As the Fall 2011 semester comes to an end, The Nicholls Worth staff has taken a trip down memory lane and compiled a list of the “cheers and jeers” we have encountered this semester.
Cheers
The first-ever drive-thru location of Jazzman’s Café and Bakery opened on our campus, providing us with a great atmosphere for studying and drinking coffee.
Finally, we can actually see the structure of the new recreation center that is expected to open in the Fall of 2012. I am sure we can all agree that we thought this would never happen.
One of our own faculty members, Laura Lott Valenti, management and marketing instructor, won the title of Mrs. Louisiana United States and competed in the national competition for the title Mrs. United States 2011.
Nicholls State became the 36th out of 120 NCAA Division I schools to allow the sale of alcohol in its football stadium.
Coastal Commerce Bank sponsored the Kasasa Rocks Nicholls festival, which hosted the Gin Blossoms and Owen Plant.
For the first time, U.S. News & World Report magazine ranked Nicholls State University 89th among the best regional universities in the southern United States.
Allayne “Laynie” Barrilleaux was officially named the vice president for academic affairs.
Intramural teams got newly lit fields near the new recreation center.
Nicholls State was ranked the fourth safest college in Louisiana..
Jeers
Student Publications lost one of its former Nicholls Worth editors. Marie Ory Dupont, 2002-2004 editor, died last month at the age of 29. Though Dupont is gone, the impact she made is still felt by the Student Publications family. In fact, she started this very “cheers and jeers” tradition.
The education department lost one of its finest students to cancer this month. Robyn Adele Ford, 23, senior from Thibodaux, was a semester away from graduation when she passed away.
Nicholls State University, Epsilon Beta Chapter of Kappa Alpha order, along with several other entities have been named in a lawsuit filed by Nathan Trepagnier’s parents a year after his tragic death.
The conversion from Blackboard to Moodle has frustrated many of us, both students and faculty. Not everyone has experienced the conversion yet, starting in the spring, Blackboard use will be a rarity.
Dining hours in the Student Union were cut because of low traffic and sales.
In Conclusion
With every semester comes a great deal of cheers and jeers that we all experience. Though the jeers are the hardest to endure, the Nicholls State community of faculty, staff, and students always comes together in both the best of times and the worst of times to embrace whatever life gives us. One thing that will stay the same in all of our lives is the fact that we are all part of the Colonel family.
