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a part of history in the making. to Page 5 to see what is in the running.

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Volume 85 The student voice of Louisiana Tech University Number 16

Moving forward
On-campus construction progresses
Zach Beaird
STAFF REPORTER
The hammering, sawing,
drilling and noise in general will
soon come to an end in some
parts of campus. Winter quater
has been full of construction
around Tech’s campus, and
some of the fruits of that labor
will be seen in the spring.
Enterprise Center
The first installment to Enter-
prise Campus, Tech Pointe, con-
tinues to see progress as
construction moves outward to
begin work on other buildings in
the research park.
Les Guice, vice president for
research and development, said
there has been a lot of progress
made on the new building since
the beginning of the quarter, and
construction is expected to be
completed by April or May in
order for the building to be op-
erational by May or June.
“We have already bought
some of the laboratory equip-
ment that will be housed in the
building and temporarily set it
up in another location,” Guice
said. “Also, there are several
companies that are planning to
move in and other companies
are asking if we have space
available. So, we are ready to
get it opened.”
In addition to the construc-
tion on the building, Guice said
progress continues with con-
struction on several streets
around the building as well.
“The city is working with us
to phase in the street work so
that we have minimal disrup-
tions for our students, faculty
and staff,” Guice said. “We will
see parts of Louisiana Avenue
open up around Feb. 17, and
they are projecting finishing the
Homer Street corridor project in
September or October.”
Wednesday, the new business
building was dedicated.
McAlister’s
Construction in Tolliver Hall
will begin wrapping up in the
next couple of weeks as McAl-
ister’s Deli prepares for its grand
opening.
The newest addition to cam-
pus dining will offer many of the
restaurant’s favorites including
sandwiches, soups, baked pota-
toes, cookies and sweet tea.
Crystal Berry, marketing co-
ordinator for Aramark, said
McAlister’s should be opening in
the second or third week of
March.
“We’ll have a soft opening the
first week to work out any issues,
then the next week we will have
a grand opening,” Berry said.
“There will be giveaways like
cookies and tea for the first cou-
ple of days after the grand open-
ing.”
Right now, she said, some of
the final preparations are being
made to the eatery as construc-
tion begins winding down.
“We’ve begun jobs such as
Photo by Ben Corda
training employees and ordering
equipment for the kitchen,” Construction work at the Enterprise Center continues as the next building in Enterprise
Berry said. “It’s all beginning to Campus, the College of Business building, was dedicated Wednesday. The buildings are
come together as we get closer expected to begin construction during spring quarter.
to opening.”
recreational activities, said the have different crews working on off due to construction.
Intramural Center hardest phase of construction, different things at once now that He said this will provide a lot
which was the in-ground work the pools are in. This will espe- more space for students coming
With its opening set for July, involved with installing the pools, cially be true once the roof is fin- to the intramural center.
work on the indoor and outdoor is now complete. ished so weather won’t be a “We’re excited to finish up
pools at the Maxie Lambright “The pools are in, so students concern anymore.” this summer,” Dowling said. “I
Intramural Sports Center con- will begin seeing steel going up,” Dowling said another phase think everyone will be impressed
tinue after seeing much progress Dowling said. “Everything from of construction that is set to when they come back in the fall.”
since the beginning of the here is up, and construction begin soon is the paving of the
school year. should begin moving much gravel lot and areas next to the E-mail comments to zcb001@lat-
Bobby Dowling, director of more quickly because we can pools that are currently closed ech.edu.

Tolliver Hall will be open 24-hours during finals’ week Improvements to

Staff Report they agreed.”
city sidewalks
EDITORIAL STAFF
LaFleur said Tolliver presents the perfect environment for late-night
studying students.
“It’s safe, well-lit, has bathrooms, WiFi and Aramark will even provide
scheduled
Roommate being too loud while you are studying for finals? Tired of not free coffee after Java City closes at 10 p.m.,” she said.
having a place to pull that all-nighter? Tolliver will be open 24 hours starting Monday and will stay that way Amber Guyotte
The Student Government Association has arranged for Tolliver Hall to until campus closes for the quarter Thursday at 2 p.m.
be open 24 hours during finals’ week. The free coffee will be self-serve and Tech police personnel will be pa- COPY EDITOR
SGA president Emily LaFleur said the idea came from the students’ in- trolling the area.
quiries about Tolliver’s closing time. The stores within Tolliver will maintain the same hours despite the Improvements in city safety and street
“We’ve wondered this, and students have expressed that Tolliver Hall change for finals. connections for pedestrians are underway as
should be open 24 hours at least during finals,” she said. “We asked the ad- the City of Ruston aims to repair and install
ministration and Tech police personnel to help us try this experiment, and E-mail comments to techtalk@latech.edu. sidewalks throughout the city.
The Public Works department has as-
sessed the roads and sidewalks in the city to
see which sidewalks need repairs and where

Cold weather causes classroom chaos
Mary Timmons
STAFF REPORTER
With winter quarter coming
to a close for some, chaos swirls
around campus as students
begin to cram for tests and
make up for canceled classes
due to inclement weather.
So far this quarter, classes
have been dismissed at 3 p.m.
Feb. 3 and Feb. 9. Classes were
cancelled all day Jan. 10, Feb. 4
and Feb. 10.
With the recent school can-
cellations, students have had to
adjust their schedules.
Taylor Register, a sopho-
more construction engineering
major, said he tries to study
once a week with friends.
“Actually the ice days helped
because I got a few extra days
to study for my tests, which
were scheduled for those days,”
he said.
Register is not the only stu-
dent who benefitted from the
closures.
Photos by Jessica Van Alstyne
Top:
The Lady of the Mist was kept running
during the harsh winter conditions. Frog
ice sculptures were left on the fountain.
Center:
Can’t crack this code? Tech students
were surprised with harsh weather condi-
tions this season and found it difficult to
get moving after the freeze especially
those with bikes.
Far right:
Although this winter brought harsh
weather conditions, the campus glittered
with the crystals it left behind.
Caroline Smalling, a fresh-
men English major, said the
cancellations have started to af-
fect her grades in school.
“This has affected me greatly
because instead of getting more
time to complete assignments
and complete exams, teachers
have instead kept the due dates
the same and crammed every-
thing together but never moved
the test,” Smalling said. “One of
my professors even had our les-
sons over YouTube.”
For some students, the can-
cellations didn’t affect their orig-
inal schedules at all.
Vallerie Ducharme, a fresh-
man biology major, said the
classes being cancelled did not
affect her.
“I loved the classes being
cancelled,” Ducharme said. “I
was pretty excited because I
had extensions on certain class
assignments. For other assign-
ments the dates were not
changed, so the ice days really
didn’t change them at all.”
While some were pleased
with the days off, others felt that
it was unnecessary.
Mamie Moses, a graduate
student in psychology, said she
takes one night class once a
week.
“These school closures have
affected me greatly, because
I’ve missed my night class twice
now,” Moses said. “Usually we
cover several lectures. Now be-
cause of our snow days, we
have to get more material out of
the way before the quarter
ends.”
While students get ready for
regular exams and finals, teach-
ers have adjusted their calen-
dars in order to finish on time.
“The teachers are really the
ones who had to cram and
change their schedule,” Register
said. “Several of my teachers
have had to postpone due dates
and re-route their original syl-
labus in order to finish the
needed material on time.”
E-mail comments to mnt005@lat-
ech.edu.
sidewalk installations are most needed.
John Freeman, City of Ruston construc-
tion projects supervisor, said his team evalu-
ated the locations of existing sidewalks.
“The first thing I want to know is—does
this street have sidewalks on it?” Freeman
said.
“Some places we found, there are gaps.”
Lori Faile, city development services
manager, said citizens have brought the need
for sidewalks and connectivity to the atten-
tion of city officials, in addition to the city
evaluations.
Richard Aillet, City of Ruston director of
engineering services, said people still walk
as a means of getting around town like they
did when the city was founded, when the ve-
hicle was not a predominant mode of travel.
“When the city was first laid out and
started being built, they did it with side-
walks,” Aillet said. “Where the city was first
conjured up is where the sidewalks were.
Now, as we move forward we recognize that.
So, in our ordinances we’ve recognized the
need for pedestrian safety and pedestrian
sidewalks. It’s a safety issue, a community
development issue and a quality of life
issue.”
He said people are letting them know
where sidewalks need to be as his team fig-
ures it out as well, but limitations do exist.
“I wish we could build sidewalks every-
where somebody thinks they need to be, but
sometimes there are physical limitations and
certainly a dollar limitation,” Aillet said.
“We’re trying to do it where they most need
to be—some of the places we think are log-
ical places to put them like trying to get
[pedestrian] traffic up and down Highway
167. In the future, we want to make sure that
we can get foot traffic up there on Kentucky
Avenue and Commerce Street. There’s a lot
of foot traffic between the southeast part of
Ruston and the hospital areas.”
Aillet added that it is difficult to say what
they are planning to do because some issues
are a matter of opportunity and availability
of funds.
“There are different funding streams that
come up,” he said. “Some of these things can
be the department of transportation and de-
velopment projects, tax instrument district
funding or sales tax funding. Some people
want to do private development, so we duck-
tail along with that.”
He also said some highways belong to the
> see SIDEWALK page 6
2 • The Tech Talk • February 17, 2011

