The Daily Reveille - July 17, 2012

UREC: Firms begin planning for facility remodeling, p. 3

Baseball: Which LSU reliever will become the next starter? p. 5

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Athletics: The Reveille chooses winners for first annual LESPYS, p. 6 Tuesday, July 17, 2012 • Volume 116, Issue 152

Demonstrators rally around lack of Romney tax transparency

Gov. Mitt Romney visited his supporters.” downtown Baton Rouge on MonRomney has been described day to attend a fundraiser event as the “godfather” of Obamacare, hosted at the Baton Rouge City despite his lack of support for the Club. program, which The exclusive he pioneered in Parker Cramer luncheon was only his elected state of Contributing Writer for individuals Massachusetts. who had given at least $50,000 to Boyd-Snee described RomRomney’s presidential campaign. ney’s opposition to Obamacare as Though Romney was not seen “mindboggling.” entering the club and was only MoveOn.org, which has a lobriefly visible to the public eye cal chapter in Baton Rouge, notiwhen leaving the lunch, the fund- fied many demonstrators of the raising event was met with dem- event. onstrations outside, mostly calling Nazir Mohamed, co-sponsor for the former Bain Capital CEO to of MoveOn.org’s Baton Rouge release his tax records. chapter, said his group was mainly Demonstrators believed Rom- at the event to ask for transparency ney has not been entirely forthcom- when it comes to Romney’s tax ing with his tax records through the documents. years.

“It’s disrespectful to the state Romney has, in the past, held of Louisiana,” said James Bullman offshore accounts both in the Cay- of the Democratic State Central man Islands and Switzerland.

Committee’s Young Leaders ProRancy Boyd-Snee, who was gram. demonstrating against Romney, Bullman described Romney as said she came out to “express ROMNEY, see page 4 [her] opinions to Romney and

TELEVISION

Students react to DirecTV blackouts

Several channels now unavailable Joshua Bergeron Staff Writer

ALYSSA SIRISOPHON / The Daily Reveille

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney (top) was greeted by protesters Monday after a luncheon with major campaign supporters at the City Club of Baton Rouge.

When general studies senior Kevin Williamson turned on his TV last week to watch The Daily Show, he was greeted by a black screen.

“I turned on my TV a couple days ago and couldn’t watch Comedy Central,” he said. “I ignored it and waited until the next day to watch it online. But when I went to the website, it said that full episodes were unavailable.”

Some students are being caught in the crossfire of a conflict between DirecTV and Viacom, resulting in the loss of channels such as MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.

The blackout comes after the two companies failed to agree on a price to charge for Viacom’s content.

DirecTV failed to agree to Viacom’s rate increase, BLACKOUTS, see page 4

CAMPUS

Bike Roundup takes place this week Unclaimed bikes to be collected Austen Krantz Staff Writer

Last week, the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation began its Bike Roundup by tagging abandoned bicycles, and it will impound unclaimed bikes today.

Manager of Enforcement Division of the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation

Dabney Hayes said the office seeks to pick up abandoned bikes from campus and doesn’t intend to seize bikes that are in use.

The office tags bikes to be picked up that aren’t placed on bike racks and have been left near unoccupied residential halls.

The tags serve as a notice to students who may own the bikes to contact the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation to leave the bike alone.

“Our only goal is to remove bikes that aren’t being used from campus,” Hayes explained. “All [bike owners] have to do is let us know the bike isn’t abandoned,

and we won’t lock it up.”

Haynes said a student with a tagged bike should e-mail the office with the bike’s tag’s number, his or her phone number and the color and make of the bike, and it will remain untouched.

These directions should be on the tag as well.

Beginning last year, the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation began rounding up bikes during the summer because of the scope of the task.

“Typically, we hold a bike round up between the end of the BIKES, see page 4

ALYSSA SIRISOPHON/ The Daily Reveille

Bicycles sit in an impound lot Monday afternoon. The Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation will be collecting abandoned bikes this week.

The Daily Reveille

page 2

INTERNATIONAL London airport Heathrow handles record numbers as Olympics approach LONDON (AP) — Athletes, officials and media from all over the world poured into Heathrow Airport on Monday for the London Olympics, the first wave of a record number of passengers expected to pass through Europe’s largest airport for the games that begin July 27.

Heathrow says athletes from 50 nations will touch down in what is being described as Britain’s biggest peacetime transport challenge. In all, the airport will handle some 236,955 passengers, breaking the previous daily record of 233,562 set in July.

Pair of Libyan TV journalists released after week-long abduction TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — A local Libyan TV station manager says two of his journalists have been freed after more than a week being held captive by militiamen from a onetime stronghold of ousted ruler Moammar Gadhafi.

Omar Boghada of Misrata’s TV station says the two journalists, held for 10 days by militiamen from the town of Bani Walid, have returned home. The two were covering the country’s general election 10 days ago when they were snatched on their way back to Misrata.

Nation & World

STEVE PARSONS / The Associated Press

Heathrow Airport officials transport luggage belonging to the Russian Olympic team, which arrived Monday in London.

Flooding deluge eases in Japan, but 28 dead after ‘waterfall-like’ rain TOKYO (AP) — Most of the quarter-million people who fled massive flooding in southwest Japan were able to return home by Monday, but the danger had not fully passed from record rains that have killed at least 28 people.

Thousands of homes and hundreds of roads were damaged, and hundreds of landslides were reported. The military airlifted food by helicopter to stranded districts.

The rain “was like a waterfall,” in Yamaguchi, Yoko Yoshika said.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

NATIONAL

STATE/LOCAL

Death penalty possibility thrown out in killing of rocker Navarro’s mother

Millions spent on upkeep of empty Katrina lots in New Orleans

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The California Supreme Court on Monday tossed out the death sentence of a man convicted of murdering rock guitarist Dave Navarro’s mother and her friend nearly 30 years ago — a ruling that could affect the cases of Scott Peterson and other death row inmates.

The unanimous court said the trial judge presiding over the trial of John Riccardi improperly dismissed a prospective juror because of her conflicting written responses in a questionnaire asking her views of the death penalty.

West Texas plastic surgeon arrested in death of Lubbock doctor

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — More than 3,000 lots flooded by Hurricane Katrina and bought with federal money in an emergency bailout sit idle across this city — a multimillion-dollar drain on federal, state and city coffers that lends itself to no easy solution.

