By Elizabeth Clarke, LCU News PINEVILLE, La. (LCU News) -- Louisiana Christian University hosted the Louisiana Science Olympiad state finals on Saturday, April 13, with middle and high school students from 16 schools across the state competing for a chance to represent Louisiana at the national finals in May. More than 200 students competed in the event. This is the first time LCU has hosted the event according to Theodore Chiasson, associate professor of computer science, currently serves as state director of the National Science Olympiad for Louisiana. The competition has two divisions: Division B (grades 6 – 9) and Division C (grades 9 – 12). Each division has 23 events, with teams of two or three students from each school competing in the individual events. Event challenges range from hands-on activities with equipment that the students pre-build and bring to the Olympiad, to laboratory experiments, to written exams. “The competitions cover many areas of STEM, from robotics to chemistry to optics to ecology to aerodynamics to plate tectonics – if it’s science, it’s part of the Science Olympiad,” Chiasson said. There were 46 separate competitions, each with first/second/third place finishes, and those … [Read more...]

By Elizabeth Clarke, LCU News PINEVILLE, La. (LCU News) - Four Louisiana Christian University honors students presented research at the 4th annual C.S. Lewis Honors Forum, April 12. LAURA AIME Laura Aime, a senior history major with an English minor, from Baton Rouge, presented “Religious Rhetoric of the American Revolution: Jeremiads, Ad Hominem Attacks, and the Holy War Ideology.” Aime’s research discovered that Patriot preachers discussed liberty, resistance to tyranny, the morality of current events, and patriotism. From the 1760s onward and during the conflict itself, the rhetoric of sermons became much more aggressive and intense. The rhetoric employed by New England clergy during the American Revolution – the jeremiad sermonic rhetorical structure, holy war rhetoric, and ad hominem attacks – resulted in powerful sermons that both persuaded the public to support the revolution and molded the ideology of the revolution by reshaping the concept of resistance and emphasizing liberty’s importance. She is a member of the Alpha Mu Tau chapter of the Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society and the LCU Student Government Association. She has served as the president of SGA this academic year. Aime plans to … [Read more...]

By LCU News PINEVILLE, La. (LCU News) - Louisiana Christian University's Lyric Theatre Production class will present “To: Love, Wherever I May Find You,” April 19 at 7 p.m. and April 20 at 2 p.m. in the Martin Performing Arts Center. The event is a musical revue of songs and scenes from Broadway's finest and most exciting selections that explore the deeply human search for love and to be loved. Tickets may be purchased at the door or online at www.purplepass.com/tlcmusicshowcase. General admission is $10, tickets for LCU faculty and all students are $5. Guests are encouraged to bring a jacket or blanket, as the theatre may be cold. … [Read more...]

By LCU News PINEVILLE, La. (LCU Media) --Laura Aime, a senior history major, of Baton Rouge, has been awarded this year’s Kimberly S. Hanger Prize at the Phi Alpha Theta Regional History Conference. Aime, along with a student from Loyola University, each received the honor of having the best undergraduate history papers submitted to the conference, held on March 22 in New Orleans. Aime's paper was titled "Reaching the Hearts and Minds of the American Colonists: American Clergy, Their Sermons, and the American Revolution."  In the paper, she analyzed numerous 18th-century sermons, arguing that pastors were a potent force in persuading their congregants to support the Patriot cause by drawing parallels between biblical texts and the American fight for liberty from British tyranny in their sermons. “It was such an honor to be recognized as a co-winner for the Kimberly S. Hanger prize this year,” Aime said. This is the second year in a row a student from LCU has won the Hanger Prize.   … [Read more...]