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Female suicide bombings discussed |
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Southeastern hosts annual artists showcase
Southeastern President John L. Crain and Mrs. Marjorie Morrison of Hammond view the painting “Vegetation” by area artist Rosemary Goodell at the fifth annual Louisiana Fine Arts Showcase held July 14 at the Southeastern President’s residence. Displayed throughout the public areas of the residence, the exhibit features loaned works in various media by 29 area artists. Morrison is a member of the Fine Art Selection Committee, which chooses works for the display.
Coaches Caravan scheduled July 25, 26 and 28
Head football coach Mike Lucas and head baseball coach Jay Artigues will headline a list of Lion and Lady Lion coaches when the Southeastern Coaches’ Caravan kicks off its annual tour today (July 25).
The event will be held in three locations and is sponsored by the Southeastern Alumni Association. Lucas will appear at all three stops.
The first stop is tonight in Amite at 6 p.m. at LaCaretta Mexican Restaurant, 122 S.W. Central Ave., with Lucas, Artigues and women’s basketball coach Lori Davis Jones headlining the event. The tour continues on Tuesday, July 26 when it moves to Baton Rouge for a noon event at Superior Grill at 5435 Government St.
The Lake House, 2025 Lakeshore Dr., in historic Mandeville is the final stop on July 28 at 6 p.m. Sponsored by the West St. Tammany Chapter of Southeastern Alumni Association, the event will also feature golf coach Tim Baldwin and track and field coach Sean Brady.
For more information, contact the Southeastern Alumni Association at (985) 549-2150.
Roy Blackwood appointed interim director of Fanfare, Columbia Theatre
Southeastern visual arts faculty member C. Roy Blackwood has been appointed interim director of the university’s annual fall Fanfare festival and the downtown Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts.
Blackwood, who resides in Hammond, replaces Kenneth Boulton, who has been appointed interim head of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts.
Blackwood has been a member of the visual arts faculty for 34 years. He is credited as one of the co-founders of Fanfare, Southeastern’s fall festival of the arts, humanities and social sciences. He also serves as university liaison to the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum.
“The Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts is a crown jewel in Southeastern’s community outreach initiatives. As an outgrowth of Fanfare and since its renovation, Columbia has provided a first-class venue for world-class entertainment to Hammond and the entire North Shore area,” Blackwood said. “I am honored to follow Donna Gay Anderson and Dr. Ken Boulton as its director. Please consider this an invitation to join Carolyn (Blackwood) and me by becoming season ticket holders and attending all of Columbia’s performances.”
An accomplished sculptor specializing in metal foundry pieces and an art historian, Blackwood served as head of the then Southeastern Visual Arts Department from 1984 to 2001. He was the first recipient of the university’s President’s Award for Excellence in Artistic Activity presented in 1985, is a former president of the National Council of Art Administrators, and served as executive vice president of the Hammond Cultural Foundation.
In 2004 he was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce, an international multi-disciplinary organization based in London. He was also selected director of fellowships and a member of the board of directors for the National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi in 2007.
He received his bachelor’s degree from Ft. Hays University in 1970 and Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Colorado in 1972.
Southeastern terrorism expert says groups hijack religion to support female suicide bombings
Terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda and Hamas have rejected mainstream Islamic law and teachings to craft a reinterpretation of Muslim doctrine as a way of legitimatizing female suicide bombings, according to a Southeastern expert in terrorism.
“While mainstream Islamic scholars have consistently maintained that the Quran and other teachings clearly condemn terrorist acts and oppose suicide missions, leaders of these organizations have formulated their own radical interpretations based more on pragmatic military strategy than on any theological foundation,” said Margaret Gonzalez-Perez, professor of political science and author of the book Women Terrorists: Female Activity in Domestic and International Terrorism.
“While the media may publicize the use of female suicide bombers as a sacrament of self-proclaimed ‘religious’ terrorists, or ‘fundamentalists,’ I argue that Islam does not provide any basis for suicide bombings,” said Gonzalez-Perez. Her study, “The False Islamization of Female Suicide Bombers,” appeared in a recent online issue in the journal, “Gender Issues.”
“This is nowhere more apparent than in their attempts to portray female suicide bombing as consistent with Islamic doctrine,” she added. “Terrorist groups have drawn on radical interpretations of religious doctrine to justify political violence that is actually prohibited by Islam.”
Gonzalez-Perez said that unlike many religions, such as the Roman Catholic Church, which have a hierarchical structure of religious leaders, Islam is highly decentralized and has no universal supreme religious leader.
“Jihadist groups like Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Al Qaeda have taken advantage of this power vacuum to reinterpret Islamic doctrine to meet their own needs,” she added.
She said the rules of Islam are clear in that war can only be declared by a state and not by individuals, groups or organizations. In addition, she said, the Quran prohibits targeting innocent civilians, equating the act with that of murder.
According to Gonzalez-Perez, terrorist groups recruit women by exploiting vulnerable females, including those with mental health issues and girls as young as 14. The common profile of female suicide bombers is that of a woman trying to survive in the aftermath of a war with no social, political or economic security. Understanding female suicide bombers and their motivations, she said, can be helpful in developing counter-terrorism strategies.
“The decidedly un-Islamic introduction of female suicide bombers is hardly surprising in current terrorist groups, for they simply reinterpret and manipulate religious doctrine to legitimize acts that are strategically and militarily utilitarian. Female suicide bombers are not Islamic martyrs nor any other manifestation of orthodox religious faith.”
