The student voice of Louisiana Tech University

TalkTechDecember 13, 2012 www.thetechtalk.org

The

Volume 87 Number 10

PRSRT STDNON-PROFIT

ORGANIZATIONUS POSTAGE

PAIDRUSTON, LA

PERMIT NO 104

RETURNSERVICE

REQUESTED

GUICE SUCCEEDSBY RANEY JOHNSONStaff Reporter

In the digital age, websites such as Yahoo, Twitter and Facebook are constantly chang-ing to appeal to users, and the Tech website is no different.

The new website was de-signed to create a better looking website for students and a web-site that functions better, said Dave Guerin, executive director of university communications.

Tom Soto, assistant Web-master, designed the website, Guerin said.

“It’s based on a good bal-ance of functionality and aes-thetibility,” Guerin said. “Tom did a really good job of trying to blend those two elements.”

Soto said he and his web team worked on the website for 13 months, researching, de-signing, coding templates and testing the site at the Louisiana Tech University-Shreveport/Bossier location.

“Once we tested it, we pilot-ed it with Shreveport/Bossier first because it was a small site,” Soto said.

Soto said over the next two months, they will be convert-ing more pages to the new de-sign and the site will continue to change in the future. Differ-ent colleges could customize their site by changing the back-ground to something else rather than the background of the main page.

“Each site can have its own look,” Soto said. “For Louisiana Tech at Shreveport/Bossier, we put a big @ symbol in the back.”

Soto said this is part of the dynamic of functionality to be able to go and change the background of one page or the whole site.

Soto said most feedback about the site has been positive.

“We have received com-ments from students, faculty, staff, alumni and other univer-sities about how awesome the site looks,” he said.

Guerin also said most of the feedback for the new site has

Techrevamps website

BY ADDIE MARTINStaff Reporter

Dan Reneau was a student for 3 1/2 years and served in the professional capacity for 47 years, resulting in a total of 50 1/2 years of dedication and service to Tech.

Les Guice was as a student for 10 years and served as a faculty member for 30 years, resulting in a total of 40 years of service and dedication to Tech.

Guice, executive vice president and vice president for research and development, was unanimously approved by the University of Louisiana System Board as Tech’s 14th president on Tuesday, Dec. 4.

“I had the opportunity to teach here and have a real passion for the university,” he said. “To have the opportu-nity to lead it as its next president and shape the future is

just incredible.”Will Dearmon, Student Government Association presi-

dent, said the search committee selected Guice as the finalist for the position of president over Duane Hrncir, acting president of South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.

“As a board member, a member of the search com-mittee and SGA President of Tech, I can wholeheartedly say that this was a great decision,” he said. “From the mo-ment the search began, the search committee received an outpouring of support from students, faculty and staff of Louisiana Tech, as well as community members support-ing the candidacy of Guice.”

BY ALLISON EASTSenior Reporter

Yesterday’s 11 a.m. classes began with more than a knock on the desk or a “Good morn-ing, class” from the teacher. In-stead, they began with one long beep.

Students received an email from Tech police Chief Randall Hermes last Thursday warning them that the city’s new Siren/Alert Warning System would be tested for the first time that afternoon. Public utilities man-ager Darrell Caraway said the system will now be tested every Wednesday at 11 a.m.

“Tech is kind of surrounded,” he said. “There are none on campus, but there are around four near it––north, east, south and west. The way the sound propagates it’s better if you’re a little away. You can hear it bet-ter.”

Caraway said the system is something the city has been working toward for the last three years.

“It’s mainly for severe weath-er events, but it can also be used for any other type of dangerous events like chemical spills,” he said.

With the railroad passing through Ruston, chemical spills are events the city should be prepared for, he said.

The system comprises 13 towers scattered throughout Ruston and can be tailored to specific areas for different uses.

“The way we set the system up we don’t have to activate all the towers at once,” Caraway said. “We chose to put in a sys-tem that has a voice command so that if we required evacua-tion just in one area we can ver-bally give them commands.”

Hermes said he explored the option of a siren system on campus a few years ago but decided to wait to see the city’s

BY ADDIE MARTINStaff Reporter

Though the holiday season is in full blast, Tech stu-dents are still studying away as winter quarter has just begun.

However, there is no fear of letting the Grinch steal Tech’s cheer because Tuesday night Union Board hosted Tech the Halls.

Heather Heflin, a junior accounting major, said Tech the Halls helped her relax and clear her head as the heat and stress of winter quarter piles on.

“Tech the Halls is just a great idea,” she said. “It is a phenomenal way to get students’ minds off their stud-ies for a while and be put in the holiday spirit.”

This year’s Tech the Halls theme was “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” so as students and Ruston community members entered “Whoville,” holiday mu-sic blared overhead.

Heflin said she loved the theme because everyone dressed up as Whoville community members for the

celebration, and Santa, Mrs. Clause and the Grinch even came out to party.

However the costumes were not the only entertain-ment; there was an ice skating rink, photo booth, Cam-pus skins booth, photo dry erase board booth and live music all inside the Tonk.

If that was not enough, upstairs guests could en-joy building a stuffed animal, decorating a gingerbread man, making an ornament or even watching the movie “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

Tom Stringer, a freshman business major, said he liked the gingerbread booth the best because the cook-ies tasted delicious.

“Everything is really creative,” he said. “It is defi-nitely a fun way to get the students involved, out of their rooms and into the holiday spirit.”

If there were not enough sweet Christmas treats in-side, guests could take their newly-made bear outside

Photo by Donny Crowe

ULS board approves Les Guice to continue Tech’s traditions as president

Sirens installed to alert Ruston residents

Photo by Derek J. Amaya

Students enjoy s’mores and talk by the bonfire outside of the student center at Tech the Halls. >see UNION BOARD pg. 8

>see GUICE pg. 2 >see SIRENS pg. 8>see WEB pg. 2

Union Board presents annual Tech the Halls

DEPARTUREDYKES’

LA Tech’s former head coach, Sonny Dykes, heads west for Cal Golden Bears after three years of coaching

LINCOLNCheck out the historical accuracy behind Spielberg’s film

PAGE 10

PAGE 6

SEEING DOUBLEAn inside look at some of Tech’s own twins PAGE 9

2 • The Tech Talk • December 13, 2012

Campus

Graduation registration deadline Friday

Any degree candidate needs to make sure they have regis-tered for winter graduation be-fore 4:45 p.m. Friday.

Students must complete an application for graduation and turn it in to the Registrar’s Of-fice before the deadline.

In the event of missing the deadline, see your academic dean to determine late addition to degree candidate list.

The deadline is no later than Friday of the fifth week of the quarter.

Students can order their cap and gowns in the bookstore.

Winter graduation is set for March 2, 2013.

For more information con-tact the Registrar at 318-257-2176 or registrar@latech.edu.

Couseling center to hold workshop

Counseling and Career Ser-vices will host a test taking and test anxiety workshop from 3-4 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 18.

It will be an opportunity for students who are anxious about taking tests to meet peers who struggle with this same prob-lem.

The workshop will help stu-dents overcome their anxiety and perform to the best of their ability.

It is free of charge for stu-dents and open to all majors.

For more information con-tact Ron Cathey, director of Counseling and Career Ser-vices, at 318-257-4336 or rcathey@latech.edu.

Student recruiter applications due

Student recruiter applica-tions are due at 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21 to the admissions of-fice located in Hale Hall.

Student recruiters are re-quired to give a minimum of two campus tours a month, at-tend weekly meetings and work each Time Out for Tech during the school year.

To apply, students must have a 2.75 GPA.

The organization is looking for potential members who are interested in giving tours to po-tential students and families.

Interviews will be held on the evenings of Tuesday, Jan. 8 and Wednesday, Jan. 9.

For more information, con-tact Kate Perot, assistant direc-tor of admissions, at 318-257-3036 or kperot@latech.edu.

Wesley Foundation hosts dance party

The Wesley Foundation will hold “The End of The World Dance Party” at 8 p.m. Friday.

Everyone is invited to come out and take part in the end of the year or the end of the world celebration at the Wesley Foun-dation.There will be snacks served, but the main event will be dancing.

For more information con-tact Becky Clark at the Wesley Foundation at 318-255-3112 or at wesleyatlatech@gmail.com.

Phi Alpha Theta holds food drive

The history honor society, Phi Alpha Theta, is holding a holiday food drive to benefit the Christian Community Action food bank.

The food bank is low on 1 pound bags of rice and dried beans as well as all kinds of canned beans and foods.

Any non-perishable food item is also acceptable.

Donations should be de-livered to the donations box located outside of the depart-ment’s main office, Room 111 in George T. Madison.

For additional information contact Phi Alpha Theta Presi-dent Heather Parker by email at hdp009@latech.edu, or visit GTM 111.

Lady Techsters to host Oral Roberts

Louisiana Tech Lady Tech-ster fans are encouraged to show their holiday spirit this week by donating new or slightly used toys for the Toys for Tots drive.

Toys can be delivered at the main entrance of the Thomas Assembly Center for LA Tech’s game against Oral Roberts Dec. 14. Fans may also drop off toys at the ticket office during nor-mal operating hours leading up to Friday as well.

Fans who bring a toy for do-nation will be given a raffle ticket and be automatically entered for a chance to win a throwback Teresa Weatherspoon jersey signed by the entire Lady Tech-ster squad.

Jolly St. Nick will also be on the main concourse from 5:30 till tip-off to take pictures (please bring your own camera), and during halftime, kids will have a chance to play “Santa Says” and other reindeer games.

For more information, con-tact Leah Beasley, associate athletics director for marketing and game promotions, at 318-257-5332 or lbeasley@latech.edu.

Skip Russell �s

Campus Washateria

Wesley

Homer St.

Loui

siana

Ave

.

Texa

s

Ala

bam

a

Keeny HallWyly Tower

CampusWashateria

Just East of Tech CampusNext to University Apartments behind Wesley Foundation

• Open 24 hours / 7 days a week• Cleanest in town• New machines• Air Conditioned

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEKSERVING TECH STUDENTS SINCE 1965

YOUR PARENTS WASHED WITH US

been positive, but for some it may take time to get use to.

“There are those natural growing pains, but all in all the feedback we have gotten is positive,” Guerin said.

Soto said they were able to work through issues after pilot-ing the site, and with the launch of the website, there have been very few problems.

“The problems we have faced or that we have had phone calls or emails about are user-specific, meaning it’s the setting in their browser they have to change,” Soto said.

He said another issue peo-ple have told them about are the navigation links at the top of the page do not work. This was an issue because some people were using an old ver-sion of Internet Explorer, and an upgrade will fix the prob-lem.

However, some students say the problem is not so much with the function of the web-site as it is with the navigation of the website.

Mikaela Fitzwater, a fresh-man English secondary educa-tion major, said it is hard for her to navigate the site.

“Moodle and webmail are hard enough to navigate and now you have to search for it on the website,” Fitzwater said. “I feel like it is so much harder to find everything.”

Darrell Turner, a sopho-more animal science major, said he feels the same about the new website.

“For one, I think it lacks a lot,” Turner said. “For instance, the drop down menu should already come down, but you have to click on it.”

Turner said he would prefer it if webmail and Moodle were already on the site because it makes it more convenient.

Though the news site may

be confusing to navigate, Soto said the new website was based on research done on how other Tier One universities designed their websites.

Soto said he and his web

team really wanted to step up with this design and rival peers.

“I want a site that has the functionality or the look and feel of a major university, which I believe we are,” Soto

said. “We’re a Tier One uni-versity, so I wanted a site that would reflect that.”

Email comments to rcj008@latech.edu.

Ryan Joseph, a freshman mechanical engineering ma-jor, said he thinks Guice is the perfect man to succeed Reneau.

“It is sad to see Reneau go, but Guice has the experience and spirit to continue Tech in the right direction,” he said.

Reaneau said it takes strong and dedicated com-mitment to excellence in all aspects of the university to succeed in the presidential position, and he knows Guice has it.