An Associated Press examination of the properties sold to the government by homeowners abandoning New Orleans after the catastrophic 2005 flood has found that about $86 million has been spent on 5,100 abandoned parcels. And there’s no end in sight to maintenance costs for perhaps most of the 3,100 properties that remain unsold.

Low water levels bring salt water up Miss. River from Gulf of Mexico

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — A West Texas plastic surgeon paid someone $9,000 — in the form of three silver bars — to kill another doctor who was dating his ex-girlfriend, police alleged Monday.

Dr. Thomas Michael Dixon and David Neal Shepard were arrested by police in Amarillo shortly after midnight, authorities announced. They are suspected of being involved in the death of Lubbock doctor Dr. Joseph Sonnier III.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — With the Mississippi River running at low levels, salt water is moving up from the Gulf of Mexico.

The Times-Picayune reports that denser, heavier saltwater flows upriver beneath fresh water flowing downstream when the river’s flow drops below normal. The Army Corps of Engineers says salt water is not yet considered a threat to water supplies in the New Orleans area.

Today on lsureveille.com Check out the lastest edition of Dating Danielle on the LMFAO entertainment blog, as Danielle Kelley goes to Tunica Hills for her latest dating locale.

Sports writer Chandler Rome previews this week’s SEC Media Days and looks at the football offseason’s major storylines on the Tiger Feed sports blog.

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POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

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The Daily Reveille

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

UNIVERSITY

page 3

UREC renovation projects in works Two firms chosen to complete phase one Joshua Bergeron Staff Writer

LSU University Recreation officially began the renovation process with the announcement of the two firms chosen to complete the first phase of the project.

The firms selected include 360 Architecture of Kansas City, Kan. and Grace & Hebert Architects. Laurie Braden, director of University Recreation, said the firms were officially selected in late May, but planning began last week.

“LSU began exploration of this step forward as far back as 2002, and over the last two years, UREC has funded planning and exploration of this next step

through our operational budget,” Braden said. “Our planning and design phase, that we are currently in, was funded from UREC reserves. [Wednesday] was our first official day of planning.”

The expansion and redesign will be funded by student fees.

Braden said she expects both firms to complete all three phases of the renovation.

360 Architecture has a large and varied portfolio with projects across the nation.

Those projects include the New Meadowlands Stadium, Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Football Stadium and Basra Sports City — a 65,000-person Stadium in Basra, Iraq.

Grace & Hebert Architects is a Baton-Rouge-based firm that has completed many local projects.

Currently, it is creating a new building for the Louisiana

Sheriffs’ Association. In addition, it is working on the Lafayette Public Safety Complex.

This will not be the first time the firm has worked with the University.

Grace & Hebert Associates previously completed the design for the new Alex Box Stadium and recently finished renovations to the Student Union.

Marketing Director Scott Belanger said although two firms were named, both will work in collaboration.

The planning phase tasks the UREC staff with figuring out how to craft the new facilities.

Although drawings of each phase have been posted on the University Recreation website, “a lot of the plans are just potential,” according to Adventure Education Coordinator Chris Bullard.

“We are going through with

photo courtesy of University Recreation

Second-floor blueprints for the UREC include an extension of the elevated track area (center, thin grey line) along with a new three-court gym below (center top). Areas for a spin class and the rock-climbing wall’s high peak are also part of the floor’s future.

the architects and figuring out what the new facility will look like,” Bullard explained. “For example, I’m tasked with figuring out the details for the Adventure Center next to the pool. I think there will be a lot of collaboration between different programs.”

Bullard said the first phase of renovation is huge for Adventure Education.

“It is a big thing for us, especially with the Adventure Center being next to the pool,” he said “It is hopefully going to provide a hub, so people can see what Adventure Education is all about.”

Contact Joshua Bergeron at jbergeron@lsureveille.com

ALUMNI

University alumnus sets sail for Paralympics in the U.K. Weymouth familiar course for LeBlanc Austen Krantz Staff Writer

When University alumnus Mark LeBlanc sets sail to compete in the 2012 Paralympics, it won’t be the first time he’s seen the event’s landscape or his competition.

As part of his training, LeBlanc and the U.S. Paralympic Sailing Team has been competing in national and international sailing competitions against competitors who will also face his team in the 2012 Paralympics in Weymouth, a seaside town in Dorset, England.

“It’s a pretty close-knit group of sailors,” LeBlanc explained.

“It’s the same group travelling around together so you see the same people.”

In addition to events like competitions in the ISAF Sailing World Cup, Leblanc’s training has included at least four other events in Weymouth, so he’s become familiar with the lay of the 2012 Paralympic venue as well.

“The competition is going to be hopefully exactly like all of these other events,” he explained.

“They’ve molded all of these other events to try to be like that,

so you’re used to it — it’s replicated. I’d say I’m pretty used to Weymouth.”

LeBlanc said despite hosting less competitors and higher stakes, he will try to treat this race like any other competition.

While these events leading to the Paralympics are still competitive, he explained the team uses them to practice on specific areas that require focus.

“You’re competing and you’re training inside the competition,” LeBlanc said. “You kind of focus on what you want to do, so it’s nice to win, but the goal is not really to win every competition.”

During the first few days of a competition, participants figure out their poLEBLANC sition in the contest, he said.

As the race draws to the end, sailors will figure out what they need to do to win a medal or continue training if medaling isn’t likely.

LeBlanc said his training for the 2012 Paralympic qualifications as well as his current training has proved far more extensive and intense than his preparations for the 2008 Paralympic qualifications, which he fell a few

feet short of making.

“In 2008, I basically didn’t do any more sailing,” he said.

“In 2011, I did four international events and spent approximately 10 to 12 weeks sailing.”

LeBlanc approached the 2012 qualifications more methodically, he said, making additional preparations and training more.

“Last time around I had been in the boat a year and a half before the trials, and I really didn’t know how to sail it very well,” he said. “I got a personal coach, more sails and equipment. I bought a new boat in spring 2011, so there’s never guessing about the equipment — that’s something you want to rule out.”

Since he qualified however, LeBlanc said his training has been increasingly time-consuming, especially with all the travelling required.

He was gone all of January, and anywhere from a week to three weeks every month leading up to July.

“You’ve really got to treat it like a job,” he said. “It’s not like I’m over there being a tourist.”

LeBlanc said his training days generally begin with a morning run, sailing about once or twice and then fixing and maintaining his boat.

