Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           publicinfo@selu.edu
                                           SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
    Date: 3/17/00
      Contact:                           Christina Chapple   1

IDB YOUTH GROUP TO VISIT SOUTHEASTERN DURING ROCK 'N ROAR
     HAMMOND -- More than 60 young people from Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada,
Asia and the United States will visit Southeastern Louisiana University Saturday, March 25 to
experience life on an American campus and learn how higher education develops future leaders.
     Brad O'Hara, director of Southeastern's College of Business graduate program, said the
students are participating in the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Youth Summit, which
is being held in New Orleans March 23-29 in conjunction with the IDB's annual meeting of its
board of governors.
     "One of the goals of the summit is to give students the opportunities to exchange
experiences and discuss their work with representatives of youth organizations," O'Hara said,
who is organizing the Youth Summit's Southeastern visit. "They have chosen to spend the day at
Southeastern, where they will participate in workshops hosted by our own student organizations.
     "This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to learn from future world leaders and
for us to showcase our own programs," O'Hara said.
     O'Hara said when the summit participants arrive on campus Saturday morning, they will
be paired with Southeastern students who plan to conduct campus tours and guide the visitors
through the festivities of the university's annual Rock 'n Roar Fest, which will be taking place on
campus from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. The annual festival features music, children's camps, academic
displays, a health fair, and other activities, all designed to showcase Southeastern for visiting
District 8 Literary Rally participants and the general public.
     After lunch at the festival, the Youth Summit and Southeastern students will get down to
business, O'Hara said.
     "We are planning a series of panels, all run by our students, on leadership development.
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IDB YOUTH GROUP TO VISIT   Add One
Representatives of organizations such as the Student Government Association and the Black
Students Caucus will tell the visitors about themselves and about how their organizations benefit
them personally and the community in general," O'Hara said. The Youth Summit students also
will visit with Southeastern international students.
     U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu will join in the group's  "debriefing session" at 3:45 p.m., when
Youth Summit students will report on what they learned during the visit.
                             -SLU-