Campus Mixed Signals

Briefs
Greek Week 2011 to
be held March 20-25
Greek Week 2011 will be
held from 10 a.m. March 20 to
10 p.m. March 25.
The competition will include
fraternities from the Interfrater-
nity Council and sororities from
National Panhellenic Council
and National Pan-Hellenic
Council.
Sign-up packets will be re-
leased to the chapters within a
couple of weeks.
The games will include a
hotdog-eating contest, volley-
ball, flag football, a scavenger
hunt, and there will also be a
week long Lifeshare blood drive.
Times and locations for the
games will be announced as the
event approaches.
For more information con-
tact Alex Bellone, president of
Panhellenic Council at
arb028@latech.edu or 318-257-
3479.
Dates for blindness
conference set
The seventh annual “Cradle
to Career: the ABC’s of Blind-
ness” is set for April 7-8 at the
Holiday Inn West in Shreveport.
The conference is for profes-
sionals, parents and Tech stu-
dents interested in teaching
blind/visually-impaired children.
Those interested can pre-
register for the event at
www.nfbla.org. Otherwise, regis-
tration will be available at the
door of the conference.
Pre-registration will cost $20
while on-site registration will
cost $25.
For more information con-
tact Tech’s Professional Devel-
opment and Research Institute
on Blindness at 318-257-4554 or
at instituteonblindness@lat-
ech.edu.
UAAM presents The
Masquerade Ball
United Afrikan American
Men, Inc. will present The Mas-
querade Ball from 8 p.m. to mid-
night March 16 in the Student
Center, Main Floor.
Beginning Friday, students
can contact an UAAM member
and purchase tickets.
Single tickets are $5, and tick-
ets for couples are $7.
Semiformal and formal attire
will be acceptable, and wearing a
mask is optional.
There will be a best mask
competition, and the winner will
receive a $20 Walmart gift card.
There will be free food and
photographs taken by Nick
Dwyer, an UAAM member.
For more information contact
Jeremy James, UAAM president,
at 318-229-7956 or jlj053@lat-
ech.edu or LaScott Ellis, chap-
lain, at 318-533-6004 or
loe002@latech.edu.
Laissez les bon temps
rouler in the Cafe’
Tech’s dining services and
Tolliver Hall are letting the
good times roll in celebration
of Mardi Gras with food, beads,
games and contests all day long
March 3.
Students may enjoy king
cakes and a potential band in
the cafeteria provided by Ara-
mark dining services.
As one of the give-aways,
any students who are lucky
enough to find a baby in their
king cake will receive gift cards.
You may also purchase king
cakes to take home as well.
Tolliver Hall will be offering
games along with music pro-
vided by a DJ.
For more information contact
Crystal Berry at 318-257-2327 or
berry-crystal@aramark.com.
Mary Timmons
STAFF REPORTER
Campus Christian organizations col-
laborated Feb. 8 and 10 to discuss the
meaning of relationships with students
and campus ministers.
The Baptist Collegiate Ministry, Chi
Alpha, Crossroads College Life and the
Wesley Foundation gathered at the new
BCM building to discuss ways relation-
ships have been altered over the years.
They talk to students about their out-
look on relationships through the eyes of
God.
Kevin Inman, director of the BCM,
said on both nights between 450 and 500
people attended the event.
“On the first night, we mainly discussed
relationships and how the meanings of
them have changed drastically over the
years,” Inman said. “The meaning of re-
lationships has become broken over the
years because of different influences in
pop culture.”
Students who attended were given ad-
vice on relationships as well as listening
to others’ experiences with relationships
over the years.
Lauren Hoffman, a sophomore dietet-
ics and nutrition major, said they talked
about everything from sex and marriage
to homosexuality and masturbation.
“Scott Wright, a counsler at the Wes-
ley Foundation, spoke about how human
beings all seek to be loved and love others,
and the next night we compared a biblical
marriage and God’s relationship with us,”
Hoffman said. “Our relationships with
God are represented by commitment and
consistency. Relationships shouldn’t be
selfish.”
Jonathan Magee, a sophomore music
education major, said he found out about
the event through the Wesley Foundation.
“We discussed what’s been distorted in
relationships in American culture and
what God’s real intentions are,” Magee
said. “We discussed how friendships and
dating relationships have been distorted.”
Magee said he found the relationship
talk to be very eye opening.
“There was a lot of stuff that I really
didn’t know about,” Magee said. “There is
a way that God intended for us to have re-
lationships with others, and this talk was
centered on that.”
Attendees were informed on the posi-
tive and negative aspects of sexual rela-
Photos by Jessica Wethington
tionships.
Rodolphe Youmbi, a sophomore elec- Scott Wright was among the speak-
trical engineering major, has been a mem- ers at the relationship talk. He spoke
ber of the Wesley Foundation for three about love, relationships and mar-
months.
“He talked about how sex has been riages.
portrayed in a negative way when in turn riage, sex should be a lifetime commit-
it should be positive,” Youmbi said. “It’s ment. Outside of marriage, sex tends to
been given negative outlooks because of be a selfish act.”
pop culture. Things such as pornography Youmbi said the talk educated him on
the way God wants him to experience re-
have given sex a very negative context.”
Hoffman said the most recent talk lationships.
dealt mainly with sex outside of marriage. “God gave us the ability to have sex for
There are plans to have more relation- a purpose, and we shouldn’t take advan-
ship talks among the organizations in the tage of that,” Youmbi said. “It’s reserved
future. for males and females who are married.
“We talked about the lies presented to Marriage is like a contract in the eyes of
us through sex,” Hoffman said. “Sex is a God.”
really good thing and should be a selfless
act, but it’s not a perfect thing. In a mar- E-mail comments to mnt005@latech.edu.

ULS chair to speak

at winter graduation
Hayden Haynes Louisiana youth’s education as
he has served as a legislative
STAFF REPORTER consultant and a Louisiana
School Board Associ-
The University ation lobbyist. He
of Louisiana Sys- started his career as a Students from campus religious organizations were invited to attend the relationship talks held Feb. 8 and 10
tems chairman has teacher in 1950. at the new Baptist Collegiate Ministry center.
been selected as In 1989 the
the keynote Louisiana Associa-
speaker at the tion of School Exec-
2010-11
commencement
winter

ceremonies at 2
utives named him the
State Educator of the
Year.
Software speaker emphasizes globalization
p.m. Saturday, Feb. He became a prin-
26. Soon to be cipal and was a su- ture was “It has even changed our vo- said. “So, you have to be ac-
alumni will cross pervisor before he Haley Kraemer aimed to- cabulary,” she said. “For exam- tively moving in that direction
the stage in the SIBILLE got the honor of tak- ward col- ple, Google is now a verb.” because global competition is
Thomas Assembly ing the role as an as- COPY EDITOR l e g e Newman said it has created fierce, and unemployment just
Center and bid farewell to sistant superintendent. students distributed product develop- in the United States is at 9.6
Tech as Winfred Sibille deliv- Sibille said in a ULL press Business students
learned how to spice up who were ment, which means business percent.”
ers the commencement ad- release that the board have a studying or employees from all over the Newman also listed four
dress. lot to cover this year in the their technology portfolios

“
Monday with a guest interested world can have product devel- skills employers want including
Sibille was first appointed ULS but hope to get it accom- in studying opment meetings through their technology skills, critical think-
to the ULS board in 1995 and plished with fellow board speaker from Oracle, the
No. 1 business software computer laptop computers as long as ing skills, communication skills
reappointed in 2007 before he members. information they have a working Internet and teamwork.
was sworn is as chairman of "This will be a very busy company in the world.
Caron Newman, senior systems connection, and there are now “You can take whatever you
the board Jan. 7, 2011. Sibille year for the University of
received his bachelor’s from Louisiana System," Sibille said. curriculum manager of Or- NEWMAN and wanted 24-hour project plans as op- are doing in school right now,
acle Academy, spoke to to prepare posed to scheduling project and you can enter a competi-
the University of Southwest- "We are fortunate to have a tal- themselves for future employ- plans on certain days. tion,” she said. “You get a cer-
ern Louisiana, which is now ented group of Board Mem- business students in a lec-
ture titled “Are You Job ment in the field. The lecture “That is how the world is tificate for participating in any
the University of Louisiana- bers and staff, as well as the stressed that job competition in competition. This is good be-
Lafayette. great leadership of our presi- Ready? Transforming Your
Existing Assignments Into this field is fierce, and it can be cause you can add it to your
He then received his mas- dent, Randy Moffett." especially difficult for young portfolio, you can add it to your
ter’s degree in education from A Technology Portfolio
That Impresses Employers.” people with little work experi- resume and you can speak
LSU. Sibille is and has always E-mail comments to jhh015@lat- ence to compete successfully in about it in your interviews.”
been an advocate for ech.edu. According to an e-mail
to all Tech students, the lec- the current job market. Newman said you can use it
Newman spoke about topics if you do not have a job or an
including how to transform “The global economy has internship, and you can talk
some of your existing assign- about your experience as if it

Congratulations
ments into a technology portfo-
lio, how to learn the general
skills that technology leaders
like Oracle tend to look for
when hiring entry-level staff,
how to develop, implement and
support their products and how
to develop an attention-grab-
bing resume and cover letter
that should serve students well
as they compete for jobs in
technology.
Newman said businesses uti-
lize various tools to run the
Daniel Dupuy Sam Wade Kevin Hebert Tyler Ainsworth Kyle Balius Jentry Dean
most successful and profitable
WRC WRC WRC WRC Dreamboy WRC
business possible.
“Industries are now starting
to use social networking tools
in their business,” Newman
said.
“If you’ve never blogged,
you need to go blog because it
is a useful social networking
tool.”
She said although these
tools are called social network-
ing tools, but they are not only
raised the competitive bar,
not by inches but by several
feet.”
Ca r o n N ew m a n
senior curriculum manager of
Oracle Academy
changing,” she said. “That is
how globalization is changing
everything. That’s how work is
changing. That’s what’s making
it so different.”
Newman said the work force
is altering, globalization won’t
be the same and businesses are
operating differently than they
ever have before.
“The global economy raised
the competitive bar not by
inches but by several feet,” she
said.
were a job.
“We look for critical thinking
skills in your resume,” she said.
“We look for a description of
internships or job experience
where you demonstrated criti-
cal thinking skills.”
Newman also said she can-
not stress enough how impor-
tant communication skills are in
today’s industry.
“Written and oral communi-
cation skills are key because
most people in the world don’t
speak English as a first lan-
guage,” she said. “English is
generally spoken as a second
language.”
Newman said her main mes-
sage is that it is important to
know several types of technol-
ogy and continue learning it as
it changes in this fast-paced
world of technological devel-
opment.
“You might be a business
student, but you’re going to go