July presents a slower month for LeBlanc since he’ll only be

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gone a week. This also gives him some time for his marrige to his fiancé, which he said will take place this weekend, followed by a “non-sailing-related honeymoon.”

LeBlanc said his ultimate goal for the 2012 Paralympics is to bring home a medal, which he

said should be manageable.

“I know I have the skillset in hand,” he said. “I just need to be relaxed and execute everything.”

Contact Austen Krantz at akrantz@lsureveille.com

DO YOU HAVE AN OCCURRENCE? Call Joe at the Student Media Office 578-6090, 9AM- 5PM or E-mail: oncampus@lsureveille.com

The Daily Reveille

page 4

“A man who stops advertising to save money, is like a man who stops the clock to save time.”

ROMNEY, from page 1

a candidate who cares about the accumulation of wealth, not about the service of individuals.

If Romney is elected, Bullman said he does not believe he will be able to repeal Obamacare.

“It’s crazy for him to [oppose] it because three branches of our government have implemented and upheld this law,” Bullman said.

University alumnus Lewis Campbell came dressed to demonstrate in purple and gold attire.

“I’m here to poke a little fun at Romney,” Campbell said.

When asked why he was demonstrating against Romney, Campbell said, “I really wouldn’t know where to start.”

James McNary picketed Romney with a sign that compared him to former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

The sign, which said “Idi Amin was a polygamist with a Swiss bank account who impoverished his own people. just sayin’,” was a play on Romney’s Mormon religion and his Swiss bank account.

McNary described Romney as being “bizarrely evasive” when it comes to his tax documents.

Courtney Horne, who was demonstrating with McNary, held a sign comparing the average Louisiana income to the cost to attend Romney’s luncheon.

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ALYSSA SIRISOPHON / The Daily Reveille

Lewis Campbell, a Baton Rouge local, protested during Mitt Romney’s luncheon with his major campaign supporters on Monday at North Boulevard Town Square.

The average Louisiana income was $38,446 in 2010. The luncheon was $50,000 per plate.

“This opens him up to a lot of mockery,” McNary said.

Despite his early absence from view, Romney eventually emerged, and the crowd heckled the presidential candidate when he exited the premises.

Romney did not stop or speak to the demonstrators or journalists outside the club.

Contact Parker Cramer at pcramer@lsureveille.com

BLACKOUTS, from page 1 according to a news release.

As a result, 17 channels are unavailable to approximately 20 million subscribers.

Mark Jafar of Viacom is keeping up with the issue on the company’s blog.

“We are asking for an increase of less than 2 cents per subscriber per day for all 26 channels,” Jafar wrote. “DirecTV spends $10 billion on programming every year.

Viacom’s networks account for 5 percent of that budget but represent 20 percent of all DirecTV’s viewership.”

Williamson isn’t the only student who is upset about the missing channels.

STUDENT MEDIA IS...

HIRING

Reveille, Tiger TV, KLSU, Gumbo, Legacy Magazine

BIKES, from page 1 summer and beginning of fall semester,” Haynes explained.

“Because it’s such a big process, we start earlier in the summer.”

The office has tagged nearly 140 bikes and has received numerous e-mails from students about the tags, but Haynes said not nearly enough bikes are picked up.

This marks only part of the roundup, which will see another series of taggings in two weeks.

In addition, the office hosts a second roundup between the fall and spring semesters.

“It’s really a problem, and it’s a waste — it just seems such a shame,” Haynes said. “They obviously cost money, and they literally are abandoned.”

Haynes said she speculates some bikes are left over the summer by students who plan to pick them up when they return for school in the fall.

As a result, the SG bike

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

B39 HODGES HALL

ALYSSA SIRISOPHON / The Daily Reveille

Students who want to claim their bicycles can e-mail The Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation with their name, phone number, bike tag number, color and model.

auction of impounded abandoned bikes is held later in the semester for these situations.

“When they come back and realize [their bikes are] gone, they contact us,” Haynes said. “We wait a good while

after the semester starts to have the sale to let those students pick up their bikes.”

History sophomore Lauren Williams is also disappointed about the loss of content.

“I’m actually not that upset about losing the TV channels,” Williams explained. “I am more upset that I can’t watch the TV shows online. I usually miss one or two of my favorite shows and go catch up on them online. Now I am missing all of them and catching up on none of them.”

This isn’t the first time DirecTV has taken down channels.

During the past seven years, DirecTV has sparred with seven different programmers and blacked out channels five times.

Jafar did not offer a prediction on when the channels might return. He did say the channels

will “most likely be restored once the companies come to an agreement.”

Contact Austen Krantz at akrantz@lsureveille.com

Contact Joshua Bergeron at jbergeron@lsureveille.com

Sports Who’s next?

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

FOOTBALL

Tigers put four on Lombardi watch list

After Gausman’s recent signing with the Orioles, there’s a void in LSU’s starting rotation. Who will step up?

Staff Writer

TIGERS TO OPEN WITH THREE HOME NIGHT GAMES After playing only two games under the lights in Death Valley last season, LSU will open this season with three straight night games, the Southeastern Conference announced Monday.

The Tigers’ season opener against North Texas will kickoff at 6 p.m. on September 1, and will be televised nationally by ESPNU. LSU will then host formidable Pac-10 foe Washington at 6 p.m. on ESPN on September 8, followed the next week with a 7 p.m. kickoff against Idaho, to be shown on TigerVision.

Last season marked the first time in 76 years LSU had no conference games at home, and played only two night games in Tiger Stadium all season, much to the dismay of Tiger fans.

One SEC night game is certain, as CBS has already announced LSU’s November 3 contest with Alabama will kickoff at 7 p.m.

Contact Chandler Rome at crome@lsureveille.com

Saban’s next brawl to be in courtroom THE GEG STAND

Chandler Rome The preseason accolades keep rolling in for the LSU football team.

Four Tigers – junior offensive tackle Chris Faulk, junior defensive ends Sam Montgomery and Barkevious Mingo and senior offensive tackle Alex Hurst – were named Monday to the watch list for the Lombardi Award, given annually to the top collegiate lineman or linebacker.

Faulk and Hurst will anchor an offensive line littered with veterans.

Faulk returns at left tackle after starting in 13 of 14 games last season, finishing with 73.5 knockdowns and earning AP second-team All-Southeastern Conference honors.

