PERRY GOOD
CRIME Two students steal alcohol from tailgaters, page 3.
Perry Riley proves to be consistent force at linebacker, page 5.
THE DAILY REVEILLE
VERY SUPERSTITIOUS WWW.LSUREVEILLE.COM
Volume 114, Issue 45
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Several Baton Rouge sites said to be haunted
Law school may reduce hours needed to graduate
By Adam Duvernay
By Olga Kourilova Contributing Writer
Senior Staff Writer
lsureveille.com
It’s often only a puff of smoke or the sound of footsteps in a supposedly empty building. To many, these signs are nothing more than an old structure settling on its foundation, but for others, they are evidence of something more difficult to explain. Baton Rouge is a city with rich history — and some of that history still haunts some of the town’s oldest sites. During the first state legislative session in 1852, Marksville congressman Pierre Couvil- Log on to lion took the floor of the see photos Old State Capitol cham- and a video of the bers downtown. Enraged by the treat- haunted ment of his constituents buildings by local bankers, an im- and a map passioned debate led to of their him having a fatal heart locations. attack. Though Couvillion’s body was removed, some at the Old State Capitol say he never really left. “There are a lot of things that happen in the building from time to time that we can’t explain,” said Mary Louise Prudhomme, executive director of the Old State Capitol. “He wants us to know what happened to him. He put things in place for us to find out who Pierre Couvillion was.” Employees have reported heavy doors opening and closing without human aid, and ghostly shadows have often appeared in the HAUNTED, see page 12
ALEX BOND / The Daily Reveille
The Old State Capitol is said to be haunted by a former state congressman, Pierre Couvillion, who had a fatal heart attack on the floor of the chambers after a heated debate in a legislative session in 1852.
A student and faculty collaboration has led to several proposed changes to LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center curriculum. Proposed amendments include lowering the graduation requirement from 97 to 94 hours, standardizing the grading system and merging two upper class “basket” requirements into a single 15-hour requirement. The Long Range Planning Committee, the faculty committee conducting a self-study this year before the school undergoes reaccreditation by the American Bar Association, also plans to propose lowering the credit-hour length from 60 to 50 minutes, making anonymous grading of exams mandatory, offering a twoyear plan of courses and modifying the current attendance policy. Law Center Chancellor Jack Weiss said he hopes to get the changes approved at the Board of Supervisors meeting in December. “It takes a while to interest people in change,” Weiss said Scott Sternberg, Student Bar Association president, said his organization has pushed for these reforms “for years.” The SBA submitted a “White Paper” to the committee detailing many of the needs being addressed, he said. Lowering the required amount of hours will effectively eliminate the summer school requirement for law REFORMS, see page 12
BUDGET CUTS
Possible flagship fee may be instituted next semester By Xerxes A. Wilson Staff Writer
There is a 50 percent chance students will pay $1,000 more to attend the University next year, Chancellor Michael Martin told The Daily Reveille Tuesday afternoon. Martin said because of a dire economic outlook for higher education next year, the University may be forced to institute a flagship fee of $500 per semester to keep from cutting University programs.
Because of a $1.9 billion shortfall in state funds for the next two years, higher education is looking to take about $150 million in cuts during the next fiscal year. Martin said the Baton Rouge campus will likely take a cut of about $22 million next year. Martin said if this situation becomes reality as Gov. Bobby Jindal sets his budget, a flagship fee would be the best way for the University to protect its academic core. “Would I rather have the state
at least maintain or increase that funding? Absolutely,” Martin said. “I would rather not have to increase tuition or fees.” Robert Kuhn, associate vice chancellor of budget and planning, said the still-hypothetical flagship fee would be able raise approximately $26 million in funding to offset cuts. Passing such a fee takes a twothirds vote by the legislature, which could be problematic, Kuhn said. “It would be harder to pass
it through the legislature if you had greater cost to the students and greater cost to the legislature through the TOPS account,” Martin said. “Fighting the legislature over the TOPS issue right now is probably a losing proposition, so I suggested a fee to at least neutralize that argument.” Martin said although the hypothetical flagship fee would not be covered by TOPS, administrators would try to exempt students considered in financial hardship from
the new fee. Kuhn said the University considers a student in a financial hardship if a student qualifies for a full Pell Grant. Currently, students who are considered in financial hardship are exempt from the academic excellence fee and operational fee among other smaller fees. Although it is almost certain the University will face a budget cut FEE, see page 12