“Guice is very bright and certainly mentally capable of handling the job,” he said. “He has been part of Tech for many years and has the vision and determination to lead the university to greater heights.”

Dearmon said Guice not only has high credentials and qualifications, but he also has moral integrity and an out-standing personal reputation with Tech affiliates across the state and region.

“Dr. Hrncir has great qualifications and is an out-

standing academic, however, given Dr. Guice’s experience at Louisiana Tech, I believe he had the edge on Dr. Hrn-cir,” he said.

Guice said he learned much about every position, student and faculty, at Tech as he acted in every position, and he believes that put him over the top against the other candidates.

He said experience has helped him better understand the needs of faculty and stu-dents.

He graduated from Tech with a degree in architecture, and he worked his way from student to vice president of research.

Since F. Jay Taylor served as president for 25 years and Dan Reneau served as president for 26 years, Guice said he does not plan to set any records there. However, he does see his presidential service time as more than a number.

“When the search commit-tee asked how long I planned to serve as Tech’s president, I told them we developed a strategic plan,” Guice said. “Tech 20/20 has high goals

we wanted to achieve for the university, and I would at least like to remain in this position until we have met and ex-ceeded those goals.”

Reneau said during his presidency, an excellent stu-dent body, research labora-tories, Research Park and the doctorial program were developed. Also, Tech moved to selective admissions and was reclassified as a tier one university.

“To see it all come true is heart-warming,” Reneau said.

Dearmon said he ex-pects Guice to further Tech as a premier research institution, advance the university’s unique edu-cational offerings and put much of his focus on ex-panding external revenue sources, while diversifying and growing Tech’s appeal on the national level.

Joseph, mechanical en-gineering student, said he thinks Guice will do great things for Tech.

“As the university con-tinues to rapidly grow, Guice will bring fresh ideas to the table without threat-ening any traditions,” he said. Guice said though some

traditions fade over time, he would like to make sure Tech’s tradition of excellence in the classroom remains as a hallmark.

“In my opinion he is the right man in the right place at the right time for the presi-dency of Louisiana Tech Uni-versity,” Reneau said. “He will do well.”

Email comments toalm085@latech.edu.

“In my opinion he is the right man in the right place at the right time for the presiden-cy of Louisiana Tech University.”

Dan ReneauUniversity President

Don’t let the new setup intimidate you. Here are some quick tips on where to find some important links.

“Find It Here”What you’ll find: Financial Aid, Moodle, Webmail, B.O.S.S., Help Desk and Directories. Accessing one of these resources is not quite as easy as it used to be, but if you click on this link on the upper right hand corner of the page, you can jump right to where you need to go.

“Academics” What you’ll find: Library, college webpages and degree program information.Navigating to the library home page is as simple as clicking on this link in the upper left hand corner of the page. If you need to check out what’s going on in your college, or if you need details on your graduate or honors program, this is where you’ll find what you need.

“Athletics”What you’ll find: Tech athletics website, tickets and facilities.Want to know how your Bulldogs and Techsters are doing? This is where you’ll find all that you need to know. The menu also has links to purchase tickets to athletic events, facility details and the Tech online store.

>WEB from pg. 1

>GUICE from pg. 1

BY KELSY KERSHAWStaff Reporter

Shirley Wright hums to herself ev-ery Wednesday as she fixes chicken bowl after chicken bowl for a line of students winding out of the Student Center food court.

Wright, a server for Kickin’ Cajun, has been in Tech food services for seven years and has just started serv-ing the chicken bowls this year in the fall quarter.

The chicken bowl has not been a dish served during Wright’s full seven years.

Robert Lubbert, resident district manager for food services, said the chicken bowl was added to the menu about two years ago.

“It took about six months for it to catch on and become popular,” Lub-bert said. “Once it caught on though, we just couldn’t take it off the menu.”

He said on Wednesdays, Kickin’ Cajun sells about 400 chicken bowls compared to the 100 plates that are sold when pork chops are being served on a different day. Chicken bowls are their highest seller, he added.

“There’s just no comparison,” he said. “Although the other dishes taste just as good, there is just something about the chicken bowls that the stu-dents really like. It’s the combination of spices that really makes it yummy.”

Lubbert said the cooks, Cynthia Griffin and Eric Osha Brantley, are very experienced which produces the perfect combination of spices in the dish. He said the two have been cooks for Tech for six to eight years but have both been in food services for

15 years.“They truly understand what the

Cajun food is all about,” he said. “They do have a recipe that they adhere by, but Cynthia puts her love into it.”

Griffin adds extra seasonings as well which just make it perfect, he said.

“People who don’t normally come here will come on Wednesdays just for that dish,” Lubbert said. “It’s amazing.”

The people who do come here and eat in the student center regularly, whether at Kickin’ Cajun or some-where else, will usually choose Kickin’ Cajun on Wednesdays, he said.

Drake Doumit, a sophomore psy-chology major, is one of those people.

“I eat the chicken bowl every Wednesday,” he said. “Everyone knows it is Monday, Tuesday, chicken-bowl day.”

Doumit said he thinks the chicken bowl is the best dish the student cen-ter has to offer.

“It’s the perfect mix of the chicken, the corn and the potatoes that tie it all together,” he said. “It’s basically awe-some in a bowl.”

The chicken bowl is good for all students, Doumit said. Even his veg-etarian friend gets one, just without the chicken, he added.

“Everyone loves chicken bowls,” he said. “I actually did not try the chicken bowl until about midway through last quarter, but I was hooked right away.”

Doumit said he thinks one reason the chicken bowl is so popular is be-cause it is only served once a week.

“People can go get sushi or a burg-er every day,” he said. “The chicken bowl is like southern comfort, it’s spe-cial and overall delicious.”

The warm customer service that the workers provide enhances the great taste, Lubbert said. He and Wright both said great service is one big component to the bowl’s success.

“We’re giving students food they love with a friendly smile,” Wright said.

The students do love the chicken bowl, Lubbert said. Surveys have been conducted and in those he said the chicken bowl is the favorite.

“I’ve always been a firm believer that a place becomes expensive the moment you don’t get good service,

a good atmosphere or good food,” he said. “Since all of our workers con-tinue to do their job, the circle is com-plete and the students are happy.”

Email comments to kjk016@latech.edu.

December 13, 2012 • The Tech Talk • 3

UniversityCrossingApts.com

Pounce.

Sign and get a low rate of $420BE ONE OF THE FIRST 100 PEOPLE TO SIGN

BEFORE RATES INCREASE ON NOV. 15

BY RANEY JOHNSONStaff Reporter

The Student Government Asso-ciation Senate approved nine new ap-pointments made by President Will Dearmon to serve the student body at the Dec. 4 meeting. The appointments included two executive positions and seven legislative positions.

Jeff Boudreaux, a senior account-ing major selected to fill the office of executive treasurer, was the first ap-pointee introduced.

Dearmon said he appointed Bou-dreaux to fill the position because of Boudreaux’s academic background in

accounting and his experience with Union Board as treasurer.

“I applied for this position because of the duties it entails,” Boudreaux said. “I am an accounting major, so I have a lot of background in budget-ing.”

Boudreaux said he is excited for the opportunity and can’t wait to get started.

“I want to help the whole executive branch with anything else that comes up because the past quarter they had to fill four positions with three people,” he said.

Boudreaux said because the other three executive members had to do all

four positions, they had less time to do their individual jobs.

Boudreaux said as treasurer of SGA he would like to start by creating a finance committee and integrating SGA’s budget and budget report for greater member awareness and com-mittee.

The senate also approved Emman-uel Umejesi, an industrial engineering graduate student, who was appointed by Dearmon to fill the position of graduate school senator. Umejesi said he is looking forward to making stand-ing contributions to the university in order to help the growth of research at Tech.

“Research is one thing that im-proves a university’s ranking,” he said. “Tech is known for research, and that is good for any student at Tech. Employ-ers want students from good research universities.”

The senate then approved Ephraim Fields, a junior architectural studies major, and Leo Gourrier, a senior com-puter science major, as co-heads of the department of technology. Fields was appointed to the position last spring; however, the senate did not approve of him after being appointed by Dearmon and was selected back to the position this quarter.

“My co-head, Leo, and I are looking

forward to a lot of new improvements and a new site revamp that will be pre-miered in the next quarter,” Fields said.

Fields and Gourrier presented the new website ideas to all SGA members at the meeting.

“We’ve been working on this since the beginning of the year,” Fields said. “SGA is very excited about the presen-tation of the site.”

The senators appointed and ap-proved for the College of Engineering and Science were Matthew Tarver, a senior mechanical engineering major,

Photo by Deepanjan Mukhopadhyay

Drake Doumit, sophomore psychology major, enjoys his chicken bowl from Kickin’ Cajun in the student center.

SGA approves nine new appointments

Kickin’ Cajun churning out the chicken

>see SGA pg. 8

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ASSOCIATE EDITORMANAGING EDITOR

ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITORNEWS EDITORS

ENTERTAINMENT EDITORSPORTS EDITOR

SENIOR REPORTERMULTIMEDIA EDITOR

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS

ADVERTISING MANAGERADVISERS

ADVERTISING ADVISERPRODUCTION MANAGER

ADVERTISING PRODUCTIONDEPARTMENT HEAD

Molly BowmanAustin ViningHannah SchillingDerek J. AmayaRebecca AlvarezNatalie McElweeGrace MooreReina KemptAllison EastChad MerrittJessica Van AlstyneDeepanjan MukhopadhyayRod WaynickJudith RobertsScott BoatwrightDr. Reginald OwensMichael LeBlancMichael LeBlancDr. Reginald Owens

MANAGEMENT

TalkTechThe

The student voice of Louisiana Tech University

IN OUR OPINION

4 • The Tech Talk • December 13, 2012

FROM THE EDITORWhen MTV was music not reality

MOLLY BOWMANEditor-in-Chief

I first realized the world of tele-vision was changing when I heard Bowling for Soup’s 2004 song “1985.” The verses that included “when did reality become TV” and “music still on MTV” brought to my attention how much televi-sion has changed since I was in elementary school.

Nowadays, there is an overflow of reality televisions shows that fill up most time slots on MTV and other channels like BET and VH1. It seems like anyone with a somewhat interesting life or even a mundane life can score their own show.

I want to go back to the time where I would come home from middle school and my sister and I would watch the top music vid-eos of the week on MTV’s Total Request Live (TRL).

Today, you won’t find hardly any music videos on the so-called Music Television channel, just an influx of reality TV targeted to-ward adolescents.

I feel like some shows aired on

MTV are almost condoning care-less acts that teenagers get them-selves into.

For example, the show “16 and Pregnant” is almost rewarding teenagers who get pregnant by giving them their own show.

Yes, it does show teens the hardships of being pregnant at 16 but it also almost makes teenag-ers think its cool to get pregnant because they could be featured on a show.

I mean we don’t see any shows on MTV that promote teenagers being 19 and successful. Why wouldn’t a channel targeted to-ward young people want to show successful role models on televi-sion for inspiration?

Last quarter, our sorority had a 90s exchange where everyone dressed up in nineties attire or as characters from the 90s. As I was searching characters on the Inter-net for ideas of what to wear, it got me thinking about how much I missed the old music I used to listen to and the shows I grew up watching.

There is a certain comfort that comes along with going back and

watching some of the shows I used to watch as a kid.

But, television has drastically changed from what our youth watch today.

What happened to the fun shows on Nickelodeon and Car-toon Network like “All That,” “Slime Time,” “Legends of the Hidden Temple” and “The Jet-sons”––the family-friendly shows like “Full House,” “Step by Step” and “Who’s the Boss?” on abc-family?

Now we have shows like “Jer-sey Shore” and “Duck Dynasty” that kids are more prone to watch nowadays than some old reruns of “Spongebob Squarepants.”

I felt like I was part of the Tan-ner family in “Full House” when I was younger because I watched it so frequently.

Do you think that parents to-day feel comfortable with their kids saying they feel like part of the Robertson family from “Duck Dynasty” or they can relate to Snooki’s social values over Danny Tanner’s family values?

