Check Inside For:
‘HE’S THEIR MOSES’ a list of ways to spend money Mainieri: Catcher Micah Gibbs leads you were going to use on baseball team ‘to the Promised taxes, page 8. Land,’ page 7.
PUCKER UP
Prominent University figures kiss a pig for charity, page 3.
THE DAILY REVEILLE Volume 114, Issue 123
WWW.LSUREVEILLE.COM
StudentsFIRST candidates instated
Bonvillain, Martin file complaints against Hudson for breaches of election code By Catherine Threlkeld Staff Writer
ADAM VACCARELLA / The Daily Reveille
SG President-elect J Hudson, left, and Vice President-elect Dani Borel, right, argue before the Trial Court for the instatement of StudentsFIRST candidates who were disqualified by a clerical error.
The Student Government Trial Court ruled to instate candidates who had formerly been disqualified from the StudentsFirst campaign Monday — but prolonged hearings which could overturn the decision were postponed until this morning. The SG Trial Court heard two of three cases Monday night concerning the candidates’ disqualification because of alleged spending errors. The Trial Court first heard the case of SG Election Board vs. StudentsFIRST candidates Courtney Broussard, Paige Kennedy, Emily McCalla, Lauren Weicks, Zac Lemoine and Kyle Bove — disqualified candidates who had the most votes in their respective races. The StudentsFIRST candidates sought instatement, claiming they didn’t overspend their allowed campaign expenditures of $29 each. On their expenditure reports, Hudson wrote each candidate spent $32.75 for campaigning. Hudson said he mistakenly believed the candidates’ spending limit was more than it was. The SG Election Board disqualified every StudentsFIRST candidate except Hudson and his Vice President Dani Borel after the SG runoff election two weeks ago because of this error. “These six students won their positions fair and square,” Borel said. “This error was made on J’s and my part, and we take full responsibility for this error.” Hudson filed a complaint Monday morning challenging the SG Election Board’s ruling and claimed his candidates didn’t overspend. He said he recalculated his campaign expenditures — leaving each candidate at $28.50 in campaign expenses. He said the new math proved his candidates should be instated. Commissioner of Elections Alexis Sarver and former Commissioner of Elections Jordan Millazo said StudentsFIRST candidates broke the election code by signing their expenditure reports and swearing the expenses were correct. INSTATEMENT, see page 19
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
UNIVERSITY
Professors outraged by admin. decision By Xerxes A. Wilson Senior Staff Writer
University professors are demanding an apology from the University following an “egregious violation” of faculty rights and academic freedom. Biology professor and researcher Dominique Homberger was pulled from teaching a Read the BIOL 1001 secAAUP letters tion for reasons of which she to the hasn’t been fully University informed. online at Homberger said she inferred lsureveille.com. the cause to be a high drop rate and low class average. She was removed immediately after administering the second of four scheduled exams for the course. Once Homberger was removed, the first exam’s grades were raised 25 percent by her replacement instructor Bill Wischusen, Homberger said. Wischusen said the University doesn’t have a standard for grades in an introductory biology class, but the curve was based on what he thought students deserved for the work they had done. REMOVAL, see page 19
MUSIC
Performing Arts Series features renowned composer Oscar nominee hosted master class By Sabrina Trahan Contributing Writer
Academy Award-nominated composer Philip Glass performed soulful compositions in front of a sold out crowd Monday at the Shaver Theatre. The performance was the first of the College of Music and Dramatic Arts’ two-night Performing Arts Series. The series’ second segment will feature a performance by the musical group So Percussion tonight at 8 p.m.
“Philip Glass is someone our students and faculty can learn from,” said Laurence Kaptain, dean of the College of Music and Dramatic Arts. “He’s an inspiration and the perfect person to bring in for tonight’s performance.” Glass received Academy Award nominations for his original scores for the films, “Kundun,” “The Hours” and “Notes on a Scandal.” He won a Golden Globe for his work in “The Truman Show” and received a nomination for “The Hours.” His score in the film “The Illusionist” also received critical acclaim. “I don’t care about his scores,” said Daniel Heagney, second-year
music graduate student. “He’s one of the most important composers alive, and I prefer his work on the entire Glassworks album.” Glass, a graduate from the University of Chicago and the Julliard School, also studied music in Paris. His various compositions range from opera, dance, theater, chamber ensemble and orchestra. “He’s a very famous 20th century composer whom I admire because he’s been inspired by a lot of writers and poets,” said Sandra Robert, former president of the Symphony Volunteers of New Orleans. Glass performed original GLASS, see page 19
NICOLE KARAMICHAEL/ The Daily Reveille
Composer Philip Glass performs on piano Monday in the Claude L. Shaver Theatre of the Music and Dramatic Arts Building as part of the Performing Arts Series.
THE DAILY REVEILLE
TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2010
Nation & World
INTERNATIONAL
NATIONAL
United Nations: 200,000 civilians flee Pakistan military offensive
Teen in Boston school stabbing described as mentally ill
ISLAMABAD (AP) Ñ More than 200,000 people have fled PakistanÕ s latest offensive against Taliban militants in the northwest, the United Nations said Monday, as fresh clashes in the remote region killed 41 insurgents and six soldiers.
WOBURN, Mass. (AP) — A teenager charged with fatally stabbing another student at a suburban Boston high school was portrayed by a prosecutor Monday as a calculating killer who brought a carving knife to school, then picked a victim at random in a boys’ bathroom. But the youth’s defense attorney told jurors that John Odgren was mentally ill when he killed 15-year-old James Alenson in January 2007.
Pedophilia among priests linked to homosexuality, not celibacy SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — The Vatican’s second-highest authority says the sex scandals haunting the Roman Catholic Church are linked to homosexuality and not celibacy among priests. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s secretary of state, made the comments during a news conference Monday in Chile, where one of the church’s highest-profile pedophile cases involves a priest having sex with young girls.
Canadian military man arrested after ‘sexting’ 17-year-old Calif. teen GILROY, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say a Canadian military man drove 3,000 miles to have sex with a California teenager after the pair exchanged sexually graphic text messages and photos. Michael DeBruyn was arrested Sunday at the 17-year-old girl’s
home. He faces charges of suspicion of sending or possession of obscene matter depicting minors, contact of minor with intent to commit sexual offense and annoying and/or molesting a child younger than 18. Gilroy police Sgt. Wes Stanford says the 24-year-old and the girl met four years ago through a social networking site when she was 13. They lost contact until two months ago. Hitler book, weapons, ammo found in raids of Christian militia DETROIT (AP) — Federal agents investigating what they describe as a Christian militia bent on violence against police seized suspected crack cocaine and steroids, weapons, gas masks and a book of Adolf Hitler’s speeches during raids of members’ homes last month, according to search warrant records. The raids were conducted over a 4-hour span in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana on the night of March 27.
STATE/LOCAL
Jindal campaign official hurt in French Quarter altercation
Traffic in Baton Rouge may be caused by movie filming
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Gov. Bobby Jindal’s chief campaign fundraiser is recovering from injuries she suffered in a Friday night altercation with a group of people in the French Quarter. The governor’s office said Monday that Allee Bautsch suffered a broken leg, and her boyfriend suffered a concussion and fractured nose and jaw in the alleged incident, which happened after a fundraising event at Brennan’s Restaurant on behalf of the Louisiana Republican Party. Jindal was at the event, but was not present when the incident occurred. Jindal spokesman Kyle Plotkin said Bautsch had surgery over the weekend and is facing a recovery time of two to three months. He said New Orleans police are investigating the incident, and the governor’s office would have no further comment.
(AP) Ñ Downtown streets in parts of Baton Rouge will be subject to intermittent traffic closures throughout the day Monday and Tuesday for filming of the movie “Blood Out.” Mayor-President Kip Holden’s office said in a news release that some scenes for the action movie, which stars actor Val Kilmer, involve simulated gunfire, so passers-by should not be alarmed.
@ lsureveille, @TDR_news, @TDR_sports
TODAY
Weather 81 56
LSU 2010 Chalk Art Competition 8a.m.-12p.m., Saturday, April 24 on LSU Parade Ground Visit Foster Hall Art Gallery or www.lsu.edu/union for application and guidelines Free Street Painting Worshop with Internationally Renowned Street Painter Lori Escalera 1p.m.-4p.m., Wednesday, April 21 on LSU Parade Ground Visit Foster Hall Art Gallery or www.lsu.edu/union for an application and details
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Eighth victim found in French Quarter shooting this weekend NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Police investigating a shooting on the edge of the French Quarter this weekend have found an eighth victim. Police said Monday that during the investigation, an additional victim struck with a bullet during the incident was found. A 15-year-old boy suffered a gunshot wound to the leg. The victim was treated and released from the hospital.
TODAY ON
Check out photos of a car lsureveille.com interior with skulls on the latest Photo Blog. Read a database of all of the players LSU has sent to the major leagues and their statistics.
Keep up to date at facebook.com/lsureveille
Read the latest Baseball Blog about pitching and Austin Ross’ struggles.
IN THE SHADOWS
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WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
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FRIDAY 83 58
SATURDAY 81 59
AACC Robing Ceremony Sign-Up & Kente Purchase TODAY! Stop by AACC or emial us at aacc@lsu.edu Student Real Estate Association is hosting an open Softball Tournament April 18th from 11:00AM-4PM at UREC Softball Complex, $10 per person Crawfish and drinks will be served. DJ to provide music. BYOB: Bring Your Own Bat! To sign up contance: lsu.srea@gmail.com DO YOU HAVE AN OCCURRENCE? Call Isiaha at the Student Media Office 578-6090, 9AM- 5PM or E-mail: officemanager@lsureveille.com
J.J. ALCANTARA / The Daily Reveille
CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS
The Daily Reveille holds accuracy and objectivity at the highest priority and wants to reassure the reporting and content of the paper meets these standards.This space is reserved to recognize and correct any mistakes which may have been printed in The Daily Reveille. If you would like something corrected or clarified please contact the editor at (225) 5784811 or e-mail editor@lsureveille.com.
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
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TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2010
THE DAILY REVEILLE
PAGE 3
TECHNOLOGY
Quantum physics breakthrough shatters old limits Researchers create new optical sensor By Sumit Kumar Contributing Writer
A new device designed by University researchers could prove to be an important breakthrough in quantum physics. Jonathan Dowling, professor of quantum science and technologies and co-director of Hearne Institute of Theoretical Physics, headed a research team which designed a revolutionary optical sensor. The device uses light to sense signals such as gravity waves and magnetic fields. The sensor broke the Heisenberg Limit, a limit on the sensitivity of optical sensors fixed by the laws of quantum physics, in July 2009, according to the research group. The limit is roughly derived from the Heisenberg Uncertainty
Principle, which states a particle’s position and momentum cannot be simultaneously measured with high accuracy. “The device is still in the theoretical concept stage,” Dowling said in an e-mail to The Daily Reveille. “We do not have the facilities to build it here at LSU, and we are talking with researchers at other universities about demonstrating the idea elsewhere.” Navigational gyroscopes in airplanes could be made more sensitive, Dowling said. “We can even replace GPS with very accurate optical gyroscopes,” he said. The sensor can be used in magnetometers, devices that measure the strength and direction of magnetic fields, to detect brain waves and serve in bio-medical research, said Hwang Lee, assistant physics and astronomy professor and research group member. The military could use the device to detect ammunition depots,
mines, submarines and improvised explosive devices using highly sensitive magnetometers. The sensor-enhanced magnetometers could also be used to locate oil bases, which Dowling said is a future application for Louisiana. The research group said the device can be used to detect magnetic signals from the body to extract more useful information than conventional electrical signals. “In EKG, magnetic fields will show more information than electric fields, which only show heart muscle pump,” said Petr Anisimov, post-graduate student and research group member. Dowling said the device will be patented as a magnetic field sensor. He also said the discovery will make physicists review older postulates. “Any time there is a proposed limit and you break that limit, some aspect of the law has to be reinvestigated,” he said.
