vol 75 iss 12

The ContrabandThe voice of the McNeese community since 1939

Vol. 75

December 2 - 6, 2013

Phone- 337-475-5646 EMail- [email protected]

Issue 12

See Football on page 13

The Cowboys edge Lamar, earn first round bye and home field ad-vantage.

Jacob TroutmanThe Contraband

The Pokes out scored their op-ponents 85-55 in the final two games of the regular season, re-sulting in a 10-2 overall record and a 6-1 Southland Conference (SLC) record. Senior Marcus Wiltz and soph-omore Kelvin Bennett led the Cowboys in their 43-17 rout of the Northwestern State Demons on Nov. 16. The pair combined for 250 yards and a touchdown, while junior Nic Jacobs snagged two touchdown passes from senior Cody Stroud. The following week the Pokes did battle with Lamar University. Senior Diontae Spencer found the endzone in the final minute of play to put McNeese ahead 42-38 and secure the victory. The Pokes will be back in ac-

tion on Dec. 7 in their first play-off game since the 2009 season, hosting either Samford or Jack-sonville State. The Pokes dominated North-western the entirety of their final

home game of the regular season, but Lamar put up a fight. McNeese trailed 38-26 with 8:24 to play in the third quarter. Two minutes later Stroud con-nected with Spencer for a

50-yard strike to the cut the La-mar lead to five. The Cowboys regained posses-sion following a solid defensive stand, and Ryan Rome knocked a 39-yard field goal through the uprights with less than four min-utes left in the third quarter. Mc-Neese was unable to put together another scoring drive until the final minutes of play. Stroud and the Pokes’ offense started their final drive on their own 11-yard line with 5:13 re-maining. McNeese milked the clock and finally found the end-zone when Spencer scampered 16 yards for the go-ahead score. Stroud tied a single-season Mc-Neese record against Lamar, reg-istering his 27th touchdown pass of the season. The Pokes as a whole also set a new record for total points

Finding Rudy: This week’s un-sung hero is Cow-girl basketball player, NeTanya Jones. See page 16.

“The PLAY-OFFS?!”: Questions about the FCS playoffs answered, see page 12.

McNeese stu-dent’s happy holiday: Junior Kenyonna Moses wins annual holi-day card contest, see page 3.

Hello, good ‘bye’

David Bush follows blocks on a big gainer.Jonathan Clausen, The Contraband

The Contraband02 December 2 - 6

News

Explaining the Birds and the FeesDavid Ryan PalmerThe Contraband

Athletics: The Big One

As of print time, Bill F13-05, also known as the Athletics Fee, is looking to replace the current Athletic fee of $35 for the spring and summer semester with a rather confusing number: four percent of the previous semes-ter’s tuition and fees.

According to numbers presented at the Nov. 20 Senate meeting by SGA President Da-vante Lewis, the cost would be $101.51 per semester per student if the bill passess. That number would go up or down depending on the number of hours a student decides to take; the $101.51 total assumes a full time status of 12 credit hours.

That number could also climb higher de-pending on actions by the Louisiana State Legislature. Lewis said that it is likely that the Legislature will increase tutition by 10 percent in the fall, which would also increase the size of this fee.

Currently, the fee brings in an estimate yearly income of approximately $470,000; the fee proposal would add in about $841,000.

One question Senators have asked the Stu-dent Athletics Advisory Committee (SAAC), who is sponsoring the bill, is how well the Athletic department could function on a low-ered fee. President Lewis included their re-sponse during his report on Nov. 20.

“While we could accomplish some goals, it would not equip the athletic programs to per-form at the level that we know we are capable of achieving. The department is challenged by the amount of fundraising required, lim-ited recruiting budgets and retention of qual-ity coaches,” they said.

Student Activities Fee: The Surprise

In a move that seems to be aimed at in-creasing the amount of student engagement on campus, President Davante Lewis talked to the Contraband about a Student Activity Fee that is in the pipeline, to the tune of $54 for the spring and summer semester.

This would be in addition to the $10 that the Student Union Board already assesses; Coordinator of Student Activities Kedrick Nicholas said, in no uncertain terms, that he is not against this fee proposal.

“I want to make that absolutely clear. I am in no way against this fee proposal,” he said.

“I do think that other fees may have prior-ity,” he continued.

President Lewis outlined what the $54 a semester would get for the university, which would include a fund to revamp the Holbrook Student Union building (the Old Ranch), as well as fund ‘big entertainment,’ the kind of entertainment that larger universities are able to bring in routinely.

The fee would also bring back a Coordina-tor of Programming position, as well as the creation of an office that Lewis describes as a ‘student ombudsman’ who would be able to be a middleman between students who have concerns, and the university.

The fee would also include money to pay for the McNeese State University Radio sta-tion, 88.3 KBYS.

Senators were not able to have any action on the fee increase during the Nov. 20 meet-ing because the Senate lost quorum, which means too many Senators left the floor dur-ing the meeting.

The Other Guys: Spirit, Band, Rodeo, Theatre, Saftey, Emergency

The Nov. 20 meeting featured a bevy of other fees, all of which are well below the $101.51 Athletics fee or the $54 Student Activities Fee:

- The McNeese State University Band has proposed legislation that would increase their fee from $8 to $13.

- The Spirit Fee, an assessment that goes between the Cowgirl Kickers and the Cheerleading Squad, is requesting an in-crease from $2.50 to $3.50. However, due to a number of irregular items in the admin-istration of the fee, President Lewis has told the Contraband that he will veto this bill if it gets passed unchanged on Dec. 4.

- The Theatre program at McNeese is proposing a bill that would increase its stu-dent assessment from $2 to $4.

- The McNeese Rodeo Club is aiming to pass a bill through the Senate increasing their fee, which currently sits at $4.50 per student. However, the bill presented did not have language indicating how much of an increase they are looking for, and will have to be amended on Dec. 4.

- Chief Robert Spinks presented infor-mation on two bills, one of which would cre-ate an entirely new assessment. That assess-ment, called the Emergency Alert fee, would provide for Spinks’ office to fully impliment an emergency alert system on campus. The other bill, called the Saftey fee, would in-crease the amount of money assessed for the Police department, from $2 to $5 per stu-dent.

There are eight fee proposals scheduled for vote at the Dec. 4 Student Government Association (SGA) meeting. Here’s the breakdown, in three parts:

December 2 - 6 03The Contraband

Morgan AuthementThe Contraband

The Kappa Alpha Order house served gumbo for a cause recent-ly. The fraternity house invited students and community mem-bers alike to share in their cause and have a good meal while as well.