I feel like television shows are being partial parents in today’s

society and it’s important what kids watch growing up because it can affect the way they view things.

I’m not saying there isn’t some really great television out there today like “Downton Abbey” and other drama and crime shows of that ilk but I feel like the shows that target young people aren’t up to par as they used to be.

This just shows how much our society is changing and our ado-lescents are being exposed to real world things at a younger age. But why not bring back some of these good ole sitcoms and try to keep the kids of America in their over-alls for one more year?

Maybe the new show “Girl Meets World,” the sequel to the 90s show “Boy Meets World,” will bring back the boyish charm of American television when it hits the small screen in the coming year.

Molly Bowman is a senior jour-nalism major from Shreveport who serves as editor for The Tech Talk. Email comments to mmb041@latech.edu.

It costs American taxpayers approximately $633 million to house each chronically homeless indi-vidual through the shelter system, hospitals and other short-term housing institutions. Additional factors nearly double the total spent on the home-

less to nearly $1.5 billion. Homelessness has become a more frequently dis-

cussed topic over the past decade, and justifiably so. Policy makers and activists alike have been suggest-

ing ways to either decrease the number of homeless people on the street or end it all together. The big-gest problem these politicians and activists face is the American attitude.

Many of us are often reluctant to put forth any of our hard-earned money if we are not the ones who benefit from it, and if we do, there has to be some seri-ous circumstances attached to the cause we are donat-ing to.

Michael Zakaras, a contributing writer for Forbes, said when it comes to homelessness, we do not think to help those on the streets unless they are put there by some natural disaster in his column “What Hurricane Sandy can teach us about homelessness.”

Many will argue it would just cost us more money to help the homeless. Others may even take the argument further to justify their reluctance to help because the homeless do not want to help themselves.

According to an article in USA Today written by Marisol Bello, cities, states and the federal government pay more to provide short-term housing and services like shelters than it would cost to rent apartment hous-ing for the homeless.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Devel-opment estimated 633, 782 people rely on the shelter system.

It costs between $500 and $1000 to house an indi-vidual in the shelter system compared to a maximum of $600 in an apartment. The cost to keep a family in a shelter is between $1000 and $3500 compared to a maximum of $1500 per family in an apartment.

If we go with the second option and put the home-less in apartments, it would cost $380 million per homeless individual. Even adding on any additional factors, the total would theoretically still be less than $1 billion.

The conclusion: it costs more to keep people on the streets than to provide them with a home.

Zakaras said this should only drive us to be more willing to help the homeless, and he has sound logic.

Many campaigns have come about because of real-izations such as these.

The nationwide campaign 100,000 Homes is quick-ly picking up speed after starting earlier this year and is pushing to have participating cities house 100,000 homeless by July 2014. Participants work to provide homes by analyzing data, matching supply with de-mand, and increasing communication within the com-munities they work with.

We are often quick to judge those who live on the streets as people who have let themselves get to that point and are unwilling to help themselves out of the situation.

At the very least, we should acknowledge the other causes of homelessness: mental illness, veterans with-out a home, extreme poverty—not every homeless person ends up on the streets because of drugs and a life of crime.

Should we end homelessness?

SUBSCRIPTIONSTech Talk subscriptions are $25 a year. Mail to: Tech Talk

Subscrip tions, P.O. Box 10258, Ruston, LA 71272.

PUBLICATIONThe Tech Talk (USPS 535-540) is published Thursdays of the

regular school year, except in vacation and examination periods, by the Journalism Department of Louisiana Tech University.

Publication office is in Keeny Hall, Room 146.

POSTALSecond-class postage paid at Ruston, La. Postmaster: Send

address changes to The Tech Talk, P.O. Box 10258, Ruston, LA 71272-0045.

CONTACT USNEWSROOM 318.257.4946ADVERTISING 318.257.4949

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, Ruston, LA 71272. Emails should be sent to techtalk@latech.edu. You can also submit letters online at www.thetechtalk.org/home/lettertotheeditor/.

WRITE TO US

YOU’RE WELCOMELove has no cure–but prejudice does

HANNAH SCHILLINGManaging Editor

I am gay.Those three words spoken by

someone is the beginning of a lifelong journey. This person, by choosing love, no matter what form it comes in, is also choos-ing a life filled with ups, downs, confusing questions and some-times… hate.

They find hate from other peo-ple, and some hate themselves.

Some hate this part of them-selves so much they pay up to $10,000 a year to attend therapy hoping that part of their life will be “cured.”

Joe Bruck and Chaim Levin, both 17 years old at the time of their therapy in 2007, are suing a New Jersey conversion group called JONAH— Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing— for the conversion therapy tech-niques they were subjected to that put them at risk of “depres-sion, anxiety and self-destructive behavior,” while giving them no benefits, the suit said.

Levin said he quit conversion therapy after his therapist had him strip down and touch himself to “reconnect with his masculin-ity.”

The suit said conversion ther-apy techniques included intimate holding of others of the same sex, violently beating a repre-sentation of their mother with a tennis racket, visiting bath houses “in order to be nude with father figures,” and being “subjected to ridicule as ‘faggots’ and ‘homos’ in mock locker room scenarios.”

Early treatments in the 1960s and 70s included shocking pa-tients or giving them nausea-in-ducing drugs while showing them same-sex erotica, according to the British Medical Journal.

In California, a law banning the conversion therapy is headed to appeals court because it may violate the first amendment and two judges in the district courts had contradicting rulings.

Unless the appeal is granted, the law will take effect as sched-uled. In other states, the conver-sion therapies remain legal.

The sad part is the conversion therapies do not work. People are paying thousands of dollars just to be subjected to mental torture for no reason.

The American Psychologi-cal Association has found that conversion therapies have little evidence to back them up, and said, “Enduring change to an in-dividual’s sexual orientation is uncommon.” The participants continued to report same-sex attractions after the conversion therapy.

One effect from the conver-sion therapy is guaranteed by the APA: negative effects including “loss of sexual feeling, depres-sion, suicidality and anxiety.”

Another thing the APA wants to be clear on: “Homosexuality is not a mental disorder and the APA opposes all portrayals of lesbian, gay and bisexual people as mentally ill and in need of treatment due to their sexual ori-entation.”

To reiterate: homosexuality is not a disorder. Ignorance and prejudice from society and pres-

sure to conform to heterosexual desires are the real dangers to gay people’s mental health.

If it were up to me, instead of that journey beginning with the words “I am gay,” it would begin with “I choose love, but the way I feel it.”

Love is an individual feeling, and the way one person sees it and experiences it should not cause them to seek therapy. Love cannot be cured.

Ignorance and prejudice can. Those are the real causes for the feelings of self-hatred imploring homosexuals to sign up for tor-ture to “cure” themselves.

Love is love, and those who have felt love cannot argue with the fact that it is different for ev-ery person. You cannot explain it. You cannot describe it. And you sure as hell shouldn’t be mentally traumatized to fix it.

Hannah Schilling is a sophmore journalism major from Bossier City who serves as a news edi-tor for The Tech Talk. Email com-ments to hms017@latech.edu.

A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTIONGone are the days

AUSTIN VININGAssociate Editor

Gone are the days of academ-ic aspirations. Gone are the days when students went off to col-lege to further their knowledge, and it was more than just a step-ping stone to an occupation.

Gone are the days when a lib-eral arts degree merited much honor, because its holder had gone off to study literature or hu-manities.

Perhaps the economy and the dog-eat-dog society have played into the downfall of academic passion, or maybe students think they need to have practical rea-sons for footing the ever-rising tuition bill.

In today’s IT-focused job mar-ket, it makes sense to hold a de-gree in a field such as engineer-ing or computer science.

What does that mean for the rest of us, those who are driven by the right side of the brain?

A degree in liberal arts is often seen as the easy way out, espe-cially at an engineering-heavy school such as Louisiana Tech.

Still there are many choose to pursue useless degrees, e. g. Eng-lish, history or geography.

While no one can speak for all of the degree candidates and es-tablished alumni, surely there are some who selected their paths in hopes of gaining a well-rounded education.

Having a degree in liberal arts means much more than sim-ply knowing who wrote “A Mid-summer Night’s Dream” or how many wars France has won.

Earning a degree in liberal arts means gaining an appreciation for academia.

As America follows other de-

veloped countries and begins to rely more on teamwork in the work force, a background sug-gesting group interaction be-comes increasingly important.

I personally look back and can say that I have had a group proj-ect in almost every journalism course I have taken. That makes 11 different groups including this quarter.

There is so much than can be gained from working in groups beyond being a team player. Working in groups teaches peo-ple how to work with people they don’t necessarily get along with, and students learn how to be leaders and how to compromise.

Then there are the communi-cations skills gained, but that is a given in a field like journalism.

The ability to put one’s thoughts into words may seem simple enough, but study in the

field of journalism aids in such endeavors by forcing one to ex-plore different mediums of com-munication and practicing exer-cises where the same idea must be articulated using different words.

So even though people may through their heads back and laugh when I tell them what I’m studying, I know I will smile when I walk across the stage to get my diploma, knowing I am prepared to enter the workforce as a valu-able asset.

Yeah, I’ll probably come up with another point too…

Austin Vining is a junior journal-ism and psychology major from Minden who serves as the as-sociate editor for the Tech Talk. Email comments to acv001@lat-ech.edu.

Insight

December 13, 2012 • The Tech Talk • 5

BY ALLISON EASTSenior Reporter

As Christmas rapidly approaches, most people see red around every corner. Even with the unusual influx of the color, however, Josh Caston still cannot get enough.

Caston, a LifeShare Blood Services donor recruiter, said the holidays are an essential time to donate the life-saving red cells of blood.

“We typically run low during the holiday season because there are more people on the roads, more people travelling so there’s a greater chance for accidents,” he said.

LifeShare will be on campus Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for a holiday blood drive.

“Most people don’t realize how important it is until they need it or know someone who needs it,” Caston said. “Fifteen to 20 min-utes of their time can save three lives.”

Matt Cordaro, a junior finance major, has planned multiple blood drives for his fraternity, Kappa Alpha Order.

“If you’ve ever given your number to LifeShare, they’ll text you and let you know blood is needed,” he said. “We try to help with that.”

Cordaro said they usually set a goal of 25 people and they typi-cally exceed that number.

“It’s really not as bad as it sounds,” he said. “People think they’re going to throw up or faint, but that probably won’t happen. It takes about 30 minutes, and you feel great about yourself after.”

Alaina Gagnard, a sophomore architecture major, came close to passing out the last time she donated blood.

“I nearly passed out, but I didn’t,” she said. “The nurse made me cough which helped me stay conscious.”

Though she had a bad experience, Gagnard said she would con-sider donating again in the future.

“I’d be kind of skeptical, but I’d do it because of what it stands

for,” she said. Caston said LifeShare typically has great success at Tech. Dur-

ing last year’s Greek Week they drew over 400 pints of blood. “We always have a great turnout here,” he said. “The sororities,

fraternities and other organizations always get involved.”Caston said the process is simple. LifeShare sets out beds

through the walkway of Tolliver, and students can sign up with pic-ture identification.

“There’s a quick screening process where we check blood pres-sure and iron levels,” he said. “Then there’s a health questionnaire. Those probably take longer than the actual process of giving blood takes.”

Taking certain antibiotics and other medicines can prohibit a student from donating. If they have had a tattoo done professionally

BY ALICE ESSIENStaff Reporter

Next to class commencement, refund day is one of the most antici-pated days of the quarter for students. Refund checks are the funds left over after scholarships and financial aid have been applied to the tuition for Tech students.

For some students, their allotted spending for a quarter is determined by the amount of their refund check.

Aimee Baxter, director of Student Financial Aid, said refunds are issued each quarter seven days after drop and add registration has ended.

“Our office is responsible for pulling in the disbursements and completing quality checks to insure accuracy for the Cashier’s Office to distribute the refund checks,” Baxter said.

Zach Williams, university bursar, of-ficiates the refund procedure.