‘‘
The team plans to an equation whose add the sensor to the Lagraphical plot sank ser Interferometer Gravbelow the Heisenitational-Wave Obserberg Limit. vatory Program, which “My first investigates waves from thought was that colliding black holes there was someand interstellar objects. thing wrong with Jonathan Dowling Dowling said the the computer,” professor of quantum laser detection unit in Dowling said. the Livingston Observa- science and technologies The team retory of LIGO in Louitested and found siana is of an inconveniently large that it legitimately crossed the limit. size. “We used the correct rules of “The sensor can replace it quantum mechanics to derive the within the size of a shoe box in 10 results,” said Bill Plick, graduate years,” he said. student and research team member. The sensor is based on the prin- “They aren’t as good as experimenciples of interferometry, the study tal results, but [the findings are] of combining wave properties. still meaningful.” Interferometers measure phase Dowling said the team is now shifts in waves and are an investi- trying to experimentally verify the gative tool. Researchers have tried data to confirm the discovery. for years to increase the resolution and sensitivity of interferometers. Graduate student Gretchen RaContact Sumit Kumar at terman started the work in 2007 as a research project. She developed skumar@lsureveille.com
‘[If] you break [a] limit ... the law has to be reinvestigated.’
PHILANTHROPY
Several prominent University figures kiss a pig for charity
AgCenter donates animals for event By Sarah Eddington Staff Writer
Six prominent University figures kissed a pig for charity Monday afternoon. Students donated $1 to vote on a student, athlete and faculty member to kiss a pig. The Rotaract Club’s annual Kiss the Pig competition raised $600 this year for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. “This year we put a little twist on it and included the top four faculty votes,” said Brittly Godfrey, director for Kiss the Pig. The “winners” were Katrice Albert, vice provost for Equity, Diversity and Community Outreach; Paul Mainieri, LSU baseball coach; Theo Williams, Student Government assistant director of external affairs; Patrick Peterson, junior football cornerback; Darrell Ray, assistant vice chancellor for Student Life; and Susan Jackson, senior all-around gymnast. Godfrey said she was still satisfied with the amount collected despite missing the $1,000 goal. “Being that we are in a recession, it’s hard for students to donate money,” Godfrey said. “We did the best we could.” The winners kissed Viola Lynn Tucker, a 1-year-old, 280-pound Yorkshire-Berkshire mixed pig donated from the Ag Center’s Swine Unit. “She’s the PR representative for the LSU Swine Unit,” said Rebecca Lirette, research associate and Swine Unit supervisor. “[Viola is] promoting the relationship between people and agriculture.” The pigs are always donated from the AgCenter, Lirette said. “These animals are used for research and education,” she said.
“We can guarantee the animals are treated right.” Peterson said he was happy to give back to the community. “It smelled pretty bad, but it was for the patients,” he said. Albert said she kissed a 5-week-old piglet instead of Viola because she didn’t have the courage to kiss the larger pig. “I think the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Baton Rouge is so important, and when Brittly called me, I was the first to sign up,” Albert said. “I’ve had family members with cancer who have succumbed to it. It’s a very important cause.” Jackson said kissing the pig was a fun and smelly experience. “Anytime we can help out with charity events that get overlooked is good,” Jackson said. “I’m up for
anything, even if it’s kissing a pig.” Phoebe Hathorn, Rotaract Club president, said Kiss the Pig is the largest event the club hosts. “It’s the largest event we have because so much of the student population is involved,” Hathorn said. “It’s always a big spectacle, and it’s something people always look forward to.” Godfrey said the contest was ultimately about the cause. “It’s a good cause because there are a lot of people battling cancer, and it takes a toll on their whole life, especially financially,” Godfrey said. “This money goes toward their financial expenses.”
ERIN ARLEDGE / The Daily Reveille
Contact Sarah Eddington at seddington@lsureveille.com
Susan Jackson, senior gymnast, kisses a pig donated by the AgCenter for charity Monday afternoon in Free Speech Alley. The event raised $600 this year.
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THE DAILY REVEILLE
TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2010
PHILANTHROPY
Students register as marrow donors in Free Speech Alley Patients worldwide find transplants By Mary Walker Baus Contributing Writer
Being someone’s match is rarely so necessary. The National Marrow Donor Program has set up in Free Speech Alley to spread awareness and recruit students, faculty and staff to become potential bone marrow donors. Be The Match Registry is a national database of bone marrow donor volunteers through the NMDP. Patients who can’t find a bone marrow match within their families can use the registry to find a match. Be The Match is the largest of such registries in the United States. “We’re replacing a person’s immune system and ultimately giving them a second chance at life,” said Mary LeSueur, NMDP account executive. LeSueur said bone marrow transplants help people with bloodrelated diseases like leukemia, in
which a patient’s body isn’t able to generate red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. “The chances of matching can range from one in 20,000 to one in 1 million,” LeSueur said. “Finding a match within the family is only about 30 percent of the time.” Kathy Saichuk, Wellness Education coordinator, said a donor goes to the hospital for an outpatient surgical procedure if he or she is a match. Doctors place the donor under anesthesia and put a needle in a large bone to take marrow. The procedure isn’t painful because of anesthetics, but some soreness can result after, she said. Another process for bone marrow donation is peripheral blood cell donation, which involves drawing blood and running it through a machine where blood cells needed for the transplant are extracted. Doctors then put the remaining blood back into the donor, Saichuk said. LeSueur said all hospital expenses are paid by the patient or the patient’s insurance company. Seven million potential donors are in the registry, according to Be
The Match statistics. Caucasians make up 73 percent with 5.3 million registered members. The registry has a 9 percent Hispanic/Latino population and an 8 percent African American population. “Ethnicity is very important because marrow is inherited,” LeSueur said. “In terms of finding a match, a chance will be greater with people of the same race.” The reason some ethnic groups have fewer donors than others is because of a lack of education, fear of needles and fear of the unknown, she said. William Borskey, English literature senior, almost passed the Be The Match table because of his fear of needles. “I’ve never given blood before because the needles and seeing blood makes me dizzy,” he said. Borskey decided to put his name on the registry once he learned of the two types of bone marrow donations. “Bone marrow seems a little different because you don’t have to watch it,” Borskey said. “You’re not in a van outside the Union getting your blood sucked out.”
SARAH HUNT / The Daily Reveille
Sociology senior Dyonne Jones, right, fills out a form to register for the Be The Match Marrow Registry on Monday in Free Speech Alley.
Volunteers give four mouthswab samples to become a potential donor on the Be The Match registry. Donors aren’t contacted until they are found to be a match. LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson partnered with Shaquille O’Neal and former men’s basketball coach Dale Brown to make a Be The Match commercial. “I was humbled when they asked me to be a part ... whether it’s
bone marrow, AIDS or something like that, if you can help to better someone else, I think we should all try and do it,” Johnson said. The NMDP will be signing Be The Match Registry volunteers in Free Speech Alley from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. until Friday. Contact Mary Walker Baus at mwbaus@lsureveille.com
EDC in danger of being cut
Opportunities for staff education lost By Sarah Eddington Staff Writer
One of the University’s bestkept secrets may no longer operate. The Employee Development Center is in danger of closing after 17 years because of budget cuts. “It was cut by two-thirds,” said Dianna Underhill, coordinator of the EDC. “We will be open through May 21, and I’m hoping we’ll open again after school starts.” The EDC, currently housed in Facility Services, is a state-funded adult education center which allows employees to further education in reading, language and math. “LSU gives their employees three hours of work time a week to come here,” Underhill said. Employees commonly use the EDC to prepare for the GED or civil service tests, Underhill said. “We test them, profile them and then set up a program,” Underhill said. “Everyone works at their own pace, and ... we’re here to help.” The center is open to outside and University employees, she said. “Out of the 30 people using the program now, 15 of them are from LSU,” Underhill said.
Kim Gardiner, assistant director of Facility Services, said the EDC has been beneficial. “The EDC is an avenue to give people the opportunity to help better themselves ... [it] gives employees a step ladder,” he said. Charles Manogin, custodial day-shift manager, said the center promotes education. “There are some very bright people who work for us, but ... they didn’t get the chance to finish their education,” Gardiner said. Andrew Woods, University custodian, has preparing to take the GED at the EDC for five months. “I really wanted to get back in school but needed money,” Woods said. “This way, I can do both.” Woods said he appreciates the opportunity to finish his education.
“That’s what was holding me back,” he said. “I wish I could convince the people working here without high school diplomas to do this.” His goal is to work in sports medicine, Woods said. “I’ve always loved football, and I’d love to have a job where I can be part of it,” he said. The EDC is open from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. “I’ve seen it grow so much since I’ve been here,” Underhill said. “I like this center very much, and I hope we can reopen in the fall.”
NICOLE KARAMICHAEL / The Daily Reveille
Contact Sarah Eddington at seddington@lsureveille.com
LSU Building Services employee Elessessi Denou works on an assignment Mar. 30 in the EDC. The University offers education development as a service to its employees.
THE DAILY REVEILLE
TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2010
MARKETING
Fans vote for specialty plates More than 16,000 votes have been cast since voting opened March 27, Pintens said. “We have the best fans in the country,” Pintens said. “Anything we put out there our fans respond to immediately, and that’s why we’ve been so successful.” Voting is open to anyone anywhere. Pintens said the most important part of the process is giving the fans a say in what the new design will look like. The new plates will not cost fans more than the $26 they have paid in the past. Louisiana has sold thousands of LSU specialty plates during the past 18 years. Almost all revenue from plate sales goes to scholarships for financially needy students. The scholarship dollars are awarded to students transferring from two-year Louisiana colleges to LSU, said Mary Parker, executive director of Student Aid. “There are students out there in two-year institutions who [have] financial need, and these scholarships help provide access to LSU,” Parker said.
The license plate funds are directed at students who have completed at least 24 credit hours and have maintained a 3.7 GPA, Parker said. The program is not intended for freshmen. The license plate program has raised more than $2 million since the project began in 1992. The money is usually doled out in $1,000 allotments to incoming transfer students, Parker said. The new license plate design won’t affect the LSU specialty plates in Mississippi, Texas and Alabama, Pintens said. Out-of-state plates have individual designs. Pintens said he isn’t sure which of the plates is ahead in the polls and couldn’t speculate on a potential winner. “I like them all, but I wish I could say I had a favorite,” Pintens said. “I’m not going to say which one I voted for.” Tiger fans can vote for their favorite plate design on the LSU Sports Web site.
Plate Design A
Plate Design B
Plate Design C
Plate Design D
Plate Design E
Plate Design F
More than 16,000 online ballots cast By Adam Duvernay News Editor
The University is accepting public votes to revise its on-theroad image with one of six new designs for University specialty license plates. Online voting closes Wednesday for the new plate designs — featuring three designs each for the traditional Tiger head or the up-close “Eye of the Tiger” logos. “It was time for a fresher design to exemplify our brand better than it was,” said Craig Pintens, LSU assistant athletic director for marketing. “It’s an opportunity to make the brand more visible than it is now.” The graphic design department of the LSU Athletic Department developed the six designs. “There is enough diversity in the six options that I think one will come out as the clear-cut winner,” Pintens said.
