hands with military awards and medals assembled beside his chair. Military white papers are fashioned neatly in a folder on his desk and his historical military literary works are placed on a near-by table. His office space is organized strategically, with historical paraphernalia neatly aligned along the polished shelves. His eyes light up as he begins to discuss how military leadership will soon make LSU Shreveport its base. “Sometimes you work hard one thing for years and then the clouds open and it just arrives,” Joiner said. LSUS houses three military historians, one being Joiner, chair and professor of the department of history at LSUS. The two remaining historians are Paul D. Gelpi, professor of military history at the U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and Dr. Alex Mikaberidze, LSUS professor of history. Each military historian has generated a large amount of research,

writing, and publishing pertaining to previous military combats found within the United States and other sur-rounding countries. “Barksdale is such an important part of this community, economy, and social fabric. I’ve done a lot of work with them over the years. In 2013, they requested that I help Joel Wilson, head of global strike, with the multiple upcoming anniversaries so I worked through-out the year writing pieces for Barksdale in my History Matters segment on Red River radio,” Joiner said. “During this process, retired three-star general, Robert Elder, and I started discussing what we could do to enhance the status of the university including the militar-ies to make some lasting contributions.” The Strategic Alternatives Consortium (SAC) at LSUS is a partnership that will benefit the institution and community both academically and militarily. Found within the SAC draft, there is a list of various anniversaries that Joiner assisted Wilson with

Dr. Gary JoinerAssociate Professor & DirectorHistory/Social Sciences DepartmentPhoto by: Jessica Ingram

throughout the years. In fact, Joiner has worked with the 8th Air Force Museum at Barksdale Air Force Base, which is now known as the Global Airpower Museum. He offered advising on the curation of the collections and cataloguing pertinent material. Beginning in early 2012, he assisted the 8th Air Force general staff and Global Strike General Staff in commemorating the 70th anniversary of the creation of the 8th Air Force, the 60th anniversary of the B-52, and the 40th anniversary of the Linebacker II operations in the Vietnam War. Each project that Joiner presented aided in building a resilient relationship between Barksdale and Joiner. Joiner collaborated with Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Elder of Barksdale Air Force Base and Lynn Calloway, the 8th Air Force historian, to establish employment opportunities for LSUS and Barksdale. The collaboration resulted in the development of the Strate-gic Alternatives Consortium on the LSUS campus. During Joiner’s meeting with General Elder and Calloway, it was learned that all military generals and officers are taught tactics, but not taught strategies. Joiner clarified that strategy is the overall concept of what to do and how to do it. This is easily displayed during deployment and surrounds the creation and usage of nuclear weapons. However, the military is composed of expounding tactics, which comprises the finite details of getting things done. “After talking back and forth with Gen. Elder and also with Calloway, we came up with the concept of creating the SAC so that we could approach historical events,” Joiner said. “We realized that the SAC would

allow us to explore what worked or did not work in previous battles and wars to prevent things from escalating in future events. We also all agreed that the SAC would provide the military with the proper tools to implement strategy as a teaching strategy.” The SAC draft includes a series of documents explaining the center’s mission, goals and objectives. This draft states that the mission of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command encompasses examining issues brought forth in direct contact with the Air Force and Department of Defense officials. The SAC’s mission also provides LSUS faculty and students the opportuni-ty to compose an in-depth analysis of emerging military issues. LSUS and Global Strike Command hope that the SAC will permit the advancement in policies, plans, strategies and programs through professionals in order, to facilitate strategic alternatives development. The SAC draft also presents the SAC’s objectives, which include promoting an overall understanding of Air Force Global Strike Command’s (AFGSC’s) role. The AFGSC serves as the Air Force’s primary provider of strategic anticipation, assurance, and global stability capabilities. One of the most import-ant objectives that the SAC holds pertains to providing a sufficient amount of research and findings to ensure that the AFGSC is able to meet the nation’s expectations across the spectrum of conflict. “LSUS will strive to achieve the center’s mission and objectives through conducting research in the SAC’s innovative office,” Joiner said. “LSUS faculty members

