MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: Wild-card race could shake up World Series, p. 9
OPINION: Should prayer be allowed in schools? p. 17
Reveille The Daily
Thursday, September 13, 2012• Volume 117, Issue 15
www.lsureveille.com
A Louder Roar LSU drops ACADEMICS
six spots nationally
Further renovations include increased seating in stadium Inside, Tiger Stadium rattles with deafening roars, booming applause and seismic sound bombs. And until recently, outside, its towering gray walls appeared almost bleak, without even a physical label, and were admittedly much less exciting, said Eddie Nunez, associate athletics director for operations and project development. The Tiger Athletic Foundation is now about two-thirds of the way finished with a STADIUM, see page 6
DROPS, see page 6
Senior Contributing Writer
AUSTIN BENNETT / The Daily Reveille
Staff Writer
In a twist of fate, LSU stayed connected to Colorado State University — the University that former Chancellor Michael Martin left LSU for in August — by dropping from 128th place in last year’s US News & World Report college rankings to 134th place still tied with Colorado State, in this year’s rankings. In the public university category, the University ranked 67th. Among Southeastern Conference schools, the University tied for 11th with Arkansas out of the 14 SEC schools, only beating out Ole Miss (151) and Mississippi State (157). The University of Alabama came in at 77 and Auburn University came in at 89, while Vanderbilt ranked as highest among SEC schools at No. 17. The ranking is based on tuition, enrollment, fall 2011 acceptance
Ben Wallace
A bronze statue of Mike the Tiger is stationed outside of the newly renovated Tiger Stadium.
Chris Grillot
MILITARY
Student National Guard members serve during Isaac
Shannon Roberts Contributing Writer
The University got back into the swing of things fairly quickly after Hurricane Isaac, but students like Taylor Constance are still trying to catch up after missing more than a week of class. Constance, a business sophomore in the Air Force National Guard, is one of several students who was activated in the National Guard to help residents affected by Hurricane Isaac. He was notified the morning of Aug. 28 that he was needed, and by the next day, he was in New Orleans. University Registrar Robert Doolos said activated students should contact their professors about missing class, but he said students often
do not have the time to do so. He said students can also speak to someone in the office of their college dean who will contact the student’s professors. Jennie Stewart, assistant dean of students and associate director of the Office of Student Advocacy and Accountability, said she came in contact with four students who were sent by their academic colleges and did not know what to do. Stewart said she told the students to talk to both their professors and academic counselors. About 100 students listed in the National Guard, but not necessarily activated, were contacted by the Office of the University Registrar via email the weekend after Isaac hit, giving them options for returning to class. A Board of Regents policy
allows activated students to withdraw without a “W” or resign with a full tuition refund, according to the email. Stewart said academic counselors are able to assist students in evaluating whether they can make up their coursework or if they should withdraw. When he was activated, Constance said he was concerned about making up his work, especially because he is taking Arabic. “Now, I’m trying to balance the decision, should I drop a semester and just try and get my life back together?” he said. While in New Orleans, Constance and other Guard members woke up at 4 a.m. every day and had BALANCE, see page 6
DAVID J. PHILLIP / The Associated Press
Members of the Louisiana National Guard clean up fallen limbs Aug. 30 along St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans.