Res College: Hall to provide international experience, p. 4
Football: How to win tickets to the Alabama game, p. 5
Reveille The Daily
www.lsureveille.com
Tigers in trouble
Wednesday, November 2, 2011 • Volume 116, Issue 50
With wild tiger populations dwindling, Mike VI may become a relic of an extinct species Josh Naquin
Staff Writer
No tigers or lions, just bears — oh, my. As wild tigers advance toward extinction, the University inches closer to joining the ranks of schools with extinct mascots. The number of tigers in the wild has dropped from 50,000 to 3,000 in the past 50 years, according to an estimate by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. At the current rate of decline, wild tigers — alongside other large cats like lions and leopards — may become extinct within 20 years, according to conservationists. “It’s a terrible thing to realize tigers may go extinct. They represent our school,” said Cody Bueche, history and political science senior. Tigers have been classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as an endangered species since 1986. Primary threats to wild tigers, which are used to maintain large habitats spanning across Asia, include poaching and habitat invasion, according to the IUCN. TIGERS, see page 11
Scammers use Rugby Club to solicit funds Clayton Crockett Staff Writer
ZACH BREAUX / The Daily Reveille
JIM BECKEL / The Associated Press
Dining: New Chick-fil-A to open on College Drive, offer contest for free food, p. 3
[Left] A Sumatran tiger cub frolics Oct. 4 at the Oklahoma City Zoo in Oklahoma City, Okla. [Right] Mike the Tiger prowls around his habitat Tuesday afternoon. Conservationists predict tigers may become extinct within the next 20 years.
Two men who claimed they were selling magazine subscriptions in affiliation with the University’s Rugby Club were revealed to be scammers by a local family after canvassing their neighborhood recently. Zachary Fitzgerald, mass communication senior, said he was approached Friday, Oct. 14, outside his house in Woodchase by two men, Amir Rogers and Josiah Garcia, who claimed to be soliciting to pay for the rugby team’s travel expenses. “He told me that you could donate your subscription to different charities,” Fitzgerald said. “I declined to buy anything.” Rogers did almost all of the talking, Fitzgerald said. After declining the sales pitch, Fitzgerald fetched his father upon Rogers’ request. Zachary Fitzgerald’s father, Don Fitzgerald, said he spoke at length with the two men. According to Zachary, Rogers gave a complete SCAM, see page 11
BRPD
Police officers use bomb robot in dangerous situations Bot can move, open suspicious packages Brian Sibille Staff Writer
One of the Baton Rouge Police Department bomb squad’s most skilled specialists can move and open suspicious packages, talk and listen. The catch: It’s not human. Students who witnessed the bomb scare Oct. 24 in the Quad were surprised when a robot made its first on-campus appearance to handle the situation. But the bomb robot has been an important part of the BRPD’s bomb squad for years, according to Lt. Chris Rushing, BRPD bomb technician. Rushing said the robot has
successfully taken the place of officers in many life-threatening situations. BRPD has been using the bomb robot for about five years, and despite a few glitches, Rushing said using the robot has been overall successful. “We’re able to send the robot into the danger zone,” he said. “It takes the place of a person.” The robot has yet to see any explosions, he said. Rushing said he is one of the technicians who is certified to control the robot. Weighing 600 pounds and costing about $200,000, the robot can be controlled from a safe distance inside a bomb squad trailer. The robot has a 24-volt chargeable battery but can also be plugged into a power source with an adapter, Rushing said. It has a microphone and speaker system and is also used for surveillance.
But the robot cannot be used in every situation, he said. For example, it cannot fit into smaller areas, and parts sometimes break, but the robot is fixable. “It’s mechanical, so things malfunction,” Rushing said. He said the robot cannot do everything a human can do, but it has served BRPD well, performing tasks like moving a suspicious package or opening it. It can also “render safe” certain explosive devices. “Robotics have become very helpful in bomb control,” Rushing said. BRPD purchased its first bomb robot in 1997 but now relies on the “bigger, faster and stronger” machine, he said. All police bomb squads certified by the FBI have been required to use bomb robots since 2009. ROBOT, see page 11
BENJAMIN OLIVER HICKS / The Daily Reveille
The Baton Rouge Police Department utilizes a bomb robot and a bomb hound named Tyra to handle situations that could threaten the lives of officers.