Contact Adam Duvernay at aduvernay@lsureveille.com
Pictures courtesy of the LSU Athletics Publications Office
TECHNOLOGY
Students research with Wikipedia By Ryan Buxton Senior Staff Writer
Wikipedia may not be an acceptable source for most academic research, but a new study shows students flock to the Web site despite questions regarding its credibility. “How Today’s College Students Use Wikipedia For Course-Related Research,” was conducted at the University of Washington and examines whether students use Wikipedia and the specific ways they use it. A majority of students surveyed use Wikipedia in relation to research, according to the study. Thirty percent of students surveyed said they always used Wikipedia for research, 22 percent said they use it frequently, and 23 percent said they use it occasionally. Only 13 percent said they rarely use the site, and 9 percent said they never use it. Ruth Flores, business management sophomore, said she browses
Wikipedia when doing schoolwork, but she doesn’t trust it the way she trusts scholarly sources. “I look at it first and find a summary, then find something more credible and look deeper into it,” Flores said. Ford Sutter, kinesiology junior, said he uses Wikipedia to find more reputable sources by following links to the citations used in the wiki page. Most students who use Wikipedia use it for similar purposes, according to the study. Eighty-two percent reported they use Wikipedia for a summary of subject matter. Seventy-six percent said they use it to get started. Diane Mohler, assistant director of the Center for Academic Success, said using it even at the beginning is a bad idea. Researching on Wikipedia can be risky because students can have a hard time separating facts from poorly researched information once they
have already read it, Mohler said. “If you’re reading something, but it’s not really research-based, it’s hard to retract and validate that because in your mind you say, ‘This makes sense, this is a fact now,’” Mohler said. “You could cause some points of confusion for yourself later.” Mohler recommended students use more credible sources, such as Google Scholar or the University’s database subscriptions through the library’s Web site. But students should do some personal reflection on the topic before plunging into any resource, Mohler said. “Relay your personal ideas into a scholarly problem,” she said. “If you can find something interesting to you that has multiple values in it, you’ll be more motivated.” Contact Ryan Buxton at rbuxton@lsureveille.com
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THE DAILY REVEILLE
INTERNATIONAL
TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2010
POLITICS
Haitian pres. defends Light camera ban bill rejected gov. quake response By The Associated Press
Priority to move homeless to shelters By The Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Standing at the wrecked national palace, President Rene Preval on Monday rejected criticism of his government over legions of his people still being without shelter three months after Haiti’s earthquake. Preval compared Haiti to China, Italy and other countries that struggled to recover from quakes that were less all-encompassing than the one that struck Port-auPrince and the surrounding area Jan. 12. “This was one of the biggest disasters,” he told reporters at the palace, whose white early 20th century domes tumbled in the disaster and became an international symbol of the extent of the damage to Haiti’s infrastructure and institutions. Workers began using bulldozers to clear the rubble of the palace Friday — a small part of a long, expensive reconstruction effort. The government and its international partners have also begun moving people out of sprawling temporary camps as rains begin to pelt Haiti ahead of the official start of the rainy season next month. So far, there has been no significant outbreak of disease, vaccination programs have reached more than 100,000 children and the international aid effort has provided clean drinking water to more than a million people affected by the quake, according to a report released Monday by UNICEF. But the situation remains dire, with more than 500,000 people made homeless by the earthquake and many more struggling for survival. Gerald Ermilus, a 23-year-old father of two, receives $6 a day through a United Nations work program, but he said he needs another job because it’s not enough to support his family. “Since they give me money, they don’t give food to my family,” Ermilus said as he hauled rice sacks destined for the hard-hit Carrefour area. A survey released Monday by the Oxfam aid group identified growing concerns among Haitians about a lack of leadership from state authorities. Only 7 percent of the Haitians polled said the government alone should lead the reconstruction process. Preval said the survey was unfair because few countries in the world could have responded to such a tragedy on their own. He insisted the reconstruction effort would be a joint effort involving Haitians living overseas, foreign governments and billions of dollars in aid pledges. “The Haitian government did not have the capacity to respond
to the crisis with boatloads and planeloads of food like the international community,” he said. The biggest priority for many Haitians is finding a way to make a living and leave the stick-and-tarp shantytowns around the capital. In the Oxfam survey, 28 percent of the 1,793 people polled said job creation should be the top priority of the reconstruction effort. Haitians said the next biggest priorities were building new schools and homes. For now, Preval said the government’s priority is to move the homeless to adequate shelter. The Haitian government and the U.N. are encouraging people to move back to their old neighborhoods when possible and have certified thousands of homes as safe to occupy. Only about 20,000 people without other options are to be moved to temporary relocation camps, including one that began receiving people over the weekend. About 9,000 people need to be relocated immediately because they live in areas with a high flooding risk, according to the U.N. Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Across Port-au-Prince, workers are taking down damaged structures to make room for new buildings, filling the city with the growl of heavy machinery. The leader of the World Food Program in Haiti, Christian Labon, said the activity is a remarkable contrast to the period immediately following the quake. His agency has returned to distributing food to targeted areas of need, rather than trying to feed almost 2 million people daily as in the days just after the disaster. “People are back to work, they are trying to do something by themselves, but they still need support,” he said. Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at news@lsureveille.com
(AP) — A ban on the cameras that take photos of speeders and drivers who run red lights failed to win support Monday in a House committee that stalled the proposal for a second year. Rep. Jeff Arnold, D-New Orleans, said the cameras in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, New Orleans and other municipalities around the state are used to generate dollars for towns and cities, not to improve safety. He told the House Transportation Committee the cameras can increase rear-end collisions by people slamming on their brakes to stop at a light, rather than run the risk of getting a ticket. He also said the cameras are unpopular and the tickets are tough to fight, even if they were improperly issued. But Arnold ran into hefty opposition from local government leaders and police officials who say the cameras enhance safety, crack down on violations and improve driver behavior — and whose budgets get the dollars generated by the fines. The House Transportation Committee sided with opponents and voted 10-6 against Arnold’s bill. “The red light camera program saves lives. It puts more
officers on the street,” said East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Kip Holden. Holden disputed claims that cities have used the cameras solely to boost their budgets. He said since the red light cameras began recording violations two years ago, the dollars have been earmarked only for public safety, not for general operating expenses. Nearly 35,000 citations were issued in Baton Rouge last year, generating $1.9 million net revenue for city-parish public safety, he said. Rep. Jack Montoucet, DScott, said he’s gotten two tickets from the cameras in Lafayette, and he said he’s changed his behavior because of them. “I can assure you it’s a very positive change on the driving habits,” he said. Monday’s vote won’t end Arnold’s fight against the cameras. He’s got other proposals pending for the legislative session that target the traffic enforcement tool, including a bill that would prohibit cities and parishes from issuing traffic citations based on photo enforcement unless local voters have approved the cameras’ use. Tickets from the cameras around Louisiana range from $95 to more than $200, depending on the location and the type of
violation. States around the nation have had similar debates about whether to ban the cameras. More than 400 communities use red light cameras across the United States, while more than 40 towns and municipalities use cameras to enforce speed laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. At least eight states prohibit the use of photo enforcement for traffic laws, including Arkansas and Mississippi, according to NCSL. Voting against Arnold’s bill were Montoucet and Reps. Elton Aubert, D-Vacherie; Robert Billiot, D-Westwego; Herbert Dixon, D-Alexandria; Jean Doerge, D-Minden; A.B. Franklin, DLake Charles; Dorothy Sue Hill, D-Dry Creek; Frank Howard, R-Many; Sam Little, R-Bastrop; and Barbara Norton, D-Shreveport. Voting for the bill were Reps. Henry Burns, R-Haughton; Jerry “Truck” Gisclair, D-Larose; Johnny Guinn, R-Jennings; Sam Jones, D-Franklin; Rogers Pope, R-Denham Springs; and Karen St. Germain, D-Plaquemine.
Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at news@lsureveille.com
Today in sports: Men’s tennis at 3 p.m.
Sports
Tuesday, april 13, 2010
Geyer, Shaffer named co-coaches By Katherine Terrell Sports Contributor
Assistant swimming coach David Geyer and diving coach Doug Shaffer have been promoted to head swimming coach and head diving coach, respectively. The two will work together as co-head coaches of the program. Ò ItÕ s a unique scenario that [Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics] Joe Alleva ‘Having two came up with,Ó individuals Geyer said. Ò The idea of having working two individuals together ... is working togethreally going er on the adminside of to make this istrative things is really program going to make this program betbetter.’ ter.Ó Geyer said David Geyer he and Shaffer LSU swimming coach were informed of the decision Monday when the team held a meeting to discuss the programÕ s future. He said he and Shaffer learned of former coach Adam SchmittÕ s resignation Ò momentsÓ before the team found out. Geyer had been offered another coaching job before his new position opened up, but he said the LSU job was something he didnÕ t want to pass up. Ò This opportunity arose, and itÕ s really in the best interest of my family,Ó Geyer said. He will handle the training on the swimming side, while Shaffer will handle the diversÕ training. Contact Katherine Terrell at kterrell@lsureveille.com
Both Sides Plate of the
SWIMMING & DIVING
paGe 7
Gibbs displays strong catching, hitting skills while developing friendships with teammates
ADAM VACCARELLA / The Daily Reveille
BRIANNA PACIORKA / The Daily Reveille
[Top right] LSU junior catcher Micah Gibbs takes a swing March 12 during LSU’s 11-9 loss to Kansas in Alex Box Stadium. [Above] Gibbs puts his glove up for a wild pitch March 5 during the Tigers’ 13-7 win against Brown.
BASEBALL
Superman made an appearance said. on the LSU baseball diamond two Ò You canÕ t even quantify the seasons ago, and he hasnÕ t left yet. importance of Gibbs Ñ the way That hero is junior catcher he handles our staff, catches them, Micah Gibbs, according to LSU blocks for them and goes out and baseball coach Paul talks to them,Ó Mainieri. Mainieri said. By Rachel Whittaker Ò WeÕ ve got Ò HeÕ s their Moses. Chief Sports Writer Superman catching He leads them to for us Ñ the best in the country,Ó the Promised Land.Ó Mainieri said. Ò With all due respect Gibbs said he delights in the to Jared Mitchell, DJ LeMahieu, opportunity to play behind the plate Ryan Schimpf and everybody else, on a daily basis. you donÕ t realize how great Micah Ò Defense is what I take the Gibbs is until heÕ s gone.Ó most pride in,Ó Gibbs said. Ò At Taking Gibbs for grant- the same time, the pitched is often tempting, from ing staff makes me look his batting and fielding good, thatÕ s for sure. skills to his Ò calm- The biggest thing ing influence” I work on is for the LSU pitchers, GIBBS, see Main- page ieri 15
GYMNASTICS
LSU program has sent 57 Tigers earn No. 9 seed players to major leagues By Staff Reports
By Katherine Terrell Sports Contributor
Eight former LSU baseball players appeared on active rosters on Opening Day of the 2010 Major League Baseball season. These success stories, and those of their recent predecessors, serve as a reminder of how far LSUÕ s baseball program has come since the turn of the 20th century. Eighth-year veteran Brian Tallet pitches for the Toronto Blue Jays alongside sixth-year AllStar infielder Aaron Hill. All-Star outfielder Brad Hawpe has played for the Colorado Rockies for
seven seasons, while pitcher Greg Smith begins his first year with the team. Shortstop Ryan Theriot and second baseman Mike Fontenot have played for the Chicago Cubs for six and five seasons, respectively, to create “The Cajun Connection.” Outfielder Nick Stavinoha started his third season with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he hit the game-winning home run against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday. All-Star pitcher Brian Wilson is in his fifth season with the San Francisco Giants. Baseball had long been a program on the MAJORS, see page 15
The LSU gymnastics team will compete in this year’s NCAA Championships as a No. 9 national seed, the NCAA announced Monday. The Tigers (15-8-1) earned their berth in the championships after a second-place finish Saturday at the University Park Regional, where they posted a score of 196.400. LSU also recorded a 392.815 national qualifying score to earn the No. 9 seed. LSU will compete in the opening session of the championships at noon on April 22 in FloridaÕ s Stephen C. OÕ Connell Center. The first session will also feature
No. 1 seed UCLA, No. 4 seed Oklahoma, No. 5 seed Utah, No. 8 seed Oregon State Ñ who the Tigers defeated March 5 Ñ and No. 12 seed Nebraska. The second session will feature No. 2 seed and host Florida, No. 3 Alabama, No. 6 Stanford, No. 7 Arkansas, No. 10 Missouri and No. 11 Michigan. The top three finishers in each session will advance to the Super Six finals April 23 and 24. LSU is aiming to compete in its third-straight Super Six.