Hurst started all 14 games last season at right tackle – one of only five players to start every game. He finished with 71.5 knockdowns and was named First-Team All SEC. Mingo and Montgomery, already named to the Bednarik Award watch list last week, combined for 40 tackles for loss and 20.5 sacks in their two-year careers. Mingo’s 15 tackles for loss last season ranked third in the SEC, while Montgomery was named a finalist for national defensive end of the year last season.

Also released Monday, junior Kevin Minter was named to the 51-man watch list for The Butkus Award, given to the nation’s top linebacker. Starting eleven games at linebacker last season, Minter had 61 total tackles to rank fifth on the team.

page 5

IP

Innings Pitched

H

Hits Allowed

ER

Earned Runs

BB

Base on Balls

K

Strikeouts

ERA

Earned Run Average

LSU 2012 Summer LSU 2012 Summer LSU 2012 Summer LSU 2012 Summer LSU 2012 Summer LSU 2012 Summer

BONVILLIAN

COTTON

BROUSSARD

MCCUNE

28.1

42.1

41.0

45.1

N/A

16

6

19.2

27

30

37

42

N/A

9

5

27

11

8

17

19

N/A

1

3

20

12

7

12

14

N/A

1

3

4

26

40

45

24

N/A

13

10

18

3.49

1.59

3.73

4.04

N/A

0.56

4.50

9.15

Yankees on June 16 – Mainieri said his bevy of returning pitchers is up to the challenge.

Mainieri mentioned seniors Brent Bonvillain and Chris Cotton and junior Kurt McCune as potential starters to join sophomore Aaron Nola and junior Ryan Eades in the weekend rotation.

Cotton, who made three starts in the Northwoods League this summer, carried an impressive 0.56 earned run average through 16 innings.

“In this corner, drinking two wine coolers and four tequila shots, the princess of Alabama football, Krrrrrriiistennnn Saaaaabbbbaaaaannnn!”

Reports have recently capitalized on the news that Nick Saban’s daughter Kristen was allegedly involved in a drunken brawl with sorority sister Sarah Grimes in 2010.

Grimes is suing her former sorority sister for an estimated amount of greater than $10,000 despite not pressing criminal charges.

If that’s not sisterhood, I don’t know what is.

Whenever I hear someone isn’t pressing criminal charges, I immediately think that all they want is money. And it’s a pretty safe bet that Grimes knows Kristen Saban has access to a decent bank account.

I’m not saying Grimes is lying or even that she doesn’t deserve the money, but if it weren’t for Papa Nick, this lawsuit would be for basic medical costs instead of tens of thousands of dollars.

The two members of the Alabama’s Phi Mu sorority chapter allegedly took to blows after Kristen Saban became highly emotional due to her boyfriend not giving her enough attention at the bar.

Basically, the man referred to only as “BV” in the lawsuit was annoyed that Kristen Saban was displaying “erratic behavior” — she was two shots away singing “These Boots Are Made For Walking” up on the bar top — at a local nightclub.

PITCHING, see page 7

SABAN, see page 7

graphic by MELISSA RUSHING / The Daily Reveille

Four LSU relievers will potentially be vying for an open spot in the Tiger’s starting rotation next spring. Senior Chris Cotton is pitching in the Northwoods League this summer; juniors Kurt McCune and Joe Broussard are pitching in the Cape Cod League. Senior lefty Brent Bonvillian is not playing this summer.

Chandler Rome Staff Writer

Despite the rumors and speculation surrounding Kevin Gausman’s future, LSU coach Paul Mainieri saw it as a foregone conclusion.

But it never hurt to hope.

“I was holding a spot on the roster for him,” Mainieri said. “Just in case.”

Ever since June 4, when the Baltimore Orioles selected the Centennial, Colo. native with the No. 4 overall pick, Mainieri had dismissed any

thought of his prized pitcher returning to school for his junior season.

After reports surfaced last week that Gausman was strongly considering a return to LSU, Mainieri brushed it off as a misconstruing of words.

“I thought it would only be a possibility if something very bizarre took place,” Mainieri said. “I thought all along he was going to sign.”

Now faced with replacing a Friday night ace and a lockdown closer – Nick Goody signed with the New York

MIKE GEGENHEIMER Contributing Writer

TRACK AND FIELD

Ernest claims gold at IAAF in Barcelona

Chandler Rome Staff Writer

It’s been a historic summer for LSU sophomore Aaron Ernest.

The New Orleans native became the first Tiger sprinter to medal at the IAAF World Junior Championships, striking for two silver medals and a gold in Barcelona, Spain.

“I’ve got to give all the credit to the LSU coaching staff,” Ernest said in a news release. “I’ve been training hard, and I’m in the best shape

of my life.”

Ernest struck early in the 100-meter dash, tying his personal record of 10.17 seconds, losing only to Great Britian’s Adam Gemili, who broke the World Junior Championships meet record.

Coming back on only two days rest, Ernest got off to a lackluster start in the 200-meter dash finals before closing in on the leaders in the final 50 meters, claiming another IAAF, see page 7

DAVID RAMOS / Getty Images

Aaron Earnest (left) crosses the finish line for a silver medal in the 200-meter dash at the IAAF World Junior Championships as Tyreek Hill (right) stumbles in at third.

The Daily Reveille

page 6

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

LESPYs award best of LSU sports THE GEG STAND

MIKE GEGENHEIMER Contributing Writer Editor’s Note: This column contains strong language.

From the moments that had Tiger fans screaming at the top of their lungs to the ones that brought tears to the eyes of even the toughest supporters, the 2011-2012 season was one of the most successful for LSU Athletics in recent memory.

In a year that started off with an alleged bar fight and ended on the wrong side of a great upset on the baseball diamond, a few moments and individuals were able to break through the pack and deem themselves worthy of recognition.

Inspired by ESPN’s ESPY awards, LESPY Awards are awarded to the best of the best in Tiger Athletics, decided on by The Daily Reveille’s sports staff, who covered the events of an athletic program that was ranked No. 4 in the nation by Capital One College Cup. BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE Raph Rhymes — Baseball: The Tigers’ outfielder lead the nation in Batting average with .431, up .91 points from 2011, Rhymes was also eighth in the nation with 100 hits.

MOST WTF MOMENT Jordan Jefferson’s shovel pass in the national championship: Televisions were smashed, beer bottles were shattered and the minds of Tiger fans around the country were blown when quarterback Jordan Jefferson inexplicably tried to flip the ball to Spencer Ware (we think) but instead threw it directly to the Alabama defender. What was almost as baffling as the actual play was after the game when Jefferson tried to throw Ware under the bus by blaming him for his own asinine mistake.