On Thursday, Nov. 21, several Greek organizations hosted a charity event in the Kappa Alpha Order’s fraternity house. The event lasted from 5-8 p.m.

The Kappa Alpha Order, Pi Kap-pa Alpha and Ki Omega served gumbo to collect school supplies for students in need.

“Donate a school supply and get a bowl of gumbo,” said Aaron Myers, the philanthropy chair of the Kappa Alpha Order, who was

in charge of the event.For one school supply volun-

teers got gumbo, a drink and a sweet for desert.

All the supplies that were col-lected went to a school called positive connections.

“It is all about the community. As Greeks, it is all about giving back,” said Patrick Brown, the president of the Kappa Alpha or-der.

The idea for the event came from Andrew Armand, president of Pi Kappa Alpha, explained My-ers.

Armand attended a conference and while he was there he heard about positive connection’s plight. When he got home, he contacted his fellow Greeks be-cause he thought it would make a good philanthropy event to

help the school. The result was gumbo.

The event was open to the en-tire community. Myers explained that the organizations wanted to get as many school supplies as possible. Limiting the event to students only would contradict this purpose.

“I came because I wanted to do something good, and I was hun-gry for gumbo,” Dakota Trauth, an event attendee.

Kappa Alpha did their best to make sure that as many people knew about this event as pos-sible.

“We advertised on the radio and the screens around McNeese, and we were even on the homep-age for portal,” said Myers.

KA charity fills hearts and bellies

Summer Anderson and Andrew Armand, grinning because of the giving.Jonathan Clausen, The Contraband

Special to TheContraband

Kenyonna Moses –a junior with a double major in nursing and art—from Angie, La., has won the annual McNeese Presi-dent’s Holiday Card Contest. Moses’ winning design appears on the front of McNeese’s of-ficial holiday card. She received a $100 McNeese bookstore gift card for her winning card de-sign. Her winning entry - a Mc-Neese Cowboy riding a reindeer through a winter wonderland of blue and gold snowflakes – incorporates both the joy and school spirit of the holidays. The contest was open to all students and entries were reviewed by a panel of judges selected by the Office of the President.

Junior nursing major wins annual Holiday Card Contest

Image of the holiday card.Courtesy McNeese Public Relations


Student life

The Pak-man comethJustin Dufresne, better known

as Retro Pak, had a rare chance given to him by the McNeese State University (McNeese) chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha (The Alphas).

The Alphas hosted their an-nual Alpha Week from Nov. 17-23. In the process they gave the young rapper a chance to get his name out there. That Friday, Nov. 22, Retro Pak performed at the Alpha’s talent show event as part Alpha week.

“I am grateful for the oppor-tunity the Alphas have given me,” said Dufresne.

Dufresne, who does not attend McNeese, heard about the event from his cousin, who does.

“My cousin told me that the Alphas were looking for people to preform at their event. So I sent them a few of my songs and they invited me to rap for them,” said Dufresne.

Dufresne who writes and mix-es his own songs describes his style as more laid back.

“I don’t do gangsta rap. My

style is more like Drake,” he said.

While he prefers not to per-

form gangster rap, he does listen

and draw inspiration from it.

“I like all kinds of rap. My fa-

vorites are Tupac and Biggie,”

said Dufresne.

Dufresne said that he plans on

attending McNeese in the fall, and would like to be involved with as many organizations as possible. He enjoys rapping and would like to offer his service to any organi-zation on campus that needs en-tertainment.

The rapper said that he wants to major in anything music relat-ed. Dufresne said that he would love to have any job in music, but

his dream is to become a profes-

sional rapper.

Other events that the Alphas

hosted during their Alpha week

included a trivia night and the

Miss Black and Gold Scholarship

Pageant.

The Alphas ended the week by

attending the McNeese football

game hosted at Lamar.

Alpha Week winds down with beats and rhymes

Morgan AuthementThe Contraband

I don’t do gangsta rap. My style is more like Drake.Justin ‘Retro Pak’ DufresneRapper, poet, artist

Many students have a dream job they strive for after gradu-ation, but it seems impossible to land it. Career Services at Mc-Neese State University (McNeese) believes they have the solution.

On Nov. 15, a career devel-opment seminar was held. Iberia Bank sponsored the event and provided refreshments.

Don Rivers, an executive re-cruiting firm owner, provided an overview of what it takes to land a dream job.

“Looking for a job should be treated as a full-time job,” ex-plained Rivers.

Rivers stressed the importance of having a well prepared resume is. Without a proper resume, there

is almost no chance to make it to an interview.

“Your resume has to catch re-cruiter’s attention so that you get an interview and then you must look the part,” said Rivers.

It’s not only important to look good on paper, but one must also look good in person. Rivers said that people must pay attention

to all details right down to “spit-

shined shoes.”

Ralynn Castete and Cheryl Bel-

lard of the Career Services Center

provided the sessions “What Can I

Do With This Major?” and “Recep-

tion Etiquette, Resumes, and In-

terviewing.”

Landing the dream job: Career services offered up workshop

Jonathan Clausen / contraband

Pictured is Kourtney Kennedy, named Miss Black and Gold during Alpha Week.


SUB’s ‘Thanksgiving Lunch’ a hit with studentsMorgan AuthementSpecial to The Contraband

McNeese State University (Mc-Neese) students celebrated Thanksgiving early this year thanks to the Student Union Board (SUB).

“We just wanted to give back to the students. We wanted to show them our appreciation,” said Toni Antoine, who was in charge of this SUB event.

Antoine explained that at the beginning of each semester the SUB team meets and plans events. This year the idea of a thanksgiv-ing meal came up. The team liked the idea and stuck with it.

“This was the first time we host-ed an event like this, but I would like to make it an annual event,” said Antoine.

Antoine went on to say that he really enjoyed planning the event and liked the fact that he got a

chance to give back to the stu-dents.

“I want to thank everybody that

came out. I hope they enjoyed it because I surely did,” said An-toine.

“I appreciate the idea of giving students who are not financially stable and can’t make it home the ability to have a thanksgiving dinner with other students,” said Cyrus Vidrine, who attended the event.

Others must have appreciated the effort as well.

“We had over 200 people come,” said Antoine.

The turkey was definitely a hit. Antoine said that it was the first thing they ran out of.

Chartwells catered this event, contributing to its success.

“We appreciate everyone at Chartwells. It’s because of them that everything ran smoothly,” said Antoine.

