The University of Louisiana at 69´ŤĂ˝ flung open the doors to its âliving roomâ on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, a ribbon cutting at the new âUâ was followed by an open house, then a dedication of the Helma B. Constantine Forum, on the Unionâs 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 âawesome.â
âIt just gives everything a really good Cajun feel,â he explained.
A Zydeco brunch is scheduled for each of the Louisiana Raginâ Cajunsâ 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.
âItâs truly a community center, and itâs turned out to be everything that we hoped it would,â said Dr. Joseph Savoie, UL 69´ŤĂ˝ president. âThis is sort of like a mini-homecoming.â
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 menâs basketball team in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Womack, who earned a bachelorâs degree in business administration and an MBA from the University, liked what he saw. âItâs amazing,â he said of the new Student Union.
âIt almost makes you want to come back to school,â Womack added, jokingly.
On Friday afternoon, the Helma B. Constantine Forum on the Unionâs second floor was dedicated. Constantine helped lead desegregation efforts at the University in the 1950s.
On April 23, 1954, Southwestern Louisiana Institute became the first four-year, public university in the Deep South to integrate.
Constantineâs daughter, Clara Dell Constantine, was among the first African American students who enrolled at SLI.
On Friday, Savoie said that Helma Constantineâs efforts to help her daughter achieve her dream of higher education was a cause that âwas just, and her conviction was strong.â
âBy 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,â Savoie said.
Constantineâs daughter, Joyce Constantine Henson, was on hand to see the unveiling of a plaque emblazoned with her motherâs likeness, and a description of her desegregation efforts.
âMy mother was stubborn, and felt that the only way up from poverty was education,â Henson said. âShe insisted that we all get an education of some kind. And, every young person that she talked to, she would ask, âWhere are you in school?â It was very important to her.â
Photo by Doug Dugas/UL 69´ŤĂ˝