Thankfully, this was the final nail in the “Jefferswag” coffin.

COMEBACK Stony Brook super regional game one: Not once, not twice but three times the Tigers hit homeruns to tie Stony Brook in the final innings of the opening game of the Baton Rouge Super Regional. It was Alex Box magic at its finest when JaCoby Jones, Tyler Moore and Mason Katz homered late in the game. After a rain delay postponed the game till the next day, Katz hit a walk-off-RBI single to give the Tigers game one.

The game was filled with drama, surprises and most of all it was a 5-4 win for the Tigers.

BEST TWITTER Kevin Gausman — Baseball: Tiger pitcher Kevin Gausman was a force to be reckoned with on the mound, making him the No. 4 overall pick in the 2012 MLB draft.

However, Gausman was a highlight on the Twitter feed all season long that garnered responses along the lines of “what does that even mean?”

“Highlight of the game was seeing a guy with a shirt that said ‘I pooped today!’ Hahaha #GuyHasSeriousPoopingSwag!” Gausman tweeted on July 14.

FRESHMAN ATHLETE Brad Wing — Football: No punter was more popular and beloved than the Leg Down Under — mainly because most fans can’t even name their team’s punter. The Melbourne, Australia, native was a Ray Guy award finalist for the nation’s top punter and was immortalized by most likely being the only punter ever to get a touchdown called back for taunting.

MOMENT Game of the Century, Pt. 1: The first time the Tigers faced off against the Crimson Tide on the gridiron in the 2011 season, the game was one of the most epic in LSU football history. It was the most hyped game of any other in the country that season when the No. 1 and No. 2

teams battled it out. In the end, LSU was victorious after the Bama kickers missed four of six three point tries to give the Tigers a 9-6 overtime win.

BEST PLAY Eric Reid interception: Eric Reid’s interception of a Marquis Maze pass on the goal line late in the game kept Alabama from scoring what would have most likely been the game winning touchdown. Reid stole the ball out of Alabama tight end Michael Williams hands in midfall to make the play of the year of the Tigers.

BEST COACH Dennis Shaver — Track and Field: Coach Shaver lead the women’s Track and Field program to LSU’s only national title in 2012, the men’s program to a second place outdoor finish and the women’s indoor team to a third place finish. No coach found more success in 20112012 than Shaver, which is why he wins the LESPY for best coach.

FEMALE ATHLETE Kimberlyn Duncan — Women’s Track and Field: Duncan lead the Lady Tigers to an Outdoor National Championship and a third place finish indoors with an indoor and outdoor national championship in the 200-meter dash. Duncan also anchored the 4x100-meter relay team to national title in the outdoor championships. The Lady Tiger is also a finalist for the Bowerman Award, which goes to the nation’s top track and field athlete.

MALE ATHLETE Tyrann Mathieu — Football: The Honey Badger doesn’t give a shit about awards! But Mathieu will still take home the first ever LESPY for Male Athlete of the Year for his outstanding play at cornerback for the Tigers. Mathieu was selected as a finalist for the Heisman trophy after he led the SEC

JOHN BAZEMORE / The Associated Press

LSU head coach Les Miles speaks to cornerback Tyrann Mathieu during the SEC championship game against Georgia, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Atlanta.

with six forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries.

BEST TEAM Women’s Track and Field: Most people would have assumed the Football Tigers would have taken this award with their outstanding season and play in big games. However, the LESPY goes to women’s track and field because football didn’t win the one game that mattered, while the Lady Tigers did.

LSU coach Dennis Shaver’s team was dominant throughout the season, and in the national championship meet they stepped up to bring the title back to Baton Rouge. In the indoor national championship, the Lady Tigers finished third as well.

Contact Mike Gegenheimer at mgegenheimer@lsureveille.com

Tuesday, July 17, 2012 PITCHING, from page 5 A reliable, consistent middle reliever last season, Cotton’s transition to a starting job would only carry one drawback, according to Mainieri.

“The only negative is that if you use him as a starting pitcher, you can’t use him out of the bullpen,” Mainieri joked.

McCune got off to a rocky start in the Cape Cod League after a mix-up between the catcher and the coach, resulting in the wrong pitches being called for the first seven batters during his first start.

SABAN, from page 7

And what may be the most shocking part of the story is that sources claim that “BV” is actually Alabama tight end Brian Vogler. If true, he may be the bravest man of all time to be willing to take a shot at his head coach’s daughter.

The night reportedly began innocently enough, with a friendly round of “power hour,” a drinking game that requires participants to drink every time the song changes, between Kristen Saban and her friends, which included Grimes.

After the girls’ power hour, they went to the bar, got drunker, and logically, Kristen Saban drove everyone home.

Once back at her apartment, Kristen Saban allegedly began to complain about her love life — because every one loves to listen to their drunk friends whine about relationships — at which point Grimes yelled at her to “Please just

He settled down to throw six no-hit innings in his third start, picking up the win after giving up only three runs on three hits in seven innings. “[Pitching] Coach [Alan] Dunn and Kurt were working on a new pitch at the end of the season,” Mainieri said. “Honestly, I think that will be something to help him out.”

The Norco, La., native started last season in the weekend rotation before being replaced by Nola after a string of inconsistent starts.

While he stopped short of officially naming anyone to a certain shut up. We’re all sick and tired of hearing it.”

So naturally, Kristen Saban posted “No one like’s Sarah!

Yayyyy!” to Facebook, which asks the obvious question: Did the lawyers have to get the exact number of Y’s?

A few minutes later, three girls allegedly had to pull Kristen Saban from her death grip on Grimes’ hair as Kristen Saban repeatedly swung at her head.

This is where the report veers a little on the weird side.

“Sarah looked down and noticed a great amount of blood was running down her chest and into her bra,” according to the lawsuit.

Is this a police report or an excerpt from “50 Shades of Grey?”

Long story short, Grimes went to the hospital, while Kristen Saban took a page straight out of Crazy Drunk Girl 101 and cried on her bedroom floor while screaming, “I’m going to jail!” repeatedly.

The Daily Reveille position, Mainieri lauded the work of junior Nick Rumbelow out of the bullpen in the Cape Cod League, saying he’s solidified himself as a candidate to replace Goody as the closer.

Rumbelow, appearing in relief during 10 games this summer, has 28 strikeouts in 16.2 innings, while only surrendering 13 hits.

