The Daily Reveille 04-18-2018

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The Daily Reveille Est. 1887

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Volume 126 · No. 14

lsunow.com/daily

'Start by Believing' National campaign to combat sexual assault comes to Baton Rouge

NEWS

SPORTS Louisiana citizens give feedback in Louisiana Survey, page 3 Muslim Student Association at LSU to host blood drive with Islamic Center of Baton Rouge, page 4

ENTERTAINMENT Ma'Khail Hilliard brings stability to pitching rotation, page 7

Student's art visualizes harm of stereotyping, page 17

OPINION “Moderates are only shifted when one side has momentum, and that side is usually the side of injustice,” page 22

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Wednesday, April 18, 2018

COVER STORY

STAR encourages Baton Rouge to ‘Start by Believing’

BY SHERIDAN WALL @slwall7 As part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the Sexual Trauma Awareness and Response organization is handing out a form reading: “My name is ______. When someone tells me that they were raped or sexually assaulted, I will: ______.”

The form also encourages campaign participants to support victims, speak up, take a stand, start a conversation on social media using #StartByBelieving and take the pledge and post a picture of the pledge on social media.

This form is part of STAR's Start by Believing campaign, which is a global campaign started by End Violence Against Women International in April 2011, according to STAR Capital Area Regional Director Kirsten Raby. The campaign was launched alongside the International Conference on Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence and Stalking in Chicago, Illinois, according to Start by Believing’s website.

“By preparing both professionals and loved ones to respond appropriately to sexual assault disclosures, we help to improve outcomes for victims

The goal behind the campaign is simply to bring awareness to how society as a whole can change how we support survivors by first believing them.

KIRSTEN RABY

STAR Capital Area Regional Director — one reaction at a time,” the website said.

The campaign hopes to change the response to sexual assault so that more victims will report crimes to law enforcement, according to the campaign’s website. Start by Believing aims to eliminate the “cycle of silence,” so that rapists and aggressors can be prosecuted effectively to prevent future incidents of rape or sexual assault.

“The goal behind the campaign is simply to bring awareness to how society as

a whole can change how we support survivors by first believing them,” Raby said The campaign extends beyond the pledge and aims to affect the community’s response system through policies, practices and protocols of victim-serving agencies, according to the website.

EVAWI wanted to use April, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, to influence how society treats sexual assault and to encourage the public to believe and support survivors, Raby said.

EVAWI is the nation’s leading non-profit organization “dedicated to improving criminal justice responses to sexual assault,” according to the Start

by Believing website.

“Working with professionals inside and outside the criminal justice system, we seek to improve outcomes for victims and pursue accountability for their assailants,” EVAWI’s website said. “We envision a world where gender-based violence is unacceptable on every level — where the victims whose lives, families and communities are torn apart, receive the compassion, support and justice they deserve.”

EVAWI was founded in 2003 by retired Sgt. Joanne Archambault, according to the organization’s website. Archambault served in law enforcement for 23 years, the last 10 of which

she spent supervising the Sex Crimes Unit.

“Knowing and understanding how to respond to survivors of sexual assault can have such a huge impact on a survivor’s outlook on life and how they move forward in their process of healing,” Raby said.

When survivors are met with a negative response to sharing their story, that negative response can influence how they view themselves and how they handle their experience in the future, Raby said. Survivors often already blame themselves for their experience and should not be confronted with victim-blaming language.

Instead, Raby encourages people to respond by supporting the survivor by listening to them, asking them how they want to proceed without forcing their own opinions on the survivor and by speaking with non-judgmental language.

“When a person comes to you and discloses that they’ve been assaulted at any point in their lives, it’s important to just start the conversation by believing them,” Raby said.

Raby said she’s seen a positive response in the Baton Rouge community so far. STAR has reached out to existing STAR supporters, representatives in the Capitol, the mayor’s office and others to share how they will “Start by Believing.”

“Today, I partnered with [STAR] to invite the community to show support for survivors of domestic and sexual violence and make a commitment to #StartByBelieving,” Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome tweeted on April 3.

“We want to get people thinking and we believe that’s what we’ve been able to do,” Raby said.

“We just want people to understand that their words have an impact and they have the choice of making sure it’s a positive impact,” Raby said.

“You never know when you may have a survivor in your presence so being aware of that is important.”

NATIONAL SEXUAL ASSAULT STATISTICS There are 237,868 U.S. every year

rape victims in the

Someone is sexually assaulted minutes in the U.S.

every 2

In 2012 only 28% of sexual assaults in La. were reported to law enforcement according to La. Foundation Against Sexual Assault

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News

page 3

SURVEY SAYS...

Annual Louisiana Survey shows citizens’ displeasure with state government, trust in local media

50%

56%

BY ABBIE SHULL & SHERIDAN WALL @AbbieLJ | @swall7

see SURVEY, page 3

see TRAINING, page 6

70%

61%

78%

believe government is wasteful and inefficient

say women face discrimination

approve 2017 criminal justice changes

prefer local news outlets over national

T

BY RACHEL MIPRO @remroc15

79 percent of respondents think “both Republicans and Democrats will bicker and oppose each other even if it keeps them from solving the state’s problems.”

Also, 73 percent of respondents said the state is more politically divided now than in the past, and 70 percent believe most elected officials in Louisiana don’t care what people like themselves think, according to the survey. Fifty percent say they think the state is moving in the wrong direction, which is a 10 percent increase from last year’s survey.

“What we see this year with the survey is that people overall feel more negatively about the state of Louisiana and are frustrated with the lack of

support lowering state income tax

62%

The Manship School of Mass Communication’s Public Policy Research Lab conducts the Louisiana Survey annually, and it includes six parts that cover a range of topics about public opinion of the state, Henderson said. Some of the topics vary each year depending on prevailing social issues, but some are repeated to gauge change over time.

“The Louisiana Survey provides a pulse on how Louisiana’s citizens feel about where we are as a state and where they’d like to see the state go — something that can help to inform Louisiana’s leaders as they make important decisions about our future,” said Manship Dean Jerry Ceppos in a press release.

The first part of the survey was released March 15. Survey results show

LSU shooter prevention program in high demand After the Parkland, Florida shooting, LSU’s National Center for Biomedical Research and Training was flooded with requests to create active shooter incident training courses.

Demand for incident training and preparation courses has rapidly increased in the wake of recent school shootings. The center decided to take action.

The center spent the year working on a modified course, one that would only take eight hours and fully address all aspects of active school shooter incidents for all campuses. The class, “Campus Emergencies Prevention, Response, and Recovery – Customized” is now available for scheduling, and the first course will be delivered to Florida on June 1. Jerry Monier, NCBRT associate director in research and development, gave an overview of the course.

“The class is an 8-hour course focusing on a number of campusrelated functions or actions during a shooter or active threat program. Our target audience is campus administrators, educators and first responders who would be responding to an active threat on a school campus,” Monier said. “Our customized version is actually for the primary audience [of] K-12 classrooms and educators.”

Right now, 16 classes are

say Louisiana is headed in the wrong direction

he 2018 Louisiana Survey was released in six parts, the final report was delivered April 16 and showed that Louisianans trust local media outlets, but still see bias in the media.

“The results of the survey show that Louisianans value local news outlets and trust those outlets to keep them informed about what is happening around our state and nation, but many respondents also want to see more balanced reporting,” said Michael Henderson, director of the Public Policy Research Lab, who conducted the survey.

About three quarters of Louisiana residents said they feel local media outlets keep them well informed; however, 60 percent said they still feel local outlets show a bias.

SAFETY

ALUMNI

LSU Law school alumnus selected for Supreme Court clerkship

BY SHERIDAN WALL @slwall7

Just three years after graduating from the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Ben Aguiñaga has been chosen as a clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. for the 2018-19 Court.

“This is a great moment for Ben and LSU Law,” said LSU Law Dean Tom Galligan in a press release.

Aguiñaga is the second LSU Law graduate that has been chosen as a clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court, according to the press release. The first was 2009 graduate Michelle Stratton, who clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas in 2011-12.

Aguiñaga said he received

the call about the position on a Friday afternoon at work.

He described it as a “lightning strike kind of moment.”

“It was a very surreal feeling,” Aguiñaga said, “even in the days and weeks that followed, it felt like there was surely an error.”

Aguiñaga said he’s most excited to work closely with Alito, and to get a behind the scenes look into the U.S. Supreme Court.

“As as a law clerk, you have the opportunity to work alongside a judge in all aspects of the process,” Aguiñaga said. “So, being able to write memos for the judge, deal with complex legal issues and to hear how he approaches law, I think are some of the opportunities I’m

most looking forward to.”

Aguiñaga is from Pearland, Texas, and worked for Sen. Ted Cruz’s Senate Judiciary Committee Staff after his graduation from LSU Law in 2015, according to the press release.

He also served as a law clerk for then-Justice Don R. Willett of the Supreme Court of Texas, and for Judge Edith H. Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He also became Chief of Staff and Counsel in the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Judicial clerkships have been some of the most important experiences in my career thus far,” Aguiñaga said in the

Paul M. Hebert Law Center alumnus Ben Aguiñaga will begin his position as a clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. just three years after Aguiñaga’s graduation.

see CLERK, page 6

courtesy of BEN AQUIÑAGA

The Daily Reveille

page 4

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

STUDENT LIFE

Muslim Student Association, Islamic Center of BR to host blood drive

BY LUKE JEANFREAU @LukeJeanfreau The Islamic Center of Baton Rouge gives back to the community in many ways. ICBR will partner with the Muslim Student Association at LSU to host a blood drive Sunday from 1 to 6 p.m. at their building located on 820 W. Chimes St. The ICBR will also host a barbeque at the event.

This blood drive will mark the 11th year of the center’ssemi-annual blood drives, which. ICBR alternates between partnering with Our Lady of the Lake and Baton Rouge General hospitals for these drives. The upcoming drive will support Baton Rouge General Hospital, and the blood donation bus will be supplied by LifeShare Blood Center.

ICBR Board Member Kamal Mohamed says charity events like this blood drive are a way to give

back to the community.

“We are mostly people from outside,” Mohamed said. “They come from LSU, and as a result of that they want to give back. It’s giving back to the community, that’s the whole idea.”

Mohamed said all members of the community have to come together to plan an event like this.

“We have to get a team together, arrange people who are capable of doing advertising, people who try to solicit organizations to help,” Mohamed said. “There’s a lot of people coming together with different skills to make it happen.”

Treasurer of ICBR Zamal Zee Mohamed said Islam encourages charitable giving such as blood donation.

“There is a verse in the Quran that says, ‘When you save the life of one person, it is as if you’ve saved the

life of all of humanity,’” Zamal said.

“By giving blood, you are saving someone’s life. You are doing a great deal to establish humanity.”

Currently, ICBR is also hosting a food and clothing drive for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The drive began on April 13 and ends on May 4. ICBR is collecting money for pallets of food, as well as clothing, toys and school supplies for children, and shoes.

