The СAPP flung open the doors to its СAPPliving roomСAPP on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, a ribbon cutting at the new СAPPUСAPP was followed by an open house, then a dedication of the Helma B. Constantine Forum, on the UnionСAPPs second floor. A reUnion at the U dinner reception was held that evening.
On Saturday, an inaugural Zydeco brunch was held in the Cypress Lake Dining Room at the U. Fare included scrambled eggs, thick slices of ham and pork roast, biscuits topped with white gravy and grits smothered in shrimp stew.
While diners ate, Corey Ledet and His Zydeco Band played from a makeshift stage in front of a bank of glass windows that overlook the lake.
Jonathon McManus, a sophomore from Lake Charles majoring in electrical engineering, said the blend of food and music was СAPPawesome.СAPP
СAPPIt just gives everything a really good Cajun feel,СAPP he explained.
A Zydeco brunch is scheduled for each of the Louisiana RaginСAPP CajunsСAPP home football games this fall. Diners can park on campus, then catch a shuttle to and from Cajun Field.
On Friday, visitors and alumni toured the two-story Student Union throughout the day. It opened this spring after a renovation and expansion project. The new building replaced a structure that was built in 1971.
СAPPItСAPPs truly a community center, and itСAPPs turned out to be everything that we hoped it would,СAPP said Dr. Joseph Savoie, UL Lafayette president. СAPPThis is sort of like a mini-homecoming.СAPP
Many visitors toured the new U, and took in its newly renovated Bayou Bijou theater, sprawling Atchafalaya Ballroom, and a warren of meeting and conference rooms.
One of those visitors, alum Johnny Womack, was a member of the menСAPPs basketball team in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Womack, who earned a bachelorСAPPs degree in business administration and an MBA from the СAPP, liked what he saw. СAPPItСAPPs amazing,СAPP he said of the new Student Union.
СAPPIt almost makes you want to come back to school,СAPP Womack added, jokingly.
On Friday afternoon, the Helma B. Constantine Forum on the UnionСAPPs second floor was dedicated. Constantine helped lead desegregation efforts at the СAPP in the 1950s.
On April 23, 1954, Southwestern Louisiana Institute became the first four-year, public university in the Deep South to integrate.
ConstantineСAPPs daughter, Clara Dell Constantine, was among the first African American students who enrolled at SLI.
On Friday, Savoie said that Helma ConstantineСAPPs efforts to help her daughter achieve her dream of higher education was a cause that СAPPwas just, and her conviction was strong.СAPP
СAPPBy actively seeking a better life for her children, Helma Constantine and others ensured that justice was given a chance to prevail, and that future generations would not be denied equal opportunities,СAPP Savoie said.
ConstantineСAPPs daughter, Joyce Constantine Henson, was on hand to see the unveiling of a plaque emblazoned with her motherСAPPs likeness, and a description of her desegregation efforts.
СAPPMy mother was stubborn, and felt that the only way up from poverty was education,СAPP Henson said. СAPPShe insisted that we all get an education of some kind. And, every young person that she talked to, she would ask, СAPPWhere are you in school?СAPP It was very important to her.СAPP
Photo by Doug Dugas/UL Lafayette