Contact The Daily Reveille’s sports staff at sports@lsureveille.com
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Revelry
2
Tax Day Edition
Today’s KLSU 91.1 FM Specialty Shows: Beat Street (Trip Hop) 9 p.m.-11 p.m.; Underground Sounds (Underground Hip-Hop) 11 p.m.-1 a.m. TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2010
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Tuesday’s
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THE DAILY REVEILLE
Ways to spend the money you were going to use on taxes
• Put a down payment on a Vespa S 150, MSRP $4,399 at Vespa of Baton Rouge • Buy advanced tickets to see Simon & Garfunkel, $45 at Jazz Fest on April 24
Albums to buy while you should be filing taxes this week
• MGMT “Congratulations”
5
• Coheed and Cambria “Year of the Black Rainbow”
Bars to go to on Thursday’s tax day to drown your sorrows
Watch Rob & Rob’s latest video about the PGA tour and women’s softball at lsureveille.com. 7:20 a.m., 8:20 a.m. Noon, 3:20 p.m. 4:20 p.m., 5:20 p.m.
• Michael Gordon performing at Boudreaux & Thibodeaux’s • Come On Go With Us performing at Chelsea’s Cafe • Blues Jam hosted by Rudy Richard at Phil Brady’s • Corey Smith performing at the Varsity Theatre • Ladies’ Night Free Drinks at Fred’s BOYS AND THEIR TOYS
MELLOW MUSHROOM Open Mic is Back!! Interested Players contact Charlie mellowopenmic@yahoo.com FREDÕ S Tonight: $2.50 Bud Light Lime & Wheat; $5 Jack Daniels doubles Wednesday: $2.50 Imports, $3 Doubles, & $2 Shots all night Thursday: 8-10 Ladies Night Every Night: $2 Shots 12-2 and $1 SoCo & Limes all night
8-8:30 AM 9-10:30 AM 11:30-12 PM 12-1:30 PM 4-5:30 PM
NICOLE KARAMICHAEL / The Daily Reveille
The Daily Reveille photographer Nicole Karamichael was riding with a friend who accented the interior of his truck with skulls. She said, “This one on his shifter was a bit over the top. Boys and their toys.” The shot was taken at ISO 1600, f/4.5 and 1/25s. See more photos like this on the Behind the Lens Photo Blog at lsureveille.com.
Your Source The Fourth Kind Your Source The Box Carriers
6-6:30PM 6:30-7PM 8-9:30 PM 11-11:30PM 11:30-12PM
Your Source SketchMo Across the Hall Your Source Sketch Mo
TuEsdAy, APril 13, 2010
THE DAILY REVEILLE
GYMNASTICS
Engle scores well despite lineup Junior has several individual titles By Andy Schwehm Sports Contributor
Sometimes itÕ s easy to overlook a gymnast in the middle of a lineup. The leadoff in the rotation sets the pace, while the final gymnast is normally the most well-known name on the team, the one who will get the big scores. But LSU junior gymnast Sam Engle is making it hard to overlook the middle of LSUÕ s lineup this season. Engle has averaged a 9.806 on bars, a 9.769 on beam and a 9.748 on the floor this season. She has also captured four of her five career individual titles this season (three on beam and one on bars), including career highs of 9.950 and 9.925 on the bars and beam, respectively. Engle did what she has done all season during NCAA regional competition, posting a 9.850 on the beam, 9.825 on the bar and 9.800 on the floor. Ò Sam was rock solid,Ó LSU coach D-D Breaux said after the meet. Ò She did a beautiful job on floor.” Those scores, which all ranked second- or third-best on the team, came a meet after a lackluster performance at the Southeastern Conference Championships. The Plano, Texas, native posted season-low scores of 9.675 and 9.600 on the bars and floor, respectively, and added her third-worst score of the season on the beam, a 9.775. Those sub-par scores served as a motivational factor for Engle to perform at a higher level. Ò Heading into SECs, I had been sick for quite a while,Ó Engle said. Ò I was a lot more rested going into [regionals]. I went into the gym and worked on a lot of my landings, especially on the floor. I was much more focused going into [regionals].Ó LSU is one of the final 12 teams heading into national
J.J. ALCANTARA / The Daily Reveille
LSU junior Sam Engle performs a routine on the beam March 12 during the Tigers’ victory against Iowa in the PMAC.
competition. The Tigers will have to rely on Engle to take a step up from where she left off this weekend if the team wants to advance to a third-straight Super Six appearance. Ò Sam is extremely consistent,Ó said LSU senior Susan Jackson. Ò You never have to worry about putting her in the lineup because you know she is going to hit. SheÕ s someone you can count on.Ó Engle stays out of the spotlight in the middle of the bars, floor and beam lineups, and her value is sometimes overlooked by those outside of the team. Engle is the TigersÕ only junior, meaning next year she will be the teamÕ s lone senior coming behind a class of four All-American gymnasts and ahead of numerous possible future All-American sophomores and freshmen. Jackson called Engle the teamÕ s Ò lone ranger junior.Ó Ò For the amount that she
contributes, she is a little overlooked,Ó Jackson said. Ò If she was doing vault, she would be ranked high in the all-around. Next year when sheÕ s a senior, she will get a lot more attention, and she deserves it.Ó Engle hopes to join the ranks of numerous past LSU alumnae who have held the All-American title. But more importantly, she wants to get her team back into the Super Six. Ò Our ultimate goal is to make Super Six as a team again, which is where we have been the past two years,Ó Engle said. Ò Beam and bars have been best for me this year, but IÕ ve been working hard to stick floor. I just want to go out there and put out my best scores for the team to do well and succeed.Ó Contact Andy Schwehm at aschwehm@lsureveille.com
NFL
Strief coming back to Saints Restricted free agent offered $1.76 million By The Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) Ñ Saints reserve offensive tackle Zach Strief has agreed to return to New Orleans for another season. Saints spokesman Greg Bensel says Strief, a restricted free agent this offseason, signed his tender offer from the club on Monday. The Saints had offered Strief about $1.76 million. Strief played in every game last season, starting twice at tackle
during the regular season. He also subbed in routinely as a blocking tight end. Strief, 26, was drafted out of Northwestern in the seventh round in 2006. He has played in 57 regular-season games, starting five. He also has appeared in all five of the SaintsÕ playoff games since he joined the club. The move comes five days after the Saints signed former Chicago Bears defensive end Alex Brown to a two-year deal worth a reported 6 million. Brown, a former All-American at the University of Florida, started all 16 games in six of his eight seasons with the Bears. He tallied 481 tackles, 42.5 sacks,
five interceptions, 16 forced fumbles and 11 fumble recoveries during his time with the Bears. Chicago cut Brown in March, giving him the option to sign with any team he chose. Brown gives the Saints a hopeful replacement for the lost production of departed defensive end Charles Grant. Grant, who was selected in the same draft as Brown, totaled 424 tackles, 47 sacks, 31 passes defended and 16 forced fumbles in his eight-year career with New Orleans. Contact The Daily Reveille’s sports staff at sports@lsureveille.com
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THE DAILY REVEILLE
TuEsdAy, APril 13, 2010
FAMOUS AMOS
Tiger Woods’ return to professional golf is good for sports IÕ m not sure if anyone was watching, but there was a golf tournament this weekend that was pretty interesting. That statement was meant to be sarcastic. IÕ m pretty sure the only people who didnÕ t know there was a golf tournament were the poor souls who have been trapped on desert islands for the last few weeks and only know where the sun is. Last weekendÕ s tournament was such a big deal for one reason: Tiger Woods. Woods made his return to competitive golf play at the Masters tournament in Augusta, Ga. WoodsÕ return brought CBS its highest ratings for a Masters Tournament in nine years, according to CBS. He didn’t win but finished fourth after one of the most tumultuous layoffs in the history of layoffs. Tiger Woods was involved in a scandal that pretty much turned every woman against him. So I guess it is a good thing women donÕ t generally like golf, because this weekend things seemed back to normal. Woods was playing golf. The news was about something other than one of TigerÕ s mistresses, a rumor about his downtime activities or a creepy commercial featuring the golden boy of golf flooding the airwaves.
ThatÕ s what I wanted to see. I could care less about who claimed to be TigerÕ s mistress. It wasnÕ t news to me unless it involved WoodsÕ golf swing. IÕ ve never met Mr. Woods, and as cold as it may sound, I only care about what he does on the golf course Ñ which usually takes the form of birdies. He came back this weekend, and what I Amos morAle saw was a man Sports Columnist who threw himself into his sport. He looked like the Tiger that had come to dominate golf. There was talk about his behavior being inappropriate, but that is how Tiger has always played. He wears his emotions on his sleeve. Because of how golf is covered, the world was unaware of this until a few years ago when Woods snapped at reporters and fans saying, Ò HavenÕ t you guys taken enough freaking pictures?Ó with malice like Lindsey LohanÕ s distaste toward the paparazzi. Woods was not playing well Ñ or as well as he thought he could have Ñ and he became frustrated. This is what people who care about what they are doing do. These outbursts happen in
every sport, and I for one am glad he was unhappy with his play. Tiger hit some bad some shots this weekend, which was understandable considering the rust he built up during the last five months. But all in all, IÕ m just glad he is playing again Ñ so is any organization that has any financial investment in Woods. The ratings jumped up 39 percent from last yearÕ s tournament, and TigerÕ s sponsors can now reap the benefits of one of their most famous spokespeople doing what made him so famous. To the delight of many housewives, Phil Mickelson won the tournament, which was one of the most competitive I have seen in a while. Every time I checked the score it seemed that someone else had taken the leaderÕ s spot. But the most captivating part remains the fact that the man who is now one of the most polarizing individuals in sports was on the course. Love him or hate him, Tiger is good for golf and good for sports in general. Amos Morale is a 22-year-old history senior from Houston. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_amosmorale3. CHARLIE RIEDEL / The Associated Press
Contact Amos Morale at amorale@lsureveille.com
Tiger Woods reacts to his approach shot on the 13th fairway during the final round of the Masters golf tournament Sunday in Augusta, Ga.