ICBR also does an annual Alzheimer’s walk and runs a battered women’s shelter. Kamal said their charitable programs are geared toward everyone, not just Muslims.

“It’s geared for the entire community,” Kamal said. “Over 95 percent of the people who go to the battered women’s shelter are not Muslims.”

Kamal said these charitable events help to curb the negative stigma surrounding Islam.

SOPHIE GRANZOW / The Daily Reveille

The Islamic Center of Baton Rouge treasurer Zamal Zee Mohamed (left) and board member Kemal Mohamed (right) discuss their upcoming charity event.

“You have the stigma that Muslims just take,” Kamal said. “When it’s something good, you don’t have the publicity for it. When it’s something negative, it’s on all the news channels. That is unfortunate, because we do so much. We team up with the Islamic Circle of North

America, and every natural disaster that occurs, we are there. We helped with Sandy, Gustav, Katrina, and many other natural disasters.”

The Islamic Circle of North America is currently aiding relief efforts in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Irma.

FACULTY

‘Acid West’ describes professor’s life growing up in New Mexico

BY EVAN SAACKS @evansaacks When LSU English professor Josh Wheeler tells people he grew up in New Mexico, they typically respond with questions about cowboys, hippies, military bases, “Breaking Bad” and the proposed border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Wheeler hopes to give readers insight into through his new book, “Acid West.”

The book is a collection of essays written by Wheeler about his time growing up in southern New Mexico. Wheeler attended the University of Southern California to pursue a career in writing. While in Los Angeles, Wheeler noticed how interested and curious his peers were about life in New Mexico. Up until that point, he thought he grew up how everyone else did.

Most of Wheeler’s family are

cattle ranchers— one of the most common ways of life in New Mexico. His family had some of their ranches taken over by the government in order to test atomic bombs, which was the beginning of a strong military presence in the state. Wheeler said many people are confused by the contrast between old west cattle ranchers and high-tech military bases.

“It was just all normal to me

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that you would have this sort of world with this old western agriculture, ranching and farming, and then also the testing and development of missiles and bombs and drones,” Wheeler said. “It wasn’t until I went of to college that I realized that that was a little bit strange.”

Once Wheeler realized how interesting his home state was to others, he decided to pursue a career writing about it. Some of the essays included in “Acid West” were published in other publications prior to the book, most notably a March 2014 essay published on Buzzfeed, about billionaire Richard Branson’s Spaceport America .

Described on the website as “the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport,” Branson built a terminal for billionaires to take commercial flights into space. Wheeler’s essay captures the history of how the project was started, the reaction of the locals and the effect the spaceport has had on the region after its opening.

“But most of us, the Terrestrial Space Tourists, will be gazing at the building as I am, from the outside,” Wheeler said in the essay. “We will get the same panorama of New Mexico landscape, but it will be a reflection on the windows’ exteriors, the curvature of those three stories of glass, like a sphere, throwing the mirrored image of the desert at us. That perspective is strange, the opposite of the Overview Effect and kind of sidelong, so the world is not growing smaller and more whole in the distance but is magnified all around you.”

The praise, interest and job offers Wheeler received after the essay’s publication made him consider the possibility of putting all the essays together in a book.

Wheeler decided to limit the book to be strictly about southern New Mexico because it often received

so little attention.

After graduating from USC, Wheeler received degrees from New Mexico State University and the University of Iowa. He then came to Louisiana to be the University’s first English professor dedicated to creative nonfiction writing. Wheeler said he can see Louisiana’s cultural significance through his students’ ability to write.

“When kids from Louisiana come to my classes, I’m just amazed at how talented they are at storytelling,” Wheeler said.

“Louisiana is just a culture that prides itself on its storytelling itnmany different ways: through its music, through its food, through its festivals, through its jokes. So when students come to my classroom, they already sort of have a leg up over students maybe from other parts of the country where storytelling isn’t embedded in everything they do.”

Wheeler is one of several LSU professors who are part of the LSU Undergraduate Creative Writing Program, which helps students master the different techniques of creative writing. Wheeler praised the department’s decision to add professors who specialize in different types of creative writing, such as screenwriting and video game writing.

Though he has published many different kinds of works, Wheeler said he enjoys writing about New Mexico the most. Wheeler said he didn’t appreciate how special his home was until he left, which he admits is a cliche.

“When I left New Mexico is when I realized that New Mexico is what I actually liked writing about the most,” Wheeler said. “I want to try and understand how this place warmed me and understand what it means to the rest of the world. I think in a way it’s kind of a common experience, but it’s certainly what happened to me.”

The Daily Reveille

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

page 5

GOVERNMENT

LSU leaders, students attend “Day at the Capitol”

BY KAYLEE POCHE & DEVON SANDERS Manship School News Service

University leaders picked a good moment to celebrate their annual “LSU Day at the Capitol,” coming right after both Gov. John Bel Edwards and House Republicans proposed adding more money for TOPS scholarships into next year’s budget.

After a painful decade of dealing with cuts in overall spending on higher education, officials from LSU’s campuses in Baton Rouge, Alexandria, Eunice, Shreveport and New Orleans descended on the Capitol Tuesday to lobby for more stability.

The event—complete with LSU’s band and cheerleaders, an assortment of ice cream from the LSU Dairy Store and a large inflatable colon courtesy of researchers at its medical schools—aimed to showcase the system’s contributions and fend off other cuts.

The event highlighted key programs, including research on colon cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s, and an estimated $5 billion economic impact that the LSU system has on the state.

LSU President F. King Alexander, the chancellors of the other universities in the system and the deans of some of the LSU colleges met with Edwards and legislators.

In January, Edwards pro-

posed slashing TOPS funding by $233 million and cutting direct state support to universities by $25 million as part of a “doomsday” scenario that he said could happen if the Legislature did not raise new revenue to fill a projected budget gap.

State officials announced last week that Louisiana will receive a $346 million windfall as a result of federal tax changes, and that prompted Edwards to say he would restore one-fifth of the proposed cut in TOPS and rescind his plan to cut higher education by $25 million.

The House Appropriations Committee went further on Monday, passing its version of the budget that would use $233 million of the windfall to fully fund the TOPS. The committee was able to do that by forcing $600 million in cuts on the state’s health care system, an approach that could run into trouble on the House floor as early as Thursday.

Alexander said the committee did something similar last year, and other legislators objected to focusing the cuts on programs that would hit the poor and the disabled, safetynet hospitals and the state’s medical schools.

“The budget bill appears to be in jeopardy,” Alexander’s chief of staff, Jason Droddy, said.

DEVON SANDERS / Manship School News Service

An LSU banner hangs among the flags in the Capitol during the annual “LSU Day at the Capitol.”

“We have been told that there are too many important services, especially health care and higher education, left unfunded for it to be

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considered viable.” “Many student. “Our legislators can legislators think it will be re- see all the work we’re doing in jected on the House floor next our schools.”

LSU Alexandria admissions Thursday.”

The choice to fully fund counselor Travis Edwards said TOPS could also leave some he thought it was important of LSU’s critical programs, for all LSU campuses to be like its medical schools in represented at the Capitol.

New Orleans and Shreveport, “As the name implies, Louiunderfunded. siana State UniLeaders of versity is all of medical schools LSU President F. King the state, so havacross the state Alexander, the chancellors ing all these diftold the House colleges of the other universities in ferent Finance Commithere, like LSU tee Tuesday that the system and the deans Eunice, Shrevethe proposed cuts of some of the colleges port, Alexandria met with Gov. John Bel and Baton Rouge, would devastate both schools. important,” Edwards and legislators. is While there Edwards said. could be opNaturally, no LSU event would portunities to create additional funding for be complete without sports. the health science centers Rep. Walt Leger, D-New Orby raising taxes, Larry Hol- leans, tweeted a photo with lier, leader of LSU Health LSU basketball coach Will New Orleans, said he was con- Wade, outside the Capitol. LSU cerned with the message that football coach Ed Orgeron also the Legislature is sending to was there.

According to Zac Lemthe students and faculties of the facilities. oine, who coordinated the High school students from event, Sen. Sharon Hewitt, LSU Eunice also were at the R-Slidell, may meet with Dr. Capitol Tuesday, representing Cynthia Peterson, the dean a program that allows them of the College of Science, to graduate from high school soon to discuss women in sciwith associate degrees in their ence, technology, engineering chosen fields. These students and math. receive half off the tuition for “It’s our opportunity to put the college classes they take our best foot forward with the during high school. members and show them that “This gives everyone the we don’t always come just to chance to see all the programs ask for money,” Lemoine said. we’re offering, including our “Sometimes we just come new LSU Eunice Academy for to showcase the stuff we do, our high school students,” said which is research, outreach and Trinity Myers, a LSU Eunice education.”

The Daily Reveille

page 6 time possible.

“After the shooting in nationally requested.

The Florida, the demand for an 8-hour demand may be in part because class came out. We got a bunch the course is free, as the center of requests to develop a shorter sends all of the class, I guess because it would be equipment, adOur target audience is able to reach more ministrators and campus administrators, people quicker,” materials to the requesting juriseducators and first re- Mayne said. “So diction. The class this class, they sponders who would is also tailored to modeled it down be responding to an educators’ schedto eight hours, active threat on a ules, by cutting more focus on the amount of time active shooter school campus. situations on it takes in half — campus.” it took 16 hours JERRY MONIER Mayne said he in the original NCBRT associate director in hopes the class course — and by research and development will provide a nabeing held during the summer so that teachers can tional standard for training, and attend. Jeff Mayne, the NCBRT that the training resources and director, said it was about ensur- information will be accessible to ing student safety in the fastest and used by everyone.

“More of the important things about us providing this course nationally is that there’s a lot of jurisdictions that are doing some types of training, but there’s no national standards,” Mayne said. “This is creating a standardized training program that everybody will have available to them throughout the nation.

It’s only been around 15 weeks into 2018, and there have already been 17 school shootings where people were injured. The problem doesn’t seem to be stopping soon.

Monier, whose wife is an primary school educator, said that demand for training and preparation is likely only going to increase.

Monier said there is a need to expand the course, especially during the first month of the 2018-19 class schedules.”

can follow in her footsteps.”

Aguiñaga said Stratton, along with faculty members, judges and other friends met with him several times to prepare him for the work to come.

He said he owes his achievement to those like Stratton who set the precedent for LSU Law students in the Supreme Court.

“I hope that this will encourage other LSU law grads to aim high and keep the pipeline going,” said.

Aguiñaga said he owes the faculty members at the LSU Law Center for encouraging him to develop his skills as an attorney, according to the press release. He said he especially learned from professor Michael Coenen and his administrative and constitutional law classes, as well as professor Scott Sullivan and his

international law classes.

“In particular, I am indebted to those faculty members who made law come alive for me and inspired me to read more, think more and write more critically about legal principles,” Aguiñaga said in the press release.

Aguiñaga graduated summa cum laude and The Order of the Coif at LSU Law, according to the press release. He was also the production editor for the Louisiana Law Review and served as a board member of the Moot Court Program.