Second Call for Proposals for 2012 Study Abroad Program
The Office of International Initiatives is making the second call for proposals for study abroad programs to be held during 2012. Detailed information is available at
http://www.selu.edu/acad_research/programs/ii/study_abroad/study_abroad_faculty/index.html.
Note that all proposals are due in the Office of International Initiatives by Aug. 4, 2011.
If you have questions about a possible proposal or about completing the proposal process, contact Kent Neuerburg in the Honors and International Initiatives Office, 103 Meade Hall, or by phone at 549-2135.
Survey request from SBDC
If you work, live and play in the City of Hammond, your input is needed! Please take a moment to complete a three-minute survey about the Hammond community. The information will be compiled by Louisiana Development Ready Communities and responses will be used for strategic planning. Go to www.hammond.org to access the business and community surveys.
Southeastern in the news
BR Advocate
Regents expands online serviceshttp://theadvocate.com/news/education/340058-64/regents-expands-online-services.html
St. Tammany News BannerGRAD Act 2 will affect SLU
http://www.slidellsentry.com/articles/2011/07/20/news/doc4e25ff081a644654943512.txt
WAFB.comCoaches Caravan scheduled
http://tangipahoa.wafb.com/news/business/southeastern-sponsors-coaches-tour/49899
Associated PressSLU names chief for festival, theater
http://www.nola.com/newsflash/index.ssf/story/slu-names-chief-for-festival-theater/cea25956beaf4e73a6273b413a3bb167
SLU programs moving into new quarters
http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=theadvertiser&sParam=37054065.story
Hammond
Notarial Preparation Course (15 Tuesdays beginning Aug. 23, 6:30 – 9 p.m.)
In preparation for the notarial exam, the course topics include duties of a notary, contracts, juridical acts, donation, wills, miscellaneous acts, and more. The cost is $575 with the books costing an additional $270.
MandevilleACT Test Preparation (5 Mondays beginning Aug. 4, 5 – 7 p.m.)
This course helps high school students develop the skills to improve their ACT scores, emphasizing mathematics and English. The maximum number of students per session is 10. If paid and registered one week prior to start of class, students will receive an ACT prep book at no additional cost. The cost is $275.
To register, or for further details on these or other courses that are available please visit:
Hammond- www.selu.edu/es Mandeville- www.selu.edu/stc Walker- www.selu.edu/livingston
Professional activities
Several librarians from Sims Memorial Library participated in various activities at the American Library Association Annual Conference held in New Orleans June 24-28.
Mary Lou Strong presented a poster entitled, “Yes, but What Do THEY Think? Insights from Students in an Undergraduate Introductory Information Literary Course.”
Beth Stahr presented a poster entitled, “Texting, Chatting, and E-mailing: What College Students Ask.”
Mary Lou Strong, Ladonna Guillot, and Jean Caswell presented a poster entitled “Let’s CHAT About It: Consumer Health Awareness Training for Senior Citizens.”
Penny Hecker and Angela Dunnington presented a poster entitled “From F2F to Online: A Technology-Smart Approach to Information Literacy Instruction and Budget Crises.”
Beth West presented a poster entitled “Banned Books Week Rocks: Programming Using Pop Music.”
Kathryn Munson served as moderator for the Emerging Technology Interest Group panel session “Lost in Translation: The Emerging Technology Librarian and the New Technology.”
Other librarians attending this conference included Eric Johnson, Lynette Ralph, Lori Smith, Cathy Tijerino, Dayne Sherman, Herb McGuin and Amy Baptist. At this conference, Smith began her term as Coordinator-Elect of the Federal Documents Task Force. She also attended meetings of the following Government Documents Roundtable (GODORT) committees: State and Local Documents Task Force, Legislation Committee and Federal Documents Task Force.
Dr. Hye-Young Kim (Chemistry and Physics) has published an article titled “Phase behavior of Ar and Kr films on carbon nanotubes,” in the Journal of Physical Chemistry, Vol.A115, 7249-7257 (2011) (J. P. Toennies Festschrift) in collaboration with researchers at Penn State and Howard University.
James D. Kirylo (Education and Human Development) was co-editor for the 2011 annual theme issue of the journal Childhood Education. Titled “Teacher Education Programs: In the Midst of Change” as the theme, the issue features a variety of articles from teacher educators around the country. The purpose of this particular theme issue is largely a critical response to those who promote a corporate model of education, tout the privatization of education, and trivialize the importance of teacher education programs with “fast track” certification programs.
Dr. Magdy Noguera (Accounting and Finance) had the papers “The Determinants of Cash for Latin American Firms” and “The Relationship between Accruals, Earnings, and Cash Flows: Evidence from Latin America” accepted for publication in the International Journal of Business and Finance and Accounting and Taxation journals, respectively.
Matt Webb (Athletics) served as defensive line coach for Team USA at the 2011 IFAF Senior World Championship held July 8-16 in Austria. Team USA, which outscored its opposition, 176-21, defended its world title by defeating Australia, Germany and Mexico before a 50-7 win over Canada in the Gold Medal game on Saturday.
ByLion is published weekly online (bi-weekly during the summer session) for the faculty and staff of Southeastern Louisiana University. Send submissions to publicinfo@selu.edu, SLU 10880, fax 985-549-2061, or bring to Public Information Office in East Stadium. Submission deadline is 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
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