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IN THIS ISSUE
The Daily
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2015
in
lsureveille.com/daily
thedailyreveille
• Harris matures as quarterback, page 5 • New Orleans-based band cultivates unique sound, page 9 • New food truck sets up shop in Tigerland, page 10 • Opinion: Selfies need to stop, page 12 @lsureveille
LAW CENTER
Faculty committee addresses diversity
recovery Students, alumnus talk alcohol, drug recovery on campus
BY CARRIE GRACE HENDERSON @carriegraceh
SAM KARLIN / The Daily Reveille
Construction management junior Pat Driscoll sits at Brightside Bar and Grill on Monday. BY CARRIE GRACE HENDERSON • @carriegraceh 42% of students reported binge drinking* in the previous two weeks.
23.1% of students are current marijuana users (“30-day prevalence)
*A binge is defined as consuming 5 or more drinks in one sitting
9.6% of students are current users of drugs other than marijuana (“30-day prevalence”)
22.4% of students reported experiencing serious personal issues at least once during the past year as a result of drinking or drug use.
According to the Louisiana State Epidemiological Workgroup Online Data System, the CORE Alcohol and Drug Survey collects data from colleges and universities across Louisiana. According to the LaCASU website, the above statistics represent students in the Baton Rouge area.
Volume 120 · No. 26
thedailyreveille
Construction management junior Patrick Driscoll can occasionally be found a Fred’s in Tigerland, but more frequently, he is shooting pool at Clicks Billiards on Corporate Boulevard. Either way, he’ll have a Coca-Cola with a lime to keep from drawing attention to himself. “Countless times I’ve been there and met girls,” Driscoll said. “And eventually it comes up when they go to buy me a shot or something I’ll say, ‘No, I’m in recovery.’” On Jan. 21, 2012, Driscoll had been living in his truck for five months with no phone, no one to talk to and one set of clothes he wore every day. His addiction started with prescription drugs years before and escalated to heroin and
cocaine. Driscoll first attended college in his hometown of Philadelphia. He was kicked out after one month with a blood alcohol level of .34 — more than four times the legal limit and dangerously close to comatose. The next four years of building bridges for a construction firm were marked with hard labor, heavy drug use and numerous trips to rehab. After six failed attempts to detox, his parents stopped supporting their son financially. Driscoll had nowhere to turn. “One day I was in my truck, and I had two guns,” Driscoll said. “My real intention was to shoot some drug dealer, and on my way there my truck broke down.”
see RECOVERY, page 15
Changes are in store for the Paul M. Hebert Law Center as its Diversity and Professionalism Committee begins implementing recommendations from its Diversity Task Force report. The faculty committee, formed in anticipation of the report’s release, will meet today for the first time since the task force submitted its report to interim co-deans William “Bill” Corbett and Cheney Joseph Jr. “Our committee has actually already begun working on it,” Corbett said. “But now that they have the report in hand, we will meet with them [today] to begin working on the implementation of the recommendations in the report.” Former Chancellor and Dean of the Law Center Jack Weiss commissioned the report in October 2014 to “help students succeed, foster camaraderie among all students, and promote better understanding of one another’s cultures and experiences,” according to the report. The report was commissioned prior to the Law Center’s
see DIVERSITY, page 4
FASHION
Nonprofit jewelry company aids impoverished people in Costa Rica BY BRITTANY HAGOORT @Brittanyhagoort Fashion can act as an expression of who you are. If you’re a person set out to change the world, you can now start with one small step: your accessories. Hands Producing Hope is a local, nonprofit jewelry company that empowers impoverished people by helping them join a business through their jewelrymaking. Founded by Rebecca Gardner in 2012, the company is currently based in Baton Rouge but travels
to Costa Rica, with plans to soon expand to Rwanda and Africa. Gardner said she began thinking about Hands Producing Hope when she was living in Costa Rica and noticed the struggles the natives were facing. “I saw a very tangible [need], especially for the women in the community,” Gardner said. “They had never been in a space where they have been told of their value and worth.” Gardner said she wanted a place where people felt they could create something for themselves. She said regardless of
gender, ethnicity or where they live, people have the opportunity to get dignified work. Each accessory is handcrafted by the women in Costa Rica with materials from their country. The pieces also have other significance to their artisans: Some of the accessories are named after the women who made them, while others are words that correlate with the piece. “One of my favorite parts of working here is being able to
Hands Producing Hope is a local, nonprofit jewelry company that helps impoverished people join a business through their jewelry-making talents.
EMILY BRAUNER /
see HOPE, page 4
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