2011 Kappa Delta White Rose Court

used for communication.
“You are using tools in ways
you have never imagined you
would use them,” Newman
said.
Also, she said the Internet
has changed how we research,
how we educate and more.
Newman said to compete
you need to obtain a degree in
a growing field, understand the
skills employers want and be
active in your learning and de-
veloping of skills.
“You’re a student trying to
get out into the work force,” she
into a business,” she said.
“Those businesses use technol-
ogy, so you are really going to
have to beef up your technol-
ogy skills to get in.”
E-mail comments to hek002@lat-
ech.edu.
 February 17, 2011 • The Tech Talk • 3

Talent show brings excitement

Sherelle Black
STAFF REPORTER
The ladies of Alpha Kappa Alpha held
AKApollo, Feb. 10 in Memorial Gym to
help celebrate their week “The Love of
AKA,” and bring entertainment to Tech.
AKApollo is the AKA’s version of
Showtime at the Apollo, the famous talent
show held at the Apollo Theater in
Harlem, where the crowd chooses the
winners.
AKA members normally have events
that showcase their sorority, but this is
their first time having a talent show as a
part of their week.
LaKeshia Williams, a senior biology
major, said they wanted to do something
new this year.
“We got the idea from our sisters Theta
Zeta, ULM’s [University of Louisiana-
Monroe] chapter,” Williams said. “We al-
ways want to bring something that can be
entertaining to everybody.”
AKApollo featured a total of eight acts
ranging from singing to poetry and per-
formers from Grambling State University.
Something Serious, a dance group from
GSU, took first place and $150 in prize
money. Dorian Price, a senior civil engi-
neering major, and Dashondra Mashia, a
senior psychology major, won second
place with $50.
Mashia and Price did their own poetic
version of the song “Lovers and Friends,”
by Usher, Lil’ Jon and Ludacris.
“She came up with the concept and
wrote her part, and after I read it I just fed
off of her vibe and wrote my ‘response,’”
Price said. “She sent me her part in less
than an hour, and I wrote mine in about 30
minutes. I went back and revised some
things a few days later.”
Price said although he was grateful to
place, he disagrees with the decision.
“I personally feel as though Dashondra
and I should have won, but the decision ul-
timately came down to the person over
the program,” he said.
Some attendees like Chandreka Hen-
derson, a sophomore civil engineering
major, said the intermission was better
than the talent portion.
“The best part of the whole show was
when GSU’s Deltas did their stroll,” Hen-
derson said. “They had the most energy
and kept my attention the whole time.”
The audience, which consisted of
Tech, ULM and GSU students, were also
entertained by the host, comedian Ken-
neth “The Kid Funni” Harris.
Henderson, like others, was not laugh-
ing at Harris’ jokes, but rather the lack of
them.
“Kenny wasn’t professional or funny,”
she said. “He was talking to and about the
crowd, and we weren’t responding well to
it.”
Harris got into a verbal altercation with
an audience member, which resulted in
Harris being escorted off the floor mid-
show.
Immediately following Harris’ prompt
exit, audience members such as Hender-
son said they were glad to see Preston
Strickland, a senior sociology major, re-
place him.
“When Preston took over the mic from
Kenny, I couldn’t have been happier,” she
said.
“That was the smartest decision they
could have made since he is naturally
good at hosting events.”
Even with a changing of hosts, Hen-
derson was still very pleased with the tal-
ent show.
“Overall, I enjoyed myself,” she said. “It
was nice to see all the talent on Tech’s Photo by Ben Corda
campus and see Greek unity from neigh-
boring schools.” Keenan Mitchell, a junior political science major, sings a
duet with a partner to each of their mothers during the
E-mail comments to scb035@latech.edu. AKApollo talent contest.

Wesley changes tempo VALENTINE’S DAY CELEBRATIONS

with out-of-state bands

Kelly Belton
NEWS EDITOR
Students met at the Wesley
Foundation Friday night for an
evening of several musical
guests including three bands
from Tennessee and another
from North Louisiana.
Abigail Blythe, Sephra Os-
burn and One Big Owl traveled
from Murfreesboro, Tenn., to be
part of the show while Hand-
shakes and Other Stuff drove
from Monroe.
Andy Shows, coordinator of
Wesley events, said plans for
the concert were set in motion
right before the start of 2011.
He said they had not had an of-
ficial band come play in more
than a year.
“All these guys are my bud-
dies that I have known for a
couple of years,” he said.
The Tennessee natives met
Shows at Middle Tennessee
State University and made con-
nections with the Wesley in
Ruston.
Blythe said returning to Rus-
ton was a great experience and
almost resembled a reunion.
“We tend to call it our sec-
ond home, so we really love
when we get to visit,” she said.
“I was already coming to visit,
so I just kind of got thrown into
the show.”
All the bands played original
music, though Blythe per-
formed a cover of Radiohead’s
“No Surprises.”
Alex Bohl, front man for
Handshakes and Other Stuff,
has a part-time band and began
performing as a Tech student at
the Wesley.
“I come back to visit friends
and am involved with student
recruiting at CenturyLink,” he
said. “This is a group I’m com-
fortable with and can try new
things. I was coming for fun, but
we came back to play together.”
Bohl made his mark on the
audience with his Tech-based
stand-up comedy routine be-
fore his band started playing.
David Emfinger, a senior sociol-
ogy major, said this was a high-
light of the night.
“I go to Wesley events all the
time,” he said. “I’m part of the
Wesley Foundation, so I love
going to the events they put
on.”
Emfinger said this concert
was different from other events
the Wesley hosts.
“Most musical events the
Wesley hosts are open mic
nights, but for this they got mu-
sically-trained bands,” he said.
“I think that made a difference.”
The musical highlight of the
night, according to Emfinger,
was the final song of the
evening by One Big Owl called
“Master Explosion.”
“It was a really unusual
sounding song,” he said.
Emfinger said there are not
many venues in Ruston for
quality music, so it was good to
hear something different.
Both Emfinger and Shows
said part of the mission for the
concert was to simply unite
people.
“The mission of this event is
to bring people together, so
they can get to know each
other and build a bigger sense
of community,” Shows said.
The bands that performed
were not worship bands but are
just Christians who are in
bands. Shows said people do
not have to be preaching from
the Bible to preach.
Emfinger said the inviting at-
mosphere of the Wesley helps
them achieve that goal.
“Part of what we try to do is
connect people to God and to
each other,” Emfinger said. “I
think that was accomplished
Friday night. I met a few people
I had never talked to before.”
E-mail comments to keb029@lat-
ech.edu.

Honors class meets

monks at monastery
Photo by Jessica Van Alstyne

While some Tech students gussied up for a traditional night out on the town, others
like Michelle Farrar, junior kineseology major, and Craig Alford simply took a break
from the books to spend some time with the one they love on Valentine's Day.