TuEsdAy, APril 13, 2010
THE DAILY REVEILLE
PAGE 11
AROUND THE SEC
Vanderbilt, Alabama dropped from Top-25 poll Auburn beats LSU, moves up the ranks By Johanathan Brooks Sports Writer
Two Southeastern Conference teams dropped out of the Baseball America Top-25 poll this week while another SEC team joined the ranks. The highest-ranked team to plunge from the polls was Vanderbilt. The Commodores (26-8, 6-6) were ranked No. 20 in last weekÕ s poll, but they find themselves outside the polls after a 2-2 week which featured a series loss to South Carolina. Their 6-6 record is good enough for No. 3 in the SEC East. Alabama, ranked No. 24 in prior week polls, also fell.
The Crimson Tide (21-11, 5-7) won only two of five games this week and lost their weekend series against Kentucky. Ò Hopefully for our team this is the turning point,Ó Alabama coach Mitch Gaspard said in a news release following the TideÕ s only win Sunday. Ò There were some great efforts today, but I think as much as anything it was about competing and having the will to find a way to win the ballgame.Ó The Crimson TideÕ s conference record is good enough for sole possession of fifth place in the SEC West. The conferenceÕ s lone newcomer to the polls is No. 23 Auburn. The Auburn Tigers (22-11, 7-5) went 4-1 last week, including a series win against No. 8 LSU. Auburn took the series on a squeeze play in the bottom of the
ninth inning of game three. Auburn junior outfielder Justin Fradejas laid down a bunt that allowed Auburn sophomore infielder Casey McElroy to score. Ò Before the pitch, [Auburn coach John Pawlowski] told me that we were going to safety squeeze, and I was just thinking about getting a bunt down in a good spot so that Casey could score,Ó Fradejas said in a news release. Ò This is a huge win for us. They are the defending national champion, and they are ranked.Ó Five other SEC teams appeared in the polls this week with four occupying spots 7-10. No. 7 Florida jumped one spot after a 3-1 week and is now the highest-ranked team in the conference. LSU fell three spots from No. 5 last week following a 3-2 week. Arkansas went undefeated in the four games of the week,
MEN’S TENNIS
Tigers have two matches left By Sean Isabella Sports Contributor
The No. 51 LSU menÕ s tennis team is beginning to tread in murky water with only two regular season matches remaining. The Tigers (5-14, 2-8) are on the brink of missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in Jeff BrownÕ s 12-year tenure. Ò WeÕ re going to have to get on a roll, or itÕ s not going to happen,Ó Brown said after LSUÕ s 4-3 loss Sunday to Vanderbilt. The quest to make the NCAA tournament begins today as LSU hosts South Florida (7-12) at 3 p.m. in its final home match of the year. Brown speculates the top 45 or 50 teams in the country will make the field with at-large bids, leaving the Tigers, who have lost seven-straight matches, with work to do. Ò We have to beat South Florida, then Arkansas on the road and maybe win two at the Southeastern Conference tournament, but IÕ m not sure,Ó he said. The match against the Bulls was originally scheduled for March 9 but was rescheduled because of inclement weather. The final home match of the season is traditionally held to honor the graduating seniors, but it wonÕ t be any more significant than previous matches to the young Tigers. LSU has no seniors on a current roster littered with sophomores, freshman and a handful of juniors. The youth of the team reminds Brown of the teamÕ s bright future despite the losing season. Ò WeÕ ve been looking toward next year a bit,Ó he said. Ò The future looks good, but itÕ s hard to see that far right now.Ó LSU is fairly familiar with USFÕ s personnel, having squared off against them in late October at the USF Invitational. Junior Sebastian Carlsson captured the singles portion of that
tournament, but the two teams were evenly matched. LSU and USF split the singles and doubles matches down the middle, with each team winning four singles matches and two doubles matches. The Bulls are the defending Big East champions, and USF coach Don Barr believes todayÕ s match can be sufficient preparation for USF to defend its title. Ò LSU is a good team, and itÕ s always a tough environment to play in over there,Ó Barr said in a news release. Ò This will be another good challenge for the team as we gear up for the Big East Championships.Ó Whether LSU will make the NCAA field is still unknown, but it wonÕ t be because of a lack of skill.
The Tigers have arguably faced one of the toughest schedules in the country and have faced 11 top-25 opponents. LSU had opportunities in seven of those 11 matches to capture key points but failed, which is the main reason for its ugly 5-14 record. Ò I actually said to the guys in the locker room [Sunday], Ô When this is over, whenever that is ... we can probably take six or seven matches where if we are a little more focused on a 30-love point ... youÕ d be amazed at what the difference could have been in the season,Õ Ó Brown said.
Contact Sean Isabella at sisabella@lsureveille.com
ending at No. 9 Ñ up one spot from last week. South Carolina also moved up one spot in this weekÕ s polls and sits at No. 10. The Gamecocks went 3-1 last week. Player of the Week FradejasÕ squeeze bunt against LSU may have been a deciding factor in this week’s Player of The Week selection. He received the honor Monday afternoon to become the third Auburn player this season to earn the designation. Fradejas batted .474 this week and is currently riding a 14-game hitting streak. He had two RBIs going into the week but hit six more in the four-game stretch to bring his season total to eight. He went 9-for-19 with three doubles on the week and crossed home plate a total of six times.
The conferenceÕ s top pitcher last week was South CarolinaÕ s Jay Brown. The senior righty pitched 6 1/3 innings of two-hit baseball in the GamecocksÕ 2-0 win on the road against Vanderbilt. He also struck out two batters and allowed no walks in the appearance. It was only his second start of the season. Ò I am so proud of our team,Ó South Carolina coach Ray Tanner said after BrownÕ s win. Ò We played hard and pitched great today. We didnÕ t dominate. We were able to win both games that were close and on the road against a great club, one of the better hitting and pitching teams in the country.Ó
Contact Johanathan Brooks at jbrooks@lsureveille.com
TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2010
THE DAILY REVEILLE
PAGE 12
BASKETBALL
NBA regular season takes backseat in students’ minds College bastketball, football still rule By Chris Branch Sports Writer
Kobe and LeBron will have to wait for their close-ups. The NBA superstars, though in the midst of closing out their regular seasons, have taken a backseat in studentsÕ minds. They might garner much attention from national media, but the young adults strolling under the stately oaks have not paid much attention thus far. Not yet, at least. Ample reasons for the negligence exist. One of the most exciting NCAA tournaments in history recently concluded, with just one No. 1 seed making it to the hallowed Final Four and eventually winning the national title. Twenty of the tournamentÕ s 63 games were decided by five points or fewer. This yearÕ s NCAA tournament reeled in Graham Pirtle, political science junior, much like the rest of the country. The myriad of upsets and close games KOÕ d any chances of Pirtle paying attention to the professionals. Ò IÕ m mostly just watching college basketball games right now,Ó Pirtle said. Ò The [NBA] playoffs IÕ ll watch. The rest I just keep up with on SportsCenter.Ó Some students said they only watch the pro ball during the playoffs. Some said they donÕ t watch at all. Ò I donÕ t really watch much
basketball,Ó said Hillary Thomp- Boston and Charlotte, while the son, general studies senior. Ò IÕ m Raptors square off with bottomjust waiting around for football to feeders Detroit and New York. Ò I keep up with the other start.Ó Football seems to be the com- teams too, to see whatÕ s up,Ó Glickmon sport lofted above basketball mans aid. The Western Conference is in studentsÕ minds. LSUÕ s stellar history on the gridiron would be a different story. The Los Angethe logical substitute, but some like les Lakers hold the top spot in the conference at 56the other kind of 24. The rest of the football. conference is a bit Ò I do like the NBA, but IÕ m not murky. watching it right The other sevnow,Ó said Edgaren playoff spots do Benitez, biolbelong to Dalogy freshman. Ò I las, Denver, Utah, Phoenix, Portland, love soccer. I donÕ t Graham Pirtle San Antonio and have any time, but political science junior Oklahoma City. if I did, I would be Even with the parwatching soccer.Ó Others care a bit more. Dylan ticipants set, the order is still comGlickman, an undecided freshman, pletely up for grabs. Four teams is a fervent follower of the NBA are still in the hunt for the conferand his favorite team, the Cleve- enceÕ s No. 2 seed. Dallas, Denver, land Cavaliers. Glickman thinks Utah and Phoenix are all within a the dynamic combination of LeB- game of each other with two games ron James, Antawn Jamison, Sha- remaining. Meanwhile, Portland, quille OÕ Neal and company are San Antonio and Oklahoma City all sport 39-21 records with two locks for top honors this season. Ò If itÕ s the Cavs, IÕ ll watch the games left, meaning any of the trio game,Ó Glickman said. Ò TheyÕ re could finish in sixth place. Most donÕ t have the ardor my team. TheyÕ re going to win the Glickman possesses. But he does title this year. No doubt.Ó Glickman also said he keeps have some fellow Cavaliers fans. Ò Yeah, I keep track of the tabs on the rest of the league as well. The Cavaliers secured the NBA,Ó said Corey Vogel, ISDS NBAÕ s best record during spring senior. Ò My favorite team is the break, and they currently sit at Cavaliers. IÕ m not very religious 61-20. The Eastern Conference about following it though.Ó playoff race looks to be steadfast, with only the eighth spot up for grabs between the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls. The Bulls face Contact Chris Branch at the final two games of their regular season against playoff teams cbranch@lsureveille.com
‘‘
‘The [NBA] playoffs I’ll watch. The rest I just keep up with on SportsCenter.’
DANNY MOLOSHOK / The Associated Press
Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, right, grabs a loose ball over Utah Jazz player Wesley Matthews during an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles on April 2.
TuEsdAy, APril 13, 2010
THE DAILY REVEILLE
PAGE 13
EQUESTRIAN
Ruston horseman headed to Kentucky Derby in May Mission Impazible wins spot in N.O. By The Associated Press
JOHN McCUSKER / The Times-Picayune
Mission Impazible, left, ridden by Rajiv Maragh (2), races in the Louisiana Derby horse race March 27 at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans. They won the race.
