McNeese State University - Log Yearbook (Lake Charles, LA)

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Through extensive studying of area samples, a group of scientists are trying to determine if our water is Turning to Waste One of the many projects conducted through the McNeese Office of Research and Development during the past year. was the Calcasieu Ecosystem Project, better known as the CALECO project. The project was a two-year program fund- ed by a three million dollar grant from the Department of Energy. The program was designed to detect extensive pollution in the area of the Cal- casieu River from the saltwater barrier, north of Lake Charles, to the mouth of the river at the Gulf of Mexico. The team was looking for industrial, municipal, and agri- cultural pollutants. The first year of the three-year project was designed to observe the sources of discharge. The second part was to be an analysis of Calcasieu Lake to determine whether or not the pollutants were staying in the lake and affecting life forms in the lake. The project included several substu- dies: the chemical substudy, the water quality substudy, the primary producer substudy, the zooplankton substudy, the benthos substudy, the nekton substudy, the hydrology substudy and the date management substudy. Weekly and monthly samples were tak- en along with more extensive quarterly samples. The project leased a field sta- tion at Deatonville and operated from three boats: a twenty-two foot heavy work-boat, a sixteen-foot aluminum boat, and a fourteen-foot aluminum boat. At the conclusion of the project, McNeese will retain one-half to three-fourths of a million dollars worth of equipment. Dr. Larry DeRouen was in charge of the administrative end of the project while Dr. Harold Stevenson headed the technical side. The project was due for completion in 1986. Assisted by Margaret Walther and Phillip Rut- ledge, Dr. Gary Gaston (principal investigator of the CALECO Project) empties samples from the bayou floor, which will be analyzed to determine underwater soil pollution. (Photo by S. Levy) CALECO 189

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David Chestnut, research technician with the CA- LECO Project, extracts water samples from Con- traband Bayou for use in testing procedures of water pollution. (Photo by S. Levy) Margaret Walther, research assistant, records data determined from water samples. (Photo by S. Levy) 188 Academics

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Having no test or textbooks ts a plus for the University Honors program which is taught in The Spirit of Fun Everything you ever wanted to know about... This is the idea of the university- wide Honors Seminar Program. Students with various interest from several different major fields of study met during the past year through the Honors Seminar to learn about areas of interest to them. Short trips and guest speakers helped to enhance the course. The program is an exciting experience for participating s tudents. The group, led by Dr. Robert Cooper, made excursions to various local points of interest. Once a month the group left campus on a trip. During the year the group visited Cities Services, The Lake Charles American Press, city ports and a Merril Lynch agency. A highlight of the year was observing a murder trial. Other activities were held on campus, these in- cluded visiting with various professors and guest lecturers. The group decided among themselves what they would like to do and whom they would like to hear. The program is designed to give stu- dents the opportunity to learn about many different topics of interest, no matter what their major. Dr. Cooper said of the pro- 190 Academics gram: ‘Students hopefully get a chance to see how various things relate. We try to tie all these things together.’ To be eligible for the seminar, a student must have taken at least thirty semester hours and have an overall grade point average of 3.5 or above. The honors course is worth three semester hours and there are no texts or tests. Dr. Jack Doland, President of McNeese, ex- presses his views on the quality of education cur- “rently being offered to McNeese students. (Photo by R. Rozas) Seminar participants compare notes taken during a lecture centering on chemical waste. (Photo by T. Maricle)