"The measure of a Life is its Service."
Sam Houston State students and Huntsville-area residents don’t have to travel to Louisiana to get a taste of what Mardi Gras is really like.
For the eighth year, the Cajun Mardi Gras festival will be held on Thursday (Feb. 11), at 8:30 p.m. in the Lee Drain Building Atrium.
The Mardi Gras dance will feature the Jambalaya Cajun Band from Lafayette, La.
“Basically, you can dance to any Cajun song with either a two-step, which is slightly different from a Texas two-step, or a waltz,” said Terry Thibodeaux, communications study professor and Cajun culture expert. “There’s also a different kind of dancing called zydeco dancing, but this is not a zydeco band.
"This is a traditional Cajun band," he said. "They play some wonderful dance music, and we have a good time every year.”
Admission is $5 for SHSU students, faculty and staff members with their Bearkat OneCard and $10 for the general public.
Earlier that day, members of the band will join Thibodeaux at 6 p.m. in Lee Drain Building Room 220 for a “Symposium on Cajun Music and Mardi Gras.”
Newly elected Louisiana Music Hall of Fame member D. L. Menard, along with Jambalaya band members Terry Huval and Reggie Matte, will discuss the Cajun culture, play some requests, and talk about the history and myths of Mardi Gras.
James B. Jacobs, director of the Center for Research on Crime and Justice at New York University School of Law, will discuss "Individual Criminal History Records: Puzzles and Dilemmas" on Tuesday (Feb. 9).
The Beto Chair Lecture, sponsored by the College of Criminal Justice, will be held from 9:30-11 a.m. in the Hazel B. Kerper Courtroom, located in the Criminal Justice Center.
Jacobs, the Chief Justice Warren E. Burger professor of constitutional law and the courts at NYU School of Law, teaches courses ranging from criminal procedure and juvenile justice to specialized seminars on the privatization of criminal justice and the war on drugs.
He has been at NYU since 1982, previously serving as a faculty member at Cornell Law School for seven years.
Jacobs has published 14 books and more than 100 articles on such topics as prisons and imprisonment, corruption and its control, hate crime, drug testing, and regulation of weaponry.
He earned his Juris doctorate and a separate doctorate in sociology from the University of Chicago.
His doctoral dissertation, “Stateville: The Penitentiary in Mass Society,” a classic in penology, is still assigned in classrooms around the country.
For more information, contact Shelly Beaird, College of Criminal Justice staff assistant, at 936.294.3990 or visit http://betochair.com/.
Mark V. Denham, a detective sergeant with the Shenandoah Police Department and SHSU graduate student, will discuss his career path on Tuesday (Feb. 9), as part of the College of Criminal Justice’s “Real Talk with CJ” lecture series.
The lecture will be held at 2 p.m. in CJava, located in the Criminal Justice Center.
A certified master peace officer with Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (TCLEOSE), Denham has more than 30 years of experience in local, state, and federal law enforcement.
His extensive tactical and crisis management experience comes from two decades of working as a special agent for the FBI, during which time he served as an FBI Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team member.
Some of Denham’s SWAT assignments encompassed such historical events as the Edmond, Oklahoma, Post Office Massacre; Los Angeles Riots; Waco Standoff at Mount Carmel; and the manhunt for FBI Top Ten Fugitive Eric Rudolph in the mountains of North Carolina.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Southern Mississippi and attended the University of London, where he conducted a comparative study in criminal jurisprudence.
He is also a graduate of SHSU’s Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas Leadership Command College and is currently working toward a Master of Science degree in criminal justice leadership and management at SHSU.
For more information, contact Candice Williams, College of Criminal Justice undergraduate coordinator/adviser, at 936.294.1702.
The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Initiative and the University Police Department will teach students how to protect themselves in potentially dangerous situations on Tuesday (Feb. 9), from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Lowman Student Center Mall Area.