RUSTON (AP) Ñ Steve Davison already had a sentimental attachment to the young thoroughbred colt Mission Impazible when he bought the horse at a yearling sale in 2008. The Ruston horseman had previously owned the coltÕ s mother, LaPaz, and his half-brother, Spanish Empire, and both helped establish his Lexington, Ky., farm Twin Creeks as a legitimate player in the thoroughbred industry. Those connections led Davison and his group of ownership partners to take a chance on the colt, buying the yearling for $200,000 at auction, which was the bottom price the owner set. Ò I donÕ t think anybody else was that interested in him,Ó Davison said. So when Mission Impazible won the Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds last month to qualify for a spot in the Kentucky Derby, AmericaÕ s most famous race, it seemed like serendipity. Now Davison and his partners, as well as Twin Creeks farm manager Randy Gullatt, a Ruston native and lifelong friend of Davison,
can almost taste the mint juleps and hear Ò My Old Kentucky HomeÓ at Churchill Downs, where the race will be run May 1. Ò Everybody in the business dreams about having a horse in the Kentucky Derby,Ó Davison said. Ò WeÕ ve won stakes races before, but never anything like this.Ó Ò ItÕ s been a dream of ours since we were kids to have a horse in the derby,Ó said Gullatt, who is also the ownership groupÕ s racing manager. Ò WeÕ re beyond thrilled.Ó Davison, whose father James and brother Todd have a minority ownership interest in the colt, said Mission Impazible drew an ideal No. 2 inside post position in the $750,000 Louisiana Derby on March 27, where his odds of winning were 7 to 1. Ò I was as nervous as I could be because there was so much pressure,” said Davison, 41, who first entered the racing business with the help of his father when he was 19. Ò We had to win that race to get into the derby.Ó Mission Impazible, which was ridden by jockey Rajiv Maragh and trained by Todd Pletcher, pulled ahead near the end of the stretch run to win by three-quarters of a length. Ò My wife Sarah was more confident than any of us,” Davison said. Ò She started celebrating halfway through the race. We were
lucky to have an inside post and he had a great trip (around the track).Ó Mission Impazible won a $400,000 purse and paid $16.20 on a $2 win ticket. Ò I didnÕ t bet a dime on him,Ó Davison said. Ò I was too nervous.Ó Ironically, the elation Davison felt following the Louisiana Derby win came at the same track where he had his lowest moment as an owner. It was also at the Fair Grounds where Mission ImpazibleÕ s halfbrother, Spanish Empire, died a few years ago during a race after suffering an aneurysm. Davison was heartsick as he cradled Spanish EmpireÕ s head as the horse was being removed from the track that day. Ò My worst day and best day at the same track with sibling horses,Ó he said. But Davison may have an even better day at Churchill Downs, even though Mission Impazible wonÕ t be one of the favorites. Ò We have no expectations; weÕ re just going to enjoy the moment,Ó said Davison, who then paused. Ò But if we get a good post position, a good trip and he jumps up and runs great, you never know.Ó Contact The Daily Reveille’s sports staff at sports@lsureveille.com
PAGE 14
THE DAILY REVEILLE
TuEsdAy, APril 13, 2010
FISHING
Speckled trout return after scarcity during cold, wet winter By The Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) Ñ In the 20 years Buggy Vegas has been master of Bridgeside Marina on Grand Isle he has seen a lot. Tons of fish, tons of fishermen and more than a few hurricanes, among other things. But recently his eyes took in one of his most memorable sights. “I saw my first ice chest filled with speckled trout in so long, I al-
most forgot what that looked like,” Buggy said, no hint of sarcasm in the voice of a man who must have seen tens of thousands of ice chests filled with specks. “I mean, that was a beautiful thing.” The wonder and relief in Buggy’s voice was shared by a handful of other veteran marina owners across southeast Louisiana as solid catches of speckled trout were placed on their docks. What could
make men who live in the heart of the most productive speckled trout habitat in the world act like rookies reeling in their first specks? A couple of things: ThereÕ s something in the genetic code of anglers that makes them suspect the worst, always. Maybe it’s our pride; if we can’t catch fish, something must be to blame. WeÕ ve just come through one of the coldest, wettest most wind-
ravaged winters in the history of the state. We’re forgetting just how much climate change is already affecting our fishing lives. In the days after the ice melted, there were confirmed reports of anglers, shrimpers and crabbers pulling up thousands of dead or stunned white trout and black drum. Ò This time last year I had already caught 2,000 specks,” said
Dudley Vandenborre, a guide and lure-maker who specializes in specks, especially in Lake Pontchartrain. “This year I don’t have 200.” All in all, not a good winter for speck fishing. And that’s why those first speck-filled ice chests were such a wonderful sight. Contact The Daily Reveille’s sports staff at sports@lsureveille.com
TuEsdAy, APril 13, 2010 MAJORS, from page 7
back burner until Skip Bertman arrived. LSU went through a steady rotation of coaches until the late 1950s, most of whom also held the positions of football and basketball coach. Fourteen players made it to the majors from 1917 to BertmanÕ s arrival in 1984. Forty-three players have played professionally since then. The program had sporadic flashes of success in the early years. Joe Adcock and Alvin Dark played in the majors for 16 and 14 years, respectively, but the other 12 players never lasted more than four years. The Õ 80s and Õ 90s were the most successful decades in the programÕ s history. Fifteen players in the Õ 80s and 22 players in the Õ 90s made it to the majors.
GIBBS, from page 7
making sure I can work with the young guys ... and help them settle down.Ó LSU junior pitcher Anthony Ranaudo, who returned in late March from a stress reaction he suffered in his elbow, said Gibbs helped him rebound from the injury. Ò It was like we hadnÕ t skipped a beat at all,Ó Ranaudo said. Ò HeÕ s a great leader, and heÕ s one of my best friends.Ó GibbsÕ personable nature extends to the entire team, Ranaudo said. Ò He likes to give a lot of hugs and stuff,Ó Ranaudo said. Ò If you look at him, heÕ s kind of intimi-
THE DAILY REVEILLE
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LSU made its first College World Series appearance in 1986 and had its first national championship in 1991. The most successful years didnÕ t necessarily correlate to the teamÕ s talent. LSUÕ s back-to-back College World Series wins in 1996 and 1997 had the leanest amount of major-league talent. Ò We didnÕ t have the best players in any of the championships,Ó Bertman said. Ò We might have had better players when we didnÕ t win in given years like Õ 98 and Õ 99 and some other years ... But we were better teams.Ó A playerÕ s mindset goes a long way toward success in the collegiate and professional world, Bertman said. Ò When I came here, there was ... a locker room with nothing in it except old food on the walls, a couple
of torn couches and a turned over refrigerator, literally,Ó Bertman said. “But ... that was easy, fixing those.” What changed was the culture of thinking about being a champion, Bertman said. Ò It wasnÕ t just I taught them how to play baseball Ñ it was that we were team-oriented,Ó Bertman said. Ò What they have had and have been taught is how to compete every single pitch ... Never give up an out, never give up an at bat. ... If you do fail, which you must in baseball, you’ll flush it, come back in 15 seconds and not lose the moment.Ó These qualities help players with the 162-game major league schedule, Bertman said. Ò Not everybody has the mental toughness to do that,Ó Bertman said. Ò ThatÕ s what we provide.Ó Former LSU second baseman
Todd Walker, a College Baseball Hall of Famer, said playing at LSU made a big difference in his life. Walker said he felt fortunate to learn from Bertman, former assistant Beetle Bailey and former coach Smoke Laval. Ò Skip Bertman taught me a lot,Ó Walker said. Ò He always used to say, Ô DonÕ t ever transfer blame ... If you do something wrong, itÕ s your fault.Õ ThatÕ s basically been a life lesson for me. I think we all constantly want to blame other people to make ourselves feel better. The No. 1 thing for me was to take responsibility.Ó Walker said playing baseball at LSU taught him to deal with Ò the overwhelming feeling of everything.Ó Ò You learn to hang in there, you learn to persevere, you learn to have faith,Ó Walker said. Ò A lot of times
you do things you didnÕ t even know you were capable of doing.Ó Mainieri said LSUÕ s environment helps alleviate the mental grind of professional baseball. Big crowds, big expectations, good competition and dealing with the media create a professional atmosphere. Ò I think itÕ s very rare when you have a kid that comes out of high school that has the maturity and the emotional well-being to be able to succeed in professional baseball,Ó Mainieri said. Ò Professional baseball is a very grinding, difficult world. You have to know how to deal with failure quite a bit. ItÕ s very hard for an 18-year-old to handle that kind of environment.Ó
dating at 5-foot-11, but once you get to know him and become his friend, thereÕ s really nothing he wouldnÕ t do for you.Ó Gibbs said he values the closeness he has developed with his teammates. Ò Handshakes are good, like a business-type thing,Ó Gibbs said. Ò But I feel like this team is a family, and I hug people in my family.Ó GibbsÕ love for baseball originated from the teachings of his father, Ben, who played catcher at Kansas State. Micah Gibbs said he wanted to follow in his fatherÕ s footsteps at a young age. The Pflugerville, Texas, native said his father bought a pitching machine and aggressively trained him to block balls and catch
pop-ups behind the plate. Ò I still have a scar behind my ear where my dad threw a ball to me early on, and I kind of chickened out,Ó Micah Gibbs said. Ò He would set [the pitching machine] on 100 mph and shoot it straight up in the air ... It was like catching a brick.Ó Ben Gibbs said it was Ò constant workingÓ both indoors and outdoors to teach his son the fundamentals of being a catcher. Ò We went to the sporting goods store, got the gear and started working on blocking balls in the living room,Ó Ben Gibbs said. Ò At that age group, it was basically you got on base, you stole second, you stole third and you scored on the ball getting by the catcher. Basical-
ly from the very beginning, I told him theyÕ re going to stay at third.Ó Ben Gibbs said his sonÕ s success at the college level has rekindled his appreciation for the game. He said he would love to see Micah to play in the major leagues. Ò For two years after I stopped playing, I didnÕ t watch as much as a World Series,Ó he said. Ò I know itÕ s MicahÕ s goal [to play professionally]. ItÕ s his life though.Ó Micah Gibbs bats in the cleanup role usually behind first baseman Blake Dean, and he leads LSU with a .403 batting average this season. Gibbs has also committed just four errors and has one passed ball in 31 games, for a fielding percentage of .983. Ò I almost think one day IÕ ll
wake up, and itÕ ll be a dream the way heÕ s hitting the ball right now,Ó Ben Gibbs said. Ò ItÕ s hard to put into words.Ó Combining Micah Gibbs’ talent in the batterÕ s box and at catcher, Mainieri said Gibbs is Ò the rock of our team,Ó and it will be no easy task to replace him. Ò Everybody jumps onto his shoulders, and fortunately heÕ s got those big thick legs to hold a lot of people up,Ó Mainieri said. Ò The day the season ends, and I know heÕ s going into professional baseball, IÕ m certain IÕ m going to cry like a baby.Ó
Contact Katherine Terrell at kterrell@lsureveille.com
Contact Rachel Whittaker at rwhittaker@lsureveille.com
THE DAILY REVEILLE
Opinion
PAGE 16
OUR VIEW
TuEsdAy, APril 13, 2010
Accusations against University are serious, require response Another serious accusation has been levied against the University Ñ and the offended parties are once again loudly and publicly claiming administrators flagrantly violated the academic freedom of another instructor. A letter sent to several ranking administrators Monday by the American Association of University Professors accuses several high-ranking administrators of Ò violations of fundamental, wellestablished faculty rights, specifically academic freedom in the classroom, and due process, as laid out in a number of documents that the University subscribes to.Ó These allegations stem from
the UniversityÕ s actions regarding the BIOL 1001 class taught by Dr. Dominique Homberger. She was abruptly yanked from instructing the course when the classÕ s midterm grades were shockingly low. Students’ grades were artificially raised by 25 percent, and a new instructor took over halfway through the course. The AAUP is claiming this action was taken with Ò no pre-suspension/removal consultation with Homberger by higher administratorsÓ and Ò before HRM (Human Resource Management) was contacted.Ó Homberger has taught the class for more than 30 years.
A cursory examination of the University policies the organization is citing indicates the University might have conceivably not been culpable in these actions. But the technicalities are up for debate and are largely irrelevant Ñ if events transpired as the AAUP and Homberger claimed they did, the University has committed a serious breach of academic integrity. Someone has fouled up badly if the University did indeed pull Homberger from her class and arbitrarily altered the grades she assigned. If this isnÕ t the case, the accused officials need to loudly and publicly deny them. Sound familiar? It should Ñ
the whole situation eerily echoes accusations at stake in an impeding lawsuit by Dr. Ivor van Heerden, who claims he was fired because of his post-Katrina criticism of the Corps of Engineers. The UniversityÕ s silence on that issue has been deafening. It canÕ t afford to keep that silence this time. Whether the accusations are true or not, this debacle further contributes to the image of a draconian administration willing to cut corners and censor professors for the sake of political expediency. And it casts a negative light on this institution, which Ñ given the damage of budget cuts and other lawsuits Ñ
is already suffering in the court of public opinion. Academic freedom is one of the paramount values of an academic institution. And the more accusations arise that challenge the UniversityÕ s sanctity to that end Ñ and the more silent the administration is on those accusations Ñ the less appealing the University looks to prospective students and employees. Which is never, ever a good thing Ñ especially now.