Megan LandryThe Contraband

A program entitled, “Miley Cyrus, The Blues Brothers, and ‘Cultural Appropriation’” was held by the McNeese State University (McNeese) Philosophy Club. The speech featured McNeese Profes-sor Dr. Johannes “Hanno” Bulhof discussing the legitimacy of “cul-tural appropriation.”

Miley Cyrus is the focus of much of the gossip of today’s me-dia. Dr. Bulhof discussed her and cultural appropriation on Friday, Nov. 15, in Hardtner Hall, Room 128.

He discussed Cryrus’ twerk-ing, which was around 20-30 years before Cryus’ hit. In the dis-cussion, Bulhof also pointed out that, like twerking, almost all the

clothing we wear is from other cultures.

For example, Dr. Bulhof was wearing khakis and a leather jack-et and a number of other things. Khakis were originally created in what is present day Pakistan in the 1860s and were part of the uniform of Indian soldiers fight-ing the British. The British then adopted them as part of their uniform, which led to them being worn after the war.

Later, Americans adopted khakis from the British. His leath-er jacket came from World War II from bomber pilots. There were no heaters for bomber pilots in their planes.

He also talked about the dif-ferent kinds of culture seen in music. He pointed out that, in the past, two people made the same

song, and one sold more copies than the other for one simple rea-son: he was white. These people were Little Richard and Pat Boone. Pat Boone sold much more.

A showing of “The Blues Brothers” followed the lecture. This movie is about Jake Blues. He has just gotten out of prison. To save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised, he puts together his old band using music that was origi-nally created by African American artists.

Students left the discussion with an awareness of how other cultures have been benefitting from things originating from oth-er cultures for years, but at what cost?

Is cultural appropriation always just a form of innovation, or is it

another display of how society blindly follows the trends of ce-lebrities?

Twerking to the jailhouse rock

This turkey turns away as students munch on his cousin.Jonathan Clausen, The Contraband

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Dr. Johannes Bulhof

Philosophy Professor examines the phenomenon of ‘cultural appropriation’


Five tips to survive the end of the semester

Survival mode begins: It’s the first week of December, and time to conquer the end of the fall se-mester; to see the light at the end of the tunnel; to get through fi-nals. To that end, there are health-ier ways to survive finals than pulling an all-nighter. Here are some tips.

Get comfortable. Tight-fitted clothing and attire that has to be put back in

place with every movement dis-tracts students from concentrat-ing. Wear clothes that are flexible so that it is easier to adjust the body and get in a new comfort-able position when studying and taking an exam.

Study breaks are es-sential. Do not try to study day in and day out. Set goals

to study for a set amount of time. Then, take a break to let the brain digest the information. Step away from the study materials and do something relaxing and enjoyable (go for a walk, watch an episode of your favorite show, check so-cial media). But remember to set a length of time to break to be able to continue studying; there will be time for another break after the next study session.

Eat healthy snacks while studying. Pizza, cookies, candy and other junk foods can make stu-

dents tired, “sluggish and lethar-gic.” Junk foods do not sustain long term energy needed to study for things like finals. Instead, choose snacks such as an “apple and peanut butter, carrots or al-monds.” These healthy snacks “keep your body and brain awake and study ready.”

Watch the jitters. For the students who need caf-feine for an extra boost

of energy, take personal notice of caffeine intake. Remember to drink water between cups of cof-fee to stay hydrated.

Remember to actual-ly sleep. One of the most important ways to survive

finals is not to become sleep de-prived. Sleep deprivation during finals week can result in confus-ing, incoherent answers on tests and essays. If it is necessary for a student to study through the night, make sure to take one hour sleep breaks every couple of hours.

Finals week can be stressful for many students. If using some of these tips does not help, the Counseling Center at McNeese State University (McNeese) has counselors available to help stu-dents cope with fatigue, stress, test anxiety and much more. The Counseling Center is located in Holbrook Offices across from the McNeese Post Office and is open Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call 337-475-5136 to sched-ule an appointment.

Katelynn McCartneyThe Contraband

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Five tips to help you fail out of finals

It’s finals time, and you’re being pelted from all directions by good advice on how to pass all your tests. It’s enough to make you crazy. We get it. For a change of pace, how about some bad advice?

Go out with a bang, not a fizzle. Do it big or go home. For starters, don’t even worry about

anything over Thanksgiving break. So what if your night class wants you to write a ten-page essay on some philosophy con-cept, or you have a research pa-per due the week you get back? Just eat your turkey and enjoy your break. That’s what it’s there for, right? Besides, you have three whole days of classes, not to mention dead day (more like sleep until noon day) before fi-nals even start. That’s plenty of time! Besides your five favorite series on Netflix aren’t going to watch themselves, not to men-tion ABC’s 25 days of Christmas started early.

Notes? What are notes? If you got a jump-start on failing and didn’t take notes all semester

(or even go to class) you’re al-ready a step ahead of everyone else. Don’t worry about making flash cards or rewriting those notes you didn’t take to help you remember them; just crank

up your favorite music and scan your notes in between texting your friends about the party you’re going to after finals are over. Studies show that heavy metal is supposed to make you retain what you read anyways.

Preparation scmepa-ration. Whatever you do, don’t go to class prepared;

that’s almost as bad as making flashcards to study or download-ing the study guide-on Moodle the teacher posted that is really close to the exact test. Someone (a person who actually wants to pass their finals) in class is bound to give you a scantron or a pencil to save you. Good stu-dents are always prepared. Feel free to mooch.

Time mismanage-ment is key. Be sure not to be on time for your fi-

nals as well. Being on time is going to really take some effort and make it look like you want to pass your finals, and that’s not the goal here now is it?

Party hardy. You don’t have to party all week and not study, but you can if you want, and

the hangover will definitely help you really fail your finals.

[Note: The Contraband as-sumes no responsibility if read-ers have a hard time understand-ing this was a satire. That’s Darwin a work.]

Athena JohnsonThe Contraband

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December 2- 6 07The ContrabandADHD meds: The study crutch

It’s the day after finals, and your friend or roommate or who-ever – who had been on top of his game the last two weeks and going ninety to nothing studying and preparing – is staring at the wall and looks terrible. You know that look. The after affects of an ADHD drug used wrong: an Adderal zom-bie. Using an ADHD drug to help study is more common in stu-dents than you might think. “About 6.4% of full-time college students age 18-22 take Adderal to help them study,” said Cam-eron Melville, a professor at Mc-Neese State University (McNeese). Some of the latent symptoms of ADHD medications are: drowsi-ness, increased appetite, depres-sion and hunger for a repeat dose of the drug, according to Melville. Christian Jones, a freshman at McNeese, says that he uses his Ad-deral prescription much less now than he did when he was in mid-dle school and high school. “It’s addictive. If you don’t take it you get very frustrated and all over the place. But once I backed off, I became more relaxed and was able to focus without taking it,” said Jones. Jones would take double doses of Adderal on occasions to help when he had to stay up late, and he didn’t want to get off track. It would help a lot, but it would be 5 a.m. the next day, and he would still be wired from the second dose. According to Melville, doing this

could be very bad for a person’s health. “Adderal is a psycho stimulant medication. As the dose increas-es, the risk of cardiac impacts increase, and the addictive and dependence potential also in-creases,” he said.