Gary Joiner office Photo by: Jessica Ingram

and students will accomplish this through assigned projects that calls for meticulous analysis through inves-tigation and research.” Although the SAC has launched at LSUS, it has yet to officially open its doors to the LSUS student body and campus faculty. This is because Joiner and other staff members involved with the SAC are in the process of organizing and preparing the center’s office and personal library. Both the office and the research library are located on the fourth floor of Bronson Hall in room 466. LSUS faculty and students have been provided with the office to assist Barksdale in achieving the advance-ment in recognition of the importance of developing al-ternatives when avoiding or engaging in military conflict. According to Joiner, he is currently working on two SAC related projects with Mikaberidze. One project pertains to the Berlin airlift and how it potentially averted World War III. The assigned project is expected to discover the reasoning behind why Russians backed down. All gathered information will be transmitted to the AFGSC to assist with the application of nuclear capabil-ities and other military capabilities as well as teaching military generals the use of strategy. “I am analyzing the American side and Dr. Mikaberidze is focusing on the Russian side. We both will be examining the verbatim areas, from polar opposites and present day. The project will unfold all potential changes that the Air Force should enforce,” Joiner said. “Mine and Dr. Mikaberidze’s findings will explain why military commands are in place and to ex-plain why things are done in a particular manner.” The focus of this project is a prime example of the type of research that the SAC will embody. All faculty members and participating students will be provided with computers in the Center’s office. The computers will be linked internally so that Barksdale and LSUS can main-tain unification during all projects and research studies. Joiner also mentioned that the SAC’s office space will contain distributed printing and scanning equipment to make the collaboration more efficient. In early 2014, Joiner and Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Elder at Barksdale crafted the fourth Air Force Global Strike Command Technology and Innovative Symposium. The symposium at Barksdale AFB was established to coincide with the annual Air Force-wide bombing competition. During the symposium, Joiner presented lectures to the Global Strike and 8th Air Force leadership, headquarters staff, and the air crews.

“During the symposium I lectured on the use of air power as a strategic and tactical deterrent in Operation Northern Watch and Operation Southern Watch between Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom,” Joiner said. “I presented the findings that I gathered from an eight-month long research project that I conducted. The data that I presented at the Symposium was related to the no-fly policy between the two Iraq wars and why it really held off the second war for so many years.” The symposium was the impetus for the devel-opment of the Strategic Alternatives Consortium. The creation of the symposium resulted in an ongoing relationship between LSUS and Barksdale because of the many projects that Joiner had headed in the past. Because of the symposium, the SAC intends to bring historical and geopolitical events into focus to assist the decision makers of the Air Force as well as other interest-ed agencies and partners. Joiner’s relationship with Barksdale Air Base is a major factor in the creation of LSUS’s relationship with Barksdale. Therefore, the focus of the center is a natural extension of the ongoing relationship. According to Joiner, LSUS is a perfect fit for SAC because of the various degrees and programs of study that the university offers in the liberal arts, sciences, business, and education departments. The SAC draft also mentions that LSUS will be home to the SAC because of the large number of active duty military personnel that have previously received their undergrad-

uate and graduate education at LSUS. This allocated many faculty members to formulate close relationships with military persons. LSU Shreveport is the only institution within the Louisiana State University system that is permitted to develop a military command at Barksdale through research projects and studies. The Center and Louisiana State University as a whole are committed to the endeav-or. The SAC is also in the process of implementing two other local institutions within the Barksdale collaboration program. Other versions of the center will be employed by Centenary College of Louisiana and Louisiana Tech University to better assist LSUS with delivering military research. “It is envisioned that Centenary will be the nonmilitary use of military assets,” Joiner said. “Also, Louisiana Tech has a terrific engineering component and is already working with Cyber Innovations.” Joiner’s duties will involve synchronizing func-tions headed by the SAC, coordinating projects and overseeing all LSUS students and faculty members that are involved with the SAC. Joiner further explained that one of his job duties will involve serving as a lead researcher on all projects pertaining to the SAC. Faculty analysts and LSUS faculty members will assist Joiner and his efforts by conducting research projects to meet all of the required goals and objectives regarding the SAC. Each research project will either be led individually or in a group effort, which will later be

reported to an initiating agency. Other faculty members of LSUS may be asked to assist with constructing research projects in the relat-ed areas: graphic design, computer science, geographic information system (GIS), education and business. Aid-ing the faculty analysts will be student researchers, con-sisting of both graduate and undergraduates. There are currently two work-study students who are allocated to SAC. One student is an MLAS graduate student with a B.A. in history, and the other one is a senior history major. “This is an exciting and challenging time for our nation’s strategic planners, particularly the Air Force,” Joiner said. “Since Air Force Global Strike Command is part of the Shreveport-Bossier community, we feel that that it is imperative that LSU Shreveport take a leading role in supporting not just our local commands at Barksdale, but the security of our nation as well. We will take a multidisciplinary approach to analysis of geopolitical issues using the disciplines of history, political sciences, mass communications and digital arts.” The 2016-2017 fiscal budget for the SAC will be approximately $24,000. The Consortium is expected to achieve proper funding through external donations, grants, and awards to support the ongoing mission of the center. As explained in the Consortium’s document, in-kind funding will come from LSUS. Through the partnership of other entities, it is expected for LSUS, the LSU System or Board of Regents to receive minimal financial impact.