Aguiñaga earned his bachelor’s degree in 2012 from Baylor University, where he studied political science and philosophy with minors in history and mathematics, according to the press release.

TRAINING, from page 3

CLERK, from page 3 press release. “I have been fortunate to work for two judges who have become invaluable mentors and have shaped how I think and write about the law.”

Aguiñaga said during his clerkships, he started the application process. He said most justices take about four law clerks, and these clerks are usually recent law school graduates who have previously served as a clerk for another judge on the federal circuit court of appeals.

Applicants must apply to each individual justice who has his or her own hiring process.

“Opportunities like this require a lot of support from other folks,” Aguiñaga said. “[Stratton] made history in her own right, and it’s incredible that another LSU law graduate

Wednesday, April 18, 2018 SURVEY, from page 3 compromise and problem-solving in the Capitol,” Henderson said.

In an interview, Henderson said he was “alarmed” that nearly 50 percent of people don’t believe active engagement can influence government and policy. He said he was also surprised by the lack of confidence Louisiana residents had in their peers’ and neighbors’ ability to make decisions.

“From a normative perspective, I would think that’s not really where you would want to be in a representative democracy,” Henderson said. “That doesn’t seem like a healthy place to be.”

The second part of the survey, released March 16, addressed public opinion about Louisiana’s fiscal cliff. The survey reveals Louisianans favor the income tax proposal more than the proposal to reduce the state’s sales tax.

Fifty-six percent of respondents said they want to lower personal income tax breaks and limit deductions, according to the survey report. Sixty-three percent oppose spending cuts and support raising taxes to fund elementary and secondary education. A little more than half of the people surveyed said they oppose spending cuts and support raising taxes to fund higher education.

“The results from this report indicate that Louisianans recognize the seriousness of the state’s budget challenges and are willing to consider an array of policy options to deal with it,” Henderson said in a press release.

Henderson said in an interview he was not only surprised at the significant increase in people thinking the income tax is too high, but also the high percentage of people who are willing to pay high income taxes to fund education, healthcare and infrastructure.

“It could mean this is a response to not so much changes in the income tax then it is to what they believe to be true about the income tax and possibly the political rhetoric and the debates that are emerging right now around the fiscal cliff,” Henderson said.

Henderson said he’s interested to see if these attitudes about income tax will prevail in next year’s survey.

“My best guess is that this is just a function of the political discourse, which means you have to wonder what this might look like a year from now,” Henderson said.

The fourth report from the survey focused on gender discrimination in Louisiana. Henderson said the results of the survey showed “gender discrimination as a very real issue in our state.”

Overall, 70 percent of Louisianans said they thought women faced “some” or “a lot” of discrimination and 61 percent of residents say women face significant obstacles that make it harder for them to get ahead The Public Policy Research Lab conducted the survey from Jan. 26 to March 3, polling 852 Louisianans, according to the press release. The survey was conducted by live interviewers using dual frame sampling in which the random sample of telephone

numbers included both landlines and cell phone, according to Henderson. The survey had an 11 percent response rate.

“That doesn’t sound great, but it’s pretty in line with the rest of reputable live interviewer telephone polling that’s done out there,” Henderson said. “We’re sort of hitting par for where we are in 2018.”

The fifth report of the survey revealed Louisianans remain supportive of criminal justice reforms and medicaid expansion.

Around 54 percent of people said they do not believe the current criminal justice system is fair.

However, the majority of Louisiana residents said they are in favor of the death penalty.

In 2018, only 64 percent say they supported judicial discretion in sentencing over mandatory minimum sentences which survey conductors said was a sharp drop from only one year ago when 72 percent said preferred judicial discretion.

“The results of the survey suggest that Louisiana is making progress on these issues in the eyes of its residents, but still has work to do to satisfy many Louisianans,” Henderson said.

Henderson said the lab uses live interviewers instead of an internet survey to eliminate coverage error. Coverage error occurs when certain population segments are automatically excluded from a sample. There’s still 1 to 2 percent of people in Louisiana without any telephones, but the coverage error is much less significant with telephones than internet.

In Louisiana especially, lack of internet access affects certain segments of the population over others, which Henderson called the digital divide. He added that the divide is correlated with race.

“We have a much larger than average digital divide between blacks or African-Americans and whites in terms of access to internet,” Henderson said.

Henderson said the lab starts the survey process in the fall with the director of the Reilly Center organizing meetings with government officials, interest groups and other organizations that follow Louisiana government.

“It meets a variety of people from across the range of policy interests and ideological spectrum to gather input about what’s of interest from their perspective,” Henderson said.

After the brainstorming stage, survey creators highlight the issues they want to cover, and from there, Henderson writes the questionnaire, he said. He then sends out the questionnaire to other faculty to proofread it for methodological purposes.

“As often as possible we try to model questions directly off of questions that have been used by reputable national pollsters because we know they’re more valid, they’ve been used in the past,” Henderson said.

While most surveys in the public sphere are only about 10 to 12 questions long and take about five minutes to complete, the Louisiana Survey is around 80 to 90 questions and takes about 25 minutes to complete, Henderson said.

Sports

page 7

ARMED & READY

OPINION

NBA fans may be freed from similar Finals CAL’D UP CHRIS CALDARERA @caldarera11

Ma’Khail Hilliard steps up in freshman season for LSU

BY BRANDON DECAREAUX @Brandondec77

WHITNEY WILLISTON / The Daily Reveille

M

a’Khail Hilliard is one of LSU’s smallest players sitting at 6-foot and 150 pounds, but the freshman right-handed pitcher has been the Tigers’ biggest surprise this season.

The LSU baseball team saw 17 players leave from last year’s College World Series team, opening the door for a new group of players to make their mark on the program.

Hilliard has taken advantage of his position this season, improving with each start. Hilliard started off the season in a bullpen role getting occasional action when the Tigers

needed a middle reliever.

After a slew of shaky starts by Sunday’s sophomore right-handed pitcher Todd Peterson, the Tigers were in need of more stability. After LSU coach Alan Dunn told him to be more aggressive on the mound, LSU coach Paul Mainieri gave the starting role to Hilliard.

Hilliard left an impression on Mainieri after coming out the next week pitching loose and confident like Mainieri saw in the fall.

“Ma’Khail stepped up and changed his whole approach and started to attack the hitters,”

Mainieri said.

The talk with Dunn has helped Hilliard tremendously as he currently leads the Southeastern Conference in WHIP, ERA and wins.

The 19-year-old freshman has been great for the Tigers this season, sitting with a record of 7-2 with a 1.75 ERA and a .98 WHIP. Hilliard was first brought to LSU with the belief that he could be a relief pitcher and that couldn’t work deep into games because of his size.

Despite his lengthy frame, Hilliard has proven that he doesn’t need a huge body to dominate the SEC.

see HILLIARD, page 9

It’s the most consistent part of my week.

Everyday at noon, I eat two turkey and cheese sandwiches with a bag of potato chips and exactly three chocolate chip cookies — the exact same lunch since freshman year of high school.

I don’t care about the lack of variety in my mid-day routine because the goal of my lunch is to bridge my morning and my afternoon. I don’t need my sandwiches to be filled with pizzazz, as long as they satiate me until dinner.

However, sports serve a completely different purpose.

We don’t want monotony in the sporting events we watch; we want drama and exhilaration.

We want to see the walk-off home run, the lastsecond touchdown and the buzzer-beating three. We tune into sports to escape our routines, so we surely don’t want sports becoming routine.

see NBA, page 9

BASEBALL

Event management staff works behind the scenes for LSU

BY GLEN WEST @glenwest21

The experience a fan receives at Alex Box Stadium is unlike any other in college baseball.

Former LSU coach Skip Bertman wanted the fans to feel as if they were going to a big league ball game, and that starts with all the small things that go on behind the scenes.

The men and women who work at Alex Box are what turn an ordinary baseball game to a memorable experience.

David Taylor, assistant athletic director for game management, oversees security, guest services and overall planning of the Box for a game. Taylor doesn’t work alone as there are a variety of departments that handle different situations in preparation for a game.

The facility staff oversees the grounds, works with LSU coach Paul Mainieri and the players, while Landmark Event Staffing Services provides security, ushers and ticket collectors.

All preparations for a game begin the night before first pitch.

If there was a game the previous night, the maintenance crew will go in to immediately clean the stadium. Taylor and his staff will usually arrive four hours before first pitch to set up.

During games, Taylor estimates there are a few hundred staffers working to make an LSU baseball game unforgettable. This past weekend, independent food vendors like Dippin’ Dots began taking food to the customers to create a more guest-friendly atmosphere.

Taylor doesn’t have any

feedback because it is still new, but hopes that fans will appreciate the effort to make the Box as inclusive as possible.

“We talked about it in years past but never had it as an offering,” Taylor said. “It’s an added value service for our fans so they don’t have to get up and go to the concession stand during the game. It’s a first step in trying to enhance the services.”

Hunter Sexton, manager of the grounds at Alex Box Stadium, works to get the field ready for competition on game days.

During the week, Sexton and his staff will get to work on the field no later than 7:30 a.m., which includes preparing the mound and plate, mowing the outfield grass, keeping the infield turf clean and making sure

THE DAILY REVEILLE ARCHIVES

see MANAGEMENT, page 9

The event management staff works behind the scenes to improve the fan experience of Alex Box Stadium.

The Daily Reveille

page 8

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

TRACK AND FIELD

Track and field shows resilience, steady improvement

BY JACOB BECK @Jacob_Beck25 LSU’s indoor and outdoor track and field seasons run from Jan. 5 to June 9. Within those five months, the Tigers compete in 22 meets, with 14 being multi-day meets.

The Tigers only had one week of rest between the indoor and outdoor seasons, and had a meet every single week the entire season.

Needless to say, the seasons are a grind, and so far this season, the Tigers have responded well to the challenge. A specific example is that the men and women’s performance at the Battle on the Bayou, following the Texas Relays, is one of the biggest meets of the outdoor season.

“Coming off the Texas Relays, which is a huge meet, a lot of work goes in mentally and physically to that kind of meet,” LSU coach Dennis Shaver said.

“You have to be able to get these things done when you don’t feel like you can, and I thought some kids really stepped it up today and did a good job for us.”

One of the Lady Tigers that stepped up was junior Kortnei Johnson, who posted the thirdfastest time nationally in the 200-meter dash, with a time of 22.52 seconds.

Johnson was also a part of the quartet of Lady Tigers

ISABELLA ALLEN / The Daily Reveille

ISABELLA ALLEN / The Daily Reveille

LSU junior multi Brittany Kelly competes in the long jump on April 7 at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium on Nicholson Drive. who posted the fastest time nationally in the 4x100-meter relay, with a time of 42.50 seconds.

The squad is undefeated this season in the 4x100m relay.

The Lady Tigers moved to No. 2 in the national rankings following the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational, where they won 13 events.

LSU track and field is notorious for their speed at shorter distances such as the 200m and 400-meter dash, but the Lady Tigers have improved immensely, in particular, in the middle distance events.