Adderal is used by those with ADHD to help them be able to focus and concentrate, when it is used correctly. It’s a psycho stimulant like cocaine and is ad-dictive. When a person is coming off of their high, they experience similar withdrawal effects though nothing as serious as the effects of cocaine. “They act maintained, and they seem very aware and alert, and they all claim that it helps them to study. When they are not on it, my friends are like zombies, dead-like, circles under the eyes, tired, heads down, dead to the world,” said freshman Derek Austin. “I don’t think it’s okay to take a prescription to focus to study. If it is that much of a problem, seek some help some other way. To me, it’s not worth it to take a drug,” said Jones.

Athena JohnsonThe Contraband

When they aren’t on it, my friends

are like zombies,

dead like...

Derek AustinMcNeese State University freshman


Arts and EntertainmentSeriously Senior art on display

If you have ever been in Mc-Neese State University (McNeese)’s Shearman Fine Arts Center, you would have noticed the art that is placed up all around the building. An exhibit on display now tempo-rarily adds to this collection. The Fall Senior Exhibition has been on display since Nov. 21 and will con-tinue being displayed until Dec. 12 in the Abercrombie Gallery.

The exhibit features works in graphic design, photography, painting, and sculpting. It is opened Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Ab-ercrombie Gallery is located in Room 125 of the Shearman Fine Arts Center.

There was also a public recep-tion at the opening of the exhibit. It was an excellent opportunity for friends and families of the gradu-

ating seniors to see their work.The student artists whose

works are on display include Brit-tany Buller from Iowa, Allison Cart from Elton, Brittany Castillo from Lake Charles, Nicole Surface from Lake Arthur, Halie David from Lake Charles, Bobby Duncan from Singer, Sarah E. Dupre from Ville Platte, Stacie Fontenot from Eunice, Christella Frelow from Lake Charles, Alex Hoffpauir from Bell City, Kelly Guidry from Lake

Charles, Tracy LeMieux from Lake Charles, Jon Meaux from Lake Charles, Mandy N. Milliron from Opelika, Ala., Cecilia Fatima Mon-roy from Santa Cruz, Boliva, Kasey Prudhomme from Lake Charles, Ryan Rapp from Sulphur, Xavier Rehder from Luling, Kelly K. Royal from Bridge City, Texas, Amber R. Smith from Vinton, Ashlee C. Smith from Arlington, Texas, and LaShayla D. Williams from Lake Charles.

Megan LandryThe Contraband

Ty Soileau: Content to rock outSleep-deprived after a long

day at his nine-to-five, Ty Soileau walked into the coffee shop bleary eyed and silent. Commenting on how tired he was, Soileau bought a cup of coffee and went into the chilled air.

He was obviously cold. He laughed about not owning a jack-et. In the life of an aspiring mu-sician, the struggle is most defi-nitely “real.”

Having attended McNeese

State University for one semester in the fall of 2012, he decided he was more comfortable working a regular job and focusing on his music.

“I told everybody I don’t wan-na end up at the plants…but in all reality, it’s probably for the best,” Soileau said.

Soileau is a realist. He knows that he may have to settle if his dreams don’t pan out. For now, he is content in Lake Charles practic-ing as a bassist for two bands. The first band, a rock group named

Mirages (formerly Mylestone), fea-tures his best friends: lead singer Hayden Bogard, Aaron Bivens on drums, Alec Savoie on lead gui-tar, and – the new addition – Ben Poole, whom Soileau says is an extra guitarist aiding the lead in being able to “move around and stuff.”

Previously, as Mylestone, the band wasn’t on the same pace, but now they are perfectly in sync; Alec will play a riff, the drummer and Ty will follow, meanwhile the lead will search through lyrics on

his phone to match the tune they spontaneously create.

“Almost unreal,” Soileau re-marks on the synchronization of the band.

As The Sky Burns, Soileau’s second band, hails from DeQuin-cy. He joined the band with his Mirages mate Alec, along with a duo of duos: The Poole brothers, Chris on drums, Ben on guitar, and the two Dustins, lead vocalist Dustin Doyle and Dustin Ortego,

Jazmin FarrajContributing Writer

See Music on page 11

December 2 - 6 9The ContrabandLocal bands heat up the night scene during breakMegan LandryThe Contraband

A long break from college is just around the corner. This means no more worrying about waking up for class the next day, so nights can consist of fun activities. One fun activity that Lake Charles has to offer is going to see live bands playing at local nightclubs such as Dharma and Luna Live.

Start off the break by enjoying the music of Hazy Ray on Dec. 13 at Luna Live. Originally from New Orleans, this band is hard to describe with just one genre of music. Their style can be described as a blend of alternative, blues and jazz. The members of Hazy Ray include Patrick Michael Hayes II on the trombone and vocals, Joshua Ray Summey on the guitar and lead vocals, Mitch Curtis on the double bass and vocals, Willie McCullen on the drums and Ryan Noormohommed on the lead guitar.

Then also at Luna Live, on Dec. 14, Marvelous Wonderfuls will be playing. Similar to the Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age, Marvelous Wonderfuls genre of music is hard rock and American underground. Their members formed the band out of the ashes of three local bands from Lake Charles. Members are Jared Paul Flores on the bass, Jake Lavergne on the guitar and Aaron Collins on the drums.

Switching venues, on Dec. 16 at Dharma, Banditos will be playing. Originally from Birmingham, Ala. and now located in Nashville, Tenn., Banditos is a

mix of rock, country, and soul. According to their Facebook page, a genre of “Honky Tonk” is also included. The members of Marvelous Wonderfuls include Timothy Steven Corey Parsons on vocals and the guitar, Stephen Alan Pierce II on vocals and the banjo, Mary Beth Richardson on the vocals and tambourine, Randy Taylor Wade on the percussion, Jeffery Daniel Vines on the upright bass and Jeffery David Salter on

the electric guitar and lap steel.Also at Dharma, on Dec. 17,

William Christian will be playing. With genres of jazz, R&B and soul, William Christian is not a band but a man who plays popular sounds on his saxophone. He was originally from Orange, Texas and now lives in Lake Charles. He is also a member of Street Side Jazz Band, which is also playing over the break.