Sherelle Black Hankins said getting up for the first mass

STAFF REPORTER
The honors program made a field trip to
Subiaco, Ark., to get away from present civi-
lization, and become enriched in the history
of the quiet life of St. Benedict Monks of
Subiaco Abbey.
Honors students taking Medieval and Ren-
aissance Civilization traveled Feb. 2-4 to Subi-
aco Abbey to immerse themselves in the
lifestyle of the monks to get a better under-
standing of the course material.
According to the monastery’s website,
Subiaco Abbey, originally called St. Benedict
Priory, was founded by three monks and is a
member of the Swiss-American Congrega-
tion group of monasteries of the world-wide
Benedictine Confederation.
The class instructor Jeffrey Hankins, an as-
sociate professor of history, said the trip gives
students an opportunity to learn outside the
classroom.
“It gives them an idea of what it would be
like to live in medieval Europe and be in a
monastery,” Hankins said. “A lot of what they
do has not changed, even though time has.”
This year eight students went to the
monastery.
“We had a fairly small group attend this
year compared to previous years,” Hankins
said. “Usually we have students from the hon-
ors’ medieval English class and the history
class come, but this year only the history class
went.”
While on the trip students listened to the
monks give background information about
their lifestyle and history, they were given
tours of the cathedral church and monastery
and prayed five times a day with them.
Kate Corbin, a sophomore biology major,
said praying with the monks was a special ex-
perience that she was glad to be a part of.
“Going to mass five times a day was a
unique experience,” Corbin said. “Although
the way the monks chanted made it difficult
to follow along because most of it was in
Latin, it was still interesting to hear them.”
at 5:45 a.m. with the monks was insightful
time for him and his students.
“When we went to the first praying session,
it was still dark outside,” Hankins said. “After
the prayer and services were over, you could
see the sun shining through the stainless glass,
which in itself can be interpreted as a symbol.
I also imagine this is the same thing that peo-
ple saw back in the medieval times.”
Hankins said with the extremely cold tem-
peratures, it limited the amount of activities
available to students.
“We are trying to get the trip moved to
spring quarter in the upcoming years,” Hank-
ins said. “If we do, then students might actu-
ally get the chance to accompany the monks
with some of the work they do.”
Though some in the modern population
do not understand the monks’ lifestyle, Han-
kins said he sees them as a viable tool to so-
ciety and is happy to see the honors
department support the trip.
“I’m very grateful that the honors depart-
ment is still willing to put money toward this,”
he said.
“I think they are useful because these
monks go to nursing homes and hospitals to
comfort the sick and dying and volunteer in
the community.”
Rick Simmons, program director of the
honors department, said he is more than will-
ing to support field trips and wants to see the
department have more in the future.
“We are trying to get a field trip incorpo-
rated each quarter in at least one of the hon-
ors courses,” Simmons said. “It’s just hard to
organize and a big undertaking.”
Corbin said she is thankful that the honors
department provided her with the chance to
visit the monastery.
“I’m glad I got the opportunity to go be-
cause I feel like it’s a dying practice,” she said.
“Nobody wants to give up modern technol-
ogy to be a monk. It really was a unique ex-
perience getting to be a part of their secluded
lifestyle.”
E-mail comments to scb035@latech.edu.
4 • The Tech Talk • February 17, 2011
Insight
FROM THE EDITOR
Final remarks, campus aspirations
Danielle Cintron
n my four years of attending
I
ter.
Tech, never before have I had
such a dragging winter quar-
With all of the breaks and
weather closures, my class work
has somehow been pushed to the
side, and I’ve gotten down to the
wire with turning everything in
on time.
Papers are due, exams are
creeping up, and instead of fo-
cusing on those, I will be heading
out of town with the journalism
department for the annual South-
eastern Journalism Conference.
Happily, I can report that The
Tech Talk-ers have placed in sev-
eral categories, including College
Newspaper of the Year.
This, of course, will call for a
celebration, but, instead of going
with the festivities, most of us
will have our noses to the books
for final tests and fingers to the
keyboards trying to make that
one thought into a passing re-
search paper.
Even as I write this, I’m using
a class period to save myself
time. It’s all one large rush to get
finished lately, and I feel my time
SARCASM WITH AN AGENDA
The most inaccurate profession of all time
Kelly Belton
hanks to the impeccable
T accuracy of the National
Weather Service’s fore-
casts, we have missed three full
days of classes and seen ab-
solutely no snow this quarter.
I don’t fault Tech’s administra-
tion, as I some have. I realize the
officials of the Emergency Re-
sponse Team are making the
best decisions they can with the
information they have. But why
has their information been so ter-
rible?
Last Wednesday, I got home
from class around 2 p.m. and ex-
citedly checked the forecast for
snow about every 10 minutes.
Between those checks, I would
step outside, just in case some
sort of snow phenomenon was
occurring outside my front door.
The “snow” was originally
supposed to start falling around
11 a.m., according to The
Weather Channel. But around
noon, Tech still saw no such
thing.
The university announced it
would close at 3 p.m. and I, like
many in the area (including Lin-
coln Parish School officials),
KRAEMER KHRONICLES
Religion in the workplace causes controversy
Haley Kraemer
hick-fil-A’s recent “anti-
C gay” controversy is a good
example of how disorder
can ensue when religion is
brought into the workplace.
Controversy began when a
gay blog called Good As You
posted a screen shot from the
Pennsylvania Family Institute
website showing Chick-fil-A as a
sponsor of this “pro family” and
alleged anti-gay institute com-
mitted to strengthening families
by “restoring to public life the tra-
ditional, foundational principles
and values essential for the well-
being of society.”
According to MetroWeekly.com,
the text appearing on the PFI web-
site described it as a “pro family” or-
ganization which is against “the
homosexual lifestyle,” and it is pro-
moting a marriage conference in-
structed by “pastors and Bible
teachers.”
Opposition quickly spread
across the Internet in response
to Chick-fil-A’s sponsorship of
the allegedly gay organization,
PFI.
Certain individuals are of-
fended and boycotting the
WRITE TO US!
The Tech Talk welcomes letters to the editor. However, we reserve the right not to print anonymous letters. We
also ask that each letter be accompanied by a telephone number, address, classification or title. We will not
print the telephone number. Viewpoints should be mailed or brought to The Tech Talk office, 146 Keeny Hall, by
4 p.m. the Friday prior to a Thursday publication. Letters should be mailed to The Tech Talk, P.O. Box 10258, Rus-
ton, LA 71272. E-mails should be sent to tech talk@latech .edu. You can also submit letters online at
www.thetechtalk.org/home/lettertotheeditor/.
has finally ended. Winter 2011
has been one of the more event-
ful middle quarters I have seen at
Tech.
The university seems to be fi-
nally catching up with the 21st
century in some ways. Construc-
tion and destruction have contin-
ued the past few years, and
students will have the benefit of
a new eatery, McAlister’s Deli, on
campus.
Tech is moving forward with
newer buildings and living quar-
ters, beautifing the face of the
university and becoming a more
sophisticated, technologybased
school.
Yet, with as many steps taken
forward, Tech is still behind in
some ways.
I have written before about
the lack of public transportation
available to the students on and
off campus, and as Tech ex-
pands its grounds, adding build-
ings and taking away parking
lots, a shuttle bus to and from
campus is becoming more ap-
pealing and necessary.
When the gravel lots on West
Arizona do close, commuters will
be pushed further back and off
campus making getting to class
thought this was a prudent deci-
sion as snow were predicted
going to fall into the morning
hours and temperatures remain
in the low 20s.
At 3 p.m., I became a bit flus-
tered. It was not snowing. There
weren’t even snow clouds in the
sky anymore. I had been ripped
off once again.
Of course, I immediately
checked the forecast. Suddenly,
the 100 percent chance of snow
all afternoon had turned into a
10 percent chance between 3
and 4 p.m.
Just like that, the National
Weather Service took that snow
from us. While I appreciate the
effort the meteorologists put into
their forecasts, I can predict an
absence of snow just as well as
they can. They just disguise it
with a measly 10 in front of the
percent sign.
During our snow day, I set out
to discover why there was such a
discrepancy. I discovered an in-
teresting article from Feb. 8 titled
“Southern Snowstorm Forecast.”
It began, “Mother Nature is
dropping winter storms like it's
hot.” As an interesting lead, it
caught my eye. The story con-
restaurant, and others who agree
with the anti-gay values, are now
supporting Chick-fil-A even more
heavily than they had previously.
I can see how people are of-
fended because this organization
is supporting an allegedly anti-
gay organization.
Though I do not agree that
they are chastized for supporting
an organization they agree with
regardless of its supposedly anti-
gay platform, I believe businesses
should be able to donate their
money as they please.
According to christian-
news.com, Chick-fil-A’s CEO S.
Truett Cathy’s mission statement
is "to be America's best quick-
service restaurant at winning and
keeping customers." Chick -fil-
A's purpose statement reveals
the heart of their company:
"That we might glorify God by
being a faithful steward in all that
is entrusted to our care, and that
we might have a positive influ-
ence on all the people that we
might come in contact with."
It is widely known that Chick-
fil-A presents itself as a Christian
business and the fact that its em-
ployees are more or less required
to be of the Christian faith.
on time a bit more difficult.
Other concerns I have heard
about center on our non-tradi-
tional students. Tech does not
offer much to support this per-
centage of students.
Of the student body, 34 per-
cent are non-traditional, and be-
cause the university doesn’t offer
any type of day-care, as Univer-
sity of Utah and Louisiana State
University do which a just two of
many nationwide, I have ended
up in classes with mothers and
their children. It shouldn’t have to
be that way for the non-tradi-
tional students.
As far as the campus grounds,
I believe safety is still an issue.
This past year alone has made
me realize that Tech is not in a
protective bubble.
Cars have had tires, radios
and various valuables stolen
from them all while being parked
on campus grounds.
It’s strange to me to know that
the areas where we live and park
are being patrolled, but when
something suspicious happens
such as tires being stripped off
of a car, no one noticed.
It’s my belief that the campus
needs better lighting for students
tinued, “Now that I have that
Snoop Dogg song in your head,
let's get into the meat of the
story here.”
I felt I had found an answer.
Meteorologists don’t need to
take their jobs seriously because
there’s an 80 percent chance
they’ll be wrong anyway.
Shortly after Hurricane Kat-
rina devastated New Orleans,
Houston started preparing for
the arrival of Hurricane Rita. A
similar weather frenzy had every-
one excited for what could hap-
pen, just as the winter storms
had everyone excited this year
(though for a much different rea-
son). School was cancelled and
thousands attempted to evacu-
ate, but when it was all said and
done, the storm completely
missed the west side of town.
Weathermen are wrong a lot.
Nostradamus can’t predict the
future and neither can meteorol-
ogists.
Still, in any other occupation,
you would be scorned, if not
sued, for being wrong at this rate.
Just imagine the chaos that
would ensue if a reporter acci-
dentally reported that the presi-
dent had died or if a doctor,
Cathy told Forbes Magazine,
"You don't have to be a Christian
to work at Chick-fil-A, but we ask
you to base your business on bib-
lical principles because they
work.”
As the current laws stand, it is
perfectly legal for Chick-fil-A to
sponsor whatever organization it
chooses to sponsor.
Though it is legal, opposition
may naturally exist.
According to Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, an em-
ployer with a policy of promot-
ing members of a particular
religion is called Disparate Treat-
ment Discrimination.
However, it also states that if
some employers whose business
purpose is religious in nature
may require certain employees
to adhere to a particular faith.
Because Chick-fil-A says they
welcome any employee regard-
less of their faith as long as they
base their business on “biblical
principles,” they are completely
in the confines of the law.
Cathy lives his life by these
principles. Therefore, he should
be able to sponsor any organiza-
tion with his hard-earned profits
that he may choose, and it
who have to walk through the
grounds to get to their dorms
and apartments.
It would also be nice to see
more of a presence from the
Tech police personnel.
It’s comforting to know that
they are around if you need
them, but it would be nice to see
more emergency call boxes
around the apartment com-
plexes.
Tech is taking the steps to
make this university more user
friendly, and I believe that this
campus has the potential to be-
come something other than the
commuter college it’s been la-
beled.
With these final thoughts and
suggestions, whether anyone
takes them, or they end up in Fri-
day’s trash bin, I wish you all a
happy winter quarter and hope
you enjoy the new beginning
spring brings.
D a n i e ll e C i n t r o n i s a s e n i o r
jour nal ism and English major from
La Place who ser ves as editor and
online editor for The Tech Talk. E-
mail co mm ents to dnc005@l at-
ec h.edu.
although acting on his best pre-
dictions, made a wrong move in
the operating room. It’s unac-
ceptable.
Another problem is simply the
source of nearly all weather fore-
casts in the country. They almost
all come from the National
Weather Service. This is not to
bash the NWS, but it is limiting
when even local media outlets
are just simplifying NWS reports.
The University of Michigan
has created Weather Under-
ground to help fix this issue. Ac-
cording to its website, Weather
Underground uses different tech-
nology than the NWS does and
compiles weather reports from
around the country to form a
more holistic forecast.
No weather site will give me
the 100 percent accuracy I want,
but the NWS has some proving
to do. Until then, I’ll stick with a
site that leaves out the Snoop
lyrics.
Kelly Belton is a junior jour nal-
ism and political science major from
Houston who ser ves as ne ws editor
for T he Tec h Talk. E-m ail c om -
ments to keb029@l atech.edu.
should not be an issue with cus-
tomers.
Chick-fil-A makes a good
chicken sandwich and satisfies
the hunger of many Americans.
When customers walk in or
drive through a Chick-fil-A
restaurant, they have hungry bel-
lies and salivating taste buds, and
they are expecting to pay for
their food and receive it.
This is what is expected, and
it should serve as the prime ex-
pectation. What else do you
need from a fast-food restaurant
other than good service and a
delicious meal?
Chick-fil-A has served satisfy-
ing food to America for 65 years,
and that fact alone should be
suitable enough for the customer.
I believe a vast majority of
people will soon get over this
scandal and quickly move on for-
getting about it entirely and con-
tinue to eat the food they know
and love.
Haley Kraemer is a junior jour-
nal ism m ajor from Shreve por t who
ser ves as a co py editor for T he
Tec h Talk. E-m ail com ments to
hek002@latech.edu.
In Our Opinion
First Lady, healthier living
ith a growing number of the nation’s people fac-
W ing obesity, First Lady Michelle Obama has ex-
panded her anti-obesity program to promote
healthier lifestyles by making better options more avail-
able. About a year ago, she launched the exercise pro-
gram “Let’s Move!” to encourage children to be active and
eat healthier in order to promote better habits.
Obama is working to persuade restaurants and food
producers to incorporate healthier food portions and in-
gredients along with easier to read nutrition facts on la-
bels. According to The New York Times, a team of her
advisers has been discussing these plans with the National
Restaurant Association, a restaurant trade group, for
about a year in order to get restaurants to adopt her goals
to have smaller meal portions and children’s meals with
alternatives to French fries and soda, such as carrots,
apple slices and milk. An agreement has yet to be made.
However, Obama recently announced an agreement with
Walmart to lower prices of fruits and vegetables and to
reduce the amount of sugar, fat and salt in its food prod-
ucts. She persuaded Congress to make a requirement for
schools to incorporate more fruits and vegetables in the
meals they offer and encouraged lawmakers to require
restaurants to print nutrition facts on their menus, which
was included in President Obama’s health care law.
But, it’s risky business when seeking to partner with
industries. Her program has been given positive remarks
by nutritionists and public health advocates, but some
worry Obama will be deceived by companies that seem
willing to incorporate her plans into their industry but
won’t actually offer those changes she requests of them.
According to White House officials in the article,
Obama believes involving industries in her planning is
vital to accomplishing her goal to ultimately eliminate
childhood obesity within a generation. President Obama’s
domestic policy adviser and the chairwoman of a presi-
dential task force on obesity, Melody Barnes, said Mrs.
Obama does not agree to work with any program unless
it meets criteria issued in her planning.
“If someone wants her support, we take a hard look at
the data and the research to determine if the commit-
ment meets our standards,” Barnes said. “And, if the re-
sult is good for business as well as for the health of
American children, we see that as a win-win.”
The Tech Talk editorial staff believes Michelle
Obama’s initiatives toward healthier lifestyles are com-
mendable but that it still comes down to personal choice
when deciding how much food to eat. However, some are
divided on whether or not she is interfering with the way
companies run their businesses. The staff believes efforts
to encourage healthier eating and exercise among chil-
dren may help lower obesity rates among the youth of
the nation among other consumers, especially if better
food is made more affordable because junk food is
cheaper and more widely available. If food labels are
made easier to read, then people might be more aware of
what they are eating. People need to be encouraged in
the right direction for better eating and exercise, and
Obama’s efforts through her “Let’s Move!” program may
be the source of encouragement some people need to
live better lifestyles and influence their children to be
healthier, too.
The
TechTalk
The student voice of Louisiana Tech University
MANAGEMENT
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Danielle Cintron
FEATURES EDITOR Taylor Stephens
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Robert Wilson
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Kelly Belton
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Haley Kraemer
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Amy Olita
SPORTS EDITOR Sarah Brown
ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR Anna Claire Thomas
ONLINE EDITOR Danielle Cintron
HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS
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Jessica Wethington
Jessica Van Alstyne
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Kyle Kight
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ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE
Etoya Barner
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ADVISERS
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PRODUCTION MANAGER Michael LeBlanc
ADVERTISING PRODUCTION
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 February 17, 2011 • The Tech Talk • 5