Sprinters compete in the 800-meter run on April 7 at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium on Nicholson Drive.

“In the middle distance, I was really pleased with Ersula Farrow and Hollie Parker,” Shaver said. “That’s not even really their specialty event.

That’s a confidence builder for them.”

Both teams have put themselves in great position to compete very well at the Southeastern Conference Championships, with the chance to win quite a few events. Both the men and women’s 4x100m relay times are the fastest in the country, and should not only challenge for the SEC

Championship, but also the NCAA Championship.

The men have a number of SEC Championship qualifiers.

Sophomore Akanni Hislop and junior Jahnoy Thompson both currently have top-10 times in the SEC for the 200m dash; junior Correion Mosby currently has a top-10 time in the SEC for the 400m dash; freshman Damion Thomas currently has the third fastest time nationally in the 110-meter hurdles; junior Christian Boyd currently has the fourth fastest time in the SEC for the 400-meter hurdles;

the 4x400-meter relay team of Thompson, Mosby, senior Renard Howell and junior Jaron Flournoy currently have a top-10 time in the SEC. The women also have many SEC and NCAA Championship qualifiers. In the 100-meter dash, the Lady Tigers have three of the top five times nationally: senior Aleia Hobbs in first, Johnson in second and senior Mikiah Brisco in fifth.

Johnson and Brisco also currently have the second and 10th fastest time nationally in the 200m dash, and junior Rachel Misher and Hobbs have top-10 times in the SEC. Senior Kymber Payne currently has a top-10 time in the SEC for the 400m dash; Farrow currently has a top-three time nationally in the 800-meter run; sophomore Tonea Marshall currently has the third-fastest time nationally in the 100-meter hurdles; Payne currently has the fastest time nationally in the 400m hurdles; the 4x400m relay team of Payne, sophomore Cassondra Hall, senior Oksana Lawrence, and sophomore Brittley Humphrey currently have a top-10 time nationally.

Heading into the SEC Championships in May, the Tigers and Lady Tigers both have shown a tremendous amount of resilience, and should finish out this season with a bang.

GYMNASTICS

Kennedi Edney gains confidence during her second season as Tiger

BY TREASURE WASHINGTON @Twashington490 It didn’t take long for LSU sophomore all-arounder Kennedi Edney to start making her mark on the gymnastics program.

When the Tigers faced Georgia for their season opener in the PMAC last season, Edney was the only freshman competing in the vault rotation.

Despite the challenges of competing in a collegiate gymnastics meet for the first time, Edney delivered and won her first collegiate vault title with a score of a 9.95.

Edney continued to carry over her success on vault for the rest of the season, scoring 9.80s or higher in the event in every meet that season. She also started to make an impact for her team in the all-around, as she clinched the title in her first time competing in four events.

But under the bright lights of the NCAA Semifinals, Edney shined even brighter on vault, and she became the first freshman in school history to win a National Championship in the event.

For Edney, the levels of success that she had in the first

part of her career did not come as a surprise to her.

“I was just trying to go in there and just compete how I’ve always been competing my whole life,” Edney said.

Now in her sophomore season, Edney continues to establish herself as one of the nation’s top all-arounders.

Edney is still one of the most consistent vault performers in the country and has scored 9.90s or higher in four of her last five meets. On floor, Edney set career highs in the event twice with scores of 9.975.

But there was a little bit of added pressure for Edney as she thought that she had to carry the entire team on her back. The stress that she carried from that negatively affected the way that she did her gymnastics.

Edney also fought through minor injuries for the beginning of the season, and she was limited to compete on bars for the season opener against Arkansas after injuring her ankle.

But as Edney started to regain her strength as an allarounder, she also started building up her confidence, and that confidence showed even more in

her routines.

Edney was able to stick her landings on her double Arabian passes on floor, and those sticks resulted in her career high scores.

“Ever since then, it’s been smooth sailing,” Edney said.

“I’ve just gotten that stress relieved from me and just gone out there and done the gymnastics that my teammates know that I can do.”

Edney finds her inspiration to get better in the gym from senior all-arounder Myia Hambrick and junior all-arounder Sarah Finnegan. She models her leadership style after them and keeps up with their fast pace in practice.

“They’re great people and they push me to be better,” Edney said. “They help us come together and be a team.”

“She’s really energetic and just a great competitor,” Hambrick said. “She does her gymnastics every single time, and that’s something that I can look up to. Sometimes I have trouble letting myself do my gymnastics all the time, and that’s something that she never has trouble with.”

LSU coach D-D Breaux doesn’t see a comparison level

DILYN STEWART / The Daily Reveille

LSU all-around sophomore Kennedi Edney competes in the bars competition during the Tigers’ 198.100-195.625 victory over Auburn on March 4 in the PMAC. in confidence between Edney’s first and second years with the team, but defines more experience as the stark difference between those two years.

“She’s done a great job,” Breaux said. “She’s consistent and very focused, and we’re very pleased with what she’s given us.”

If there are two lessons that Edney has learned during the first half of competing in collegiate gymnastics, it’s to work hard and not slack off.

“If I do something wrong, I try to focus on what I did and make it better,” Edney said.

“I’m just alert on what I do and how I do it.”

The Daily Reveille

Wednesday, April 18, 2018 MANAGEMENT, from page 7 the warning track clay is level and not clumpy.

Sexton said that morning process can take anywhere between four to five hours with the most important component: making sure the clay is compact in the infield as well as watering the infield.

“The infielder really relies heavily on the playing surface on the clay,” Sexton said. “The clay can’t be too soft or too hard, so that’s very important.”

Sexton works closely with Mainieri and the players on a day-to-day basis mainly because of weather conditions. There are only two conditions when the tarp needs to be put on the field and that’s lightning within an eight mile radius or hard rain.

Sexton said the hard rain is determined on if the rain can be heard beating off the roof

of the Box. “On a gameday we’ve typically already communicated on what they need,” Sexton said.

“If we have to put the tarp on the field throughout the day I’ll shoot coach a text and give him updates periodically.”

Sexton grew up playing baseball in Tennessee and majored in turf management when he got to LSU. Sexton started working on the grounds crew immediately and worked his way up the chain of command and took a full time position once he graduated.

“I was attracted to sports from a young age,” Sexton said.

“That’s pretty common for groundskeepers to gravitate toward the sports they played. It originally started with me, my father and my brother working the grounds of my high school field. So it’s something I’ve done for a long time.”

THE DAILY REVEILLE ARCHIVES

Preparations for games at Alex Box Stadium begin the night before first pitch.

HILLIARD, from page 7 “He can really whip it,” Mainieri said. “It’s really amazing how in pitching sometimes a guy can be really good even if he’s not a big 6-foot-3, 200 pound pitcher. It’s all how he pitches and movement.”

Hilliard’s fastball tops out around 86-87 mph never breaking the 90 mph threshold many pitchers aim to hit. The premier pitch in Hilliard’s arsenal is his 12-to-6 curve that fools hitters nearly every time he takes the mound.

With a spin rate on his curveball that mirrors MLB pitchers, Hilliard has been excellent in his role as a starter.

The freshmen has the second most strikeouts on the team with 47 only trailing Friday night’s sophomore starting pitcher Zack Hess, who has 68.

“I’m very confident in my abilities,” Hilliard said. “And I feel like I have as much talent as anyone else on the team.”

As the season has progressed, Hilliard has shown steady improvement from week to week. After a few starts that did not go well, Saturday night’s starting righthanded pitcher Caleb Gilbert was sent to the bullpen.

Mainieri would not have to look far to find Gilbert’s replacement, penciling in his dominant freshman Sunday starter into a more prominent Saturday night role.

In his first start as a Saturday night pitcher, Hilliard threw for six innings giving up three and striking out six. The Saturday night win was the first for the Tigers since they defeated Vanderbilt on March 24th.

Hilliard has been known to do his best work with runners in scoring position, consistently shutting down the opposing team when runners are on second or third. Hilliard’s ability to lock in and throw his best stuff is what makes him such a special player moving forward in the LSU program.

“That extra focus that you

NBA, from page 7

Please join us at The 5 Dining hall for lunch on

April 27th Creating awareness one recycled item at a time

page 9

Unfortunately, NBA fans have been subjected to the routine of watching the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers tear through the playoffs with relative ease for the last three years.

That might not sound like a terrible storyline for the Golden State and Cleveland faithful, but the NBA’s lack of parity was beginning to turn off casual fans.

Although a fourth-straight Warriors-Cavaliers Finals series is still a possible outcome in this year’s playoffs, there seems to be a more level playing field in the NBA for the first time in a long time.

For starters, the 2018 Playoffs is the first time in three years that the Warriors are not entering as a No. 1

AURIANNA CORDERO / The Daily Reveille

WHITNEY WILLISTON / The Daily Reveille

Freshman right-handed pitcher Ma’Khail Hilliard takes on a starting role early on in his LSU career. gotta have in situations like that, you gotta execute pitches and get into good counts whenever you have two outs with a man on third or in scoring position,” Hilliard said. “You just gotta keep that focus and fill up the zone.”

As the season progresses, it’s easy for Tiger fans to wonder just how good LSU’s starting rotation could be next season. The return of Hess and Hilliard brings a formidable two way punch, but with the return of Eric Walker from Tommy John’s surgery next

season, a freshman All-American from last year, the Tigers hope to have one of the best staffs in the entire SEC. With five starts remaining for Hilliard, it will be key for him to continue to dominate in his Saturday role and give the Tigers the stability they have been searching for all year.

“I told the guys Ma’Khail has been pitching his heart out for us and we’re not giving him much run support,” Mainieri said. “I think we need to dedicate ourselves to give great support to him.”

seed, and the Cavaliers are not entering as a top-two seed.

Granted, the Warriors and the Cavaliers are still No. 2 and No. 4 seed, respectively, but it’s nice to see some new names at the top for once.

Another point of interest is the slim win-loss margins of the 2018 postseason participants.

This year, two wins separate the No. 8 seed from the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. This is the slimmest margin for either conference in the past three years.

While the Eastern Conference has wider distances between the No. 8 seed and the middle of the pack, it’s worth noting that the Cavaliers entered the playoffs nine wins away from first place.

That’s the most distance

between a No. 1 seed and a Lebron James team since his seven-year Finals appearance streak began in 2011.

Like I mentioned earlier, there’s still a chance that fans will have to suffer through another Warriors-Cavaliers Finals given that both teams are on the hunt for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. The playoffs are a new season, and the stats and seeding based on regular-season performances can be thrown out of the window.

Oddly enough though, that also seems to prove my point.

For the first time in three years, it seems like fans can toss what they know about the Warriors and Cavaliers into the wastebasket and allow the chaos and excitement of sports to save fans from their boring routines once again.

The Daily Reveille

page 14

HEADS & TAILS The annual RHA Crawfish Boil takes place in the Laville Hall Courtyard behind the 459 Dining Hall on April 12.