Inside Paul Jones Library, the SAC research library located on the fourth floor of Bronson Hall. Photo by: Jessica Ingram

Gaming is one of the largest and most influential forms of entertainment in our society today. It is incorporat-ed in people’s social lives. It is in homes and even on our cellphones. Now it is making its way into a LSU Shreveport course curriculum. Allen Garcie, assistant professor of arts, and Jason Mackowiak, professor of arts, went in front of the academic board to discuss the idea of introducing game design as a course offered at LSUS. The course is an introduction to concepts associated with game theory and developing visual assets for video games. “I have been working on incorporating a game design element into basic design. Because students starting off in basic design are learning about points, and points become lines and lines become planes and sometimes students don’t really get it. So I took something they were familiar with to teach them that,” Garcie said. Now for the first time ever, the Department of Arts and Media is offering a course in game design on campus. The class is called DA 490: Game Design I, and it is offered at the higher level for students who have already had the basics of design and received permission from the instructor only. The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Arts is the third most popular dgree choice at LSUS and recently digital arts students have shown a big interest in the art of designing video games. Garcie said there is much to learn from gam-ing as it helps students develop different skills, such as

New Digital Arts CourseGame Changer for Curriculum

By Jessica Ingram

Allen Garcie Asst. Professor of ArtsPhoto by: Jessica Ingram

multitasking. When creating a game, even at a basic level there are many elements involved — a plot has to be developed, characters are created and troubleshooting is bound to happen which forces people to think outside of the box to find solutions to the issue. “For three days students worked together to create their own stories and then used their knowledge of design, as well as an iPad application called Pixel Press

Floors, to put together their own game levels. In the end, we had a mini game jam and the students chose winners for best story, best level design, and best overall game,” Garcie said. On the first day of the assignment, students were put in groups of two and were introduced to Pixel Press

Floors. The groups spent the day collaborating on a story and plot. They developed the main character, supporting characters and villains. The students had criteria to follow for each game level they created. They had to create different villains, coins to be collected and other typical aspects of video games to be included. Along the way, students ran into different obstacles that made them have to act more strategically when planning out the game levels, supporting Garcie’s point of teach-ing the basic elements of design by utilizing hands-on problem solving, being strategic and working in teams. Though the degree in digital arts is just a broad array of skills instead of a specialized form of art, the idea behind the degree is to introduce its students to as many mediums of art as possible. Often students come in to the program with very specific interests and design jobs that they want to pursue, but it is helpful to be exposed to other types of design. In the digital arts and graphic arts field, the more knowledge and skills designers have, the better. Students have mentioned to professors that they want to create games like Call of Duty but they have very little knowledge of the aspects put in to creating a game of that size. “Graphic design opens up more fields for you because when I started graphic design, I just wanted to create CD art for music or work for magazines but after this project, it made me want to take the game design class,” said Brittany Sutton, digital arts major, junior. Though Game Design I is the first course of its kind offered at LSUS, Game Design II is set to appear on the list of courses offered in the spring. The course is in its infancy but there are hopes for it to grow into something bigger as the digital arts professors are in the process of developing a certificate in game design.

Students playing games Photo Credit: Allen Garcie

Graphic Arts Lecture Students Photo by: Jessica Ingram

Students playing games Photo Credit: Allen Garcie

The Department of Arts and Media at LSU Shreveport offers a new Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Digital Arts with courses ranging from photography to illustration to 2-D and 3-D animation. The department has a wide range of facilities including several Mac labs, lab classrooms for drawing and painting, and SmartRooms for lecture-style courses. Most faculty hold the MFA degree and are active in their respective fields. In Mass Communication, students may choose to specialize in print journalism, electronic media, or public relations. The curriculum is built on classes that provide a thorough grounding in the basics of each specialty at the freshman and sophomore levels plus challenging upper-level courses reflecting the current professional job market. Upper-level students are encouraged to elect internships. All students complete a professional portfolio prior to graduation. Students interested in weekly student news in may publish in the Almagest/student news. For print journalism students interested in feature and investigative work, Almagest: The Magazine, is published each semester with contributions and editorial work by majors enrolled in the journalism lab. The department provides recognition for outstanding student scholarship with a chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, the national communication honor society. For more informa-tion, please contact Dr. Linda Webster, professor of communications and chair of the department of arts and media, at Linda.Webster@lsus.edu or 318.797.5376.

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