CRIME BRIEFS
Check Inside For:
FIELD OF DREAMS
Student caught with 8 ounces of marijuana near McVoy Hall, page 3
Q&A with Mississippi band Come On Go With Us, page 6
See attendance numbers at sporting events at lsureveille.com
THE DAILY REVEILLE WWW.LSUREVEILLE.COM
Volume 114, Issue 129
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
University biology professor demanding apology Student but not about grades.”
By Xerxes A. Wilson Senior Staff Writer
INSTRUCTORS’ GRADES The faculty handbook states it is the A wildfire of criticism brought the asUniversity’s academic sanctity into ques- instructor’s right to determine and tion following the removal of Dominique sign grades, and such grades cannot be Homberger from teaching an introductory changed except through academic appeals. Brooks Ellwood, president of the Unibiology course because of students’ low versity chapter of American grades. Midterm grades for Association of University Those advocating the University’s posi- students in Homberger’s Professors, said it’s clear the removal and changing of the tion say it was a necesBIOL 1001 class: grades is a violation of such sary removal to protect •A: 0 percent rules. students. •B: 2.7 percent Department of BiologiOn the other side, •C: 6.6 percent cal Sciences Dean Kevin there are faculty who Carman said Homberger believe “the University •D: 15.5 percent was removed because the has defecated on the •F: 75 percent Holy Grail of academic SOURCE: Kevin Carman, dean of distribution of grades was freedom,” as one fac- Department of Biological Sciences lower than he’d ever seen ulty member bluntly de- (Numbers rounded to first decimal place) for the course. “The number of stuscribed the situation. Homberger received a message while dents failing the course was out of line with administering the course’s second exam that class in any history,” Carman told The saying she had been relieved of her teach- Daily Reveille on April 13. “Therefore, I ing duties because of “a developing situa- took action because I felt it was in the best interest of the students.” tion concerning student grades.” Seventy-five percent of students were Bill Wischusen — Homberger’s replacement — raised grades for the first failing at midterm, and 27 percent of the original enrollment had dropped out, Carexam by 25 percent. Homberger, a long-tenured senior man said. Students agree Homburger’s class professor and distinguished researcher, was soft-spoken about the situation but was difficult. “It’s one of the most difficult courses has demanded an apology. “Being taken out of the course is un- I have ever taken,” said Morgan McGlone, heard of,” Homberger said. “You do this to mechanical engineering senior. “She kept someone who comes into class drunk, or saying you need to learn how to learn. I am if someone brings a gun into class. There HOMBERGER, see page 15 are cases where you are justified to do that,
EMILY SLACK / The Daily Reveille
Biology professor and researcher Dominique Homberger explains research projects in her lab Monday. Homberger was recently pulled from her Biology 1001 class because the University deemed she was too hard on students.
JUSTIN JONES political science freshman
“You may know 90 percent of the material and still get a zero.”
“It’s been one of the most difficult courses I’ve ever taken.”
MORGAN MCGLONE engineering senior
dies Sat. in car accident By Xerxes A. Wilson Senior Staff Writer
Louisiana State Police have identified the victim of a fatal car accident on Saturday as Jackson Murray, an accounting senior from Houston. Police are investigating the accident, and the cause is unclear, according to a news release. Murray’s vehicle was traveling on I-10 east at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday when it crossed the median for unknown reasons and traveled through the westbound lanes at a high rate of speed, the release said. The vehicle then struck a tree before catching fire, according to the release. Murray was dead when police arrived, and toxicology results are pending, according to the report. The report said no other passengers were in the car and identified speeding as a suspected factor for the crash. “He will be remembered as very outgoing but always very intelligent,” said Tyler Abadie, president of Murray’s fraternity, Phi Delta Theta. Justin Carpenter, accounting senior, described Murray as one of his best friends and said they had planned to catch up this weekend. “I will be waiting on that Saturday for the rest of my life,” Carpenter said. Contact Xerxes A. Wilson at xwilson@lsureveille.com
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
SAB holding Lost Comic Standing auditions By Sarah Eddington Staff Writer
Tonight is the last night for students who think they have comedic chops to audition for Student Activities Board’s third annual Last Comic Standing competition. Auditions began Tuesday and will continue tonight from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Student Union’s Orleans Room. The Pop Fusion Committee, which is sponsoring the event, is a
division of the Student Activities Board that explores various aspects of popular culture, said Marlon Boutin, Pop Fusion chairperson. Committee members will judge the student comics and decide who will go on to perform at the Last Comic Standing competition May 4 at 7 p.m. in the Union’s Cotillion Ballroom. Professional comedian Erin Jackson, who was a semifinalist on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing,” will emcee the event, as well as provide
critiques to all of the performers. “Students will get a chance to show their comic creativity here on campus and also get to compete with other students,” Boutin said. The students will be judged on their stage presence, creativity and relatable material, Boutin said. “What we are looking for is someone who can make people laugh,” said A’Trey-U Jones, business management freshman and COMIC, see page 15
ERIN ARLEDGE / The Daily Reveille
Silvia Medrano, public relations junior, auditions Tuesday for LSU’s Last Comic Standing. The selected comedians will perform May 4 at Last Comic Standing.