PHOTOS BY DILYN STEWART

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

The Daily Reveille

See more photos online at lsunow.com/daily/photo

page 15

The Daily Reveille

page 16

Announcements

Employment

Help Wanted Blue Bayou Water park is now hiring lifeguards. No experience necessary. We will train you. Apply online at www.bluebayou.com.

Hampton Inn Hotel - College Drive is hiring for Front Desk Clerks. Full-time or part-time 3pm to 11pm shifts available.

Will work around your school schedule. Apply at 4646 Constitution Ave. Lawn care & landscape co need hardworking employees. Call 2254134511. Leave message Welsh’s cleaners now hiring!

OFF by 2pm every day! full time morning counter clerk/assistant manager....will train. Hours 7am-2pm M-F Apply in person 17732 highland rd... email megan10114@gmail.com

Transportation

Services

Costs: $.40 per word per day. Minimum $5 per day. Personals free for students Deadline: 12 p.m., three school days prior to the print publication date

Conservative Political Consulting Company Looking for Grassroots Associates. Pay starts at $10/hr. Bonuses, incentives and internship credit available.

Work afternoons and evenings, up to 25 hours per week. Apply: www.3SCareers.com FREE MEALS, COMPETITIVE PAY + TIPS, FLEXIBLE HOURS. Looking for all positions to help run poolside restaurant. Food Service or customer service experience a plus, but we will train. Email nathanwebster@bocagerc.org or call 225924-6273

Hiring lifeguards for country clubs in BR. Apply at SELAAquatics.com. Certification courses available.

Let Your REEL IN SOME Business Bloom business!

LSUNow.com

Merchandise

Classif ieds

To place your ad, visit www.lsureveille.com and click classifieds

Place a Classified

Housing

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

place a classified at

lsunow.com!

LSU Student Media is looking for a student IT MANAGER to join our team. The IT Manager will offer support services for desktops and servers, along with other IT-related responsibilities.

Pay is $10 an hour for 5-10 hours per week. The IT Manager will maintain office hours with some on-call hours. Coding skills are desired but not required. Applicants must be in good academic standing and enrolled full time at LSU. Contact Tad Odell at todell@ lsu.edu for more information.

For Rent

1 Bed 1 Bath $500 Month on W. Roosevelt right off Highland Rd. near LSU (225) 302-1199

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Place a Classified today! lsunow.com

4/05

Entertainment

page 17 FOOD AND DRINK

LSU City Pork expected to open end of April

BY KELLY SWIFT @kellbell237

ISABELLA ALLEN / The Daily Reveille

LSU student uses art to spark conversations on race

BY ASHLEI GOSHA @yungjemisin ISABELLA ALLEN / The Daily Reveille

P

courtesy of CHAYSE SAMPY

ainting is studio art sophomore Chayse Sampy’s method of achieving peace. The canvas is there when she’s stressed or upset, and when she just wants to make someone happy. Much of her subject matter, however, is not peaceful. With her art, she seeks to shine a light on prevalent social issues.

Sampy said she has been an artist for as long as she can remember. She said it wasn’t until her junior year in high school

when the shootings of unarmed black men permeated the media that her art gained direction.

“That’s when I started painting, and then that’s when I started being interested in sending a message with my work instead of just doing stuff that was pretty,” Sampy said.

Much of Sampy’s work since high school has been focused on well-known stereotypes surrounding various racial

groups. She has also worked to address the issues that stem from the stereotypes, as well as issues within the black community itself.

“That was when I was like, ‘Wow, there’s a lot of stereotypes, there’s a lot of racism still around,’” Sampy said. “So then I started doing stuff focused around stereotypes in different races, like hispanic, black, white, all of them. Later on I focused more on the black community,”

Students will have a new place to pig out in the Art & Design Building.

University students can look forward to the new City Pork’s grand opening the last week of April. It will be conveniently located in the Art & Design building on the side closest to The Quad.

City Pork will be hiring students first and are looking for students interested in working during summer 2018. The location will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. when it first opens, but as the semester begins, it will most likely extend it’s hours from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m, Hightower said.

“We’re doing this for the students, so they have a place to feel at home even in the middle of the school day,” Hightower said.

Hightower said City Pork on campus will offer more than it’s ever had. It’s partnering with Rêve Coffee Roasters to bring high-quality coffee and affogatos to the University’s campus. It has never served coffee, but it wants to cater to its new clientele of exhausted college

see CITY PORK, page 21

see SAMPY, page 21 ART

LSU alumna, abstract artist creates dorm-ready paintings

BY AMAYA LYNCH @maya09172 A University alumna is finding her own way to stay involved on campus. Melissa Troxell is a mass communication graduate and an abstract artist.

She is offering her services to the students of the University so that dorms and apartments feel a little more like home.

Troxell began painting only nine months ago and promotes herself on her Instagram account, @melissatroxell. The account is full of paintings she has done herself in the short time she has been painting. Troxell said she received an abundance of support from her children and husband to put her art out there for people to see.

“I started painting just for fun, but then my family and friends were like, ‘Hey, we really like this’ and they were very supportive – my kids especially,” Troxell said. “They said, ‘Mom, you really need to put this on the Instagram’ because a lot of my friends wanted it and showed an interest, so it just kind of evolved into kind of doing it for fun and putting it on Instagram.”

With her abstract form of painting, everything that Troxell does looks a little different, almost assuring her customers of a one-of-a-kind piece. Troxell said she was glad she was self-taught and believes that starting late may have been beneficial for her.

“I am self-taught because as I said, my degree is in journalism but honestly I’m kind of

glad to have been self-taught,” Troxell said. “I’m kind of glad that I didn’t because I probably would have been so hard on my younger self. I think if I would have been formally trained at a young age, I would have been so hard on myself and I probably wouldn’t have even succeeded and even if I did, I probably wouldn’t have been very happy doing it.”

While Troxell may not be using her degree with painting, she said she grew to love it. As a University alumna, she shows that students can graduate and still learn something new.

Troxell said she markets to students because she understands what art can do to

see TROXELL, page 21

ISABELLA ALLEN / The Daily Reveille

LSU alumna Melissa Troxell showcases her artwork in her backyard studio on April 13.

The Daily Reveille

page 18

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

BLOOMING HABITS Earth Day will sprout on April 22 to celebrate the beauty of the nature surrounding us. Americans have celebrated the day since 1970 to promote environmental protection and conservation. Here are some tips for college students to help Mother Earth blossom:

BY LYNNE BUNCH | @lynnebunch11

RECYCLE

SAVE ENERGY

Recycling is the first step to becoming a more environmentally conscious person. Instead of throwing away materials like paper and plastic, throw them in a recycling bin to reduce waste. The University has a Campus Sustainability program that helps educate students and faculty on the benefits of recycling.

If you live in your own apartment, chances are you have to pay an electric bill each month. If you do small things like adjust room temperature or turn the lights off, you can save money as you cut down on your energy use. Saving energy helps to reduce your carbon footprint, even if your main goal is to save a few bucks.

BUY SMART

EAT SMART

To save resources, try to buy in bulk for the things you use the most to save containers and extra waste. You can also be smarter by reusing tupperware containers and other materials that help you avoid creating excess trash. Buying smart helps the environment, but it will also save you a little extra money to use as you please.

USE REUSABLE WATER BOTTLES When you walk around campus, stay hydrated with a reusable water bottle to cut back the use of plastic bottles.

By reusing water bottles, you can not only save resources, but also personalize a small part of your style by creating an original look to your water bottle. Add stickers or other designs to make saving the planet feel good.

Helping the environment isn’t only about what you do or don’t throw away – it’s also about the food you’re consuming on a daily basis. To eat smarter, try to increase your fruit and vegetable intake, and try to cut down on eating meat. If you set aside one meatless day per week, it begins to add up and saves a lot of carbon and resources.

SHOP AT FARMERS MARKETS Farmers markets are the perfect way to shop locally and promote small businesses. By shopping at markets, you get to have the purest, most organic forms of vegetables and other items offered. Farmers markets are one of the easiest ways to help you start eating clean, and you might even find stuff not offered at the nearby superstore.

The Daily Reveille

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

REV R ANKS INVASION OF PRIVACY Cardi B

The whole album could really be mistaken for a diss album. With the high energy and high intensity of the songs, it feels like Cardi B is directing her words and energy right at you. She always puts everything into each song, and you can really feel it in this album.

‘Troy: Fall of a City’ falls short of expectations, lacks depth

BY ASHLEI GOSHA @yungjemisin

Amaya Lynch @maya09172

MY DEAR MELANCHOLY The Weeknd

With his new EP, “My Dear Melancholy,” The Weeknd shows his softer side. The velvety croons of the vocals mixed with the soft undertones of the instrumental backgrounds create a perfect blend for listeners. However, the album does get a little bland.

All the songs sound similar.

Cassidy Martz @cassemartz

LITTLE DARK AGE

MGMT

“Little Dark Age” is a new album in more ways than one. MGMT has released one of its first consistently listenable albums. This means that every song on the album flows together and tells a story — opposed to its previous albums, which didn’t tell a consistent story and didn’t show progression on the album.

page 19

Historical shows can be fun, especially those with a bit of magic in them, but I didn’t like “Troy: Fall of a City.” Generally, historical shows will reveal what sets them apart in the first episode or two. Unfortunately, the most interesting players in the story, the Greek gods, were mostly absent in this retelling of a story everyone knows yet no one remembers learning.

The gods are present, but things like prophecy and honor take the place of the direct intervention of the gods in the series.

Although I don’t remember many of the details of the original story, I know the gods were more prominent. Without the gods playing major roles in the story, the show becomes another historical war series. No amount of sex and interpersonal intrigue is going to be more compelling than deities moving mortals like chess pieces.

There aren’t many likeable characters in “Troy: Fall of a City.” Most characters have their moments but are ultimately too inexcusably evil, so dense you’d have to bang their heads against

walls to get their brains churning, or just plain annoying. Most of the Trojan royal family falls into those last two categories. I’ll give Artemis an honorable mention because we do only see her for about five seconds, but they’re the most electrifying five seconds of the show. More of that, please.

Once Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter, I was already flashing back to the several versions of “Electra” I read last semester for my literary drama class.

Helen and Paris going off to make whoopee in Troy because Aphrodite made a promise over a beauty contest knowing a war was inevitable had immeasurable consequences.

Paris is the whole reason everyone is in this mess, but he’s too stupid for me to really want to dig into him. You know what you do when you meet a trio of goddesses in a beauty contest presided over by Zeus in the forest? You politely say they’re all equally beautiful and go back to shepherding all day and canoodling with non-Helen girls on the side. If he had just minded his business, he and a whole city full of people wouldn’t have been slaughtered by Greeks because a king had his wife spirited away.

And speaking of said king, Menelaus really didn’t have to go to war over Helen. He didn’t even seem to like her that much.

It was ultimately about honor and women being considered property. There’s about as many women as there are men in the world, so losing Helen wasn’t the end of the world until he decided it was — and only for Troy.