Contact the Editorial Board at editor@lsureveille.com
CANCEL THE APOCALYPSE
Americans should ask: ‘In which God do we trust?’
The monetary maxim Ò In God We TrustÓ bears an ambiguity of divine proportions. In which god are we, as a Ò secular” nation, confiding our federal fiscal love? To pursue this anomaly, we must look past the contradictory nature of the above phrasing and focus instead on its anonymous Ò God.Ó Our country is littered with gods Ñ from the deism of our founding fathers to the pantheon of modern American religions. Interpreting deistic stances in the letters and speeches of Paine and Washington can be fun, but for this column one only needs to recognize the vast diversity present in our great nation of faith Ñ and often non-faith Ñ both past and present. President Barack Obama has stated on numerous occasions the U.S. is not just a Christian nation, but also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation and a Hindu nation. And this point is indeed statistically accurate, but implications of the ideal have yet to come to fruition. The equally American Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus our president often invokes carry currency cast with a Ò GodÓ that is not their own. There is no Yahweh, Allah, Buddha or any of the multitudes of Hindu deities on the bank notes of non-Christian citizens. They reside in a nation that trusts in the only true Ò God,Ó according to legal tender. But aside from the discrimination caused by this supposition, there is also some difficulty
identifying the ambiguous deity gracing our greenbacks. The origins of the maxim are shrouded in a similar mystery as its directed divine being. It wasnÕ t until 1861 that Salmon P. Chase, secretary of the Treasury, heeded the calls from many Americans deAndrew siring a coined robertson motto to canonColumnist ize American Christendom. One such letter, bearing utmost significance, came from a Reverend M. R. Watkinson. The reverend calls for an inscription of Ò GodÓ to be placed on our currency. The reason was to Ò relieve us from the ignominy of heathenismÓ and Ò place us openly under ... Divine protection.Ó Secretary Chase commissioned Mint Director James Pollock seven days later to conscript what would become our official national motto. The rest is history Ñ and Ò In God We TrustÓ has graced nearly all of our currency since the Fourth Coinage Act of 1873. Several points of conflict arise from this. If it is indeed the Judeo-Christian God that is on our money, which recognized version is it? It was the Episcopalian interpretation for Francis Scott Key and Chase. But does this stand in agreement with the founding fathersÕ beliefs? The deistic god does not intervene in human affairs, so Ò Divine
THE DAILY REVEILLE Editorial Board NICHOLAS PERSAC JERIT ROSER GERRI SAX ELLEN ZIELINSKI MATTHEW ALBRIGHT
Editor Managing Editor, Content Managing Editor, External Media Managing Editor, Production Opinion Editor
protectionÓ is unattainable. Furthermore, PollockÕ s report to the Secretary of the Treasury included the following premise: Ò We claim to be a Christian nation Ñ why should we not vindicate our character by honoring the God of the Nations?Ó Thus, much of the original motivation behind adding Ò In God We TrustÓ to our currency is now, according to our current president Ñ and any demographic information Ñ null and void. Finally, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibits Congress from making a law Ò respecting the establishment of a
religion.Ó This has been brought before the Supreme Court, which ruled the word Ò GodÓ as used in the motto is permissible and contains no specific “history, character and context.Ó Chase and Polluck would disagree Ñ as would I. The motto was coined with a specific Judeo-Christian deity in mind. The term can be rather ambiguous, but for those who fall outside American Christianity it is certainly not Yahweh, Allah, Buddha or Krishna getting praise on their bank notes. So who is the Ò WeÓ in our national motto? It is a false ideal that
promotes a unanimous consensus of AmericaÕ s adherence to a single and agreed upon definition of “God.” And who is the Ò GodÓ in which we trust? Only Chase, Pollock and our currency now know. But by the looks of things, He is willing to take bribes. Andrew Robertson is a 23-year-old religious studies senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @ TDR_arobertson. Contact Andrew Robertson at arobertson@lsureveille.com
BEST AND WITTIEST
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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.
QuOTE OF THE dAy Ò Experience teaches slowly and at the cost of mistakes.Ó
James A. Froude English author, biographer April 23, 1818 — Oct. 20, 1894
THE DAILY REVEILLE
Tuesday, april 13, 2010
MURDA, HE WROTE
Opinion
paGe 17
New taxes are needed with health care passed People respond to prices. We decide whether or not to consume something based on its price and the factors of supply and demand. But a problem occurs when prices don’t reflect the actual costs of doing something. Take a McDonaldÕ s double cheeseburger Ñ a delicious selection available on the dollar menu (though nonexistent in the UnionÕ s captive market). The burger is certainly scrumptious for consumers, but it doesnÕ t bare all the costs of its consumption. The reason the food is so cheap is partially because the United States subsidizes corn production, allowing McDonaldÕ s to sweeten its food with discount high-fructose corn syrup and to raise cattle on cheap feed. McDonaldÕ s is able to keep prices rock bottom because fast food restaurants donÕ t bare all of the costs of producing the food. Of course, many people take advantage of the dollar menu Ñ
especially low-income individuals. In this manner, some of the nutritionally worst food available is also the cheapest. Consumers are paying only a dollar for its cheeseburger, but the rest of us are subsidizing the price and then bearing the added expense of their poor eating decision. Never has this been more important than in the wake of our nationÕ s health care overhaul. Perhaps the biggest qualms with the recent health care bill are that taxpayers donÕ t like paying for people who make bad decisions about their health. This sentiment has long been a mainstream tenant of the conservative movement. But using this as an excuse for why all AmericanÕ s shouldnÕ t be covered by medical insurance is the easy way out. We should instead now be focusing on how we can use smart government policy to make sure all of the costs are
brought into consideration when individuals make decisions affecting their health. That means instituting smart tax policies, which not only discourage bad behavior but pay for it. A smart man once remarked: Ò Sugar, rum and Mark MacMurdo tobacco are Columnist commodities which are nowhere necessaries of life, which are become objects of almost universal consumption and which are therefore extremely proper subjects of taxation.Ó That wasnÕ t Karl Marx. These are the words of Adam Smith in his landmark book on economics, Ò The Wealth of Nations.Ó Today we have the so-called Ò sin taxesÓ meant to raise revenue to pay for the social ills of
alcohol and tobacco. Part of the prices of booze and cigarettes should include a tax meant to defray the societal costs not borne by the individual Ñ but no more, no less. Most will find this policy reasonable, but Louisiana is clearly lagging. We have the third-lowest cigarette tax at 36 cents per pack (Rhode Island has the highest at $3.46 per pack), according to the Federation of Tax administrators. Why not extend such excise taxes to soda and fast food, two clear culprits of our nationÕ s high obesity and diabetes levels? But there is another side to the coin: Tax policy can also encourage good behavior. A system could perhaps be put in place where Americans would receive tax benefits for exercising regularly Ñ such as tax-deductable gym membership expenses. Of course, making sure people actually go is another issue in itself.
The point is no one wants to pay for other peopleÕ s bad decisions. We want them to pay for them. ThatÕ s why taxing cigarettes, alcohol, sugar, fast food and tanning are all necessary to compliment the new health care system in America. There is nothing paternalistic about this sentiment. They arenÕ t a means to impose some value system on people. We simply need to make sure people pay for their health decisions if they are part of our society which guarantees health care for all. Mark Macmurdo is a 23-yearold history and economics senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_mmacmurdo.
Contact Mark Macmurdo at mmacmurdo@lsureveille.com
DAMAGED GOODS
Senior doesn’t want to grow up in the weird world
ItÕ s 7:45 a.m. on a Saturday, and Betty WhiteÕ s look-a-like is knocking on my door. BANG! BANG! BANG! Ò IÕ m at your front door,Ó she hollers. No way in hell, I think. IÕ m in my bedroom Ñ naked Ñ doing what naked people do on Saturday mornings: sleep. Ò Hello,Ó she croons once more. Ò I see your car. YouÕ re home!Ó This woman has brass balls. I’m opening the door five minutes later and meeting a new face. IÕ ve been in this house three years, and this neighbor wants to meet me all of the sudden. I didnÕ t catch her name, as I was still pie-eyed from the night before. It was probably in the realm of Bertha or Peter-Ann. Ò Oh, hello!Ó Bertha or PeterAnn said to me. Ò I hope I didnÕ t wake you. I didnÕ t know if anyone was home, so I thought IÕ d wait and knock a few more times. I saw your car.Ó You jerk. Ò Yes maÕ am,Ó I said smiling. Ò No problem. What can I do for you?Ó Ò Well, you see, me and my husband live across the street. WeÕ ll be going on a week vacationÓ (The destination was either Branson or Ponchatoula). Ò We just need someone to pick up our newspaper and throw it on the back porch.Ó Ò No problem,Ó I agreed. Who can deny a Betty White look-a-like? Ò Yeah, we would get our son-in-law to do it, but heÕ s
with his family. He might come around now and then, but I thought IÕ d ask you. So, just pick up my newspaper, and if you see anything strange, call the cops.Ó This lady could not stop talking. I donÕ t know if it was Matthew Sigur my weird atColumnist tire. Maybe I still smelled like the bar. She was more nervous than a newly caught cricket. Ò You know some people back there got cleaned out? They were gone one afternoon. They came back, and they got robbed. So, if you see anything strange, just take out your gun and start shooting.Ó ItÕ s 7:53 a.m. on a Saturday, and IÕ m not hungover anymore. This lady wants me to go on a stakeout. This is the most confusing conversation IÕ ve ever had. I would rather chat with a drunk girl at ReggieÕ s. This old neighbor, whom IÕ ve never met, wants me to watch her house and grab her paper. This isnÕ t the confusing part. Hell, IÕ ll do that for most of my neighbors. At the same time, she doesnÕ t give me a key, money for groceries or tell me where the toilet paper is. She assumes I own a gun and wants me to shoot anyone trespassing. ItÕ s at this part I have a myriad questions, but I canÕ t ask this old lady any of them.
She’s fixing to go to Branson or Ponchatoula. And I canÕ t say no. IÕ ve already agreed in principle to picking up her newspaper. The old lady was good. I have to sit in my living room now with my blinds open all the time with a pair of binoculars to scope out anything that doesnÕ t match the green of her grass. I have to go buy a gun, bullets, caffeine pills and a leather jacket. I meet this lady once, and
IÕ m already $500 in the hole. I have so many questions, but sheÕ s gone. IÕ m sitting here like Danny Glover in Ò Lethal Weapon 2,Ó waiting for those crooked gangsters to come. Is this what itÕ s like to be an adult? Is this the world IÕ m entering when graduating? Old people putting a burden on me, wanting me to protect their newly cut grass? This canÕ t happen every weekend. Neighbors donÕ t all of the sudden know you’re fixing to
graduate college and expect you to shoot a man for trespassing. If this is normal, IÕ m already getting too old for this. Matthew Sigur is a 22-year-old mass communication senior from West Monroe. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_msigur.