“He’s averaging about one and a half strikeouts per inning,” Mainieri said. “He can be very dominating.”

Mainieri also pointed to incoming pitchers Hunter Newman, Mitchell Sewald and Jaime

At the time, Grimes claimed she didn’t want to press criminal charges because it was just a fight between friends. But at some point in the next year, Grimes realized just who Kristen Saban’s father is and suddenly developed what is best described as post traumatic stress syndrome.

Basically, she claims Kristen Saban is so crazy, Grimes now has the equivalent of Vietnam flashbacks.

I guarantee somewhere around LSU, this exact scenario will happen in the next month. Except the only thing that will come of it is the girls will move out, and the instigator will get kicked out of the sorority.

The only difference is that one of the girls isn’t the daughter of Les Miles — watch yourself, Smacker Miles.

Contact Mike Gegnheimer at mgegenheimer@lsureveille.com

w e i V y a w r Fai ‘Gopher’ it!

Live at Fairway View

page 7 McClure as potential impact hurlers in 2013.

McClure, a Baton Rouge native who pitched at Catholic High School, has fought through numerous injuries to transfer to LSU from Panola Junior College, where he was a First Team All-Conference selection.

Newman, a true freshman from Bloomingdale, Ga., was named a Perfect Game Underclass Honorable Mention and Savannah Morning News Player of the Year after posting a 6-2 record with a 1.51 earned run average and 114 strikeouts in 73.2 innings.

IAAF, from page 5

silver medal.

His time of 20.53 seconds eclipsed his own personal best by .01 seconds.

“That last 50 meters was all guts,” Ernest said. “My leg felt bad, my arm felt bad. I just had to run with all my heart.”

Ernest finally struck gold in his third and final race at the Championships as he anchored the United States 4x100-meter relay team to a record breaking victory, teaming with Tyreek Hill, Aldrich Bailey and Arthur Delaney.

Crossing the finish line four meters ahead of the second place Japanese team, Ernest ran the final leg of a race that finished only one hundredth of a second off the world junior record set in 2004.

Ernest broke through in his first year as a Tiger, earning a silver medal in the 200-meter dash in his championship meet debut at the

Joining Newman as a true freshman, Sewald was named First Team All State and All District in his senior year for Archbishop Rummel in Metairie. He boasted a 0.98 earned run average while opponents hit .120 against him.

“These are all kids that are coming to us with stellar credentials,” Mainieri said. “It’ll be interesting to see how they develop.”

Contact Chandler Rome at crome@lsureveille.com Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships. He would go on to claim two runner-up finishes in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dash at the SEC Outdoor Championships in May, becoming the leading point scorer for the runner-up Tigers.

“I still need to work hard and get ready for next year,” Ernest said.

Fellow classmate Quincy Downing claimed a gold medal of his own Saturday, running the leadoff leg of the winning United States 4x400-meter relay team.

The Dayton, Ohio, native clocked the fastest split of the quartet, posting a time of three minutes and 3.99 seconds, the ninth-fastest time in championship history.

“When we came here, I knew it was going to be a great team based on all of our selections,” Downing said in a news release. “I knew we’d win a lot of medals.”

Contact Chandler Rome at crome@lsureveille.com

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The Daily Reveille

Opinion

page 8

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Tax cuts for the wealthy should be allowed to expire MANUFACTURED DISCONTENT

DAVID SCHEUERMANN Columnist Taxes have never quite sat right with the American people.

Since the very inception of our nation, taxes have been the bane of the average American’s existence and the No. 1 cause for antagonism with our government.

We almost reflexively turn away in disgust at the mere mention of a possible tax increase, and the promise of a tax cut is often the go-to strategy for campaigning politicians.

Yet, are all tax cuts necessarily good policy?

The Bush tax cuts were a series of tax reforms passed in 2001 and 2003 that greatly lowered taxes for the majority of Americans. The marginal tax rates for all income brackets were lowered, as well as the capital gains tax and the tax on dividends.

These cuts were supposed to expire in 2010, but Congress renewed them for another year.

However, Obama announced earlier this month that he would push to allow the Bush tax cuts for households earning more than $250,000 or more a year to expire, while extending the tax breaks for middle and low-income families, who make up 98 percent of the population.

The announcement was met with disdain by Republicans who believe a tax increase in these harsh economic times would cripple the recovery.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney called Obama’s plan a “kick in the gut” to the economy.

Now, it is true that tax cuts have the potential to spur economic progress, but this is largely dependent on the circumstances of their passing.

The Bush tax cuts were passed during an administration that rapidly increased spending, be it on overseas wars or expensive domestic programs.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated last month that, from 2002 to 2011, the Bush tax cuts in total have added nearly

$1.6 trillion to the deficit alone – and that’s not including interest.

Extending the cuts for all is projected to cost $3.3 trillion over ten years.

Furthermore, the claim that lowering taxes, especially for the wealthy, increases prosperity for all does not have much correlative data to back it up.

Federal tax rates have been falling almost consistently for the last 30 years. Yet, in the same time span, the top 1 percent of households have seen income grow by 275 percent, while the middle 60 percent’s income only grew 40 percent, and the bottom 20 percent’s grew by merely 18 percent, according to the CBO. Obviously the wealth has not been trickling down but has instead been concentrated into the hands of a few.

Yet opponents to Obama’s plan still maintain that a tax increase on the top bracket would harm small businesses and the “job creators.”

Yet, only about 2 to 3 percent of small businesses would qualify for a tax increase according to the

U.S. Treasury Department and the Joint Committee on Taxation, respectively.

As for the term “job creators,” it really needs to go. It’s a public relations phrase coined by Frank Luntz for the sole purpose of appealing to people’s emotions. It implies that an empty farmland would not be tilled or an empty mine mined without the interference of one of our beloved elite.

It is necessity that creates jobs and the rampant inequality in this country that keeps many Americans from attaining the necessary capital to act on that necessity.

The CBO even found in 2010 that “increasing the after-tax income of businesses typically does not create much incentive for them to hire more workers.”

Yet, just as in 2010, Republicans are holding the tax cuts for the average American hostage in order to keep taxes lowered for the wealthy.

Obama’s plan isn’t even anything that one could consider radical. It merely would allow

the tax rate for the top two percent of income earners to rise to 39.6 percent, the tax rate under the Clinton administration.

I do not deny that spending should also be cut in our federal government, but a strategy revolving solely around spending cuts is as harmful as one that revolves solely around tax hikes.