This series wasted eight hours of my life, watching them argue and fumble through warm, low light wondering when they would get on with it and die already. It’s hard to enjoy the journey when you already know it ends in the worst way possible. I also just didn’t care about Paris, who had the most screen time because he was the main character. I couldn’t care less about that frat shepherd turned prince and his woes. Cry me a river, Chad.

I could go on about all of the things that made this viewing experience one of the most acutely unenjoyable of my life. I’d say it’s at the bottom of my top 10 most hated shows. I recommend not wasting your time on “Troy: Fall of a City.” We know the beginning and the end, and almost nothing worth seeing happens in between.

Kelly Swift @kellbell237

THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT Aviron Pictures

No matter the actors involved, the sequel feels like any other horror movie. The movie focuses on cheap jump scares and fails to reach true horror — something the original film does perfectly. The movie is filled with formulaic plot lines and meat-puppet gore in the worst ways possible.

Lynne Bunch @lynnebunch11

Read the full reviews online at lsunow.com/daily/entertainment

courtesy of BBC ONE

The Daily Reveille

page 20

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

LGBTQ

Queer After Party promotes positivity, highlights need for LGBTQ resources

BY AMAYA LYNCH @maya09172 Baton Rouge queens were brought together for a show-stopping performance right on the University’s campus, and there was no wig left unsnatched.

The Louisiana Queer Conference held its first drag show for the Queer After Party at the French House, and it drew in a diverse crowd. The celebration was focusing on celebrating to LGBTQ community, not only on the University’s campus but all across the state of Louisiana.

The LAQC is an annual LGBTQ event put on by Spectrum, Queer Students of Color (Qroma) and the LSU Office of Multicultural Affairs. The LAQC allows students across the state to discuss ideas and collaborate on projects, while establishing a network to support and advance the LGBTQ movement.

“LAQC is intended to provide community-building and educational resources for Louisiana’s LGBTQ community as these are often inaccessible for most queer people,” said Jack Stallard, who hosted the show under his drag persona Carina Von Tuna.

“This year, page 18 we decided to have a

drag show rather than a regular after party because our theme was focused on celebrating our presence and imagining our future as a community made up of creative minds.”

The atmosphere of the drag show was just as positive as the message behind the event.

There were students from the University there to support, and even some guests from outside the city. People were there to celebrate love, life and their presence, which made for an electrifying show.

The headlining queens were Chanell La’Sha, Sasha Vanguard, Scarlett Diore and London Manchester, along with the host Carina Von Tuna. Each queen brought something different to the show, allowing for a variety in music and fun.

Marketing and mass communication sophomore Sarah LaBorde said she was just there to support but still really enjoyed the show.

She, along with others, spent the night watching and cheering on the queens as they did what they do best.

“Just the queens were all so talented and it was really awesome to see so much support and positivity for all the performers,” LaBorde

said. “It was a good time.”

Another student in attendance was finance freshman Janae Kilgore. She said this was the first event she attended on campus that showcased the LGBTQ community and said it’s because she never heard about any events like this. Kilgore also said she would enjoy more events like these on campus.

“I have not been to an event like this on this campus and I have never heard about events like this unfortunately,” Kilgore said. “I thought the show was very exciting and entertaining. I enjoyed it and I thought it was awesome.”

Students can find out about more LGBTQ events put on by Spectrum by visiting their website or following them on social media.

Representation is important for every community, and Spectrum is one of the few organizations on campus to offer this to the LGBTQ community.

“I don’t feel like there is a lot of representation for the LGBTQ community sometimes, and I think that’s sad because events like these are really fun, and I really enjoyed myself,” Kilgore said. “It was really cool to go out to a different event that LSU got to host.”

The Daily Reveille

DILYN STEWART / The Daily Reveille

Drag queens Chanell La’Sha (top left), Scarlett Diore (top right), London Manchester (bottom left) and Sasha Vanguard (bottom right) perform at LAQC’s Queer After Wednesday, November 8, 2017 Party in the French House on April 14.

WHAT’S SPINNING AT @KLSURadio

KLSUradio

NEWMUSIC MUSIC NEW “Clean” “The OOZ” bybySoccer Mommy King Krule

8/10 8/10

OFPANGEA, FEMMESATURDAYS FM, FRIDAYS 9 P.M. - 11MUSIC) P.M. (FEMALE ARTISTS) REVIEWBYBY HOST OF 9-11 AM (WORLD REVIEW DJ HISSYFIT DRAGONFLY HOST King Krule is a 23-year-old, Sophie Allison, better knownred-headed, as Soccer misanthropic singer-songwriter, Mommy, takes listeners throughguitarist, a journey producer, and poet hailing from London.

His of acceptance and self-discovery in her first newest album, “The OOZ,” shows us that full album, “Clean.” sometimes, life hurts. several EPs in her After recording King is theAllison primary creative outlet room in Krule Nashville, has stepped up ofherthegame mysterious Archy Marshall, whousual has while staying true to her also music to under real name, as style.released She sticks lo-fi,hisbedroom-pop well Kid. Marshall whileas Zoo incorporating a has new,a particularly angry and strong and distinctive working-class English raw sound. accent andintimate uses British thatstories breaksof With songsslang telling through in his music.

Krule’s jealousy,heavily heartbreak, and King vulnerability, sound unique insums its blending of punk, jazz, “Clean”is perfectly up relatable experihip hop,The andrecord indie musical His music ences. lays out stylings. all of Sophie Alislison’s inspired by thoughts artists likeforElvis inner the Presley, world toFela see.

Kuti, Dilla, and The PenguintoCafé Orchestra.

She Jtells a story of wanting be someone His full-length debut album “6 Feet Beneath the Moon,” released in August 2013, attracted a lot of attention and earned him a comfortable space in the indie music scene.

His anger, grit and despair cuts through to the bones of listeners, but is softened by beautiful jazz chords -- a contrast that works in his favor. The words he yells are often profane or vulgar and shock listeners; however, we cling and want more. King Krule is bold

UPCOMING SHOWS THURSDAY

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sidewalks screaming car crashes. and violent in his language as hethe pushes kissestobreak my knees and leaveIn thebeen trying to be this cool girl, she’s losing else and discovering yourself along way. “forehead fourth line “Skunka and onion everything and pushing her lover into anboundaries in what is usually a clean-cut backhetoshouts, you” portray familiar In the opening song, “Still Clean,” she me crawling as my brain’s mash,” displaying indie the scene. of being trapped in potato a relationship or other’s arms opens album with soft and melodic story gravy, unusual wit. to be strong “The OOZ” packsher an attitude that as is stuckhis on quirky, someone, but wanting lyrics about imagining relationship “You want warm and I’m somethin’ more sophisticated something it wasn’t. than Marshall’s previousand free. “Cadet Limbo” is a heart-dropping numcolder/I’m putting your hands to her heart,” work. sound is mature and ber in which Marshallofsings about trail a woman, Allison’s own feelings insecurity “LeftHisme drowning/once youdeveloped. picked she sings. more polished and technically comparing herespecially mesmerizing beautylike to the An instrumental interlude follows, the album, in songs meTheoutsongs yourare bloody teeth” evokes dark through impressive.

The guitar soundsbased are cleaner outer space.onHeone repeats, Girl,” whichofwas released of her “Has and fairytale-like imagery on “Last deepness bringing the climactic feeling of “Scorpio less messy, tempermore. has stayed it been this longforsince had this bond?” re-recorded this I’ve album. theand empty feeling but of his wanting The EPs and Rising” to an honest and soft moment of the closes same. with “I guess I’m only what Whatwould these you songsstillhave in common is a self-discovery in “Wildflowers.”

“Why want to be with song In his career, has maintained deep-seated intensity.

His ever songsneed” sprout from While her original music has always got everything you’ll you wanted for a King littleKrule while”, relating me? She’s managed neverfeels feeling nothing like theand jealous andelse. insecure outcry been raw, personal, and distinctive, Soccer to and every listenera visceral who hasblueness been inthat this goessituation. away, singing about and revisiting “Thehas OOZ” is before. a beautiful, emotionally-Mommy’s “Clean” takes it to an entirely new that everyone said exact emotionally subjectthe matter.

We draining, albumininthree which the The endingnineteen-track of the album comes “Your Dog”sensitive is probably angriest level. Sophie Allison is every 20-year-old ARIEL PINK, TRANCE absorb hisalbum. moodsRaw and lyrics textures, rootssongs. of love, loss, and anger explored.

“Scorpio Rising” is are the mosong on the like feeling “I don’twhathaunting woman, which is what makes her music so FARMERS, BITE MARX he feels, whether it is anger, self-loathing, an essential listen she’s for people wanna be your f*cking dog” intertwined with ment This relatable. thatalbum Allisonisrealizes that while disorientation, isolation, or anxiety. interested in modern jazz and punk sounds TIPITINA’S (NOLA) In “Logos,” the sixth track from “The and the melting together of the two. This is 9 P.M. OOZ,” Marshall sings about the torment he the soundtrack to loneliness, staying inside experienced in his childhood by recounting your apartment on a Friday night, or obsesthe care of his drunken mother. He sings, sively thinking about a past lover. It is real, it “She draws me in and swallows whole.” is raw, and it is honest.

These words are paired with somber guitar THURSDAY and distant keyboard sounds.

For Fans of: Mount Kimbie, Cosmo Sykes, The second track, “Dum Surfer,” evokes BADBADNOTGOOD dark and gritty imagery from vomiting on

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DANKSGIVING CAPTAIN COMEDY AMERICAN PSYCHOS, HOSTWITH OF THE HEAVIEST MATTER INSUGARPILL, THE UNIVERSE, TUESDAY 11PM-1AM (METAL) REVIEW BY DJ LEVIATHAN “Urn”ÉTOUFFÉE PRESENTS TY SEGALL WITH BOTTOMFEEDERS GREEN & HYDRA PLANE TERENCE DELAINE & QUARX SCISSORDICKS Charles’ growing role as both a vocalist and Violinist and clean vocalist Tim Charles Australian outfit Ne Obliviscaris returns to

by Ne Obliviscaris ONE EYED JACK’S (NOLA) instrumentalist, the album signifies a less imappears to play a much more prominent role the forefront of extreme metal withSPANISH one of the MOON HAPPY’S (DOWNTOWN) 524 STUDIOS 9 P.M. this particular record. Charles’ vocals are pressive retread of “Portal of I” (2012) and most anticipated album releases of the year.

9 P.M. on 8:30 PM P.M. (2014). The compositions are extensoaring and melodic as usual, and his violin 8“Citadel” “Urn,” the band’s third record, continues the group’s previous blending of both harsh playing is much improved from the two previ- sive and given room to develop, but there isn’t CADDYWHOMPUS, POPE, and clean vocals. The formerly radical feature ous releases. But, there are times when the anything groundbreaking to witness.

TRASH LIGHT & PARTICLE A progressive metal band that fails to stemming from the ‘90s has now become an album winds up bogged down by these soothDEVOTION “progress” inevitably betrays the very appeal almost exhaustive trope within the genre. ing interludes and clean passages.