Switching back to the venue of

Luna Live, Ashes of Babylon will be playing on Dec. 20. Originally from Lake Charles but currently located in Austin, Texas, Ashes of Babylon are influenced by Sizzla, Steel Pulse and Warrior King. With a blend of jazz, R&B, hip-hop and funk, the band has a solid reggae core. On their REVERBNATION profile, just the member’s first names are stated. This includes Corey on the vocals, guitar and baritone, Beau on the guitar and the vocals, Eric on the bass, Max on the trumpet, Sam on the alto sax, Dan on the drums, Debo on the tenor sax, vocals and guitar and Scotty on the keys and vocals.

On Dec. 27, both venues are holding events. At Dharma, Certain Satellites, Bobcat, and Rootbeer and Mermentau will be playing. Certain Satellites, located in Lake Charles, has a genre of alternative, new wave, and funk-core. Bobcat, also located in Lake Charles, has a genre of rock, indie, indie rock and pop.

Also on Dec. 27, Snydley Whiplash will be playing at Luna Live. This band plays covers of music spanning from the 60s to today. Classic rock, country and blues is this band’s genre. Members include Brian Perkins on the lead vocals, harmonica and congas, Todd Capes on drums and vocals, Brook Miller on the rhythm guitar and vocals, Barry Blomberg on the bass guitar and vocals and Tim Tyszka on the lead guitar and vocals.

Also at Luna Live, the Flamethrowers will be playing on Dec. 28. Originally from Baton Rouge, their genre of music is rock and roll.

Courtesy, flamethrowersrock.com

Courtesy, Bobcat

10 December 2 - 6 The ContrabandHome for the holidaysMegan LandryThe Contraband

If only getting home was as easy as clicking your heels together and saying “there’s no place like home.” Unfortunately, this is not Oz, so getting home is not that easy. This is especially true for the international students at McNeese State University (McNeese).

There are students from all over the world attending McNeese. With the winter break approaching, it is a time to be with family and friends and celebrate whichever holiday it is that you celebrate. But what do these international students do? Some of them go home, but some of them cannot afford the high costs of flights.

Addi Kiptoo is one international student that must spend his break in Lake Charles. Originally from Eldoret, Kenya, Kiptoo cannot afford the $2,000 flight ticket. Instead, he spends his holiday in his “home away from home” by visiting his friends from Africa.

Kiptoo said, “I am disappointed because I can’t get to see my parents and family. They miss me, and I miss them.”

Some students even left McNeese as early as before Thanksgiving break. They had a reason though. Oliver James, a runner for McNeese, went home to Sunderland, England to participate in a race at the end of November. A few others who run for McNeese also went home early for the race.

On going home so early, James said, “It’s good to go home and see your family and friends from home, but you’re away from your friends at college for ages as well.”

Ignore your dress, enjoy the dressing

The fall and winter seasons have people divided between either loving or hating cold weather. For some, it means comfy sweaters and boots, while for others it means having to give up their favorite flip flops for a few months. Either way you look at it though, the cold weather means the holidays are here, and fun days with friends and family are ahead. No matter what your style is though, being around those you love is the best accessory.

Family gatherings are also a time that you can get gift ideas for your family. Based on what everyone is wearing, you can get a fairly good idea of what they like to wear. Plus, their outfits could also tell you if they are in need of something new. If Aunt D has on a pair of boots that are starting

to fall apart, maybe you could get her a new pair for Christmas. Or, if Uncle Joe has had the same coat for one hundred years, try to find a family member or two that would pitch in with you to get him a new one.

Your family may have all that they need, but countless others do not. Perhaps consider donating winter clothes that no longer fit to a local shelter for other families to have something to stay warm this year. No matter what you do, whether it be for your own family or someone else’s, remember to do it with love.

No matter where you spend this holiday season, I hope it will be with people you love, whether it be family or a group of friends that are your family. The people around you are what matter and not what brands of clothing everyone is wearing.

We all know that one person that has to have the latest trendy

outfit on, and even though it rubs you the wrong way, you’re still a little happy to see them. Or, we all can name a person that dresses in holiday colors such as reds and browns at Thanksgiving, just in case you forgot what holiday was being celebrated. Whether you’re wearing a brand new outfit that you bought special for the holiday gatherings or if you will be in everyday jeans and a t-shirt, try to focus less on what your appearance is and enjoy the precious time with those that love you no matter what you have on.

Wherever you find yourself this holiday season, I hope it will be with the ones you love and you will have memories to last a life time. Look around and think about the things you have. It could be a little or it could be a lot. Either way, I hope it brings a smile to your face. Stay warm and have a wonderful holiday.

Tori HebertThe Contraband

Grade lies common among students

The teacher is walking around the room passing back those papers that you just wrote. As the papers get placed on desks you look around trying to get a look at others’ papers to see how your grade compares to the oth-ers around the room. After class a group of your friends walk up to you asking about your grade. Do you tell them what you got or do you lie?If you are like 26% of students in the Midwest… you lie. According to research con-ducted by Dr. Nakia Welch and Ryan Bisel in “Deceptive Grade Discussion Among Students” students are lying to each other about the grades they receive.

Through their research they noticed that it is not only the students that get worse grades than their friends that lie, it is also friends that got better scores than their friends that lie as well.The research found that people with grades on both sides of the spectrum lie about the grade that they receive in order to save themselves or their friends from humiliation. The reason for this is a con-cept known as face work. Face work is the communicative strategies involved in upholding face, or social prestige. It is the idea that in order to save face you lie about your grade in order to save yourself from embarrass-ment. While the idea of lying about your grade in order to save face

seems innocent enough, it is actually potentially damaging. When you lie about the grades that you receive in a class you change the perception of grade distribution in that class. If you lower your grade to help save your friends face you give the perception that the teacher does not give A’s and is really hard. On the contrary if you say you have a higher grade than you actually do it could hurt the es-teem of a classmate that thinks they are the only one to receive a poor grade.So how do we prevent this grade inflation from damaging the classroom dynamic? The first and easiest solution is to stop lying about the grade you got. If you don’t want to share your real grade, keep it to yourself.

Corey GreineisenThe Contraband

The Contraband December 2 - 6 11

the “screamer.” Another Chris

(this time Chris Burge) rounds

out the band as a second guitar-

ist, along with Soileau on guitar

and Alec as a synthesizer and key-

boardist.