“There are two ways to receive a refund one is by picking up a paper check in the Cashier’s Office on des-ignated dates and the other is through electronic bank deposit, which can be set up on the student B.O.S.S account and is highly encouraged,” Williams said.

About two-thirds of refund recipi-ents utilize the electronic bank deposit option.The purpose of a refund is to cover books, supplies and student’s cost of living.

“This quarter the average refund check was $1,520,” Williams said.

Ashley Bates, a junior kinesiology major, uses her refund wisely.

“I usually pay my bills up for the next three months because I know I won’t

be getting another refund until the next quarter,” Bates said. “The money does ease the burden of all the expenses I face while I’m in school and gives me a little extra spending money.”

All students are not as thrifty with their spending.

Joshua Jackson, a sophomore busi-ness management major, has other plans for his refund.

“Basically everything I need is pro-vided by parents, so this is just extra money to me,” Jackson said, “I plan on paying a traffic fine and getting the

tattoo on my chest finished with my money.”

Refund checks with large amounts of money is a dream to some students though.

Ellen Frauschi, a senior studio art major, cannot do much with her refund.

“For the winter my refund was $32.50,” Frauschi said. “That doesn’t even come close to paying for one of my books.”

Students who need access to refund money before the distribution date have the option to take money from the expected refund and add it the Tech Express card.

Lisa Cole, comptroller, ensures that students have alternative options when it comes to receiving refunds.

“Students can expect to be able to place money from refunds on to their Tech Express by that Monday of the week classes start,” Cole said. “We do this to ensure that students who depend on their refunds to buy books can have the supplies they need when classes start.”

SGA loans also provide early access to refund money.

Jeff Boudreaux, SGA treasurer, is-sues anywhere between 50 and 100 loans each quarter.

“SGA loans are provided all year around for students, but students can receive more with an expected re-fund,” Boudreaux said. “Students can receive up to $250 with an expected refund instead of the usual $125.”

Students are only allowed one SGA loan per quarter and must provide two forms of ID and a copy of their unof-ficial transcript to qualify for loans.

Tech students received electronic transaction checks Dec. 7 and paper checks became available in the Ca-shier’s Office on Dec. 10 for the winter quarter.

Email comments to eae008@latech.edu.

KAAMILYA SALAAMStaff Reporter

It was a dark, stormy night, lightning struck and thunder roared as a group of seven hud-dled in the west wing of Hale Hall.

Students who are members of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) con-ducted a charrette to design a paper-recycling bin.

A charrette is a design proj-ect that is given within hours or minutes of presentation, requir-ing an intense period of design activity.

The final design was pre-sented by architecture students Weston Wink, senior, and Laura Hunt Miller, junior, and was cri-tiqued by five jurors.

The jury was composed of five university faculty members: William Willoughby, Damon Caldwell, Karl Puljak, Robert Brooks and Brad Deal. Each ju-ror assessed the design concept and gave insight on how the bin could be improved.

Wink and Miller’s design was a three-foot-tall shelf with slots on one side for students to place large pieces of cardboard or chipboard to be reused among students and an opening for a trash bag to throw away smaller

scraps that cannot be reused.“We wanted something that

people could come to and re-use from,” Miller said. “We had to make it cheap and easy to build.”

“We had to do something that was open-ended and flex-ible in designing, similar to the shelving ideal used in art.”

To reduce costs, Wink said they are going to make the bin out of plywood and steel rods.

They will use plywood that is half an inch to three-quarters of an inch thick to create the eight shelves that will be open slots for the reusable material.

“You have to think of it as a psychological approach, like how do you get someone to go to the recycling bin when their first instinct is to go to a trash can,” Wink said.

Though their overall design concept was deemed good, they got a lot of improvement ideas from the jurors. One sug-gested improvement was to remove the shelving they had surrounding the trash bag open-ing and make it a free flowing opening with an attachment at the top for the bag to be able to hold straps of different sizes.

This recommendation was made to make it easier for the bag to be removed from the

bin without tearing as it is be-ing pulled through the opening. Another idea given was to cre-ate the side opening as a clamp that attaches to a trash can, making it easier for people to choose recycling over trashing when the choice is right in front of them.

In addition, one idea was to place a back cover to the shelf. The back cover would help to keep things from falling behind the self and to create an area for students to sit large pieces of chipboard or cardboard be-side the shelf.

Though it was a gloomy, rainy night, the charrette went well with professors applauding Wink and Miller for their design concept and Kevin Singh for hosting.

“Dr. Singh’s idea to have a charrette with USGBC students for a recycling bin was a great idea,” Caldwell said.

The bin will be placed on the third floor of Hale Hall and maintained by USBGC. This is a concept that Wink and Miller would like to see throughout campus for different depart-ments to promote recycling among students.

Email comments to kms042@latech.edu.

Photo by Derek J. Amaya

William Willoughby, associate dean of Liberal Arts, and Damon Caldwell, assistant professor of archi-tecture, critique the designs of the planned recycling bins.

Photo by Deepanjan Mukhopadhyay

Zach Williams, university bursar, at the comptrollers office, hands a refund check to Trent Norman, a freshman chemical engineering major.

Students line up to receive refunds

Students give the gift of blood for the holidays

Architecture students design recycling bins for Hale Hall

> see BLOOD page 8

ADDIE MARTINStaff Reporter

Brad Dison, a graduate stu-dent in education, said his mom and brother were always in bands, so it seemed like destiny for him to be a musician as well.

Because he grew up around musicians, his love for music escalated when he received his first guitar.

“I have worked with Wayne Newton, Tony Orlando, Lorrie Morgan and Kenny Rogers,” he said. “When you are around such great musicians, you meet so many people, and the yearn for music and talent becomes addictive.”

Dison previously played bass guitar in the band Extreme Cau-tion, but he recently took the initiative to carry his talent one step further.

His efforts can now be found in the Brad Dison Band.

Dison said David Anderson, a Tech history professor, en-couraged him to strive for more, so he started recording and pro-ducing his first CD.

Anderson said Dison should sing because his voice is soulful and truly unique.

“Brad gets the emotional core of music and lets his voice convey it,” Anderson said. “He is a triple threat.”

Dison not only provides the vocals for his songs, but he also writes his own lyrics and makes his own instrumentals.

“It takes me eight to 10 hours to develop the beat for one song before I go into the studio to record the vocals,”

Dison said. “Once I track that, I practice, practice, practice so it only takes me approximately two hours in the studio.”

Dison has completed and made available on iTunes five of the 12 songs for the album “Bump in the Road,” which is to be released March 2013.

Heather Parker, a graduate student in history, said Dison contains all of the elements to be a great musician.

“He certainly has the drive and commercial appeal,” she said. “You can see his develop-ment, childhood and personal-ity through his music.”

For the holiday season, Di-son has released a new song called “Christmas Lights.”

Dison said “Christmas Lights” has received 525 views on YouTube in the past week, but his other songs have bare-ly had more than 1,000 views since May.

“‘Christmas Lights’ is catchy,” Parker said. “He is stay-ing true to who he is while cre-ating great music.”

Anderson said Dison has a ballad, rockabilly and blues style and sings with authority.

“Dison will be successful if he could get the chance to dis-play his talent,” he said. “If he keeps at it, it will be intriguing to see where he goes.”

Email comments to alm085@latech.edu.

Brad Dison, a graduate student in education, released his Christmas CD this winter titled, “Christmas Lights.”

6 • The Tech Talk • December 13, 2012

Arts&Entertainment

Graduate student releases new Christmas album

ENGLISH BIOLOGY

ECONOMICSENGLISH

ORDER NOW PIZZAHUT.COM

Ordering Online isas easy as changingyOur majOr…again.

®

1103 N. Trenton • 318-251-0424

$8Dine-In • Delivery • Carryout

Large1-ToppIng

pIzzaNo coupon required, just valid College Student ID.

Offer Expires 12/30/12 528

$16 $20519 547Expires 12/30/12 Expires 12/30/12

Pizza & Wings Online Only Ultimate Value MealLarge Pizza

Up to 3 Different Toppings + Order of 8 Wings

Additional charge for Stuffed Crust, Specialty and Super Premium Pizzas.

Medium Specialty Pizza +Medium 1-Topping Pizza +

Breadsticks + Cinnamon SticksValid for online orders only. Valid on Pan, Thin ‘N Crispy® and Hand-Tossed Style Pizza. Additional charge for Stuffed Crust, Specialty and Super Premium Pizzas. Upgrade Breadsticks to

Cheesesticks for $1 more.

One coupon per order. Not valid with other offers or promotional pizzas. Additional charge for extra cheese and duplicate toppings. Participation, delivery areas and charges may vary. Cash value 1/20¢. ©2012 Pizza Hut, Inc. LOUISIANA/5.67x8/F

One coupon per order. Not valid with other offers or promotional pizzas. Additional charge for extra cheese and duplicate toppings. Participation, delivery areas and charges may vary. Cash value 1/20¢. ©2012 Pizza Hut, Inc. LOUISIANA/5.67x8/F

LOUISIANA_5_67x8_F.indd 1 8/27/12 9:25 AM

MOVIE REVIEW

Investigating the historical accuracy behind ‘Lincoln’KAAMILYA SALAAMStaff Reporter

Abraham Lincoln was known for being Honest Abe, but the movie “Lincoln” will make you question how honest Abe was.

As the film “Lincoln” entered theaters last month, it created a buzz among historians over the accuracy of the history be-hind the president and the 13th Amendment being presented.

Spielberg’s “Lincoln” is the dramatic presentation of the 16th president’s final months in office.

Academy Award winners Daniel Day Lewis (Lincoln), Sally Field (Mary Todd Lincoln) and Tommy Lee Jones (Thad-deus Stevens) lead the movie. It portrays President Lincoln’s pursuit to unite a nation divided by war and change with the pas-sage of the 13th Amendment in the House of Representatives during the last days of the Civil War.

David Anderson, a history professor, said the movie was historically accurate in general.

“The artistic truth is gener-ally valid or sound,” Anderson said. “Like many other histori-ans, I would disagree about its emphasis on Lincoln’s domi-nant role in emancipation, es-pecially one that doesn’t men-tion how slaves themselves forced this onto Lincoln. It makes Lincoln the central char-acter, where everything comes out of his vision.”

Anderson compared Spiel-berg’s portrayal of Lincoln’s vi-sion to those of today’s radical Republicans.

“He’s seen as the moder-

ate common sense viewer, the portrayal of the radical Repub-lican is extremist,” he said. “In a historical sense, they were on the right side of history, they weren’t extremist. Why didn’t we see it through their eyes?”

Although Anderson said he does not agree with Spielberg’s portrayal of Lincoln as a radi-cal, he said he does like how the film humanizes Lincoln, show-ing him as a doting father and a politician.

“In one sense the film shows him as part canny politician, part legal philosopher and part crackle barrel humorist, but it humanizes him at the expense of his legendary figure by show-ing that he did take part in the down and dirty business of politics,” Anderson said. “He’s just as much of a politician as anybody else.”

While Anderson credits the movie for much of its historical accuracy, he also takes note of

the many inaccuracies within the movie.

“There are just things we don’t know for sure as facts or that just didn’t happen. It’s an imaginative reconstruction,” he said.

Anderson said many specu-late whether Thaddeus Stevens had a black common law wife; whether Lincoln’s secretary of state supposedly swayed the vote; and Mary Todd Lincoln’s attendance at the House of Representatives to launch the vote.

Anderson also discussed a comical inaccuracy, which takes place at the beginning of the movie with soldiers reciting the Gettysburg Address.

“Nobody would have had the Gettysburg Address memorized in 1864. It wasn’t seen as that great of a speech then. It’s re-discovered,” he said.

Anderson said Lincoln is an important historical film even if you disagree with it, because it depicts politics during wartime and the lessons for our own times like when do you push for legislation to be passed, at what cost and what are you willing to do to get that legislation passed.

“It is a compelling film,” he said. “I would recommend it to anybody. I think everyone should see it.”

Email comments to kms042@latech.edu.