However, Xenoyr does display some of “Urn’s” standout tracks, the blistering of their act. Though not as intriguing as its SPANISH MOON

nov

The Daily Reveille

Wednesday, April 18, 2018 SAMPY, from page 17 Sampy said.

Sampy grew up in a predominantly white area, and said it took her a while to look around and ask what was going on outside of her world. Her mother is a psychologist and artist as well.

“I think that’s where most of my art comes from — the psychology of people and the history of different races,” Sampy said.

Sampy said black people don’t buy black art, and there isn’t much of a market for it. She said art not only needs to be valued more, but that people also need to listen.

“I can say things that most people can’t really vocalize or that nobody would really listen to them if they said [them],” Sampy said. “I have a pretty good following with my artwork, and I usually try to put my artwork out there a lot so I feel like I’m a voice in a way for a lot of people.”

Sampy said artists are supposed to make people uncomfortable by creating conversations and reacting to social issues. She said much of her art

page 21

is fueled by things she sees that she doesn’t believe are right.

“At this point in our generation, everyone wants to be woke,” Sampy said. “Everyone wants to act like, ‘Oh, I support black people, I do this for black people,’ but nobody’s doing anything for black people, so I’m trying to put that out there and let everyone see that we’ve come a long way but we’re not done yet.”

Sampy said her ultimate goal is to create communal spaces in urban communities where children can discover black art and learn skills that may help them in the future. She said she wants to create these spaces in Houston, her hometown, as well as Oakland, Detroit, Atlanta and other cities like them.

“I feel like art can save lives,” Sampy said. “It’s a discipline. It teaches you to discipline yourself, patience. It teaches you great qualities to have and I don’t see why you wouldn’t want your child to paint a little. I’d rather them take out being angry or any sadness or any emotion in art rather than taking it and doing something volatile with it.” courtesy of CHAYSE SAMPY

CITY PORK, from page 17 students. Giovanni Roberts, Rêve’s manager at its new location in White Star Market, will be helping City Pork transition into a new coffee scene at the University.

“We partnered with Rêve for many reasons, but it really boils down to the good relationship we have with them and their coffee is also really good,” Hightower said.

City Pork will be using the Dairy Store, located at the corner of South Stadium Drive and Tower Drive on the University campus, for its ice cream and milk products. The goal is to make City Pork accessible for any time of the day. Whether you are sleepy and in need of some coffee, in between classes, wanting some ice cream or starving and in the mood for some hearty dishes, City

Pork has you covered.

Hightower said City Pork chose the Art & Design building for their new location for the convenience of the location for students, and the good relationship that they have with the College of Art & Design Dean Alkis Tsolakis. City Pork formed a relationship with the building when they did concessions in Tiger Stadium.

“It only makes sense to

put City Pork in the Art & Design building, the location and flow of the building are perfect for us,” Hightower said.

Hightower said he has wanted to expand City Pork to the University for a while. He graduated from the University in political science in 1995 before becoming the Director of Culinary Services at Bocage Racquet Club. Around 2014, he became the co-owner of

City Pork. His experience and love for the University’s students and faculty all led him toward bringing City Pork to the campus. He wants to encourage students to apply for a position at City Pork and/or become regulars.

“I don’t want City Pork to be ‘trendy,’ — I want it to be a tradition,” Hightower said. “I want LSU students to know that City Pork is here to serve them at any time of day.”

TROXELL, from page 17

semester, meaning it’s almost time to start thinking about decorating. Troxell said there is nothing better than a painting to make a space feel a little bit more like home.

Troxell is extending her art to the entire Baton Rouge community, giving students at the University a chance to acquire something that could make their home away from home feel a little more personal.

“The main reason I’m trying to market to students is because I know that dorms and apartments can be kind of sterile,” Troxell said. “A piece of art can really change the entire look.”

something like a dorm room or an apartment. A piece of art can really change the dynamic of a space, and she sets her prices as low as she can so that students can take advantage of the convenience her art provides.

“Obviously, I’ll sell to anyone, but I’m really catering to students,” Troxell said. “That’s why I try to make my prices as low as I can.”

With the spring semester coming to a close, many students are looking for or have already secured housing for the fall

ISABELLA ALLEN / The Daily Reveille

LSU alumna Melissa Troxell showcases her artwork in her backyard studio on April 13.

Opinion

page 22

Moderates complicit to political evils, hinder legitimate progress HAMMER SEEKING NAIL SOHEIL SANEEI @soheilsaneei Being a moderate is a tug of war between justice and injustice. The equal strength of political power on both sides creates an intellectual normativity where the moderate establishes his or herself and refuses to move. Moderates are only shifted when one side has momentum, and that side is usually the side of injustice.

History has been stained by ethnic cleansing, mass genocide, sexism, homophobia and poverty because of the moderates complicity to evil. Once upon a time, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments seemed like radical thoughts. Fear of radical thought is created by a notion that what is normal should be moral.

This phobia leads moderates to forget radicalism is only relative to present society. Civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. was considered a radical ideologist when he was fighting for minority voting rights and to desegregate the South. In his quest for justice, he was labeled an ideological terrorist and jailed many times.

King addressed his contention with moderates in his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”

He expresses, “I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate.”

King’s legacy is built on how he transcended Gandhian civil disobedience to front a great liberation movement. He was a mediator between enraged black revolutionaries and an abused nihilistic black population. King drew intellectual prowess from many sources he considered radical. On the 100th anniversary of sociologist W.E.B Du Bois’ birthday, King said, “It is time to cease muting the fact that Dr. Du Bois was a genius and chose to be a Communist.”

He furthers his point, saying, “Our irrational, obsessive anti-communism has led us into too many quagmires to be retained as if it were a mode of scientific thinking.”

King acknowledged how thinking outside of traditionally conditioned thought processes could lead to ideas which could transcend our society. He would not censor anybody’s ideas simply because they did not conform to convention.

The two-party system has created an illusion of partisanship, but a study conducted by American National Election Studies from 1972 to 2012 shows most participants identified as slightly liberal to slightly conservative on the political spectrum, the greatest portion being moderates. Participants were more likely to be Democrats over Republicans and Independents, but were also more likely to be conservatives over moderate and liberal.

One can insinuate the conflict for Americans to identify with a party correlates with a lack of political knowledge. In

another ANES survey conducted in 1964, 2000 and 1992, political knowledge directly correlated with ideological understanding and consistency. It is not a coincidence greater political education leads to more stable political opinions.

In “Neither Liberal Nor Conservative” by Donald R. Kinder and Nathan P. Kalmoe, they asses American politics stating, “Americans are more likely to have noticed that Lindsay Lohan violated her parole, than to recall anything about congressional debate over health care.” They further analyze, “More, perhaps 16 in a hundred, appear to understand ideological terms when put before them. Everyone else a huge majority of the public is unable to participate in ideological discussion.”

The lack of political knowledge of the American voter would explain the oscillation of U.S. politics exhibited by the election of president Donald Trump after former President Barack Obama.

This failure to form opinions is also why voters are reluctant to make the connection between police killings and a flawed criminal justice system, unjust criminal punishments with corrupt institutions and many other immoral microcosms which make up evil macrocosms.

Former presidents like Obama and Ronald Reagan can hide their gravest mistakes behind their quintessential charisma because the American public seeks an arbiter over a leader who’s deeply committed to transcending society

courtesy of WIKIMEDIA

Roughly 34 percent of Americans identify as “moderate,” according to a Gallup Poll. with essential ideological shifts.

After all, the biggest difficulty for legislative success in this country is bipartisanship.

Many moderates fetishize Obama’s mixed ethnicity because of a need for an arbitrator.

During the Obama administration, he hugged fences on issues of police brutality and economic inequality for black Americans. As a result, very little was accomplished to combat systemic racism. Policies regarding health care, foreign policy and economic justice presented

by American liberals were merely compromises rather than genuine progressive politics.

In a world where the arc of moral justice bends toward chaos rather than justice, the use of conventional thinking has grown weary.

In our current state, the idea of engaging in war is considered normal. Militarism is aided by Americans in an apartheid in Israel and democratic imperial-

ism is conducted by Americans all over the Middle East because Islamophobia is normalized.

The media chooses to hide these issues, creating a negative peace.

They prime citizens for whatever agenda they are paid to orchestrate. King’s “turn the other cheek” philosophy is considered a radically masochist ideology still, even though a clear majority of Americans commemorate him tenaciously on his national holiday.

Perhaps this is because of a rewritten history conducted by those who incited his murder and are not informed about his real views. If peace is an extreme idea and war is normal, it is better to be a radical than a moderate. Ideological thinking is not a virtue of ideologues but of those deeply devoted to understanding justice and applying it pragmatically.

Soheil Sanee is a biological engineering freshman from Metairie, Louisiana.

Political parties undervalue college-age demographic FRANKLY SPEAKING

JUSTIN FRANKLIN @justinifranklin Geaux Vote LSU and Student Government teamed up to launch a new online voter registration service called TurboVote on April 4. TurboVote works with a number of colleges, universities and other organizations to promote political participation nationally.

College voter turnout increased by 3 percent during the 2016 presidential cycle, but it still was below half of the total college population at 48.3 percent. Overall, voter turnout was at a 20-yearlow.

The initiative to get more 18to 21-year-old voters needs to be a primary goal for both sides of the political spectrum. Doing this will ensure representatives in Washington accurately convey the views of all their constituents.

It is no secret the majority of college students are perceived to

cartoon by ETHAN GILBERTI / The Daily Reveille

be more liberal, and the Democratic Party assumes this demographic will support them at the polls.

Based on the number of college students who actually voted in 2016, Democrats are missing out on more than half of a

possible voting community.

College engagement in politics does not automatically translate to voting.

If Republican strategists were smart, they would redirect some of the money they receive from the National Rifle Association to

target these potential voters.

Clearly, the GOP is committed to literally being the Grand Old Party, banking on the fact that individuals tend to get more conservative as they age.

Promoting civic engagement before and during college would benefit both parties. If political ideology was learned and adopted early on, less time would be spent arguing on mere social issues.

Young people are not civically engaged before they get to the voting age.

Many people think it is because of a lack of civics education, but all 50 states require some sort of instruction on civics or government. Around 90 percent of students actually do take at least one civics class.

The real problem is the lack of true engagement. Community service, guided debates, critical discussion and simulations are just some ways to promote engagement early, according to the National Education Association.

Promoting engagement early will

all but ensure political participation as kids get older and are able to contribute.

So why don’t political parties actively target young constituents more effectively? Starting to promote political participation in colleges around the country sounds like a no-brainer.

Today, political parties depend on divisive rhetoric and social issues to stir up people and bring them to the polls. The lack of knowledge of the importance of working democracy is detrimental to society.

Frankly speaking, Democrats and Republicans undervalue millions of potential voters just to please what they see as their “base.” If we have to have this constantly dysfunctional twoparty system, the least the two parties can do is make themselves relevant and available to all Americans.

Justin Franklin is a 19-year-old political communication freshman from Memphis, Tennessee.