In these times of economic turmoil, I don’t understand why a family making $250,000 cannot contribute to helping its country pay a deficit, while those making less than half that are just squeezing by.

David Scheuermann is a 20-yearold mass communication and computer science junior from Kenner. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_dscheu.

Contact David Scheuermann at dscheuermann@lsureveille.com

Dalai Lama should take a stand on Tibetan self-immolation BLUE-EYED DEVIL NICHOLAS PIERCE Columnist On June 11, 1963, Thich Quang Duc sat quietly on a divan at the corner of a busy Saigon intersection.

As a crowd began to gather, Duc relaxed himself into the traditional Buddhist lotus position, said a quick, barely audible prayer and struck a match — dropping it on his gasoline-soaked saffron robe.

Over the course of approximately 10 minutes, Thich Quang Duc became his own funeral pyre — almost every inch of the monk’s body was seared beyond recognition.

A lifetime of ritual meditation and concentration served Duc well — he didn’t move a muscle the entire time.

On June 16, the minority Catholic government of South Vietnam caved to Buddhist demands and vowed to stop the persecution of the Buddhist majority and grant freedom of religion for all.

Duc’s immolation set a precedent — but it hasn’t necessarily been a good one.

The world reeled as word of Thich Quang Duc’s martyrdom by fire spread across the wire.

A photograph of Duc’s immolation won the 1963 Pulitzer Prize for photojournalism, and South Vietnam’s dictatorial president, Ngô Đình Diệm, was toppled within the year.

Vietnamese Buddhists preserved Duc’s untouched heart in a clear glass chalice and have revered him as a saint ever since.

Thich Quang Duc’s decision to set himself ablaze is seen world over as one of the most politically effective — and emotionally jarring — acts of civil protest committed in the modern age.

The problem? It worked too well.

Since Duc’s immolation, literally thousands of people have doused themselves in flammable liquids and followed suit.

So many have done so that some international organizations are beginning to consider the number of self-immolations to be nearing epidemic proportions.

Nearly 3,000 students burned

The Daily Reveille Editorial Board

Morgan Searles Chris Abshire Brianna Paciorka

Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor, Content Managing Editor, External Media

themselves alive in India during the early 2000s, and Buddhist monks across China (specifically in P.R.C.-occupied Tibet) have continued in Duc’s footsteps — more than 40 in the last several months alone.

This recent spate of suicides has prompted an unusual debate in Tibet and elsewhere.

Many Buddhist sects condemn any act of self-flagellation, much less suicide, and both China and a number of human rights organizations have called on his holiness, the Dalai Lama, to intervene.

Many Buddhists hold the Dalai Lama as a bodhisattva, or the physical reincarnation of the spirit of compassion.

To Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama is not only compassion incarnate, but also a sort of pope, king and demi-god rolled into one.

Should the Dalai Lama condemn the practice of self-immolation, it would almost guarantee an end to the practice over night.

The Dalai Lama, however, has other concerns.

“The reality is that if I say

something positive, then the Chinese immediately blame me. If I say something negative, then the family members of those people feel very sad. They sacrificed their own life. It is not easy. So I do not want to create some kind of impression that this is wrong.

So the best thing is to remain neutral,” said the Dalai Lama in a recent interview with The Hindu, an Indian English-language newspaper.

If it isn’t wrong, then it could at least be classified as ineffective.

It is understood that Tibet is in a fight for its life and its freedom. Tibetan Buddhists are inarguably suffering at the hands of their Chinese occupiers.

The reason why Thich Quang Duc’s sacrifice worked was because he understood his nation was at a tipping point, and all it would take was this spark — his spark — to affect massive social change.

And it worked — Duc’s death eased the lives of millions.

The conditions in China are different. The character of the Chinese government is different.

The Dalai Lama’s answer,

Editorial Policies & Procedures

The Daily Reveille (USPS 145-800) is written, edited and produced solely by students of Louisiana State University.

The Daily Reveille is an independent entity within the Manship School of Mass Communication. Signed opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, paper or University. Letters submitted for publication should be sent via e-mail to opinion@lsureveille.com or delivered to B-26 Hodges Hall. They must be 400 words or less. Letters must have a contact phone number so the opinion editor can verify the author. The phone number won’t be printed. The Daily Reveille reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for space consideration without changing the original intent. The Daily Reveille also reserves the right to reject any letter without notification of the author. Writers must include their full names and phone numbers. The Daily Reveille’s editor-in-chief, hired every semester by the Louisiana State University Media Board, has final authority on all editorial decisions.

while pragmatic and politically aware, does not strike me as fitting with the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s character.

This newest group of selfimmolators aren’t affecting the same sort of change.

Their sacrifice is not working — it took one Thich Quang Duc to free South Vietnam, it is clear no number of Duc imitators are going to free Tibet.

If the Dalai Lama wants to live up to his title and his reputation, he needs to quietly end this practice — and spare the people of Tibet further heartache.

Nicholas Pierce is a 22-yearold history senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_nabdulpierc.

Contact Nicholas Pierce at npierce@lsureveille.com

Quote of the Day “There is no such thing as a good tax.”

Winston Churchill Former British prime minister Nov. 30, 1874 — Jan. 24, 1965

The Daily Reveille

Opinion

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

page 9

Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne the best caped crusader THE PHILIBUSTER PHIL SWEENEY Columnist “The Dark Knight Rises,” the final installment of Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy, is Christian Bale’s third turn as the Caped Crusader, but it’s Batman’s eighth major live-action feature film. Bale, for his own part, is the latest and fifth man behind the mask. But which Bruce Wayne was played best? Here’s my list.

5. George Clooney — “Batman & Robin” (1997); Joel Schumacher, director Clooney appears clueless at times in the fourth and final film of the Tim Burton/Schumacher series, which garnered a 13 percent “rotten” rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. “Batman & Robin” is garbage, by all accounts; and its star — guano.

Clooney is less Batman than

Robin in certain scenes of Schumacher’s suckfest, which also topbills Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze, a role he’d later reprise as the governor of California, as it were. Gorgeous George always salt-and-peppers the screen of otherwise bland movies.

But here, his Bruce Wayne isn’t a playboy — he’s a playmate.