Arts & Entertainment

And the oscar goes to...
2010’s biggest stars will clash at the 83rd Academy Awards
tainment events. Millions of people tune in home to the ceremony since 2002.
Editorial Staff every year, hours before the ceremony even However, beneath all of the glitz and
begins, to watch their favorite nominated ac- glamour, lay the core of the ceremony’s ex-
STAFF REPORT tors and directors walk the red carpet, istence: a special night set aside to recog-
hat began as a private dinner in shielding their eyes from barrages of cam- nize the past year’s best works, to show how

W Hollywood’s Hotel Roosevelt in

1929 to honor the previous year’s
most notable film achievements has grown
era flashes, waving to cheering fans and
talking fashion with Joan Rivers, before
heading into the elaborately decorated and
painstakingly prepared Kodak Theatre,
lights and sound, conventional effects and
editing tricks and man and machine come
together to create one extraordinary work
of art and reflection of life.
to become one of the world’s largest enter-

BEST PICTURE
OUR PICK The Social Network
Though a close race, “The So-
cial Network” emerged as the
prime contender for winning Best
Picture. While other biopic nomi-
nees presented strong perform-
ances, no story affected such a
wide audience as the rise of Face-
Black Swan The Fighter Inception Kids Are All Right The King’s Speech book CEO Mark Zuckerberg and
the launching of a revolutionary
communication site. Directed by
David Fincher (“Fight Club”),
scored by Nine Inch Nails’ mas-
termind Trent Reznor and featur-
ing a top-notch cast, “The Social
Network” is a dark, fast-paced and
cleverly-written revelation of the
treacherous seeds under one of
modern society’s biggest phenom-
enons.
127 Hours The Social Network Toy Story 3 True Grit Winter’s Bone

LEAD ACTOR
OUR PICK James Franco

BEST DIRECTOR
Although surrounded by ex-
ceptional members in his field,
Franco is the only nominee who
virtually carried an entire film sin-
gle-handedly. His flawless depic-
tion in “127 Hours” of mountain Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan
climber Aron Ralston and his har-
Javier Bardem Jeff Bridges Jesse Eisenberg Colin Firth James Franco rowing tale of resorting to desper- David Fincher - The Social Network

LEAD ACTRESS
ate measures to escape death Joel & Ethan Coen - True Grit
easily places him ahead of the
David O. Russel - The Fighter

OUR PICK
competition.
Tom Hooper - The King’s Speech

Natalie Portman
Portman’s performance as an
obsessed and deranged ballet
dancer was unanimously chosen
not only for her memorable acting,
but also the depth of preparation
she took to get into character,
going so far to learn to dance en
OUR PICK
Darren Aronofsky
Following his twice-nominated film “The Wrestler”
at the 2009 ceremony, Aronofsky returns with a mas-
terful and haunting portrayal of a young woman so des-
perate for the limelight, she unravels and begins a spiral
toward self-destruction, becoming the personification
of the evil she is meant to oppose.

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Annette Bening Nicole Kidman Jennifer Lawrence Natalie Portman Michelle Williams pointe. The sapphic sex scene
with snubbed supporting actress

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Mila Kunis may have helped, too.

OUR PICK Mark Ruffalo

Mark Ruffalo’s role as a father
working to become part of a fam- How to Train Your Dragon
ily he never knew in “The Kids Are Inception
All Right” earns recognition be-
cause of the ease in which Ruffalo The King’s Speech
delivers, even bordering as a pos- 127 Hours
sible contender for best Lead

OUR PICK
The Social Network

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Christian Bale John Hawkes Jeremy Renner Mark Ruffalo Geoffery Rush Actor.

OUR PICK
The Social Network

Helena B. Carter A master of dark tension, director David Fincher en-

In “The King’s Speech,” Helena
Bonham Carter dignifiedly por-
trays Queen Elizabeth and how
she supported her husband, King
George VI, as he struggled to over-
come a stammer before delivering
his first speech as ruler of Britain
Amy Adams Helena B. Carter Melissa Leo Hailee Steinfeld Jacki Weaver at the outbreak of World War II.
listed the aid of former Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent
Reznor and his longtime collaborative partner, Atticus
Ross, to create the electronic atmosphere needed for
the dramatic biopic of the world’s largest networking
site. The mellow, calm tones act as a perfect counter-
balance to the incredible tension Mark Zuckerberg
faced as he simultaneously fought friends, enemies and
lawsuits. Combined with a composed performance by
Jesse Eisenberg, the score is almost a character in itself.

THE TECH TALK ONLINE

www.thetechtalk.org
6 • The Tech Talk • February 17, 2011

SUDOKUPUZZLE www.sudoku-puzzles.net
CROSSWORDPUZZLE bestcrosswords.com

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column Across

and every 3x3 grid contains the digits 1 through 9. 1. Affairs of honor
6. Morse element
Difficulty Medium 10. Lhasa ___
14. Baffled
15. "Hard ___!" (sailor's yell)
LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION 16. Not fearful
17. Subatomic particle
18. Consumer
19. Winglike parts
20. Resembling a tree in size
23. Feudal tenant
27. Bridge positions
28. Golfer Aoki
29. Story in installments
34. Tumbles
36. Unfettered
37. "____ loves you, yeah, yeah,
yeah"
40. Naive
43. Large body of water
44. ___ luck!
45. Steak order
46. Prejudice against old people
48. Oxidize
WEEKLYHOROSCOPE www.horoscopes.com 49. Irritably impatient
53. Barbed-wire barricade
55. Restaurant below street level
Aries Leo Sagittarius 13. "Awake and Sing!" playwright 56. Strike with foot
60. Culture medium
March 21 – April 19 Jul 23 - Aug 22 Nov 22 - Dec 21 61. Bones found in the hip 21. "Treasure Island" monogram 57. Dash
A dream or insight might find you questioning one of your A visitor may come over today, Leo, but you might wonder A sibling or neighbor may tell you one thing, Sagittarius, 62. Long Island town 22. Choose 58. Currency of Turkey, and
why this person bothered. He or she may seem distracted while your intuition tells you the opposite.This isn't a vin- 67. Atlantic mackerel 23. Infectious agent formerly of Italy
long-held goals,Aries.Perhaps you've formulated another 68. Complain unreasonably 24. All together 59. Scandinavian
goal you like better,or you're beginning to doubt the work- and more inclined to listen to what you say than offer any dictive deception.The person is probably trying to spare 69. Pong maker 25. Chip dip 63. ___-Foy, Quebec
ability of the old one. This probably isn't a good day to conversation. Chances are that your friend felt lonely and your feelings. Perhaps it's better not to challenge this 70. Corner 26. Han ___ was a "Star Wars" 64. Resinous deposit
make a decision of any sort.Your thinking may not be as neededsomecompany.Beflattered.Don'tbeafraidtolaunch person.Wait until you know more before bringing up the 71. Sack starter character 65. 401(k) alternative
into a monologue about something you find fascinating. It 72. Summarize 30. Best of a group 66. Lulu
rational as it usually is.Write down your options and re- subject.You don't want to cause a rift between the two of 31. Martini's partner
turn to it in a day or two. may be just what your friend needs. you. Down 32. Little bits LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION
1. Block up 33. ___ see it...
Taurus Virgo Capricorn 2. Salt Lake City athlete 35. Spreads out
Aug 23 - Sep 22 3. Pothook shape 37. Corpulent
Apr 20 - May 20 Dec 22 - Jan 19 4. "Seinfeld" uncle 38. Artist Rousseau
Someone at work may be upset,Taurus, and not inclined A visitor may come over today,Leo,but you might wonder A friend who's having money problems might dump all 5. Capital city of Yemen 39. Perfect places
to communicate their feelings to anyone else.This might why this person bothered.He or she may seem distracted their woes on you today, Capricorn.Your inclination isn't 6. Paint unskillfully 41. Pig
cast a pall over the atmosphere. You may wonder if this and more inclined to listen to what you say than offer any to be very sympathetic, but hold back that tendency.The
7. "______ sprach Zarathustra" 8. 42. "Dancing Queen" group
conversation.Chances are that your friend felt lonely and Clairvoyant 47. Fannie ___
person is upset with you,but chances are it has a lot more situation is real,and your friend is very worried and needs 9. "You are ___" 49. Area of land
to do with the job than you. Make use of your ability to needed some company. Be flattered. Don't be afraid to solutions more than criticism or sympathy.Your common 10. Fiber obtained from a banana 50. Enthusiastic
concentrate, and don't let this get in your way. It isn't launch into a monologue about something you find fasci- plant 51. Blank look
sense and practical nature could be invaluable right now.
worth the trouble. nating. It may be just what your friend needs. 11. Warsaw residents 52. Pang
Offer to listen. 12. Bias 54. Wild rose

Gemini Libra
Aquarius
May 21 - Jun 20 Sep 23 - Oct 22
Some unsettling news from far away could have you The desire to make a major purchase of some kind, per-
Jan 20 - Feb 18
Have you been given a task to do at work that hasn't been
7 Day FORECAST www.accuweather.com
stressed out, Gemini. This might affect your work if you haps a luxury item,might have you counting your pennies
explained properly,Aquarius? If so,you may feel at a loss.
aren't careful. Your mind may stray back and forth from today, Libra. Once they're all counted, you might doubt
work to the news and its implications. Stay focused. All the wisdom of buying it now.This isn't the day to make a What to do? It's best to go back to the person who as-
signed the work and ask for more details. This could be
R F S Su M T W
signs are that whatever you've heard is likely to be far decision either way.Wait a few days and you should see
things more clearly and have a better grasp of the situa- temporarily humbling, but remember, it's better to ask a
less troublesome than it appears right now. Don't fly off
the handle until you know the facts. tion. stupid question than to make a stupid mistake.Don't move
ahead until you know exactly what you need to do.
H
74 H
73 H
69 H
74 H
74 H
73 H
70
Cancer
Jun 21 - Jul 22
Scorpio
Oct 23 - Nov 21 Pisces
L
56 L
53 L
52 L
55 L
49 L
54 L
47
You're likely to be in a good space right now, Cancer. If Worries about a household member could plague you Feb 19 - Mar 20
you're single, you're in no hurry to change that. If you're today,Scorpio.This person might have gone away without You're probably excited about a forthcoming journey,
involved, you and your partner should be getting along telling anyone, or seem upset.Your friend is probably OK Pisces, but you may be unclear about the arrangements.
very well. However, you might experience a little doubt but at odds with someone outside the household rather Don't let this situation persist or your trip might not work
when a current or potential partner becomes uncommu- than in it. Let this person work it out in whatever way out the way you hope.Get in touch with people who know
nicative.Your friend probably has money worries.Let him they see fit.Your companion will share with you when the what's what and get as much information as you can.Then
or her know you're there to listen, then back off. time is right. you will know it all before you get on that plane.

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Students’ support helps raise > SIDEWALK from page 1

state, which has definitive cri-

more than $100K for St. Jude teria about sidewalks.

“We can’t just run out
wherever we want to and
start building sidewalks,” Ail-
let said. “The state has to
Amber Guyotte “It shows the Tech family in action,” she said. agree to it. People wonder
“It shows that people have soft hearts and willing why we don’t just go ahead
COPY EDITOR spirits. One of Tech's tenets is caring, and the uni- and do it. Part of the problem
versity is becoming more community-oriented. is there’s sometimes no good
Raising money to help save children’s lives When people hear the stories about these chil- place to put a sidewalk with-
brought Tech students and affiliates together in dren, how can they not want to help? Not only out rebuilding the whole
one mind set through the St. Jude Children’s Re- are Tech students involved, but also Tech faculty thing. You get more bang for
search Hospital Radiothon held Feb. 7-8 at Super and staff from several disciplines and depart- your buck putting sidewalks
1 Foods in Ruston. ments.” in an area they’re already pre-
Nursing students, student athletes, forestry Zach Morrow, a junior nursing student, said pared for.”

Emergency?
students, members of Phi Mu sorority and Sigma he believes in supporting St. Jude because the The City of Ruston views
Nu fraternity members helped answer donation children and their families need the support of places with heavy foot traffic
phone calls, collected money at Walmart and at those who are able to help. as the priority areas of where
Monday’s Lady Techsters basketball game, sold “I feel that as a community we have a respon- to put sidewalks, which in-
paper boots for $1 and greeted people at Super sibility to take care of and support each other as clude areas near hospitals,
1 for the fundraising event. best we can,” Morrow said. “That’s including schools, parks and ballparks.
The radiothon was sponsored by the Zeta Tech students. We may not be here in Ruston all Lewis Love, director of
Rho chapter of Epsilon Sigma Alpha, KXKZ- the time, but we are still part of the community.” Public Works and Ruston city
107.5 and Super 1. Several nursing faculty mem- Allison Ambrose, a junior nursing student, said administrator, said the city is
bers are involved with Zeta Rho and assisted with nursing students are required to complete a com- also working with Tech to im-
the fundraiser along with other faculty and staff munity service project each quarter and that St. prove street connectivity.

CALL 4018
members. Jude is a good cause to support. “At Tech, we’re in the
These people along with other donors helped “I have already completed my project for win- process of building Homer
raise $123,455 for St. Jude Children’s Research ter quarter, but I wanted to be involved in the St. Street right now, and it’s going
Hospital. Jude radiothon because I have three young chil- to have the new style side-
Beth Fife, an associate professor of nursing, dren and cannot imagine one of them getting walks and complete street—

LA TECH POLICE
said the fundraiser benefits St. Jude, which works cancer,” Ambrose said. “I support St. Jude be- pedestrian friendly,” Love
with children and their families worldwide to treat cause they offer hope to so many families who said. “I would like to continue
childhood cancer and other diseases. are suffering from pediatric cancer. I cannot that on up Louisiana Avenue
“St. Jude provides treatment for anyone with- imagine the agony that these people face on a and Texas Avenue to town
out cost to the families and operates mainly from daily basis, especially those that lose their chil- and continue to work on that
public donations,” Fife said. “It costs approxi- dren to this terrible disease.” connection between Tech
mately $1.5 million a day to operate. A large per- She also said she enjoys showing compassion and town. As we try to find
centage of the patients come from Louisiana. I toward others and wants to teach her children to the connection between Tech
know that treatment of children is needed and do the same. and town, I think there will be
that the money will be used wisely. In a 2010 Har- “I do get a sense of accomplishment from some extra opportunities
ris poll, St. Jude Hospital was rated as the most helping people, but I also want my children to see there.”
trusted charity in America.” that helping others is important and that they
Fife said the fundraiser helps show that Tech should do it whenever they can,” said Ambrose. E-mail comments to
cares about special causes and supports com- ang017@latech.edu.
munity efforts for the causes. E-mail comments to ang017@latech.edu.