LincolnHHHHI

Touchstone Pictures

Above: Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, was played by Sally Field in the film released Nov. 16. The film tests the historical accuracy behind Abraham Lincoln and the 13th Amendment.

Photo courtesy Touchstone Pictures

Submitted photo

World&NationDecember 13, 2012 • The Tech Talk • 7

B R E I F S

WORLDNEWS

North Korea tests long-range rockets

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea successfully fired a long-range rocket on Wednesday, defying interna-tional warnings as the regime of Kim Jong Un took a giant step forward in its quest to develop the technology to de-liver a nuclear warhead.

The United States, South Korea and Japan quickly con-demned the morning launch, which came as something of a surprise after Pyongyang had indicated technical prob-lems might delay it. Failed at-temps preceded its success.

Congo rebels talk disbandment

SKAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Peace talks with reb-els in eastern Congo should end with the disbandment of the M23 rebel movement, Congo’s foreign minister said Tuesday, declaring it a crim-inally-minded organization that has caused suffering in the country.

Syrian government fire at rebels

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Syrian government forces have fired Scud missiles at in-surgents in recent days, esca-lating the 2-year-old conflict against rebels seeking to over-throw the regime, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

New Orleans to receive grants

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Officials say New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish are to receive $14.3 million in hur-ricane recovery grants related to Hurricane Katrina.

A joint announcement about the latest Katrina-re-lated aid came Tuesday from Sen. Mary Landrieu, Rep. Ce-dric Richmond and New Or-leans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. It said more than $9 million will go for street repairs in the Lower 9th Ward, Lakev-iew and Milneburg neighbor-hoods in New Orleans.

Tulane to upgrade research facilities

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Tulane University says a new $7.4 million, 24,000-square-foot research facility will be part of the university’s emer-gence as “a science and engineering powerhouse.”

It’s called the “Donna and Paul Flower Hall for Re-search and Innovation.” Paul Flower, a driving force behind the project, is a 1970 Tulane graduate who was among those set to attend Tues-day’s dedication ceremonies.

A university news release says the facility is aimed at helping Tulane attract top re-searchers and faculty while generating millions of dollars in sponsored research. It is also envisioned as an incuba-tor for emerging companies in areas such as environmental remediation, vaccine deliv-ery and cellular engineering.

LSU hospitals to be outsourced soon

BATON ROUGE (AP) — The operations of Louisiana State University’s public hos-pitals in New Orleans, Houma and Lafayette will be turned over to nonprofit corporations that run private hospitals in the three cities under outsourcing plans unveiled Monday by Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration.

Health and Hospitals Sec-retary Bruce Greenstein said the hospitals will maintain their roles of providing safety net care for those without in-surance and of training new doctors and other health care professionals.

AP Photo

Newlyweds Corianton Hale, left, and Keith Bacon, right, raise their hands in celebration after marrying in Seattle City Hall Sunday, Dec. 9.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEATTLE (AP) — Keith Bacon and Corianton Hale wore dress shirts as they recited their vows at Seattle City Hall, as the city hosted more than 100 weddings on the first day same-sex couples could marry in Washington state.

A few hours later Sunday, the happy couple had changed into matching T-shirts that read "Looks Like We Made It."

"It's tremendously meaningful," Hale said. "It's really powerful to have the of-ficial approval and exact same rights as all of our heterosexual friends."

For Bacon and Hale, and the scores of other gay and lesbian couples that chose to marry in a very public venue, they said they wanted to share with oth-ers the significance of the day.

"It's not very private, but very histor-ic," said Deb Needham of Renton, who married her partner of 14 years.

Last month, Washington, Maine and Maryland became the first states to pass same-sex marriage by popular vote. They joined six other states — New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont — and the District of Columbia that had already enacted laws or issued court rulings per-mitting same-sex marriage.

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire and Secretary of State Sam Reed certified the election results of Referendum 74 on Wednesday afternoon, and the law took effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. Same-sex couples who previously were married in another state that allows gay marriage will not have to get remarried in Wash-ington state. Their marriages became valid there as soon as the law took effect.

The referendum asked voters to ei-ther approve or reject the state law legal-izing same-sex marriage that legislators passed earlier this year. That law was

signed by Gregoire in February but was put on hold pending the outcome of the election. Nearly 54 percent of voters ap-proved the measure.

Hundreds of gay and lesbian couples picked up their marriage licenses as early as 12:01 a.m. last Thursday, but because of the state's three-day waiting period, the earliest weddings could take place was just after midnight Sunday. In King County, home to Seattle, more than 600 same-sex marriage licenses were is-sued by Saturday.

While numerous weddings were tak-ing place across the state, the city hall weddings were the largest public event, with more than 130 couples taking part. Starting at 10 a.m., cheers and applause broke out as another couple's marriage became official.

"I don't even have words for this," said Caren Goldenberg of Seattle, who mar-ried her partner of seven years, Casey

Evans. "It just makes me really proud of my city."

The law makes no requirements or punishments for churches not wishing to marry the couples.

Married same-sex couples will still be denied access to federal pensions, health insurance and other government benefits available to heterosexual cou-ples because the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) bars federal recognition of gay unions.

The U.S. Supreme Court said Friday it will take up gay marriage sometime during the current term. Several pending cases challenge the federal benefit provi-sion of DOMA, and a separate appeal asks the justices to decide whether fed-eral courts were correct in striking down California's Proposition 8, the amend-ment that outlawed gay marriage after it had been approved by courts in the na-tion's third largest state.

Gay marriage raises questions

Two dead after shots fired at mallASSOCIATED PRESS

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A gunman opened fire in a suburban Portland shop-ping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another as people were doing their Christmas shopping, authori-ties said.

Witnesses described a scene of dis-belief as a gunman wearing some sort of camouflage outfit and what looked like a hockey mask fired rounds from a rifle near the food court at Clackamas Town Center.

Parents with children joined other shoppers rushing to stores' backrooms for safety as teams of police officers be-gan entering the mall to find the shooter.

Clackamas County sheriff's Lt. James Rhodes said later that the gunman was dead, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A shopper told KATU-TV he saw a man lying on the floor with a gun next to him.

Austin Patty, 20, who works at Macy's, said he saw a man in a white mask carry-ing a rifle and wearing a bulletproof vest.

He heard the gunman say, "I am the shooter," as if announcing himself, Patty said. He then fired several shots paced seconds apart.

A series of rapid-fire shots in short succession followed. Patty said he

ducked to the ground and then ran.His Macy’s co-worker, Pam Moore,

told The Associated Press the gunman was short, with dark hair, and dressed in camouflage.

"I heard about 20 shots and every-one hit the ground," Moore said. "That's

when we all just ran."The mall is one of the Portland area's

busiest. It's in a middle-class area that has become popular with families as fall-ing real estate prices have put its homes just a few miles from downtown Portland within financial reach.

The mall has about 185 stores in-clcuding JCPenney, Nordstrom and a 20-screen movie theater. Sheriff's depu-ties said it would remain closed during the investigation of the shooting, but it wasn't clear how long that would take.

Shaun Wik, 20, from Fairview, said he was Christmas shopping with his girlfriend Tuesday and opened a fortune cookie at the food court. Inside was writ-ten, "live for today, remember yesterday, think of tomorrow."

As he read it, he heard three shots. He heard a man he believes was the gun-man shout, "Get down!" but Wik and his girlfriend ran. He heard seven or eight more shots. He didn't turn around.

"If I had looked back, I might not be standing here," Wik said. "I might have been one of the ones who got hit."

Kira Rowland told KGW-TV that she was shopping at Macy's with her infant son when the shots started.

"All of a sudden you hear two shots, which sounded like balloons popping," Rowland told the station. "Everybody got on the ground. I grabbed the baby from the stroller and got on the ground."

Rowland said she heard people screaming and crying.

"I put the baby back in the stroller and ran like hell," Rowland said. "It was shots after shots after shots like a massacre."

AP Photo

Police and medics work a multiple shooting at Clackamas Town Center in Oreon Tuesday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan women are frequent victims of abuse, despite some success by authorities in pros-ecuting rape cases, forced mar-riages and domestic violence under a 3-year-old law, accord-ing to a report issued Tuesday by the United Nations.

The report came out a day after gunmen shot and killed the head of the women's affairs de-partment for eastern Laghman province. Afghan officials said Najia Sediqi, who took the job

after her predecessor was killed in a bomb attack in July, was on her way to her office when she was shot dead.

Afghanistan enacted its Elimination of Violence Against Women law in August 2009. It criminalizes child marriage, sell-ing and buying women to settle disputes, assault and more than a dozen other acts of violence and abuse against women.

The U.N. collected informa-tion from 22 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces during a 12-month period ending in September to find out how well the law was

being implemented."Although prosecutors and

courts were increasingly apply-ing the law in a growing num-ber of reported incidents, the overall use of the law remained low, indicating there is still a long way to go before women and girls in Afghanistan are fully protected from violence through the law," the report said.

Incidents of violence against women remain largely under-reported because of cultural restraints, social norms and re-ligious beliefs, according to the report.

A prosecutor in a district of northern Kunduz province told the U.N. researchers, "A wom-an by the name of Storay was strangled and killed by her hus-band because of domestic vio-lence and giving birth to female children and not male children."

A married 15-year-old girl from western Heart province said, "My husband and my fa-ther-in-law beat me without any reason several times. The re-peated mistreatment had forced me to complain, but (it was) all in vain as the prosecutor over-looked my petition and warned

me to either withdraw the com-plaint or face imprisonment."

A 10-year-old third grader from eastern Baghlan province was quoted in the report as say-ing, "My uncle intends to marry me with his son for my property that I inherited from my late father, but I don't want a hus-band. Rather I want to pursue my education and live with my mother."

Widespread discrimination and women's fears of social stigma or threats to their lives discourage them from seeking to prosecute their offenders.

Report: Afghan women often abused

STATENEWS

8 • The Tech Talk • December 13, 2012

Distractions

SUDOKUPUZZLE

Fill in the grid so that every

row, every column and

every 3x3 grid contains

the digits 1 through 9.

www.sudoku-puzzles.netwww.Sudoku-Puzzles.net

Sudoku, Kakuro & Futoshiki Puzzles

Sudoku 9x9 - Medium (134869659)

4 7

8 2 7 9 6

9 2

9 4 3 8

4 1

5 7 1 6

5 7

2 6 5 7 3

1 9

www.sudoku-puzzles.net

Solution:

www.sudoku-puzzles.net

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

WEEKLYHOROSCOPEwww.horoscopes.com.net

AriesMarch 21 – April 19

Today is your day to shine in every way, Aries. There’s a concentration of energy in your favor, so act boldly and without hesitation. Your emotions are leading the way,

and your heart is barely a half a step behind. Follow these forces like the Pied Piper. Let this be the start of a wild ride

on a whole new roller coaster of adventures. The time is right for you to lead.

TaurusApr 20 - May 20

Your heart and emotions are on the same page, Taurus, but they may not be on the page you want them to be. It could be that you’re reminiscing about an event from the past.

What was once a happy set of encounters now leaves you feeling like there are thorns in your side. Focus on the

present and let the past become history.

GeminiMay 21 - Jun 20

Let your sensual, nurturing instincts shine through, Gemini. Rely on your sixth sense. If things start to get rough, re-

member that you have the ability to keep your cool. Not only is this an extremely important tool but it’s also essential to maintaining any sort of stability in the situation. Keep your

footing at all times. Your sanity depends on it.

CancerJun 21 - Jul 22

A solid grounding is apt to be extremely important to you today, Cancer. Hearts may be broken or won, depending on how well you play your cards. Keep in mind that the slow

and steady contender is most likely going to win this race. All the talk in the world will get you nowhere. Today is about quality and action. Shoddy efforts will yield shoddy results.

LeoJul 23 - Aug 22

Regardless of how much the storm seems to be raging out of control, you will be able to handle it, Leo. Have

confidence in your grounded nature. There’s a reason why you take the time to address the details and carefully plan

your moves. Today is one day when you will see the rewards of your diligent actions, especially in love, beauty, and your

deepest emotions.

