@lsureveille
The Daily Reveille Est. 1887
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Volume 125 · No. 9
lsunow.com
BATON ROUGE COMMUNITY
Nearly 50 years ago, SG president’s suicide led to new resource BY ALDEN CEASAR | @a1997jc On Sept. 28, 1969, three hunters were giving their dogs a field workout in a wooded area just five miles from the University. At 10:30 a.m., they found the body of 18-year-old University freshman Daniel Austin Sistrunk hanging from a tree. According to a report in The Daily Reveille in September of 1969, Sistrunk, who had been missing for more than a week, had climbed a tree and leapt with a sashcord tied around his neck. On Sept. 29, 2017, the remains of sociology senior Michael Nickelotte, who had been missing for over a week, were found in the woods off of Nicholson Drive. Nickelotte died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner photo by WILLIAM TAYLOR POTTER / The Daily Reveille
William “Beau” Clark. Forty-eight years and one day before Nickelotte was found, Sistrunk was the first of six University students who would commit suicide between September of 1969 and May of 1970. One of the six to pass away that academic year was law student and LSU Student Government president Art Ensminger. Ensminger had been elected SG president in April of 1969. Fellow SG members described him in a memoriam published by The Daily Reveille in 1970 as “a benevolent dictator.” “He constantly thought about our problems,” former SG member Thomas L. Barnard said in the memo. “[Our problems] kept him awake. The last time I saw him he hadn’t slept for two days.”
see PREVENTION, page 5
During his 10-month term as SG president, Ensminger facilitated a 2,000-person Vietnam War protest on the LSU Parade Ground in October of 1969, and established a department of student rights. However, Ensminger’s magnum opus while SG president is a program that still exists nearly 50 years after its inception — THE PHONE. THE PHONE is a 24-hour chat line inaugurated for students experiencing a crisis to call. Since 1970, all University students have paid a $2 semester fee to support the operation of the chat line. Ensminger did not live to see the program initiated. In an article published in The Daily Reveille in February of 1970, a staffer wrote, “It is indeed ironic that one
Podcast network amplifies local voices
BY KAYLEE POCHE @kaylee_poche The last few times Baton Rouge made national headlines — the fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling and the murder of three law enforcement officers — the Capital City did not emerge in the best light. Through their podcast network parachute.fm, University alumnus and filmmaker Abe Felix and digital strategist Jacob Jolibois aim to redefine the city’s national image by amplifying the voices of Baton Rougeans and other southerners working to better their communities. Their network comprises two podcasts, altBR and Drawl, the latter of which debuted Oct. 8. Each episode of altBR features a 30-minute interview with a guest from a Baton Rouge industry who is driving change in the city. Guests have included Mayor-President Sharon Weston
see PODCAST, page 5
GREEK LIFE
LSU Task Force on Greek Life holds first meeting BY ABBIE SHULL @AbbieLJ
LSU President F. King Alexander’s Task Force on Greek Life is set to make its recommendations regarding the future of Greek organizations at the University by early January. The task force was formed after University freshman Maxwell Gruver died as a result of hazing by Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. Members of the task force met Monday, Oct. 16, to discuss the overall timeline for the task force, their goals and the formation of subcommittees to review specific aspects of Greek life and hazing at the University. There will be three subcommittees for the task force, which will be assigned within the
next few days, according to chairman Rob Stuart. One will focus on reviewing University policy regarding Greek organization-sponsored activities, while another will review the internal policies of specific chapters and the campus councils. The third committee will review guidelines given by the University to non-Greek organizations including intercollegiate athletics. “If we get this right we can be a model for other schools,” Alexander said. “We can be leader for people to turn to when dealing with these issues.” Alexander said there is no “return to normalcy” for Greek organizations on campus, and these organizations must be “better than the way it was.” “I’m asking you guys to make recommendations that set up
new expectations for our Greek culture,” Alexander said. “At the end of the day if we need to have an effect on the peerto-peer attitude about [hazing], it’s our students who know about this.” Alexander estimated the recommendations given by the task force could impact 45 percent of University students who are involved in Greek life, athletics and other student organizations. He said hazing is not just a Greek issue, citing hazing incidents with Baylor University’s football team and Florida A&M’s marching band. “I just got back from two days at Baylor where this went on for four years,” Alexander said. “It was football, it was rugby,
see TASK FORCE, page 5
ISABELLA ALLEN / The Daily Reveille
The Greek Life Task Force meets for the first time on Oct. 16 in the LSU Student Union.