Contact Matthew Sigur at msigur@lsureveille.com
BEST AND WITTIEST
cartoon courtesy of KING FEATURES SYNDICATE
THE DAILY REVEILLE
Classifieds
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To place your ad: Visit www.lsureveille.com and click on classifieds
Announcements
Help Wanted STUDENTS NEEDED TO work with children/ adults with disabilities. Several positions, various hours. Apply: St. John the Baptist, Human Services. 622 Shadows Ln Suite A 225.216.1199 RIGSBY FREDERICK SALON Guests Services Coordinator ñ Parttime / Full Time Must have organizational, computer skills, and proper telephone etiquette. Must be able to multitask, be service-minded and enjoy helping guests achieve their goals of beauty and wellness. We are looking for fun, energetic and fashion oriented individuals who are patient, kind and willing to grow with our company. Hourly pay plus quarterly commission bonuses a big plus! Email Resume to: katiem@rigsbysalon.com 225.769.7903 STUDENTPAYOUTS. COM Paid Survey Takers Needed In Baton Rogue. 100% Free To Join! Click On Surveys. PARKVIEW BAPTIST PRESCHOOL Preschool Afternoon Teachers needed 3-6pm flex days. no degree required. Call Kim 2939447 A CONSULTING COMPANY is seeking to temporarily subcontract a Native American to assist in the delivery of training modules to Tribal educators. The subcontractor must have effective presentation and communication skills. Training material will be provided. Email applications to: t.bourgeois@ria-inc.org BARTENDING UP TO NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY. TRAINING PROVIDED. AGE 18+ OK 1-800-965-6520 ext127 EARN $1000-$3200 A month to drive our brand new cars with ads placed on them. www. YouDriveAds. com P/T WEEKEND LEASING AGENT Free
Cost: 35 cents per word a day Personals Free for students
Employment
Housing
Deadlines: 12 noon two school days prior to the print publication date
Merchandise
Rent could be involved! Customer service exp. preferred. Email resumes to jfarr2023@gmail.com or fax to 924-9893. Great area and perfect job for students!
machine (rent a unit, make a payment, buy a lock) - very cool. We Love Students. 225.927-8070
DON’T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY! Now hiring for all positions at the following locations: JEFFERSON 7615 Jefferson Hwy Baton Rouge 70809 PERKINS ROWE 7707 Bluebonnet Blvd. Baton Rouge 70810 “Flexible schedules & Benefits for Full Time Associates” Please apply in person during regular restaurant hours. Equal Opportunity Employer
1,2,3 BR CONDOS IN BRIGHTSIDE, SHARLO, HEATHERSTONE 225-955-6480 southlandpropertiesinc.com
For Sale BROOK HOLLOW CONDO 1 Bedroom 1Bath on Bus Route less than 1.5 miles from LSU 89,900 225-938-0182 TIGER MANOR CONDOMINIUMS. UNITS READY FOR SPRING and FALL 2010!! Reserve now! Brand new 1, 2, and 3 bedroom units for sale starting at $124,900. Ask about our Guaranteed Buy-Back Program!! 3000 July St. 225-346-5055 www. tigermanor.com Location. Location. Location... Start Living. CONDO FOR SALE IN METAIRIE ATTENTION NEW DENTAL STUDENT OR MEDICAL STUDENT!!! 2BED/1.5BATH, GREAT LOCATION!!!ONLY $97,000 225.718.0964
For Sale STORE YOUR STUFF Student Special - Get 1st Month FREE. Climate Control of LA Self Storage and Stor-it Mini Warehouses. 3147 College Dr. just past the RR tracks. Enter thru College Creek Shopping Center. Various sizes, covered loading, video recording cameras, and alarms, 24/7 access. 24/7 service with our Insomniac
TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2010
2BR/2BA ON BRIGHTSIDE DR. Newly Remodeled Townhouse, Covered Parking, Washer and Dryer, (Avl. 6/1/10) $1100/month 337.654.5499 FOR RENT: 3 BR/2 BA HOUSE in Lake Beau Pre with two car garage and backyard. $1600/mos; 1 yr lease; available starting July 1. Contact: 504.309.7595 TIGER MANOR CONDOMINIUMS. UNITS READY FOR SPRING and FALL 2010! Reserve Now! Brand new 1, 2, & 3 bedrooms available. Reserve your unit today! Walk to class! 3000 July St. 225-346-5055. www.tigermanor.com Location. Location. Location... Start Living. ARLINGTON TRACE CONDOS Gated Community on Brightside Clubhouse on Site All Appliances Included Currently Accepting Deposits for June & August Move Ins! 2 bed/2.5 bath units $1300 3 bed/3.5 bath units $1650 Dean Flores Real Estate 225.767.2227 GATED CONDO LSU, 2 BLKS, 2 BD 1 BA, RENOVATED CONDO. $ 850 MO. $ 500 DEPOSIT. 3101 HIGHLAND RD. UNIT 316. OWNER, AGENT. EVE@ EVEWOLFE. COM 504.236.4868 3 BED/3 BATH ON BRIGHTSIDE Move in today or reserve now for next year. Great new pool and rec room, parking and all appliances included. On LSU bus route. $1600/ month, 1 yr lease. Rent reduction available for April and May. 310.989.4453 PRE-LEASING SUMMER/FALL 2BR 2.5 BATH, POOL, BRIGHTSIDE PARK TOWNHOMES $900 588-3070 brightsidepark@gmail.com south-
Transportation
landpropertiesinc.co FOR RENT NEW TWO BEDROOM TWO BATH CONDO; RENT IS $1,100.00 PER MONTH; 9 FT. CEILINGS, CERAMIC TILE FLOORING, ALL APPLIANCES INCLUDING WASHER/ DRYER IN UNIT; CONVENIENT TO CAMPUS, INTERSTATE AND SHOPPING 225.413.9800
Roommate Wanted I AM LOOKING for a non-smoker, clean roommate to share 2 bedrooms apt. Nice area of town close to a major shopping area, quiet, pool, and laundry. Only $295 m. Please call 225-766-5839 225.766.5839
Personals YOU DESERVE BETTER This is for any cute girl out there who has been mistreated by a guy. Not all guys are “you know”. You deserve better,
Services
so if you want to just talk email me. wentalose@gmail.com MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE Tall white male grad student looking for a cute, fit, smart, white female age 22-30 that enjoys dancing, golfing, photography, wine, and the occasional video game. If this description matches you, contact me at: dc17h21o4n@yahoo.com ARE YOU AN INTP? What is an INTP? An INTP is a Myers-Briggs personality type indicator. Check out the following link if you want more information on INTPs: http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/INTP We INTPs are the closest thing to “Islands” among humans and we often repress our emotional and social sides. I am looking for a way for we porcupines (INTPs) to come together and validate our perspectives and maybe make some valuable friends. Interested? Go to “Baton Rouge INTPs” on Facebook or email me at brintps@hotmail.com for more information. BAD ROMANCE: Charming, witty, and handsome bachelor looking to meet a beautiful, intelligent Lady Gaga type for love games or to just dance. jjacobs2376@gmail.com
TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2010 REMOVAL, from page 1
Homberger said she received a message from the College of Basic Sciences Dean Kevin Carman while the second exam was being administered. The message said she had been removed from the course because of a “developing situation concerning student grades.” Carman took full responsibility for the decision and said he has no intention of apologizing for it. “Seventy-five percent of the students were failing, and fewer than 8 percent of students had grade ‘C’ or better,” Carman said. “The number
INSTATEMENT, from page 1
“The election code is in place to make sure the candidates run a fair and clean election, and they did just that,” Borel said. Trial Court Judge Daniel Marsh ruled in favor of the StudentsFIRST candidates after hearing the evidence and instated them. “This is simply a typographical error,” Marsh said. “There are hundreds of typographical errors through our documents.” Sarver appealed the decision and moved the case into the University Court. Marsh also heard Speaker of the Senate Tyler Martin and College of Arts and Sciences Sen. Drew Prestridge’s complaint against Hudson and Borel for failing to properly file accurate expenditure reports as required by the Election Code. “Everyone is responsible for knowing the code,” Martin said. Martin noted “clear breaches of the election code” of an unaccountedfor $55 on the StudentsFIRST’s expenditures. Marsh adjourned the case when the Student Union closed at 10:45 p.m. and moved the court case to 7:30 a.m. today. A third case was supposed to be heard Monday night between Leading the Way candidates Brooksie Bonvillain and Chris Sellers and Hudson and Borel. Because of time constraints, this case will be held this
GLASS, from page 1
compositions for solo piano, organ and various instrumental combinations from some of his most famous works from 1976 to the present. “He’s a legend,” said Beth Kleinpeter, photography senior. “I have a few of his CDs, and it was only $10. How could you miss it?” The Brooklyn-based quartet So Percussion will perform tonight in the second segment of the series. So Percussion received acclaim from Billboard Magazine and The New York Times, which have called the group “entrancing” and “brilliant” for its diverse and emotional use of percussion instruments. “The percussion group from New York will play three percussion pieces and will feature various audiovisual effects,” said Dawn Arevalo, business manager for the College of Music and Dramatic Arts. General admission tickets are $25. University faculty may purchase tickets for $15, and University students may purchase tickets for $10. The ticket office is located in room 102 of the Music and Dramatic Arts Building. Contact Sabrina Trahan at strahan@lsureveille.com
THE DAILY REVEILLE
of students failing the course was out of line with that class in any history. Therefore I took action because I felt it was in the best interest of the students.” Carman said 27.8 percent of students had dropped the class. Homberger, who has taught at the University for more than 30 years, said the average grade for the course was a 53 following the first exam, but raised to a 77 following the second exam. Low scores on the first exam are typical, but the scores then improve throughout semester, Homberger said. She said she was removed
before scores for the second test were determined. The University’s Chapter of the American Association of University Professors concluded Monday that Homberger’s removal and the changing of the grades is an egregious violation of academic freedom and guidelines in the Faculty Handbook. “Academic freedom is valued but has to be weighed against the interest of the students,” Carman said. “So I made the decision I felt was best for the students.” Determining and assigning the grade for each student enrolled in the
morning following Martin and Prestridge’s case against the presidentand vice president-elect Hudson and Borel. Bonvillain and Sellers filed for the disqualification of all StudentsFIRST candidates for breaches of the election code other than the financial oversight on which the Trial Court had already ruled. The complaints accused StudentsFIRST candidates of breaching rules which prohibit candidates from being cross-listed on multiple tickets and operating on a ticket unrecognized by the Election Board. One-third of the SG Senate signed a petition to hold a special Senate session today at 6:30 p.m. to hear a concurrent resolution and bill
by Sen. Ben Clark, college of Basic Sciences. Both bills passed the Senate before spring break, but were vetoed by SG President Stuart Watkins on Monday. The concurrent resolution “requests the recusal of all members of the Judicial Branch who have made any public or private endorsement or who have offered counsel to any ticket, candidate or campaign.” The bill amends the Rules of Court, taking into account the recusal of members of the Judicial Branch when the University Court votes on an appeal. Contact Catherine Threlkeld at cthrelkeld@lsureveille.com
course is the right and responsibility of the instructor, according to the LSU Faculty Handbook. The AAUP demanded an apology to the entire University faculty and assurance such a violation will not happen again, University AAUP President Brooks Ellwood wrote in a letter to System President John Lombardi. The association agreed at the meeting not to demand reinstatement to the class because of the negative effect on the students in the course. Homberger’s situation isn’t the only academic controversy in which the University is embroiled.
PAGE 19 The national chapter of the AAUP announced an investigation into alleged infringements into academic freedom in the case of Ivor van Heerden, the embattled University researcher, former professor and former director of the Hurricane Center. Homberger’s situation could be investigated with van-Heerden’s, the AAUP said in a letter to the chancellor. University Spokesperson Ernie Ballard said the University won’t comment on either situation. Contact Xerxes A. Wilson at xwilson@lsureveille.com
Tuesday, april 13, 2010
THE DAILY REVEILLE
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