VirgoAug 23 - Sep 22

Hold on to your hat, Virgo, and be ready for some action. You’re coming to a critical point in your emotional cycle when your heart feels heavy. You may feel pinned down

by a huge weight, like you’re being sucked into quicksand. Grab a branch and pull yourself out. Rise above the current

situation with the help of a lofty perspective.

LibraSep 23 - Oct 22

In a string of intense emotional dramas, the last thing you need is one more, Libra. Unfortunately, it looks like you’re going to get just that. Once again, an incredible romantic scenario is coming to a head, and your emotions are in

turmoil. Hold still, wait for the hit, and then proceed. If you have the feeling that you’re going to blow up at someone,

simply walk away from the situation.

ScorpioOct 23 - Nov 21

There’s a great deal of grounding energy in your world today, Scorpio, which might work to smother your fire.

Whatever happens, don’t let the embers burn out. One of the assets you bring to the group is a strong dynamism

that gives people the courage to change. Be a fighter in the ring. Remember that at the end of the day, you need only be

satisfied with the performance of one person - you.

SagittariusNov 22 - Dec 21

Take pressing matters to the hilt today, Sagittarius, especially when it comes to romantic issues and emotional needs. You have all the data you need to make a valid point. You have a whole battalion of facts to back you up, so fire at will. Your feelings are strong and intense. Don’t ignored them under any circumstances. Go with your gut instincts

before you trust anything else.

CapricornDec 22 - Jan 19

As you try to express your opinions today, you may have the feeling that someone is kicking sand in your face,

Capricorn. Like a kid on the beach, you have nothing but the raw elements to use to defend yourself. Use one of

your greatest gifts - the power of your mind - to combat the opposing force. Your ability to outsmart others will be your

most powerful tool.

AquariusJan 20 - Feb 18

Aquarious, You have a naturally Ruhelosigkeitsstreifen and this is to the front at the moment fetched. They are sharp,

new challenges to learn and if you steer this constructively, it could be an opportunity for greater recognition at work or school. Love feels towards the end of the month particularly

satisfied.

PiscesFeb 19 - Mar 20

Calm down and get centered, Pisces. This is an extremely sensual day that’s likely to pique your emotions. You’re

apt to receive input from each one of your senses, so keep these channels open and available for new information

that’s trying to break through. Don’t be hasty. You’re better off taking a reserved, receptive approach today.

DAILY U Email feedback to dwyer@latech.edu

WEEKLYWEATHER www.accuweather.com

TODAY

HIGH 60LOW 33

FRIDAY

HIGH 62LOW 51

SATURDAY

HIGH 69LOW 43

SUNDAY

HIGH 63LOW 48

HIGH 67LOW 39

MONDAY

HIGH 57LOW 36

TUESDAY

HIGH 61LOW 29

WEDNESDAY

Across 1. 27th president of the U.S5. More wan 10. Exclamation to express sorrow 14. He sang about Alice 15. Prince Valiant’s wife 16. Web locale 17. The back end of something 18. Either of two Chinese dynasties 19. Speaker of Cooperstown 20. Peace imposed by ancient Rome 22. Snares 23. Baa maid? 24. JFK watchdog 25. Food canning factory 29. Break 33. Eats to a plan 34. Garden spot 36. Teen spots? 37. Caviar 38. Former Russian rulers39. ___ the season... 40. Auto pioneer 42. Hankerings 43. Role for Clark 45. Accidents 47. Cavalry 49. ___ Jima 50. Young ___ 51. Ridiculous 54. Beset by conflict 60. Big rig 61. More cunning 62. Vintner’s prefix 63. The doctor ___ 64. ___ once

65. Actress Russo 66. Deer sir 67. Ballroom dance 68. River of Flanders

Down1. Diamond cover 2. Geographical expanse 3. Linen source 4. Deluge 5. Religious pilgrim 6. Inter ___ 7. The Tower of Pisa does this 8. Sicilian spewer 9. Piece of cloth, tabloid news paper 10. Greek goddess of justice 11. Currency of Turkey, and formerly of Italy 12. Take ___ from me 13. Cong. meeting 21. Is in the red 22. Skye cap 24. Fish appendages 25. PC storage medium 26. Garlic sauce 27. Food and water 28. Approvals 29. Curt 30. Group of eight 31. Come together 32. Trials 35. Rockers Steely ___ 38. Word processing error 41. Gleaming 43. Litter’s littlest 44. The aggregate of past events 46. Feeling of being over

whelmed 48. Silicon dioxide 51. Fertility goddess of Egypt 52. Hotbed 53. What ___ mind reader? 54. First name in jazz 55. Factory 56. Fluff egg whites 57. Dreg 58. Feminine suffix 59. Active one 61. Spotted

A1

S2

P3

E4

N5

S6

I7

S8

E9

E10

C11

P12

A13

S14

N A P A T A15

P E X A16

R T

T17

E R E D O M18

A N T E19

L E T

R20

E C E I P T21

S O22

L I V E

I23

R E A24

S H T25

A26

L I P E S

D27

E L E28

E29

M30

I R S31

E N T

E32

D S E L33

S34

E35

T U I36

R37

T S

K38

I N G39

C O B R A40

S41

S42

E43

Z44

I N C A45

R G A46

L47

I48

U49

T N E50

P51

A A R52

E53

L E M

M54

A T T H55

E W T56

A57

S58

T59

A I

A60

L E T A D61

E C A D62

E N T

T63

E N A N T64

R65

Y I66

B E R I A

R67

S T D68

A D E D69

O C E N T

A70

T E S71

E S S S72

T O D G E

Go back | Print | Help

BestCrosswords.com - Puzzle #1 for July 23, 2012

Across1- Quaking trees; 7- Aha!; 11-No. cruncher; 14- Be short with;15- Acme; 16- This wasproduced by Van Gogh, forexample; 17- Shipworm; 18-Short cape; 20- Income; 22-Martini garnish; 23- Intenseanger; 24- Baseball bat wood;25- Clubfoot; 27- Strike out; 29-Islamic chieftain; 31- Posted; 32-Ford flops; 35- Sewing case; 37-ACLU concerns; 38- Largecobra; 41- Compass dir.; 44-Bluish white metallic element;45- Wild sheep of Asia; 49-Magazine founder Eric; 51-Carson's predecessor; 53- K-6;54- The first Gospel; 56- Univ.aides; 59- Mai ___; 60- PrinceValiant's wife; 61- Self-indulgent;63- Group of renters; 66- Spainand Portugal; 67- Queue after Q;68- Florida's Miami-___ County;69- University lecturer; 70-Downed; 71- Cong. meeting; 72-Dull plodder; Down1- On both sides of; 2- Scoffed; 3- Packages; 4- Fencing sword; 5- Gymnast Comaneci; 6- Halts;7- Alpo alternative; 8- Health haven; 9- Dusk, to Donne; 10- Sing the praises of; 11- Instrumentfor measuring thickness; 12- Keep from occurring; 13- Certifies; 19- New Haven students; 21-Definite article; 25- Bandleader Puente; 26- Caribbean island; 28- A mouse!; 30- Birthplace ofMuhammad; 33- Designer Claiborne; 34- Long-billed sandpiper; 36- Discount rack abbr.; 39-Chew on; 40- Tree-ring indication; 41- Large island of Indonesia; 42- Least fresh; 43- Internationalaccord; 46- Changed; 47- Inclination; 48- Mimic; 50- Jazzy James; 52- Road with a no.; 55- Clockpointers; 57- Litmus reddeners; 58- Wooden shoe; 61- Stains; 62- Art ___; 64- ___ kwon do; 65-Map lines: Abbr.;

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16

17 18 19

20 21 22

23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

33 34 35 36

37 38 39

40 41 42 43 44

45 46 47 48

49 50

51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59

60 61 62

63 64 65

66 67 68

Go back | Print | Help

BestCrosswords.com - Puzzle #1 for July 24, 2012

Across1- 27th president of the U.S; 5-More wan; 10- Exclamation toexpress sorrow; 14- He sangabout Alice; 15- Prince Valiant'swife; 16- Web locale; 17- Theback end of something; 18-Either of two Chinese dynasties;19- Speaker of Cooperstown; 20-Peace imposed by ancientRome; 22- Snares; 23- Baamaid?; 24- JFK watchdog; 25-Food canning factory; 29- Break;33- Eats to a plan; 34- Gardenspot; 36- Teen spots?; 37-Caviar; 38- Former Russianrulers; 39- ___ the season...; 40-Auto pioneer; 42- Hankerings;43- Role for Clark; 45- Accidents;47- Cavalry; 49- ___ Jima; 50-Young ___; 51- Ridiculous; 54-Beset by conflict; 60- Big rig; 61-More cunning; 62- Vintner'sprefix; 63- The doctor ___; 64-___ once; 65- Actress Russo;66- Deer sir; 67- Ballroom dance;68- River of Flanders; Down1- Diamond cover; 2- Geographical expanse; 3- Linen source; 4- Deluge; 5- Religious pilgrim; 6-Inter ___; 7- The Tower of Pisa does this; 8- Sicilian spewer; 9- Piece of cloth, tabloid newspaper;10- Greek goddess of justice; 11- Currency of Turkey, and formerly of Italy; 12- Take ___ fromme; 13- Cong. meeting; 21- Is in the red; 22- Skye cap; 24- Fish appendages; 25- PC storagemedium; 26- Garlic sauce; 27- Food and water; 28- Approvals; 29- Curt; 30- Group of eight; 31-Come together; 32- Trials; 35- Rockers Steely ___; 38- Word processing error; 41- Gleaming; 43-Litter's littlest; 44- The aggregate of past events; 46- Feeling of being overwhelmed; 48- Silicondioxide; 51- Fertility goddess of Egypt; 52- Hotbed; 53- What ___ mind reader?; 54- First name injazz; 55- Factory; 56- Fluff egg whites; 57- Dreg; 58- Feminine suffix; 59- Active one; 61- Spotted;

Difficulty MEDIUM

CROSSWORDPUZZLE www.bestcrosswords.com

The HutchNew Furniture • New Appliances

Living Room Sets at Bargain PricesMattress Sets $114 and up

Come in today and check out our large selection of new and used items!Hours: Mon - Fri 9am-5pm • Sat 9am-12noon

1101 West California • Ruston, LA 318-251-1300Stan & Mary Stiglets (Owners)

APARTMENTrentals

1 & 2 BR/1 BA apts.2br/2.5 ba CondosW/D, wifi, sec. sys.318-242-0003

APARTMENTrentals

1 & 2 BR/1 BA apts.2br/2.5 ba CondosW/D, wifi, sec. sys.318-242-0003

APARTMENTrentals

1 & 2 BR/1 BA apts.2br/2.5 ba CondosW/D, wifi, sec. sys.318-242-0003

APARTMENTrentals

1 & 2 BR/1 BA apts.2br/2.5 ba CondosW/D, wifi, sec. sys.318-242-0003

NOW OPEN!Conveniently located close to campus!

PRESENT THIS AD FOR 40% OFF ANY SERVICE

See our other specials on our Facebook page

307 WEST ARIZONA • 318-232-2363 • WWW.SALONENVY.BIZ Offer cannot be used with any other discount. Offer expires 4/1/2013

to make s’mores and admire the Christmas lights and blow-up dec-orations as they rode the train around the quad.

“It is very evident that Union Board put a lot of planning and preparation into this event,” Stringer said.

Alana Crump, a senior political science and English double ma-jor, helped plan Tech the Halls this year and said that it was better than ever.

“I cannot even explain how much work went into planning Tech the Halls,” she said. “We have been planning this event since Sep-tember and have been making decorations since October.”

Crump said all activities from last year were brought back this

year, but this year they added the trackless train and the movie showing.

Though there were new things this year, Crump said she will always like the ice skating rink the best.

“I love watching all the small kids ice skate,” she said. “I know it is not real ice, but it is real to them.”

