Univ. of Louisiana Deltas, NPHC remember slain classmates

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The memories of two former UL students were kept alive Wednesday evening during a special ceremony and forum focusing on domestic violence.

Keosha Spikes was only a few months away from a degree in business management in January 2008 when she was shot in her Lafayette apartment by a former boyfriend, Derrick Fland. Authorities said Fland later drove to his hometown of Bogalusa and committed suicide.

But although she is gone, Spikes’ spirit is not forgotten, especially in the minds of her sorority sisters from Delta Sigma Theta. Together with the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the organization has spent months raising funds to dedicate a bench in her name in front of Moody Hall on the UL campus.

“She was a part of the university, and her dream was to own her own business,” said Jillian Hawkins, president of the sorority, during a dedication ceremony Wednesday. “It’s appropriate that this bench in her name is here in front of Moody Hall.”

The building houses many of UL’s business classes.

Also remembered was Tonya Major, a UL nursing student who was shot to death in February 2008 at a Lake Charles home. Ricky Avrie, the father of her then-1-year-old son, was arrested a few days later and charged with second-degree murder in connection with her death.

Following the dedication ceremony, many gathered in the Bayou Bijou room at the UL Student Union for a special forum on domestic violence and ways it can be prevented. This is the third year that the forum, organized by Delta Sigma Theta, has been held.

Francesca Hamilton-Acker of Acadiana Legal Services said that women who have left an abusive relationship can seek help from the legal system if they are concerned for their safety, including having a protective order issued against their abuser.

Such orders can set certain specifications, such as limiting the abuser’s ability to go near the woman’s home or workplace or prohibiting him from seeing his children.

Reginald Mosely, who has worked extensively with young men in the community, said he has found that many children who witness domestic violence in their own homes are at a higher risk for becoming abusers themselves later in life.

“If we can grab these kids when they are young, we can prevent them from being a statistic later in life,” Mosely said.

Oftentimes, abuse begins by emotional or psychological means, Mosely said. That can include a man slamming doors or being controlling.

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