More Talk
Black History Month
Lincoln Parish
comes together
for black history
Zach Beaird
STAFF REPORTER
With Black History Month now
in full swing, its celebration and
observance can be seen all
throughout Lincoln Parish.
At Grambling State University,
Black History Month kicked off
on Feb. 8 with its convocation.
Michael Eric Dyson, a best-selling
black author, spoke to the group of
students, faculty and Grambling
community members on the im-
portance of black history.
“I want to reflect about the
meaning of black history,” Dyson
said. “Why is it that poems like Dr.
Jimmy McJamerson’s ‘I Cannot
Be Denied’ are still necessary?
Why is it that we still feel com-
pelled to point out what, to us, is
obvious? Black people are brilliant,
ingenious and have a long history
of the telling of our story, and yet
there is doubt and tremendous dis-
trust of the narrative of black in-
telligence, or even more so, black
humanity.”
Though he noted that black his-
tory has come a long way, Dyson
urged the black community to go
further.
He said it is the obligation of
today’s society to continue the
making of black history, and he
said the responsibility now rests
on the shoulders of today’s stu-
dents.
“The meaning of black history
rests on the argument about hu-
manity and intelligence,” Dyson
said. “You are the prophets of peo-
ple who have made arguments on
behalf of people of color, in par-
ticular black people, that we are
fully human and fully intelligent.
You have to study your black his-
tory. Don’t assume that because
you’re black you know black.”
Grambling President Frank
Pogue said today’s students are
black history, but Dyson chal-
lenged the students in the audi-
ence saying that working on
receiving an education is the best
thing they can do to propel black
history.
“Dr. Pogue said you are black
history, but he didn’t mean there-
fore you don’t have to crack the
books,” Dyson said. “He didn’t
mean you don’t have to study. If
you are indeed the embodiment of
black history, and he is right, that
means that you are the living lega-
tees of an ongoing tradition; a
virus of humanity that needs to be
spread and you have to study to
do so.”
Davell Crenshaw, a Tech senior
aviation management major, said
he felt both of these aspects are
especially true of black history.
“Black History Month is signif-
icant today because black history
is a part of American history, and
it’s important to see how black his-
tory has played a part in American
history and how the two worked
together to get us where we are
today,” Crenshaw said.
However, Crenshaw said there
is a bigger message today’s soci-
ety should take from Black History
Month: acceptance. He said hav-
ing this quality crosses more bar-
riers than just race and ultimately
betters today’s world.
“I think people should take the
message of peace and love and
apply it to their lives,” Crenshaw
said. “Martin Luther King Jr., John
Lennon and Gandhi were all dif-
ferent colors and from different
backgrounds, but had the same
message. People need to let their
guard down and finally give in to
that message.”
Crenshaw also said he is happy
with where black history today. He
said he felt the way black people
fit in society today makes a huge
mark on black history, and will
carry on the tradition.
“Our world being the way it is
today is enough to carry on the
tradition. We may not know the
specifics any more, but we know
the results. I think that’s the main
point.”
And as far as today’s genera-
tion goes, Crenshaw said the ac-
cepting nature young adults show
gives good hope for the future of
black history. He said as history,
particularly black history, is made
it will show more and more im-
provement, and this is already ap-
parent through society today.
“History is made every day,”
Crenshaw said. “We have a black
president, black musicians, ath-
letes and scholars. Our generation,
for the most part, has shown that
we are more about acceptance of
who a person is instead of what
they look like. That is the most im-
portant thing our generation can
do from this point.”
E-mail comments to zcb001@lat-
ech.edu.
Martin Luther King, Jr. advocated a program of moderation and inclu-
sion. He helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
to organize black churches in conducting nonviolent protests in the
service of civil rights reform. King was a guiding light during the most
crucial years in the civil rights struggle.
Influential
African Americans
The son of slaves, Carver
pioneered agriculture re-
search that launched a
new era for farms across
the American south.
Working predominantly
out of the Tuskegee
Normal and Industrial
Institute in Tuskegee,
Ala., he showed the value
of crop rotation, intro-
duced many possible uses for the
peanut and soybean and produced
hardier hybrids of a number of other
plants — most notably, cotton.
Rosa Parks was a modest
seamstress on her way
home from work when
she refused to give up
her seat on a bus in
Montgomery, Ala. That
single act of defiance on
Dec., 1955, is remembered
as the start of the civil
rights movement and she
is respectfully remem-
bered as the mother of the civil
rights movement.
Born into slavery in 1818,
Frederick Augustus
Washington Bailey was
separated from his
mother while an infant. At
the age of 8, he was sent
to live in Baltimore with
the family of Hugh Auld,
whose wife defied state
law and surreptitiously
taught young Frederick to
read. This knowledge would later help
him to become a prevailing advocate
for civil rights.
Segregated America would
have eventually seen its
end, but its demise
wouldn't have happened as
quickly if it weren't for
Thurgood Marshall. An
uncompromising and bril-
liant civil rights attorney,
Marshall, the great-grand-
son of slaves and the son
of two hardworking mid-
dleclass Baltimore parents, reshaped
the opportunities available to black
America.
Photos courtesy of Wikipedia
February 17, 2011 • The Tech Talk • 7
Black Student Union
goes back to its roots
with annual event
Sherelle Black
STAFF REPORTER
“Faith is taking the first step, even
when you don’t see the whole stair-
case.”
Martin Luther King Jr. first said
these words, but Dustin Vessel lives
by them.
Vessel, president of the Black
Student Union, applies this not only
to his personal life but also with the
upcoming event Know Your History:
Back to Our Roots.
Vessel said Black History Month
as a whole was not really evident on
Tech’s campus before this program
was started last year.
“We recognized it was Black His-
tory Month, but we didn’t acknowl-
edge it,” he said. “We ourselves as
black students didn’t really take the
initiative to celebrate it.”
When Know Your History was
started last year, it was only an idea
that came from the executive board
of Souls on Fire, Tech’s gospel choir,
as a way to get more recognition for
the organization.
However, they did not expect the
idea to be a potential step toward
changing the outlook of Tech’s view
of Black History Month.
Me'Lonnie Walker, director of
Souls On Fire; Tajuanda Montreuil,
a senior industrial engineering
major; and Vessel, a junior commu-
nication design major, were the
three on the executive board at the
time.
“We were discussing ideas for
events and we thought of a Black
History program,” Vessel said.
“From there we started to brain-
storm further and decided to ask all
the African American organizations
to be a part of it. I sort of spear-
headed it and now here we are host-
ing the 2nd Annual Know Your
History. So, many may think BSU
started Know Your History, but it
was really Tech’s Gospel Choir,
Souls on Fire. However, BSU now
orchestrates it; it just makes more
sense that way.”
At 6 p.m. Feb. 21 students will get
the chance to see all of the black or-
ganizations come together and suc-
cessfully present a program that will
enhance the student body’s inter-
pretation of Black History Month.
“We want to effectively and ar-
tistically inform the student body, as
well as, the surrounding communi-
ties of each organization’s contribu-
tion to black history. We also strive
to provide a general expression of
Page designed by Taylor Stephens
black history,” Vessel said.
There will be many acts that
make up the program’s itinerary
such as songs, dances, skits, steps
and PowerPoints.
Ashlei Kimble, parliamentarian
of BSU, said she is looking forward
to seeing the different ways the or-
ganizations choose to show their
history, but more importantly learn-
ing more about their history.
“I think it’s important for us as
black students to not only know our
own history, but also inform others
so that they can be inspired as well,”
Kimble, a senior family and child
studies major said. “You truly don’t
know where you are going if you
don’t know where you have come
from.”
Aramark will be providing the au-
dience with free refreshments.
The program will open up with a
scene from the play “The Colored
Museum,” which will inform the au-
dience what it meant to be African
American in the United States dur-
ing the 1980s.
Kimble, who is in charge of the
program this year, said she is opti-
mistic that the program will con-
tinue to get enough attention from
the Tech community.
“It’s my hope that the program
continues to grow every year and
that it will be something that stu-
dents look forward to each year,”
she said.
Vessel said just like King had faith
in taking the first step toward civil
rights, he is taking the first steps to-
ward making Know Your History a
program that will be around long
after he graduates.
“My big dream is for this event to
be something like the International
Scholarship Dinner, Big Event or the
Indian Night,” he said. “All these
events are something that the cam-
pus looks forward to as far as ad-
ministration and students go.
There’s no reason Know Your His-
tory can’t become as big as these
events.”
Vessel said he hopes everyone
who attends develops a sense of
pride and fortitude just as some of
the black history pioneers had.
“Our wish is that the attendees
leave with a better understanding of
the roles our organizations have
played in black history,” Vessel said.
“We also hope we can stir up a spirit
of determination and tenacity that
our ancestors had.”
E-mail comments to
scb035@latech.edu.
8 • The Tech Talk • February 17, 2011

Sports Talk
techsters shoot for twelve
anna claire thomas

Anna Claire Thomas floor can contribute and score.”

Hawaii comes into Ruston with an 9-16 overall
FROM THE SPORTS DESK ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR record and 3-9 WAC record.
Earlier in the season, Hawaii fell to the Lady
The Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters continue to Techsters in an overtime victory when Weather-
spoon’s team played them on the Island.
anxious about
wow their fans by storming through conference play
with an unblemished Western Athletic Conference After facing the Rainbow Wahine tonight, the
record thus far. Techsters will wrap up their two-game home series

tech baseball The Techsters return home Thursday night to Saturday night at 6 p.m. in the first game of a dou-
face Hawaii at 7 p.m. in the Thomas Assembly Cen- ble-header, starting with the men’s basketball team
ter for the first of a two-game home stand hoping going up against San Jose State.