Crumps said it is all about the smiles and Christmas spirit. “People come to enjoy Christmas and get free stuff that can

be gifts to others during the holiday season,” she said. “The hard work is all worth it in the end when you see the Ruston community united, laughing and having a great time.”

Email comments to alm085@latech.edu.

solution.“Dr. King was talking about the possibil-

ity of putting it in the clock tower,” he said. “We actually did tests to see how well we could hear those speakers that are there now, and we could tell we would have to upgrade.”

Hermes said a string of tornadoes go-ing through the Midwest prompted Mayor Dan Hollingsworth to make sure Ruston had a system to alert its citizens.

“(Hollingsworth) has always been a strong proponent for Louisiana Tech,” he said. “We were going to make sure those sirens covered campus.”

Caraway said the sirens often cannot be heard inside buildings but come across loud and clear to anyone driving or walk-

ing outside. Hermes said the lack of sound inside buildings should not be an issue.

“The priority is for people who are out-side buildings,” Hermes said. “In most cas-es it’s going to help us if there’s a tornado or something headed our way.”

He said the sirens are a nice addition to the Emergency Notification System al-ready in place. Students can sign up for this text-alert system on their BOSS account.

Jed Walpole, a senior supply-chain management major, is already signed up for the ENS.

“I don’t think the sirens make much dif-ference to me,” he said. “I already get texts letting me know when there’s an emergen-cy.”

Walpole said he did not hear the test sirens but being inside of a building could have been the reason.

The weekly tests could give Walpole

and other students another chance to hear the sirens.

“The test tone is kind of a beeping tone something you may hear come across the TV,” Caraway said. “The actual seek shel-ter tone is a steady long tone. It operates for 30 seconds at a time, but it repeats five times for a total of three minutes.”

The towers can do more than beep, however. They are fairly flexible, Caraway said.

He said the system currently only sur-rounds the city of Ruston but can be ex-panded to include 160 towers total. Cur-rently the city has no plans to purchase additional towers, but surrounding com-munities like Choudrant and Simsboro could hear an 11 a.m. beep on Wednes-days in the future.

Email comments to ace007@latech.edu.

and Breion Thomas, a sophomore industrial engi-neering major.

“I’ll be very excited to learn all the jargon they use and learn how to use the motions,” Thomas said. “I would like to get more recycling bins throughout the campus to help students recycle the many materials they use.”

Others appointments made by Dearmon and ap-proved by the senate were Molly Bowman, a senior journalism major, and Evan Thibodeaux, a senior mechanical engineering major, as senior class sena-tors and Kaitlyn Gallegos, a junior marketing major, as a College of Business Senator.

The new senators took part in their first meet-ing this week when they decided whether or not to select new supreme court justices for SGA.

Email comments to rcj008@latech.edu.

they are asked to wait three weeks to donate, and if they have had a tattoo done unprofessionally they are asked to wait a year.

Caston offered a few tips to help avoid a situation similar to Gagnard’s.

“Students should make sure they have eaten before they donate and drink plenty of water,” he said. “I don’t mean have eaten a cracker. They need something hardy on their stomach.”

Gagnard reassured that even while almost passing out, she always felt safe.

“They made sure I didn’t pass out or anything,” she said. “They had ways to prevent that.”

Gagnard said she encourages oth-er students to ignore the fears and do-nate anyway.

“Even though it’s not comfortable, imagine what the people who actually need blood feel like,” she said. “Look beyond your feelings and see past that to how much you’re helping others.”

Caston’s calendar is packed every month with blood drives from Shreve-port to Lake Providence, but he said the holidays are a great time to make the extra effort.

“You will be helping save a life,” he said. “You will truly make a difference. This being the holiday season, what better gift can you give?”

Email comments to ace007@latech.edu.

>BLOOD from pg. 5>SGA from pg. 3

>UNION BOARD from pg. 1

>SIRENS from pg. 1

December 13, 2012 • The Tech Talk • 9

More Talk

KELSY KERSHAWStaff Reporter

A best friend that never leaves, an undoubted roommate, the only person who can read her mind and push all of her buttons. These are terms McKenzie Wren used to describe her twin sister, Morgan.

The Wren sisters are sophomores from Minden both majoring in the medical field: McKenzie in kinesiology and Morgan in biology.

The two were extremely close grow-ing up and still are to this day, McKen-zie said.

“We can share a glance and instant-ly know what the other one is thinking,” she said. “Our mom always dressed us the same, too.”

McKenzie said the two did every-thing together and still do most of the time.

“We share the same car thanks to our parents, so wherever I go she goes and vice versa,” McKenzie said.

Morgan said occasionally the two would split up but never longer than two days.

“We are pretty much yin and yang,” she said. “We completely understand each other.”

Doing everything together carried from high school into college with them, Morgan said.

“We never even considered going to different colleges,” she said. “We know we’ll eventually go on to differ-ent schools because we’ll be training in different specialties, but it was never a question for our first year.”

Sometimes Morgan said she forgets they are twins. She said it is basically the same as having a sister but on a deeper mental level.

“I know absolutely everything about her and how she is feeling or will feel about something,” she said. “She’s like my best friend but multiply that by 100.”

Being a twin is not really different than having a sibling you are close to, McKenzie said.

“It’s like being with your best friend constantly but not getting tired of them hanging around,” she said. “Yet you can tell them to leave and not feel bad about it.”

The good thing about the Wren sis-ters is they are more alike than differ-ent, McKenzie said.

“We have the same style, same taste in boys and stuff like that,” she said. “My sister is more laid back than me, however, and does things at her own pace, which is so annoying because I like to get things done and get stressed easily.”

McKenzie said there is only one oth-er significant difference between them regarding their personalities.

“Morgan is very funny and always a chatter box, even with strangers,” she said. “For me, I’m only like that once I get to really know you.”

Morgan said she and her sister en-joy the same things and share the same sense of humor. They also share their competitiveness, she added.

“Growing up and still today, we can be very competitive with our grades,” she said. “Our parents always expect them to be the same because we’re twins, but it doesn’t work that way.”

Morgan said she is just as smart, if not smarter, than her sister but she’s a bad test taker. McKenzie said her sister cries when McKenzie makes A’s.

Competing with their grades is just one thing they enjoy doing together, McKenzie said.

“We love watching movies and TV shows together because we get really into them,” she said. “We love to have singing matches in the car, too.”

They also love to travel together, goof off, take pictures and explore, Morgan added.

“It’s weird to think about the future and realize we’ll have to move away from each other,” she said. “My whole 20 years on Earth have been spent right next to her.”

She said they each feel what the other feels.

“It’s nice to know I will always have

TECHTWINSTECHTWINSA look at similarities and differences

of Tech’s own multiples

Twins are becoming in-creasingly popular. In fact,

cases of multiples have jumped 76 percent since

1980.

Through a condition known as heteropaternal superfe-cundation, twins can actu-ally have different fathers.

Some twins begin speak-ing to each other before they learn English. Young

twins often develop a form of idioglossia–– a form of

autonomous language.

Twin fetuses begin interact-ing at around 14 weeks.

Doctors have recently discovered that there is

actually a diet that raises the odds of a woman hav-

ing twins.

One South American town has more than 8 percent more twins than the rest

of the world. Scientists be-lieve this is due to a hyper-ovulation gene, which has spread due to inbreeding.

Scarlett Johansson, Ashton Kutcher and Gisele Bund-chen all have twins. Their

names are Hunter, Michael and Patricia respectively.

Mothers of twins tend to live longer than mothers of children who are not born

in sets.

No one has identical finger-prints, not even identical

twins.

Morning sickness is more prevalent in mothers who

are expecting twins.

Scientists recently found that parents of twins are

more likely to get divorced than others.

Doctors are able to detect twins without using an

ultrasound. Doctors can often hear two tiny heart-

beats through their stetho-scopes.

Mothers expecting twins often gain 35 to 45 pounds

as opposed to 25 to 35 pounds that mothers of

singles do.

This information and more can be found at

http://bit.ly/SYieuq

Tech Twin Tidbits

someone around when I need them,” she said.

McKenzie agreed but said there are times when they want to kill each other.

“If I weren’t her twin, who would Morgan make listen to One Direction all day?” she said.

Morgan said they are very close. “We connect in that weird twin te-

lepathy kind of way,” she said.Matthew Stinson, a senior mechani-

cal engineering major, said that twin telepathy does not always work.

He and his twin sister Ashleigh are both seniors from Sibley. Ashleigh Stin-son is a psychology major.

Like the Wren twins, they were very close in their first eight to 10 years, Ashleigh said, but things started to change in middle school and high school.

“We started to hang out with differ-ent groups,” she said. “Now that we are in college, we have gotten a lot closer again and realized that we don’t have to be around each other and hang out all the time to be close.”

She said things are very different for them because they are different gen-ders.

“Things got tough in middle school,” she said. “I had dance and he had band.”

She said they started having sepa-rate agendas and it was not only diffi-cult on them, but their parents as well.

“What made it even more difficult was when we shared a car the year we turned 16,” Ashleigh said.

Other than the obvious, Matthew said they have always been really dif-ferent.

“I played in the band, majored in engineering and like vegetables,” he said. “Ashleigh was a cheerleader and a dancer, majored in psychology and eats mac and cheese.”

Ashleigh said she agrees with her twin because she is more into dance and art where as Matthew is more into math and science.

“I feel like he is more outgoing and funny while I’m introverted and not funny at all,” she said.

A lot of these differences are be-cause they are different genders, Ashleigh said.

The two may share more differ-ences than the Wren sisters but they do share the same competitive nature, she said.

“When we were little we would play on the PlayStation and see who would have the fastest car, shoot the most bad guys or be the best at golf,” she said. “I also tried to do better in school but I’m

not so sure that mattered to him.”That competitive edge has kind of

disappeared since they are older now, Ashleigh added.

She said they enjoy the time they spend together since it does not hap-pen as often now.

“Sometimes we study together,” she said. “When we go home we like to play basketball, play the Wii or play on our pinball machines.”

They probably would not have grown as close as they have if Ashleigh had not transferred schools.

“I originally went to ULM my fresh-man year to be on the dance line,” she said. “All my friends were going there too, but I ended up not liking it.”

Her brother suggested Tech to her, so she said she visited the campus.

“Matt enjoyed it here, so I decided to come, too,” Ashleigh said. “It was one of the best decisions of my life.”

Though Matthew and Ashleigh have more differences than the Wren sisters, they still share that strong best friend-like bond, she said.

“Twins can’t really read each other’s minds,” Ashleigh said. “At least, that is what Matt tells me via ESP.”

Email comments to kjk016@latech.edu.

Photo by Jessica Van Alstyne

ABOVE: Morgan and McKenzie Wren are iden-tical twins, but they take different approach-es when it comes to meeting new people. BELOW: Matthew and Ashleigh Stinson are fraternal twins who have come to cherish each others compan-ionship over time.

Photo by Deepanjan Mukhopadhyay

10 • The Tech Talk • December 13, 2012

DEREK J. AMAYAAssociate Managing Editor

A Western Athletic Conference championship, first time playing in the San Diego Credit Union Poinset-tia Bowl and an overall record of 22-15 will now be chasing the California dream.

The University of California Berk-ley Golden Bears’ Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour announced last week that Tech former head coach Sonny Dykes has accepted a job to the same position at Cal.

“Sonny Dykes is one of the brightest offensive minds in the country, running a high-octane style of football, one that I’m certain will allow our student-ath-letes to thrive and that our community will love on game day,” Barbour said.

For the past few seasons, Dykes has turned around the LA Tech football program, which improved all three sea-sons he was in Ruston.

The Golden Bears, under his lead-ership, will see a faster-paced offense similar to their conference rivals, the Washington State University Cougars. Former Texas Tech University Red Raiders’ head coach Mike Leach, who Dykes served under for five seasons as a wide receivers coach, coaches the Cougars.

“I am excited for the opportunity to become head coach at the University of California,” Dykes said. “Cal offers one of the best combinations of athlet-ics and academics in the country, and a passionate fan base to match.”

Dykes, the son of former Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes, will be making his second stop in the Pacific-12 confer-

ence since leaving his offensive coordi-nator position at the University of Ari-zona Wildcats three years ago.