Soileau was never a fan of

metalcore music – until a fateful

Vans Warped Tour experience

where he found himself snug-

gling into a pit full of scream-

ing, hardcore fans. Soileau now

understands the hype.Tagging along with Alec on

trips to visit As The Sky Burns members, Soileau watched the band and slowly became a pas-sionate fan, while Alec practiced with the band as a then “tempo-rary” member.

It was then that they decided to take it to the next step. After talking it over with Alec in pri-vate, they decided to officially ask the group practice organizer, Chris Poole, if they could become permanent members.

Of course, they would have to split time between Mirages and As The Sky Burns. Poole was elated to find out that Soileau and Alec craved the As the Sky Burns experience.

Now, spending equal energy on both bands, Soileau is content to keep practicing while snatch-ing up any opportunity to play a show.

Someday he plans on moving to either Austin, Texas, or Seattle, Washington, as the music scene is much larger and “cooler,” but

for now he’s absolutely fine with his friends, his job and his eclec-tic interest in music ranging from Katy Perry and Justin Timberlake to Frank Turner (folk-rock artist), Mumford & Son’s and Flogging Molly (Celtic punk band).

Check out Mirages on Twitter:

@Miragesband, Soundcloud at

soundcloud.com/hayden-helms,

Facebook at facebook.com/mi-

ragesband and As the Sky Burns

on Facebook at facebook.com/

ATSBradio and on their Youtube

channel ATSBradio.

Music from page 08

Christmas is arguably one of most celebrated holidays in Amer-ica. However, there are some that choose to not participate. For them, Christmas itself has be-come a lie.

“When is it okay to lie to our children?” asked Adam Harris, a student at McNeese.

Harris doesn’t like Christmas, not because of a bad memory or because of his religious views. He views the holiday as one big lie to tell our children, and he doesn’t believe that is right.

“To me, it’s an all out lie. I mean, lying to your children about a fictitious character that doesn’t exist. Why would you do that?” Harris said.

Harris admits that as a child he did celebrate Christmas, but he

is now on a mission to find truth

and to embrace it.

“The truth is Santa does not

exist. He is a fictional character that is made up. It’s deceptive. We have our children believe that some man is going to show up, come down the chimney and break in our house and leave us gift, and when in reality, the mother and the father, because they love the child, have put the gifts to the side and done this for the child,” said Harris, “It takes away credit from the parents and has the children look forward to this fictitious character.”

The character of Santa creates fear in children, a fear that if they aren’t good they won’t get any-thing for Christmas, which is, ac-cording to Harris, a form of brib-ery. Also, he said that children end up distrusting their parents when they are older because they were lied to for no good reason.

“The lie of Santa existing, the

lie that it’s Jesus’s birthday, the pagan origins and the truth is this creates distrust in our children,” said Harris.

In Harris’s household, he and his son celebrate Hanukkah in lieu of Christmas because of his choice of religion though when they go to his mother’s house, it’s completely different.

“My mother loves Christmas,” said Harris.

According to Harris, the two different holidays celebrated in his family was weird at first, but they were able to overcome it, and his son gets to celebrate both holi-days.

“I really don’t want this to come across as a religions thing. It’s really a trust and psychologi-cal thing about the children. It’s never okay to lie to your chil-dren,” said Harris.

A different perspective: Is Christmas a lie?Athena JohnsonThe Contraband

The truth is, Santa does not exist.Adam HarrisGrinch, or not?


The new ‘Geaux Pokes:’ Cowboy DynastyThe Robertson Family, better

known as the cast of “Duck Dynas-ty” has started a trend bigger than they could have imagined. Almost anywhere you go, you can almost expect there to be a display of all things duck related.

That also includes the campus bookstore. A new McNeese shirt showcases a silhouette of what appears to be the face of one of the now famous bearded men. The face is wearing a bandana that reads “Cowboy Dynasty.” While the shirt displays school spirit with McNeese’s colors blue and gold, all Cowboy meaning is lost when the focus is put on a family

that are longtime supporters of a

different Louisiana campus.

Monroe, La., is home to the

University of Louisiana at Mon-

roe (ULM). The students and fans

of ULM are use to seeing at least

one face from the “Duck Dynasty”

crew. The original duck man Phil

Robertson is an alumni of Loui-

siana Tech. For that reason, it

would make sense that a popular

item for ULM/LA Tech goers would

have a reference to the duck men.

How do the men relate to McNeese

though? The easy answer is that

they don’t.

Student Government Associa-

tion President Davante Lewis feels

that, “It would be different if they

lived here and had a very success-

ful business in Lake Charles, but

they don’t.”

The bookstore came up with

the idea for the “Cowboy Dynas-

ty” shirt after seeing the design

from Front Row Sports. Wendy

Miles of the bookstore said, “The

design sold well at other universi-

ties, and I felt that because of the

“Duck Dynasty” craze, it would be

a hit on our campus as well.”

The shirts went on in the early

part of November and only sold

8 shirts in two weeks. The sales

clearly were not what the book-

store hoped or expected. This

could be for a number of reasons,

but the main factor is perhaps that

the McNeese student body is still

a fan of the show but are ready to

see something new and McNeese

or Lake Charles related on cloth-

ing racks.

Freshman Hannah Goodwin

says, “Some places may go a little

overboard with the “Duck Dynas-

ty” stuff, but I don’t mind.”

The bookstore obviously

didn’t cross the line with their

idea but perhaps a local phenome-

non or just another McNeese spir-

it shirt would have been better.

Senior Andrew Maust thinks that,

“Anything gets old after a while.”

No one can blame the bookstore

for trying to promote a design

that is still fairly popular.

Tori HebertThe Contraband

XBox One vs Playstation 4 in The Battle for Your Wallet

The holiday season is upon us; however, this year is special. It’s the beginning of a new con-sole cycle. Fanboys and girls are throwing out their old Playstation 3s and XBox 360s, and are looking at the next generation. So how do they stack up?

Playstation 4Sony’s console is focused pri-

marily on gaming. It has been com-pletely redesigned from the inside and out, but mostly it is the faster eight-core processor and graph-ics that make this an upgrade from the previous PS3. Graphics are killer on games like “Killzone” and “Call of Duty.” Many in-depth reviews of the system point to the graphics being slightly better on the PS4 than the Xbox One.

Sony also has a new DualShock

controller with a touchpad for

swiping and better built-in speak-

ers to enhance the game play.

Sony also sells the $60 Playstation

Camera, which adds augmented

reality features to some games.

However, it’s not as useful as the

Xbox One Kinect camera features.

Beyond the games, Playstation

offers new social gaming features

and Internet streaming services,

like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu

Plus.

It is the cheaper of the two

systems: It costs $400 with one

controller. Adding another con-

troller costs $60.

Xbox One

Microsoft wants the Xbox One

to be the one system in your living

room. It goes way beyond gaming.

The One has recieved similar

hardware improvements. It also

has an eight-core processor and

new graphics card, which serves

up crystal clear graphics with

great detail.

But with the Xbox you have

more ways to control the system.

There is a new controller, but also

the new Kinect that brings voice

command support and motion

control to the system. In specific

games you can use your hands to

move around or even jump into

the game with games like “Xbox

Fitness.”

The Xbox is really about a lot

more than gaming. You can hook

your cable box to the machine and

then see your entire TV guide.

You can tell the Xbox to change

channels by just saying the name

of the channel outloud -- for in-

stance, “Xbox Watch ABC.” There

is also access to tons of streaming

services, including Amazon, Hulu,

YouTube, Netflix and Xbox Mov-

ies. Microsoft has also nicely in-

tegrated its own services, includ-

ing Skype for video calling and

Internet Explorer so you can pull

up websites or videos right on the

big screen.

The Xbox costs $500 and in-

cludes the Kinect and a control-

ler in the box. An extra controller

costs $60.

The Verdict

So what do you want out of

your system? “I chose a PS4 be-

cause I want it for the gaming,”

states Cyrus Vidrine, a junior at

McNeese.

If you want that all-in-one me-

dia system Xbox may be right for

you, but if you are like Cyrus and

want to focus on gaming the PS4

is a better outlet.

Corey GreineisenThe Contraband

SportsFCS football playoff structure and tournament bracket

The Division I Football Champi-onship features a 24 team playoff. The top teams in 11 conferences au-tomatically qualify while the other 13 teams are selected at-large by the Division I Football Championship Committee. The top-eight seeded teams get a bye in the first round. Whichever team is ranked as the nine seed will play the 24 seed. The ten seed will take on the 23 seed. This continues down the line.

The playoffs start on Nov. 30, and McNeese is ranked sixth right now. If McNeese wins this week and there are no major upsets, McNeese will get a bye. The other 16 teams will play. The victors will move on to play the teams that received a bye.

The teams with the bye will play the victors at home. According to the Sportsnetwork.com Division I Bracket Projection, McNeese could play Montana or South Dakota State in the second round.

This trend continues through-out the rest of the tournament. The quarterfinals will take place on Dec. 13 or 14. On Dec. 20 or 21, the four remaining teams will play in the semifinals. Locations for these games depend on the teams that win.

The Division I Football Champi-ons will be decided in Frisco, Texas on Jan. 4, 2014. The game will be played in Toyota Stadium to a sold out crowd. Cheer on our Cowboys as they play their hearts out and at-tempt to reach this attainable goal.

Hannah PhilleyThe Contraband

Courtesy of WWW.NCAA.COM

14 December 2 - 6 The Contraband

Cody Stroud honored as the Athlete of the Semester

Senior Cody Stroud closed out the regular season with 2680 passing yards and a single-season record 27 touchdown passes. At the helm of the powerful McNeese offense, Stroud led the Pokes to a 10-2 overall record this season. The team has scored 510 total points over the course of the year, including five games with over 50 points.

“Cody has had had an out-standing year,” McNeese head coach Matt Viator said. “Not only in his performance, but also in his leadership. He has done every-thing you expect a senior QB to do.”

The Cowboys victory over La-mar on Nov. 23 marked the 17th

consecutive game in which Stroud has thrown for a touchdown. Over the course of the season Stroud has connected with 10 different receivers for scoring strikes. His top target has been senior Dion-tae Spencer who has snagged nine touchdown passes. Senior Ernest Celestie and junior Nic Jacobs have both tallied four touchdown receptions.

Stroud has averaged throwing for 223.33 yards per game and only thrown fiver interceptions all season. In only one game did Stroud throw for under 100 yards – the loss to Southeastern Loui-siana in early November. Stroud found the endzone five times ver-sus West Alabama and four times against Northwestern State.

McNeese has put together an

outstanding season as is, but the playoffs have yet to be played. At the beginning of the season the Cowboys had their eyes on an Southland Conference (SLC) Championship and their SLC re-cord 15th playoff appearance. The Pokes fell just short of their Championship aspirations but are going to the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

McNeese got selected as the no. 6 seed for the 2013 playoffs. Stroud will lead the Pokes back on to the field on Dec. 7 as McNeese plays host to either Samford or Jacksonville State.

“[I am] excited [about] being back in the playoffs and getting the no. 6 seed,” Viator said. “I know the players are very excit-ed.”

Jacob TroutmanThe Contraband

Turf Wars: The injury implications of field surfaces

Injuries are bound to happen in any sport no matter the play-ing surface. Courts are typically made of wood or concrete and are basically have the same-re-lated injuries. Turf and grass are used on most football and soccer fields now, and some baseball and softball fields use it. The question is are some injuries di-rectly related to the playing sur-face. Turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. There are many different

types and ways it is applied to where the games will be played. Several sources say that it is hard to tell whether turf causes more injuries because there are so many types. There are also different factors that play into each person’s situation, such as age, type of shoes, previous in-jury, or rehabilitation. If the turf is frozen and some-one’s head hits it hard enough, there is a significant difference. The abrasiveness of the syn-thetic turf does seem to effect “grass burns” by causing more abrasions, but it also seems to

be dependent on the composi-tion and shape of the turf fibers. According to an article by ath-letic trainer Justin Shaginaw, re-search has shown that the more traction you have on the field, there is a higher risk for injury. People assume that the turf has more traction and there will be more injuries on turf. In the same article, Shaginaw informs us that looking at stud-ies of injuries from 2011 there seems to be more incidences of ankle injuries on turf fields in football and soccer. In 2012, they looked at football injuries in the

NCAA and an increased risk of ACL injuries appeared. The same results seemed to show up for an amateur soccer team from Por-tugal when injuries increased on the turf fields as compared to the training on normal grass. A brighter outlook is that there is a new kind of turf called Field-Turf, and the risk of injuries has decreased in teams using this type of turf. No matter the playing sur-face, injuries are going to hap-pen. Teams need to take all pre-cautions possible and try all that they can to prevent injuries.


