Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           publicinfo@selu.edu
                                           SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
    Date: 11/4/99
      Contact:                           Christina Chapple   4

BONFIRE, CHAMBER AFTER HOURS, DANCE TO KINDLE HOMECOMING
SPIRIT
     HAMMOND -- Southeastern Louisiana University will kindle a spirited Homecoming
weekend on Thursday, Nov. 16, with an evening of community and campus merrymaking around
the crackling flames of the traditional bonfire.
     The event gets underway at 5 p.m., when the Alumni Association and the Hammond
Chamber of Commerce host Chamber After Hours at the Alumni Center on University Ave. The
monthly meet-and-greet social will last until 7 p.m.
     Meanwhile, Southeastern students -- who will have already begun their Homecoming
partying with a Monday mid-day tip-off celebration, "Games Night" on Tuesday, "Gumbo Ya Ya"
on Wednesday, and Pride Day on Thursday -- will gather next door at the University Center and
caravan through campus to fire up their spirit for the bonfire. The huge Homecoming woodpile
will be torched  at 5:30 p.m.
     When the flames begin to cool, the spirit will heat  back up with a street dance and
jambalaya supper from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
     The community is invited to join in all the fun. 
     Area alumni and residents are also welcome to attend the highlight of Friday, Nov. 17, the
Alumni Association's annual Awards Evening. Scheduled for 7-9 p.m. at Twelve Oaks, the event
will honor 1999 Alumnus of the Year Harold Jackson, a 1956 Southeastern graduate and retired
president of Sunsweet, Inc.
     The honors spotlight will also shine on a trio of award-winners. Former Athletic Director
Pat Kenelly, Class of  47, will receive the Alumni Association's Distinguished Service Award;
Gene Prejeant, Class of  80, will be the newest recipient of the L.E. Chandler Award, which 
(MORE)

SLU HOMECOMING 1999 -- Add One
spotlights service to students; and Southeastern Development Foundation board member Ann
Mentz of New Orleans, Class of  56, will be given the university's prestigious  "Golden
Ambassador" accolade.
     Tickets for the Awards Evening are $15 and are available at the Alumni Center, 504-549-2150
or 1-800-SLU-ALUM. Seating is limited.
     The bonfire and Awards Evening are the spirited lead-ins to Homecoming Day, Saturday,
Nov. 20, when "Southeastern Goes Hollywood."
     Homecoming Day events include an open house, reunions, the annual parade, a barbeque,
live music, children's activities and the Southeastern-Southern University Homecoming basketball
game. Southeastern's 1999 Homecoming queen will be announced and crowned at halftime.
     Car and float riders will toss special giant-sized "doubloons" along the parade route that,
when turned in at the Homecoming game, will go into a drawing for a weekend for two at the
New Orleans Royal Sonesta hotel. Also at the game, a University Center seat number will be
drawn and the seat's occupant will win $200 in American Express gift certificates and $200 for
the campus organization of his or her choice.
     For more information about Homecoming activities, call the Alumni Center, 504-549-2150 or
1-800-SLU-ALUM or visit the Alumni Association's web site, www.selu.edu/alumni.
                            - SLU -
     This press release is available on the World Wide Web:
      www.selu.edu/NewsEvents/PublicInfoOffice/newsf99.htm