An offensive guru, along with of-fensive coordinator Tony Franklin, he helped put together the 2012 football season’s No. 1-ranked offense.

“We think what we will do on offense will put a charge into the (University of California) program and give a spike in recruiting,” Dykes told ESPN on the night after he met with LA Tech. “We want excitement. I want to sell it to the alumni, boosters, players, families, fans and high school coaches. I want to hit the ground running.”

Cal went 3-9 this season and 2-7 in PAC-12 conference play under former head coach Jeff Tedford.

“We discussed the unique place that Berkeley and Cal Athletics occupy in higher education, standing for both academic and athletic excellence,” Bar-bour said. “Above all, Sonny values the opportunity to develop relationships with and have an impact on his student-athletes, staff and community.”

LA Tech, other than searching for a a coach, has yet to release a statement on the matter.

The ’Dogs went 9-3 this season without making a bowl game.

The journey to find a new coach be-gins with a search committee chaired by Dr. Les Guice, Louisiana Tech’s president-elect.

For more on Tech athletics, follow the Tech Talk Sports Desk’s Twitter page at twitter.com/techtalksports.

Email comments to dja014@latech.edu.

Tell me who is in charge here

Sports Talk

FROM THE SPORTS DESKFROM THE SPORTS DESKDEREK J. AMAYAwith

Golden coach now a Golden Bear

JOHNATHAN KUPERBERGDaily Californian Sports Reporter

This story was originally pub-lished by The Daily Californian stu-dent newpapeer at the University of California.

Amid the downpour of dead week, excitement is in the Berkeley air.

Call it the oncoming Bear raid. Or perhaps Air Bears.

With Sonny Dykes and the “air raid” offense coming to Cal, nicknames for the 2013 Bears’ offense have already been floated throughout the campus community and blogosphere.

“What’s exciting is our brand of football is fun,” Dykes said on Dec. 6’s press conference introducing him as the Cal football team’s new head coach. “I can’t really begin to say how special it is to stand here as head coach at Cal … It’s a dream come true.”

But the football program is a puzzle, and at the field club at Memorial Sta-dium, the talk was about how the hir-ing of Dykes fits the pieces together.

After firing Jeff Tedford on Nov. 20 following a 3-9 season, Athletics Di-rector Sandy Barbour formed a search advisery committee that included student-athletes, football alumni, fac-ulty members and other coaches. The group, which did not interview candi-dates or even mention names, came up with a consensus on the personal characteristics, values and experience the new coach should have.

Barbour said that Dykes — the Louisiana Tech head coach who, in three seasons, led the squad to a 22-15 record and a league title in 2011

— was whom they had in mind in that room on Nov. 26.

“You’ve read all the statistics, but until you meet the man and spend time with him and probe his values and hopes and dream … you don’t know what an incredible fit he is to lead the young men in this program,” Barbour said. “His win-everywhere mentality is ultimately what has brought coach Dykes to Berkeley.”

Vice Chancellor of Administration and Finance John Wilton, who along with Chancellor Robert Birgeneau advised Barbour during the selection process, called Dykes the first choice. Barbour said she interviewed numer-ous candidates but kept coming back to Dykes after his initial interview.

“When he walked out of the room, I said to myself, ‘I think that’s the guy,’” Barbour said.

Dykes said there were a lot of vi-able coaching jobs available, but he was interested in Cal from the onset.

“Cal has a commitment to excel-lence,” he said, “A commitment to win every single day and in every single way.”

In recruiting athletes, he said get-ting the state of California is para-mount to the program’s success.

For now, Barbour is glad that her search is over, and a whirlwind two days has ended for Dykes.

“We’ll look back at it all and say it was the best 48 hours of my life,” he said.

Full version online at The Daily Cali-fornian. www.dailycal.org.

Email comments to jkuperberg@dailyca.org.

Dykes’ leaves LA Tech and starts new chapter in Cal football history book

REINA KEMPTSports Editor

This past season has been one of the best for Tech football since the ’60s, from a 10-3 record to Louisiana Tech seeing its name in the Top 25 AP polls for the first time since 1999. However, the football world, especially Louisiana Tech, was left in shock and disappoint-ment when the Bulldogs weren’t an-nounced to attend a bowl game this year.

Tech was once hoping to go to the Orange Bowl in Miami but lost the Western Athletic Conference cham-pionship game to Utah State plus the following game against San Jose State. Even with a sour ending, the overall season’s accomplishments were still seen good enough to end up playing for a bowl title.

Despite not winning the WAC title, some thought the team would go to the Liberty Bowl in Memphis and others as-sumed it would head back to the all too

familiar Independence Bowl in Shreve-port. Dec. 2 was the day that brought players, alumni and students to tears as they would find out their season would be cut short with no bowl game.

Junior kinesiology major K’Darious Cash said he was highly upset when he heard the news.

“The first thing that crossed my mind when I heard was disappoint-ment,” Cash said.

Freshman chemical engineering major Logan Corley, an avid Tech foot-ball fan, said he couldn’t believe it.

“I was mad, like ‘What the heck? This can’t be right,’” Corley said. “I couldn’t believe it.”

Twitter rants and angry alumni spoke out in rage and disappointment about the abrupt ending to one of the greatest football seasons in Bulldog his-tory. Some blame President Dan Re-neau, some blame former head coach Sonny Dykes and others blame athlet-ics director Bruce Van De Velde, but at the end of the day the elite football

players of LA Tech are now just regular students heading to class and then back to their rooms with an emptiness inside of them.

“It’s got to be the coaches,” Cash said. “But what did we have to lose?”

Corley, along with Cash, are just two of several students who seem to feel that the coaches were responsible.

“He’s the coach, so he had to be the one who said no to the bowl game,” Corley said.

The disappointment does not just stop with the fans and support-ers of Tech, but spreads as far as the “could’ve-been” opponents that felt they were overlooked as the elite force of north Louisiana football.

After Tech lost the bid to the Inde-pendence Bowl, the University of Lou-isiana-Monroe had several fans speak out saying that Tech turned down the Independence Bowl to save face against a possible upset.

Senior marketing major at ULM Taylor Jamison said he believes the

ULM-Tech match up has been long awaited and Tech is running scared.

“I feel like they’ve been running for awhile,” Jamison said. “An ULM-Tech game would’ve been a good one, but we definitely would’ve won.”

Jamison said he feels like it’s not the players’ or coaches’ fault that the north Louisiana face-off never happened, but was more in the hands of the adminis-trators.

“I’m assuming the athletic director (Van De Velde) didn’t want to play us, but it looks bad for the whole (Tech) program,” Jamison said. “First no bowl, then the coach leaves. That will prob-ably hurt the recruiting in the future.”

There is still confusion as to why Tech’s big year ended so small or who’s to blame, but what is sure is Tech foot-ball is in need of an intervention and faith that next year will ease the woes of the red and blue.

Email comments torjk007@latech.edu.

Fans react to Tech’s no-show bowl

DEVIN KINGSports Reporter

The Bulldogs basketball team is starting off strong this season with a 10-2 record. They look to continue this strong play with a rematch on the road against University of Arkansas at Little Rock Monday.

The ’Dogs played UALR earlier this year on Nov. 14 and the Dogs won 70 to 52.

Junior guard Cordarius Johnson led Louisiana Tech with 17 points in that victory.

Despite the Bulldogs winning, head coach Michael White and other key Bulldogs feel there are things to improve before the rematch against UALR.

In the first meeting versus the Tro-jans, the ’Dogs lost in the rebound to-tal 43 to 38 and committed nine turn-overs. White said he wants to see the team improve in those areas.

Sophomore guard Raheem Ap-pleby leads the ’Dogs in scoring, av-

eraging 20.4 points per game, and he shares the same vision as White.

“We’ve got to do the little things like box out and doing the scouting report,” Appleby said. “These are things that coach talked about before the game.”

A lot of the light is shining on Appleby, but fifth-year redshirt senior guard Brandon Gibson carries his share of weight for the ’Dogs.

“The last four years I didn’t have someone to look up to and count on,” said Gibson. “As a senior I would tell the younger guys to not take it for granted.”

Johnson caught White’s eyes this season in the first match up against UALR.

“Johnson has been tremendous thus far with his defensive progress, as

well as his rebounding improvement,” White said.

The ‘Dogs have a great outlook for this season, but White said he thinks some-thing else can contrib-ute to the outcome of the season.

“The play of our five newcomers need to continue to progress for us to keep improving as a whole,” White said.

Gibson, Appleby and White have set the bar high for this season and believe the sky is the limit as long as they keep their focus.

“Coach White strives for the NCAA tourna-ment and winning the

Western Athletic Conference,” Gibson said. “Myself, Raheem and others say, ‘Who says we can’t make it to the Fi-nal Four of the NCAA tournament?’ As a team we have high expectations

to get deep in the tournament.”With high expectations come dif-

ferent roadblocks, starting Monday when the Bulldogs visit UALR for the second time this season.

“Yes, they are on the schedule ev-ery year and this season we play them once home and away,” Gibson said. “I’m sure they have a bitter taste in their mouth. Every year it seems to get better and better for me.”

The ’Dogs are coming off a seven-game winning streak, but that ended in a close one on the road at North-western State 89 to 83. Hamilton, Johnson, Gibson and Appleby will all need to contribute against the Trojans because the ’Dogs are 0 and 3 in trips to Little Rock, Ark. For more on basketball and other Tech athletics, follow the Tech Talk Sports Desk’s Twitter page at twitter.com/tech-talksports.

Email comments to dki008@latech.edu.

Bulldogs try to repeat history in Little Rock

BULLDOGBASKETBALLMonday. Dec. 17

at UALR Trojans7 p.m.Little Rock, Ark

Watch the game at www.latechsports.com/allaccess

This text conversation between Derek J. Amaya and John Tabor, a former sports reporter, was held at

2 p.m. Dec. 10.

DEREK: I’m disappointed with fans, especially alumni, at Louisiana Tech. They acted like a school 30 minutes east of Ruston, who shall remain unnamed. They acted like a bunch of punks. The ones who they really should be tending to are the seniors. This was a great group of guys, and they did not deserve missing out on a bowl game.

JOHN: I absolutely agree. In all honesty, arrogance finally caught up with Tech.When you lose your last two games to finish third place in the WAC, you’ve got to be satisfied with whatever you are offered.

DEREK: It is a shame, too. Bulldog fans were going on Twitter and Facebook put-ting statuses about how they weren’t renewing their tickets and how ashamed they are to be Bulldog fans. It was pure ignorance. I’m sure a lot of the seniors read the statuses, too.

JOHN: I’m sure the play-ers read all the Internet chatter as well. I personally stayed away from going on rants on FB, message boards, etc., as much as possible. I definitely have a strong dislike for how the administration completely fumbled the bowl situation. Maybe this was the incident that will finally awaken the alumni base. I will say I don’t think coach Dykes would have stayed at Tech regardless of how the last month has played out.

DEREK: Hopefully. The alumni got a wakeup call to begin with anyway. We had the nation’s best offense. We deserved a bowl game. Thanks to whomever didn’t make that happen. Not point-ing any fingers though. There were multiple players.Dykes is a great coach. I don’t blame him for leaving. Now I pose a question for you. Do you think he had something to do with us not making a bowl game?

JOHN: No, I don’t. Grant-ed, neither you nor I were in that locker room, but I’m willing to bet that the conversation between administration and the coaching staff was a one-way street. And it breaks my heart for all the seniors. Those guys were fun to watch.

DEREK: They were prob-ably the best senior class ever at Tech.

DEREK: Maybe Karl Malone will coach. Hahaha!

JOHN: Most definitely. Time to move on with the program. We need to have a coach in place by the end of the week.

JOHN: Or be AD. I do think some changes need to be made in the office. Unfortu-nately, when the man with the checkbook has his puppet in place, what’s going to change?

Derek Amaya is a junior journal-ism and marketing major from Metairie. Email comments to dja014@latech.edu.