The McNeese men’s and women’s basketball teams each add a win and a loss to their re-cord for the season. The men at-tended the NIT Season Tip-Off, and the women played Rice and Texas Southern.

The men travelled to Tus-caloosa, Alabama to try to win their first game in the opening round of the NIT Season Tip-Off. In the last five minutes of the first half, McNeese could not make up for the 19-3 run that Georgia State made. Led-rick Eackles and Keelan Garrett were the only two scorers for McNeese that hit double digits with 17 points for Eackles and a career-high 14 for Garrett. Kevin Hardy led the team with seven rebounds and also helped out with eight assists. McNeese only turned the ball over 11 times, but they only connected 38 per-cent from the field as compared to Georgia State’s 56. The Cow-boys’ basketball team fell 96-70.

The Cowboys got their act together to pull out a victory against Stillman College. Five McNeese men scored in the dou-ble digits. Leading the pack was Craig McFerrin scoring a career-high 20 points. Eackles scored two less than McFerrin with 18. Hardy and Garrett scored 13 points each. Jamaya Burr scored 13 points also, setting a new ca-reer-best. 36 points in the game were in front of the three-point line. The final score was 81-72.

Rice’s first loss of the sea-son came at the hands of the McNeese Cowgirls with a final score of 65-54. Three Cowgirls scored in the double digits. Al-

lison Bagget led the trio with 19 points. Bagget was followed by NeTanya Jones with 14 and Jayln Johnson scored 10.Cecillia Okoye grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds with 15 of those com-ing from the defensive end of the court.

Though the Cowgirls played well against Rice, the same did not hold true for the game against Texas Southern. Head Coach Williams knew this was going to be a tough game. The closest the Cowgirls came to closing the gap was three points, but they could not keep up with their opponents. Baggett scored in the double digits with 18 points. Baggett was followed by Okoye with 15 and Alaina Verdin with 11. Jones led the defense

in rebounds with 10. The final score was 71-55.

The NIT Season Tip-Off con-tinues as the McNeese men will take on East Carolina Univer-sity in Greenville, NC at 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 25. They will take another trip up to Kings-ton, RI to take on the Universi-ty of Rhode Island on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 6:30 p.m. to con-clude their run in the Tip-Off.

The Cowgirls will be on the road again as they take on Fair-leigh Dickinson Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 1 p.m. in Teaneck, NJ. The Cowgirls will stay on the road and take the short trip to Brooklyn, New York to participate in the LIU Brooklyn Turkey Classic Friday, Nov. 29 – Saturday, Nov. 30.


Men’s and women’s basketball seasons tip offHannah PhilleyThe Contraband

Johnathan Clausen, the contrabandJayln Johnson dribbles past defender for chance to score.

scored over the course of a season, with 510. The team posted their 10th win of the 2013 season, the most since the 2007 season, while head coach Matt Viator registered his 62nd career victory. The sixth seeded Cowboys take to the field once more on Dec. 7. The Pokes will play host to the winner of the Samford – Jacksonville State game. “I know the players are ex-cited [about] being back in the playoffs and getting the no. 6 seed,” McNeese head coach Matt Viator said. “I don’t know a whole lot about either team but did see some film on Samford early in the year against Southeastern Louisiana.”

Football from page 01

16 December 2 - 6 The Contraband

Finding Rudy: The unsung heroes of McNeese athleticsNeTanya Jones over-comes obstacles to contribute to Cowgirls’ success.


Every athlete has an obstacle to overcome. For some, it is their fear at the plate when they go up to bat. For another it may be over-coming their height difference in a game that requires someone to be tall. Then, there are those that have personal obstacles, such as self-consciousness or living up to a family member’s expectations. The main thing that keeps an ath-lete going is their heart for the sport, but they have to remember where they came from. This week’s unsung hero, se-nior Cowgirl basketball player Ne-tanya Jones, fits every single one of those qualities. Jones has had to overcome per-sonal adversity as well as keep her eyes on the prize. All the while she remembers where she came from and gives back when-ever she can. In her young life, Ne-tanya suffered a tough loss when her cousin passed away from lu-pus recently. Jones suffered physical pain when she was injured during her sophomore year at McNeese. Ac-cording to Head Coach Brooks Donald-Williams, Netanya has kept her family and her hometown above all else even in the face of misfortunes. Jones has a heart for her family and service to her com-munity. Netanya has been known to vol-unteer the team for various com-

munity service opportunities in Lake Charles as well as Oakdale, La. “Tan is a huge part of her Oak-dale community. She gives back in any way that she can. She has gone back for numerous commu-nity service activities and truly has a light in her eye for her Oak-dale citizens,” says Coach Donald-Williams. Coach Donald-Williams de-scribes Jones as a special, person-able and classy gal. Jones’ coach proceeded to say that Jones is thoughtful, caring, assertive and a leader. Netanya is also described as unselfish and is respected by

her team because of it. Coach Donald-Williams even went as far as to call her an old soul. “You never see her without her pearls on… She loves family, her teammates, church, zydeco, cowboy boots and horses,” says Coach Donald-Williams. Netanya is in her final season as a Cowgirl. Her coach seems to think that they will be losing a crucial part of the program. Jones’ loyal-ty to the team is impressive. Though she has not played many minutes in her career, she has selflessly waited her turn with a positive attitude and remained completely loyal to the Cowgirl

brand. Athletes typically leave teams when they have to sit on the bench for longer than they think they de-serve. For an athlete to stick it out until their senior year after sit-ting on the bench is like finding the purest diamond in a diamond mine. It takes real heart to sit on the bench for games at a time but train and work out with the team like a starter has to. Leading from the sidelines is difficult to do also. “She has been such an impact-ful person in our program…We will lose an incredible heart and soul of our Cowgirl program. Tan is an ambassador for our program because of her morals, values and character, and we will miss her leadership terribly,” says Coach Donald-Williams. Netanya has been a part of the Cowgirls basketball squad each of her four years at McNeese. She spent a lot of time on the bench early in her career as a Cowgirl, playing in only nine games her freshman year. Jones also missed the first six games her sophomore year due to an injury, but she came back and played in 23 games. During her junior year, Jones started in her first two games and stepped foot on the court in 34. After all this young woman has been through, she will definitely be going far in life. Coach Donald-Williams said, “I’ve never really seen a young person so mature and considerate about others. She is the definition of a teammate. She’s a coach’s dream and a winner in every sense of the word.”

Jones enters the court before a game.Jonathan Clausen, The Contraband

vol 75 iss 12

Documents

final drive

regular season

pokes offense

final minutes of play

final home game

final minute of play

number of hours

mcneese community