4. Val Kilmer — “Batman Forever” (1995); Schumacher, director Kilmer doesn’t exactly kill it in Schumacher’s first crack at the series. He certainly didn’t kill it (the franchise) like Clooney. But “Batman Forever” is a blind bat of a blockbuster, perched upsidedown and head-high-up-ass in a belfry somewhere, brooding and bellyaching. Kilmer’s Bruce Wayne just never rings anyone’s bells in “Batman Forever.” He’s “The Dork Knight” — Hamlet in a two-horned cowl, maybe, only impossibly more theatrical and impossibly less logical. To bat

or not to bat, hanging up the ol‘ utility belt — these are the thematic concerns, for good or ill, of Schumacher’s tragedy. Which is to say: for ill. In the end, Kilmer’s Bruce Wayne is the hipster’s Bruce Wayne — and the series’ Bruce Lame.

3. Michael Keaton — “Batman” (1989), “Batman Returns” (1992); Burton, director Keaton’s contribution to Batman is, as IGN describes it, a “gravel-in-your-guts voice and [a] rigid, ‘can’t move your neck’ posture.” Granted (and with a Joker’s tee-hee-hee) — but Keaton’s turn as Bruce Wayne is inspired, in all seriousness. He doesn’t look the part. You’d never confuse him for a billionaire ladykiller. Beetlejuice, maybe, but not Bruce Wayne. But flak-jacketed in costumer Bob Ringwood’s murderously sexy Batsuit, Keaton’s the real McCoy. He’s Batman, all right: it’s in his terrifyingly abyssal eyes. And the proof is in the

hearts and minds of a generation of audiences.

2. Adam West — “Batman” (1966); Leslie H. Martinson, director West’s iconic Batman, oddball and onomatopoeic, wouldn’t stand a chance in Arkham Asylum. He’s blue. The “Batman” of the ‘60s, though, is anything but melancholic and pensive. All the campy spectacle’s thought went into Robin’s “holy [insert alliterative noun here]” lines. What was left, in turn, was spent on spunky POW!’s and ZOINK!’s and WTF!’s. Which is what’s so damnably pleasing about West’s Batman, the only one to date to have equipped shark repellant. Innocence.

1. Bale — “Batman Begins” (2005), “The Dark Knight” (2008), “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012); Christopher Nolan, director “The Dark Knight” — that’s

Bale’s Batman, for all intents and purposes. The postmodern Batman. No longer a superhero but an anti-hero, almost. And he’s batass, by all accounts. Say what you will of Keaton’s gravelly delivery, Bale’s lines are delivered like cranky infant rock-golems — and with the pace and rhythm of tectonic plates. The effect is earth-shattering. And somehow, for all this, Bale manages it to be understated. It’s real and natural, too, which is precisely why Bale’s Batman is best: The films concern themselves with Bruce Wayne, not Batman — with the man and not the mask.

Phil Sweeney is a 25-year-old English senior from New Orleans, LA. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_PhilSweeney.

Contact Phil Sweeney at psweeney@lsureveille.com

VIEW FROM ANOTHER SCHOOL

Don’t go to college for a degree — come for an education Oklahoma Daily, U. Oklahoma

How do you get an English major off of your porch? Pay for the pizza.

I see this idea constantly in articles, cartoons and blogs, and it drives me crazy: “A liberal arts degree is useless in this job market.”

I don’t know if the intended purpose is to scare away potential liberal arts students or to pressure universities to focus more on vocation-specific types of training or just to make people like me furious.

The liberal arts, as I understand it, are a field of academic studies meant to develop the intellectual abilities of the student, as opposed to occupational training, which prepares the student for a specific job.

I’m 30. I’ve been out there in the job market since I was 18, doing everything from working behind a counter to construction to working on a fishing boat to serving on the ground in Iraq. I don’t mind manual labor — I never have — and as such, I will forever have a Plan B that I know won’t kill me.

I’m not in college to obtain a degree; I’m in college to obtain an education.

If, after grad school, I find myself back on a building site or back in a uniform, so be it. If that happens, I know I’ll have the wherewithal to make the most out of any situation life throws at me. And believe me, life can throw a curveball.

The obsession with the liberal arts degree and the downplay of the education gained is a big problem right now, I think — the idea that it is the degree and not the education

that gets a person where they want to be in life. For some professions, the degree is certainly important, but it’s the quality of learning that takes place while earning the degree that seems to generally determine how successful one is likely to be.

Of course I want my physician to have a degree from a reputable institution, but more than that, I want him to really know what he is doing. If you haven’t had a bad doctor experience, please trust me: Graduation from medical school alone isn’t enough. If it was, people wouldn’t have the wrong limbs occasionally amputated, or in my case, the wrong medicine prescribed (sometimes fatally).

The bachelor’s of arts today is the vestigial remnant of the once mighty Trivium (grammar, rhetoric, logic) and Quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy). Since classical antiquity, this education model has created citizens as opposed to strictly workers. Most of the notable minds we encounter in our studies at the university level had such an education, including almost all of those credited with founding this country, though most of them had law degrees as well.

The result of this kind of educational worldliness, obviously, is the ability to ask and begin to answer questions that are bigger than ourselves and even our societies.

The really big ideas don’t just occur to people — they are sought out, historically, by people who took the time to train their brains to do the work. Not to say that getting a liberal arts degree will make you John Adams or Thomas Jefferson, but at least you will be able to read

their work and follow along.

While degrees shouldn’t matter as much as the quality of education, they do in many cases, and a sad reality is still reality: Your bachelor’s of arts might not be enough. The same goes for the business majors and the biology majors and everyone else, really.

To be competitive in a nonentrepreneurial setting, it’s a good idea to go beyond the four-year degree, even if you have to work while you do it. A minor in a business or computer science field also can help widen your job-searching net. Give yourself as many tools as you can to succeed, but the last

thing you want to do is graduate from college having learned to do a job but having failed to learn how to live and what it is that you love.

It’s a scary world out there, and graduating into it can be overwhelming. Don’t let the fear of not owning a yacht stop you from pursuing what you are passionate about. This country desperately needs many more people capable of thinking on their own, drawing their own conclusions and acting on them instead of what is popular or partisan.

Don’t let public opinion convince you that critical thinking and knowledge of humanity are

unnecessary and frivolous. On the contrary, you can use those skills and knowledge to adapt to any work or living situation, which in this ever-changing modern economic landscape will be more useful in the long run.

Contact The Daily Reveille’s opinion staff at opinion@lsureveille.com

BEST & WITTIEST

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The Daily Reveille

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The Daily Reveille

Tuesday, July 17, 2012