Olympic Medal Count
U.S. Germany Norway
GOLD
TOTAL
7 7 6
26 23 17
REVELRY Read our Q&A with local band GIVERS, page 4.
Perfect attendance
LSU football program ranks No. 7 nationally in attendance, page 5.
THE DAILY REVEILLE WWW.LSUREVEILLE.COM
Volume 114, Issue 95
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
LEGISLATURE
‘Incoherent’ student drives car into Quad Jindal
introduces LA GRAD program By Grace Montgomery Staff Writer
NICOLE KARAMICHAEL / The Daily Reveille
An LSU police officer guides his K-9 on Tuesday during an inspection of architecture sophomore Storm Erie’s car at 9:45 a.m. in the Quad. Erie parked the car, threw out all his belongings and walked away with his dog, leaving the engine running. LSU police officers soon found him in the Art and Design Building.
LSUPD: Student posed no threat to University, was not yet charged By Xerxes A. Wilson Senior Staff Writer
The University student who caused an uproar Tuesday when he drove a car into the Quad before parking it and throwing out a random assortment of items including a large sling blade and a gas can, posed no threat to the University community, said Sgt. Kevin Scott, LSU Police Department Spokesman. After being located by police, Storm Erie was voluntarily taken to the hospital with no visible injuries, and he is now in medical care, Scott said. Scott described the architecture sophomore as “incoherent,” but said he had no visible physical injuries.
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Erie’s sister, Skye, said he has a medical problem the family has been struggling with but did not elaborate on the problem and chose not to comment further. There are currently no charges filed against Erie, but Scott said charges will likely follow the ongoing investigation. Although the incident ended with no injuries, many witnesses criticized the response from LSUPD, claiming it took more than 10 minutes for police to reach the Quad, a claim Scott refuted. Witnesses and police said University student Storm Erie drove a blue Mercedes along the sidewalk around Middleton Library, down the steps at the front entrance and through the Quad,
‘He drove down the steps at the library, honking his horn and almost hitting people. I really thought he was going to start shooting.’ Kandice Tyler psychology junior
nearly hitting multiple students before parking on a grassy area in the middle of the quad. “He drove down the steps at the library, honking his horn and almost hitting people,” said Kandice Tyler, psychology junior, who witnessed Erie drive his car into the quad. “I really thought he was going to start shooting or something.” Erie, accompanied by his dog, began throwing the contents of his vehicle onto the ground in the Quad. A dirty pair of rubber boots, a half-empty bottle of wine, a large wooden sling blade, a djembe, a four-sided lugwrench, a skateboard, a wooden chess set, a sweater, a pair of shoes, landscaping bags, a flashlight and a small
Our View
Should the University have sent out an emergency text message to warn students of possible danger? Read our opinion on the incident, page 8.
mug littered the ground behind the car. He also propped up a set of blueprints along the back of the running car. “He was a real scraggily white dude — he was either crazy or on something serious,” said Michael Fernandez, sociology junior. “He walked up to me and said, ‘I just want to shake your hand.’ I asked him what he was doing, and he said, ‘Blueprints, man — come check out these blueprints.’” Architecture junior Jeremy Bunner, a classmate who saw the situation, said the blueprints were from an annual architecture competition. “We spent a lot of time and INCIDENT, see page 12
lsureveille.com Log on to see photos of the car parked in the Quad.
Gov. Bobby Jindal announced his plan to allow state colleges and universities to raise tuition if they meet specific academic standards Tuesday. With the LA GRAD program, Granting Resources and Autonomy for Diplomas, colleges that meet certain credentials will be able to increase tuition by 10 percent per year until they reach the average costs of their Southeast regional peers. Once they Bobby Jindal Governor reach this level, they could increase by 5 percent per year. The University would be expected to meet tuition rates of other state flagship institutions, not just regional schools. Louisiana is the only state that requires a two-thirds legislative approval to increase tuition. The standards universities are expected to meet in exchange for tuition flexibility include increasing admission standards to raise graduation rates, eliminating programs with low completion rates and increasing collaboration with two-year colleges. State universities and colleges would have six years to meet these goals in the voluntary program. Chancellor Michael Martin said there is some risk in giving universities flexibility to increase tuition. “There is always a danger that universities will overpromise to get funding, but it is a danger we have to deal with,” Martin said. The Postsecondary Education Review Commission suggested a similar plan earlier this month. The LA GRAD Act will be LA GRAD, see page 12