R
oger Hornsby once
said, “People ask me
what I do in winter
when there’s no base-
ball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare
out the window and wait for
spring.”
As I watched college and
professional football come and
go through the fall and winter, I
couldn’t help but long for the
warm weather that can only be
experienced appropriately on a
Sunday afternoon at J.C. Love
Field while watching the Bull-
dogs take to the diamond.
Spring is approaching and
with it comes the beginning of a
new season for head baseball
coach Wade Simoneaux and his
Bulldogs baseball team.
A fresh start for every college
baseball team in the country is
what awaits the players and
coaches this coming weekend.
There is one goal in mind:
win a championship.
Whether that championship
comes in the form of a Western
Athletic Conference title or a
deep run in the postseason, it is
how teams measure success.
Memories from previous sea-
sons, good and bad alike, are
washed away and the only thing
that matters is what happens in
the present.
After going through exhaust-
ing fall scrimmages and spend-
ing the first few weeks of 2011
preparing for the upcoming sea-
son, the Bulldogs will take the
field in a competitive game for
the first time in almost nine
months.
The Bulldogs are looking to
start this season off right with a
win in their own tournament, the
Louisiana Tech Classic.
The Bulldogs are in good
shape heading into the 2011
season, with seven starters re-
turning to the lineup.
Though they came up short
last season in the WAC tourna-
ment in Arizona, the Bulldogs
are looking to start this season
off right with a win in their own
tournament, the Louisiana Tech
Classic.
They will begin their quest for
a WAC title and postseason ap-
pearance Friday night at 7 p.m.
against Southern Illinois at J.C.
Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.
E-mail comments to act013@lat-
ech.edu.
Photo by Jessica Wethington
Senior forward Adrienne Johnson makes a play
against New Mexico State Feb. 12. The Techsters
stand undefeated in WAC play.
Bulldogs host Georgia State
Photo by Ben Corda
Head coach Kerry Rupp discusses plays
with fellow coaches during Saturday’s
“White Out” game against New Mexico
State.
to keep their 18-5 record intact, as well as an unde- The Spartans are looking to steal a win on a road
feated record in conference play. as they come to the TAC to take on the Techsters
After dominating in WAC play, the Techsters are with a 2-21 record and just 2-9 in conference play.
heading into the toughest part of the season, as Weatherspoon said her Techsters are hitting their
teams are vying for a spot in the conference tour- stride at the perfect time this late in the season in
nament and stand ready to knock them off an 11- order to improve their undefeated conference
game winning streak. record.
Head coach Teresa Weatherspoon said despite “We’re moving in the right direction,” she said.
her team’s outstanding play through the season, the “We have a lot of things that need to be corrected
Techsters are in no position to get comfortable in in order to be a team that we must be down the
the standings. stretch. We’ve done a very good job of understand-
“We do some solid things offensively and defen- ing how to win at te end. We’re really growing at the
sively, but it’s important that we continue to be very right time.”
consistent with those things for 40 minutes of bas- The Techsters will have the chance to win their
ketball,” she said. “We feel as if once we start to do 400th game at the TAC Thursday night and keep
those things, we’ll become a better basketball team.” them on track to win 1ooo games in school history.
In addition to senior forward Adrienne Johnson’s All fans are encouraged to wear pink Thursday,
all-American style of play, the Techsters have found as the Techsters will participate in the Women’s Bas-
the hot hands of senior guards Tarkeisha Wysinger- ketball Coaches Association’s Think Pink campaign
Mackey and Whitney Jones, combined with junior for breast cancer awareness.
guard Jasmine Bendolph’s outstanding play. The game is accessible via the Gametracker on
“They have decided to take a load off Adrienne,” latechsports.com.
Weatherspoon said. “We don’t want to be a one-
man show because we’re not. Everybody on the E-mail comments to act013@latech.edu.
Sarah Brown
SPORTS EDITOR
After falling 50-49 Saturday afternoon to New Mexico State,
the Bulldogs are going out of Western Athletic Conference play as
they prepare to host Georgia State at 3 p.m. Feb. 19.
The Bulldogs held a strong lead throughout the first half and
well into the second before the Aggies started making a come-
back.
With 18:37 to play, the Bulldogs fell behind 33-31 and held the
game close.
Head coach Kerry Rupp said the game was a tale of two
halves.
“We've got to put two good halves together,” Rupp said. “Our
guys struggled to run the offense against their man-to-man de-
fense in the second half."
Rupp said his team has to find ways to unite and pull out wins.
"It's not easy," Rupp said. "There isn't going to be an easy game.
We've got to continue to fight and stay together and find a way to
turn some of these things to our advantage."
The Bulldogs are preparing to face a Georgia State team that
defeated Northeastern in a 74-71 overtime win.
The Panthers are led by Dante Curry, Brandon McGee and Eric
Buckner, who are their three top scorers.
They will have much to put up against, as senior guard DeAn-
dre Brown and junior guard Olu Ashaolu continue to light up the
scoreboard for the Bulldogs.
Saturday’s game will be part of ESPN’s Bracket Busters, and
the Bulldogs will host the Panthers in the Thomas Assembly Cen- Photo by Ben Corda
ter. Freshman guard Lonnie Smith makes a
The game is available on the LA Tech Sports Network, 97.7 FM
and can be accessed on the Gametracker at latechsports.com. play during Saturday’s game against New
Mexico State. The Bulldogs fell 50-49 in
E-mail comments to sdb035@latech.edu. the WAC match.

Tiger Classic bites Techsters

Hayden Haynes
SPORTS REPORTER
This past weekend, the Lady Techsters softball team left
Baton Rouge 2-3 after No. 19th ranked LSU defeated them
twice, and Purdue.
The Techsters began the series Friday, as they beat
Bowling Green 4-1 with freshman Erin Kipp pitching seven
innings for the win.
Senior pitcher Meghan Krieg got the loss Friday after
noon, as the Techsters fell 9-1 to LSU after just six innings.
The Techsters started Saturday by falling to Purdue 7-
3, with Kipp receiving her first lost of the year.
Krieg picked up her first win as the Techsters edged out
Bowling Green again 5-4 Saturday afternoon.
The Techsters finished the weekend Sunday after get-
ting mauled 10-2 by LSU after five innings, with sopho-
more Michelle Jones pitching the loss.
Head coach Sarah Dawson said this weekend was good
for her young squad.
“We got everyone in and got a good look at all of our
kids,” Dawson said. “I was glad we got those opportuni-
ties. I thought our pitching for the most part was pretty
solid this weekend. We had too many walks at times, but
for the most part our pitchers gave our defense balls they
could handle.”
Sophomore pitcher Janna Fandrup earned all-tourna-
ment team honors for the Techsters, as she batted .364 for
the weekend with four hits.
Fandrup had a home run as well as a team-high five
RBIs.
She recorded a weekend .563 on-base percentage.
The Lady Techsters will travel to Mississippi State this
weekend to take part in the Bulldog Round Robin.
The Techsters will begin the series against Mississippi
State starting at 3 p.m. Friday.
They will then play back-to-back games Saturday, be-
ginning at 10 a.m. against Southern Illinois followed by
Butler at noon. Photo courtesy of Media Relations
E-mail comments to jhh015@latech.edu. Junior Elne Barnard makes a play in this weekend’s match at home.
The tennis team will host Southeastern at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Baseball opens 2011 season at home Tennis gets in full swing

Anna Claire Thomas
ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
The Louisiana Tech baseball team
will kick off its 2011 campaign at 6
p.m. Friday night against Southern Illi-
nois in the Louisiana Tech Classic at
J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.
In the 2010 season, the Bulldogs
had a 27-30 regular season record
and a Western Athletic Conference
tournament berth.
After being plagued by several arm
injuries for the past two seasons, the
Bulldogs have some key members of
the pitching staff returning to the ro-
tation to strengthen the arms in the
bullpen this season.
When Tech takes on Southern Illi-
nois in their season opener Friday, it
will mark the ninth season head coach
Wade Simoneaux has skippered the
team.
With that kind of experience, the
Bulldogs are in good hands heading
into the 2011 season.
Despite being picked to finish sixth
in the WAC’s pre-season standings,
Tech’s in good shape with the help of
five senior leaders, with senior catcher
Clint Ewing leading the way.
Ewing was named pre-season all-
WAC by Perfect Game USA along
with junior third baseman Mark
Threlkeld.
The Bulldogs also have senior Joey
Ford returning this season after hitting
.371 in 2010 and Ewing comes into
2011 after notching a .350 batting av-
erage last season.
Defensively, the Bulldogs are pre-
pared to be solid on the mound and
on the diamond.
Senior left-hander Mike Jefferson
will lead the way for the Bulldogs. Jef-
ferson returns after putting up a
record of 4-4 last season with a 5.60
earned run average.
Sophomore right-hander Trevor
Peterson also returns this season after
racking up impressive numbers in his
freshman season.
Peterson had an ERA of 6.81 and
recordeda 5-8 record on the season.
After facing off against Southern
Illinois in the first game of the
Louisiana Tech Classic, the Bulldogs
will play Nicholls State at 6 p.m. Sat-
urday and Grambling State at 6 p.m.
Sunday.
All three games will be available on
the Gametracker on
latechsports.com.
E-mail comments to act013@latech.edu.
Hayden Haynes
SPORTS REPORTER
The Lady Techster tennis team
moves to 2-2 after a tough loss to
Stephen F. Austin and a win over Cen-
tral Arkansas and Southern this past
weekend.
Head coach Quintin Yray said this
could be the best season the team has
had in years.
The Techsters’ home opener began
Friday, as they edged out Southern 4-
3 with junior Elne Barnard stepping
up and bringing home the No. 1 sin-
gles match for the Tech win.
They continued to advance their
win streak, as they beat out the Cen-
tral Arkansas Bears 6-1 on Saturday.
The Techsters ended their week-
end in Nacogdoches, Texas, Sunday,
as they fell to Stephen F. Austin 5-2.
The weekend star was No.1 singles
player junior Elne Barnard.
Yray said she is a great team
player.
"She's tough," Yray said. "Elne
doesn't crack mentally. During the
match she might get a little nervous,
but she's a tough player.”
He said she is gaining in poise as
practices continue.
“She's got a lot of weapons, so
sometimes she takes the wrong shot
when there might be an easier shot for
her,” Yray said. “She's gaining more
confidence as she goes so this was
good for her."
They will be back in action Satur-
day as they face off against South-
eastern Louisiana at 10 a.m. at the
Louisiana Tech Tennis Complex.
E-mail comments to jhh015@latech.edu.