The Daily Reveille

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

page 23

National walkouts should urge La., Miss. to raise teacher wages THE NIEMAN NOISE SETH NIEMAN @seth_nieman Twenty-nine states are providing less total school funding per student than they were in 2008, and in 19 states, local government funding per student also declined over the same period. Teachers in Arizona, Kentucky, Oklahoma and West Virginia have recently led strikes to combat the injustice and negligence being directed toward the future generations of our country. Teachers in other states would be wise to imitate their dissent.

On Feb. 22, West Virginia teachers launched a walkout from their jobs demanding an across-the-board pay raise that would address a common concern among educators: rising health insurance premiums.

It only took nine days for Gov. James C. Justice to provide the teachers with exactly what they wanted: a 5 percent pay raise to all teachers and other state employees.

Many teachers are often

required to teach classroom sizes of 35 students or more.

Teachers recognize the important role local schools play in the lives of children, and it’s time politicians did the same. The movement in West Virginia and other states is unprecedented for a specific reason — teachers don’t leave their classrooms unless they’re infuriated with how they have been treated.

As the son of a mother who’s worked in the public education system of Mississippi, I know this anger is mutually shared among several states. Acts of protest and dissent may be the only kind that resolve it.

A study by the Research and Development Corporation found “a teacher is estimated to have two to three times the impact of any other school factor, including services, facilities, and even leadership.” Despite that fact, teachers’ weekly wages are 23 percent lower than those of other college graduates. The Economic Policy Institute reported, “In 2015, public school teachers’ weekly wages were 17 percent lower than those of comparable workers — compared with just 1.8 percent lower in 1994.”

Oklahoma teachers followed

suit and protested the 28 percent drop in education funding over the past decade. Teachers in Oklahoma are ranked third from the bottom in average teacher pay, ahead of only Mississippi and South Dakota.

The teachers being treated the worst are not even the ones deciding to take action. The teachers in Oklahoma ended their strike after nine days unable to receive the proposals they demanded, but the contribution they made to the movement did not go unnoticed.

Following the walkouts in Oklahoma, teachers in Arizona and Kentucky chose to advance the movement.

Currently, Mississippi and Louisiana fall within the bottom 10 states in terms of lowest teacher salaries. The average salary for teachers has fallen by nearly 5 percent in Louisiana since the 2013-14 school year, and CheatSheet says it is the only state to experience a wage decrease in the top or bottom 10 states. Mississippi has yielded only an average raise of 1.32 percent over the past three school years; they’ve remained in the same spot of the rankings for teacher salaries during the

cartoon by ETHAN GILBERTI / The Daily Reveille

same time period.

Teachers in Louisiana and Mississippi should view the ongoing walkouts as motivation to do the same. The Louisiana Department of Education revealed that students finishing teacher preparation programs has dropped 18 percent in Louisiana since the 2010-11 school year. Providing teachers with guns isn’t going to solve such a shortage, but providing them with a commendable raise will.

The walkouts are occurring from state to state because of

the Supreme Court decision in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez ruled that there is no fundamental right to education in the U.S. Constitution. Its decision left the responsibility to the 50 states to entitle children to a quality education within their constitutions. It’s going to require more teachers speaking out to ensure they live up to it.

Seth Nieman is a 22-year-old mass communication senior from McComb, Mississippi.

Parkland activists use privilege to open conversation FRANKLY SPEAKING

JUSTIN FRANKLIN @justinifranklin Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School senior David Hogg recently announced that he will postpone his first year of college to continue promoting activism on political issues.

Hogg has been one of the most easily recognizable advocates for gun control after 17 people were fatally shot at his high school. His strong consistent message has been aired on TV and placed him, along with some of his fellow classmates courtesy of WIKIMEDIA and activists, on the cover of Time Magazine.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High student and activist David Hogg said the media Ahead of the March for Our did not give black survivors an adequate voice in the conversation.

Lives rally, Hogg said one of shooting are effecIt is reassuring that this the media’s bigtively using their generation of changers realizes gest mistakes white privilege white privilege and news covwas “not giving The new generation of to give a voice to erage disparities exist. It is no black students a voice.” Through changers refuse to turn black Americans secret that American society their fight against a blind eye to racism in and other minor- reacts differently to tragedy in ity communities communities of color. gun violence, America. who are affected “We recognize that Hogg and other by gun violence Parkland received more attenwhite victims daily. tion because of its affluence,” of the Florida

The Daily Reveille EDITORIAL BOARD Ramsina Odisho Natalie Anderson Evan Saacks Abbie Shull Hannah Kleinpeter

Editor in Chief Managing Editor News Editor Deputy News Editor Opinion Editor

Jaclyn Corin, a survivor of the Parkland shooting said at the March for Our Lives rally. “But we share this stage today and forever with those communities who have always stared down the barrel of a gun.”

Before the Florida school shooting, there was no national attention for the gun crime in Chicago unless it was broadcasting the fake concept of “blackon-black crime,” which was created by white people to diminish the activism of black Americans.

The Peace Warriors, a group of primarily black high school students from Chicago, have been fighting gun violence for 10 years with little to no national coverage. The students from Parkland, Florida gained national prominence in a matter of days.

“I represent the African American women who are victims of gun violence who are simply statistics instead of vibrant beautiful girls,” elementary school student Naomi Wadler of Virginia said at the march.

A number of white people only want black Americans affected by gun violence to be statistics instead of activists.

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White privilege is promoted even in tragedy. Instead of equal coverage and advocacy, communities of color are demonized by gun violence, which is brushed off as intersectional chaos instead of a national epidemic.

Hogg deciding to postpone going to college to be an activist for gun regulation is another act of commitment to change.

Hogg and his peers using their privilege to help communities of black and brown people who don’t have privilege proves that this is much more than merely a moment in history, it is a movement of progress and acceptance.

Frankly speaking, generations of the past and present refuse to acknowledge that white privilege exists, but that is okay.

The new generation of changers refuse to turn a blind eye to racism in America. They are checking their privilege, and using it to help someone who doesn’t have it.

Justin Franklin is a 19-yearold political communication freshman from Memphis, Tennessee.

Quote of the Week “Independence is happiness.”

Susan B. Anthony

Women’s Rights Activist Feb. 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906

The Daily Reveille

page 24

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Women should ignore societal pressures, dress as they please ACCORDING TO ASHLON ASHLON LUSK @shlinie “Bra burners” have a special place in history as aggressive women who protested the Miss America pageant in 1968. To this day, “bra burners” and their modern-day predecessors are looked down upon.

Women have nipples just like men do, and there’s absolutely no reason for women to have to cover up if men do not.

Women and their bodies are either seen as sexual or gross, and there is no in between. It’s a sexist notion that a woman should cover herself if she doesn’t want to, and the sexualization of women goes back to childhood schooling and dress codes.

Most schools have a dress code requiring knee-length shorts and three finger-width shoulder straps, with nothing showing in between. When a girl breaks this dress code, she is escorted out of her class and asked to go home and change. She is told she is “distracting” the boys when her shorts are too short.

These actions by schools make public, despite the fact that girls aware that their educations breastfeeding is a natural act.

Women are asked to cover up the is less important than a boy’s.

When we grow up, we don’t part of their body that keeps a have an enforced dress code, human being alive. Forty years but there is a societal standard ago, breastfeeding was looked different than at as lower class, men’s. When we even though milk go swimming, we Women have nipples just is something that have to cover our like men do, and there’s is naturally probreasts. We have absolutely no reason for duced in a new to start wearing women to have to cover up mother.

Even though a bra the secif men do not. ond breasts start women are looked growing. If our down upon for skirts are too short showing too much or if our breasts are showing too cleavage, there are sports bars much, we’re called sluts. Ac- themed around scantily clad cording to society, what we wear women. Female workers at Hoothas a direct correlation to our ers and Twin Peaks are asked to sexuality. wear tiny shirts and shorts to In the workplace, wom- show off their boobs and butt. en are judged on their looks Men come in to these establishfirst and their abilities ments not only to get wings and second. watch sports, but also to see Women began heavily boobs in their face. entering the workforce in the Women are often viewed by 1940s, but this was only because men as objects, especially when men were fighting in the war. women are wearing smaller Women did not play a big role amounts of clothing. Women in businesses until the 1980s. should be able to wear what This wasn’t even 40 years ago, they want without being judged and only 26 women hold CEO accordingly. positions in S&P 500 companies Ashlon Lusk is a 19-year-old today.

Women are also looked mass communication freshman down upon for breastfeeding in from Houston, Texas.

cartoon by ETHAN GILBERTI / The Daily Reveille

Society should embrace, encourage alternative lifestyles CHATTING WITH ABI ABIGAIL VARNADO @abi_varn Many people succumb to societal pressures in the U.S. We all feel pressured to finish high school, acquire a college degree, get a professional job, get married, have about two children and live in a suburban home with a white picket fence by the age of 30.

The ideal American life sounds attainable and perfect within a short time limit, until one graduates high school and life hits them in the face.

How many people do you know who have achieved all of these goals in their 20s or 30s?

As a college student about to graduate — still in search of a job — this has proven to be quite the difficult task. This type of future may be obtainable, but it also may not be the right fit for courtesy of WIKIMEDIA many others.

Roughly 68 percent of American adults do not have a bachelor’s degree, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

According to statista.com, but they are still Society also pushes evabout 34 percent of the U.S. fe- achieve a higher education right old, successful. eryone to marry, but not too male population over 25 years out of high school.

College isn’t for everyone, young or too old. Some people Many people old acquired a go to college and there are several options get married at 18 and stay four-year colafter taking for those who don’t go down that together for the rest of their lege degree in 2017, and about 33 College isn’t for everyone a gap year or path. People can attend trade lives, while others get married working, and schools instead, or they can go at 60 and realize they found percent of the male and there are several still straight into the workforce in their soulmate. Many people population. options for those who don’t they graduate and a better-suited job. There are don’t even get married and are The statistics go down that path. get a job. It may also organizations looking for perfectly happy and successful don’t seem right, be at 27 years volunteers like the Peace Corps, without a life partner. especially since old instead of which focus on making a real According to statista.com, most students 22 or 24 years difference in the world. there were only 60.8 million feel pressured to

married couples in the U.S. in 2017. There are about 326 million citizens in our country. This shows less than half of the U.S. population are married citizens.

Society shouldn’t decide when people should get married, or if they should get married at all. It also shouldn’t decide when it’s acceptable for people to get an education, when or if they have children or if they should have an office job in a big city.

Every single person in our country is completely different, so success means different things for all of us. Yes, we should all strive to do our best and to be successful, but that doesn’t mean we should fall into the “cookie-cutter” suburban family with 2.5 children.

Pressuring each other to be married with children before 30, or to graduate college with a strict four-year plan by 22 seems unrealistic and unfair.

Those who try so hard to reach these certain goals but find they are cut for a different path experience a great amount of stress and failure.

These people can become even more successful without this one-way path restricted by time, so it’s time we quit pressuring others to get married, breed a bunch of children and work overtime in a job they hate.

Abigail Varnado is a 22-yearold English senior from Amite, Louisiana.