Campus briefs

Favrot Student Union Board        to end 2015 Summer II activities

The Favrot Student Union Board has only one more planned Summer II activity left for students to enjoy. The board will hold a kickball event on Wednesday, July 22 in the Old Stadium at 7 p.m.

Alumnus to direct ‘Emmett Till’ play in Bossier City this weekend

Grambling State University alumnus Vincent Williams will direct The Face of Emmett Till 60 Years written by David Barr & Mamie Till Mobley, a true-to-life dramatization of the death of the 14-year-old who, while visiting relatives in Money, Miss., in August 1955 was kidnapped, tortured and murdered by two white men for “allegedly” whistling at a white woman.

The play will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, July 17-18, at the East Bank Theater, 630 Barksdale Blvd. in Bossier City.  

Children under 5 years of age are not allowed. 

Admission for the show is $12. Payment will be accepted at the door, or for more information, contact Extensionsofexcellence.org.

Former GSU coach to hold free baseball clinic Saturday, July 25

The free Wilbert Ellis Baseball Clinic will be held Saturday, July 25 at Frazier Field (East End) in Ruston. The clinic is for boys and girls ages 8-16, and Tee Ball ages 4-7.

Interested participates may pre-register at the Ruston Housing Authority Maintenance Office on 901 M.L. King and see Ronnie Lyons or call 251-1838. 

Registration the day of the clinic will begin at 8 a.m, instruction and teaching will kickoff at 9 a.m. and lunch is set for noon.

Participates will gain conditioning tips to help improve athletic performance, and learn life skills and sportsmanship. Parents may also attend a session just for them and all campers will receive a T-shirt, an NCAA water bottle and free glove.

Instruction will be given by Wilbert Ellis, Hall of Famer and former GSU head baseball coach; James Cooper, GSU head baseball coach; Dr. Obadiah Simmons, former baseball player; Benjamin Williams, former GSU/major league player; James Maryland, former SU player; Ralph Garr, former GSU/major league player/Hall of Famer; and others.

Changes to be made to students’ accident-only insurance for fall

  Beginning 2015 Fall Semester, an accident only insurance fee will be added to tuition for domestic students. The fee will be $22  per fall and spring semesters and $10 per summer session which includes an administrative premium.

Domestic students may elect to be exempt from this accident-only plan if proof of other health insurance coverage is furnished. It is in the student’s best interest to ensure that any outside insurance plan provides proper coverage as the university no longer offers a mandatory sickness plan, said Patrice Outley, director of student health at GSU.

The premium for the sickness and accident plan for international students will also change according to age groups. International students may also elect to be exempt from the sickness and accident plan if proof of other health insurance coverage in the United States is furnished.

The deadlines for exemption are posted on the Foster-Johnson Health Center webpage and will be strictly enforced. 

For more information, contact the Health Center at 318-274-2351.

August 15 is deadline for Ernest J. Gaines literary award entries

Entries are being accepted through Aug. 15 for the ninth annual Ernest J. Gaines award for literary excellence. 

Information on criteria and entrance forms for the award, which includes a $10,000 cash prize, is available at www.ernestjgainesaward.org.

The Gaines Award competition, sponsored by Baton Rouge Area Foundation donors, honors outstanding fiction (novels or short-story collections) from rising African-American authors.

  A Louisiana native, Gaines’ critically acclaimed novel The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman was adapted into a 1974 made-for-TV movie that received nine Emmy awards. His 1993 book A Lesson Before Dying won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. He is Writer-in-Residence Emeritus at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.

Entries for the 2015 Ernest J. Gaines Award winner will be announced in November, and the ceremony will be held on Jan. 21, 2016, at the Manship Theatre in Baton Rouge.

Mt. Zion set to celebrate pastor and wife’s 12 years of service

The Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church family will celebrate the pastor and wife’s 12th anniversary on Sunday, July 26 at 3 p.m. The church is located on 12586 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Grambling.

The theme will be “Equipper of the Saints” taken from

Ephesians 4:11-12. Serving as guests for the occasion will be Reverend Joseph Henderson, pastor, and the Mount Calvary Baptist Church family in Arcadia.