During “Protect Yourself,” UPD officers will demonstrate self-protective maneuvers that can save lives, as well as learn about home/resident hall safety, transportation safety issues and how to maintain safe dating relationships, according to Lisa Joyner, ADAI assistant.
“Alcohol and drugs increase the likelihood of all types of assaults, so knowing how to handle these types of situations is especially important,” Joyner said.
“Protect Yourself" is part of the Six Weeks of Alcohol Awareness Training program, which allows students to earn prizes by attending events that accumulate as students attend more programs.
For more information, contact Rosanne Keathley, ADAI coordinator, at 936.294.1171.
Students looking ahead to the summer for jobs or internships will have approximately 17 entities to choose from during Career Services’ Summer Camp and Job Fair on Wednesday (Feb. 10).
The fair will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Lowman Student Center Ballroom.
Positions will be available at such organizations as the City of Conroe’s Parks and Recreation department, Power House Cheer and Dance, Camp Coyote, Highland Lakes Camp and Conference Center, Texas Lions Camp and YMCA Camp Cullen.
Students who are registered on Jobs 4 Kats can get a jumpstart on finding a job or internship by logging on, at https://www.myinterfase.com/shsu/student/, to find a complete list of participating agencies, as well as descriptions of positions they are hiring for, according to Paige Andrews, job fair and special events coordinator.
Both career fairs are open to all SHSU students and alumni.
For more information, contact Career Services at 936.294.1713 or careerservices@shsu.edu.
The SHSU Chorale will give local audiences a preview on Tuesday (Feb. 9) of performances the group will soon give in San Antonio and Denver.
The concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Huntsville.
The program will feature the chorale singing works that span more than 500 years, including works by English Renaissance composers William Byrd and John Taverner; German Romantic composer Johannes Brahms; 20th century English composers Benjamin Britten and William Walton; American composer Morten Lauridsen; and American folk songs "Beautiful Dreamer" and "Ezekiel Saw de Wheel."
The SHSU Chorale, “the university's premiere choral ensemble,” will take their performance on the road this month, with invitations to perform at both the Texas Music Educators Association convention in San Antonio and the American Choral Directors Association convention in Denver, according to Allen Hightower, director of choral activities.
Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens, children and non-SHSU students.
For more information, call the School of Music at 936.294.1360.
San Jacinto College and Sam Houston State University recently signed an agreement plan designed to enhance educational opportunities for students attending both schools.
The framework of the comprehensive agreement includes:
The agreement was approved by the San Jacinto College Board of Trustees at the regularly scheduled board meeting on Jan. 19.
Information about the agreement is available online at www.shsu.edu/san-jacinto.
Information for the SHSU Update can be sent to the Office of Communications electronically at Today@Sam.edu or to any of the media contacts listed below.
Please include the date, location and time of the event, as well as a brief description and a contact person.
All information for news stories should be sent to the office at least a week in advance to give the staff ample time to make necessary contacts and write the story.
For electronic access to SHSU news see the Communications Web page Today@Sam.
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SHSU Media Contacts: Bruce Erickson, Julia May, Jennifer Gauntt
Feb. 5, 2010
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu
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Telephone: 936.294.1836; Fax: 936.294.1834
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu.
Brian Domitrovic, assistant professor of history, appeared on Book TV (C-SPAN) May 1-2, speaking about his recent book "Econoclasts: The Rebels Sparked the Supply Side Revolution and Restored American Prosperity" (www.econoclasts.net).
Houston Chronicle education writer Jeannie Kever recently turned to Regents Professor of English Paul Ruffin for his views on university presses moving toward "digital books" as opposed to traditional ink-on-paper."We're fulfilling the ancient role of the university press, and that is to produce books," said Paul Ruffin, the Texas poet laureate for 2009 and director of the Texas Review Press at Sam Houston State University. "I don't want to give up the book because it is an art."
Monday, May 3
Tuesday, May 4
"The measure of a Life is its Service."