Ever wonder how our campus activities come about? Who’s behind the madness? For those who do, her name is Dr. Cassandra Shelling and she is the new Favrot Student Union director for campus wide activities.A daughter of two Grambling State University alumni, mother of three, and grandmother, this education administration major and alum of Jackson State University, officially began her journey of working at Grambling State University on Wednesday, Jan. 2.
Shelling has grand expectations for this and upcoming semesters. Overall, she wants to make GSU a “regional Mecca” of entertainment and education for northern Louisiana as it was at one time.
Dr. Shelling mentioned some of the new activities that she has for our student body. One of those activities being the “Divine Nine Scholarship Ball.” With this activity, an eligible student of GSU will receive a scholarship on behalf of the Greek organizations. She also aspires to lengthen the celebration of Women’s History Month from March 11-13.
With her 21 years of teaching and planning activities for her students on elementary, junior high, and high school levels, Shelling is very comfortable with the challenges that she may be confronted by. She pledges to “be a good Stewart of students’ money” and will make good decisions with it.
To do so Shelling desires that she communicate frequently with the entire Union staff as to what will be going on in the Student Union Board as it pertains to the students. She invites ideas from faculty, staff, and especially the students of Grambling State, with her open door policy.
Paying for entertainment during Homecoming or Tigerfest is something that has raised eyebrows across the student body. Shelling stated that when students pay for activities, it is to cover the balance of the entertainers and other activities that can’t be paid with just the Student Activities Fee. Some entertainers, such as Katt Williams and Beyonce, charge about $150,000.
The Union would be able to afford one entertainer, but would not be able to have any other activities for the entire semester. To help with this, Shelling plans to let non-students take up most of the weight for activities. For example, if student tickets are $7, non-students would pay $35.
Speaking of Tigerfest, there aren’t any sketched in stone artists as of right now. However, she does have a list of possible entertainers such as Keyshia Cole (again), Chris Brown, Mary J. Blige, Plies and Musiq, along with high-ranking comedians.
When asked about her reason for taking the job, she said, “As an educator, I want to bridge the gap between academics and student activities.”
For the first time while attending GSU, some students see that happening.