@lsureveille
The Daily Reveille Est. 1887
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Volume 125 · No. 12
lsunow.com
quite the character LSU professor balances acting and teaching careers
STORY BY HAILEY AUGLAIR @haileyauglair1 PHOTO BY CHRISTA MORAN
F
rom acting in major films to teaching at the University, Joe Chrest, an adjunct professor in the LSU School of Music and Dramatic Arts, is living his dream. Chrest began acting his senior year of high school when he took a speech class to overcome his shy habits before
starting college. “They had us do an acting scene and I found that I really enjoyed that,” Chrest said. “It was much easier to be somebody else than to be myself in front of people. It just really clicked.” Chrest graduated as part of the University’s first Master of
Fine Arts program. “When I first came to LSU, I was a graduate assistant. And I saw right then how much I loved [teaching],” Chrest said. “If I was independently wealthy, I would either be an acting student for life or an acting teacher.” Despite Chrest’s busy act-
ing career, he finds time to teach “Introduction to Acting for the Camera” at the University. Chrest said having time to teach while acting is “a dream scenario.” “It’s like having your cake
see CHREST, page 5
MEN’S BASKETBALL
LSU prepares for season opener
BY BRANDON ADAM @badam_TDR It has been 966 days since LSU lost to North Carolina State in the NCAA Tournament. In that time span, a team led by No. 1 overall draft pick Ben Simmons missed postseason play completely, and coach Johnny Jones was fired after one of the worst seasons in LSU history. Enter 34-year-old Will Wade, one of the youngest head coaches in college basketball. Wade’s job this season is to lay a new foundation for a program that made the NCAA Tournament every year from 1984-1993. Since then, LSU has only made the tournament six times. This year’s LSU squad is led by a bevy of new players, and Wade is attempting to instill a defensive identity that can carry over from year-to-year. Last season, the defense finished 335th in the nation with 83.0 points allowed per game. The Tigers’ defense once again struggled in an exhibition game against Tulane, giving up 84 points. Wade criticized himself for the lack of execution on defense and plans to give less experienced players a chance. “This was all stuff we have
see WADE, page 5
ART
LSU professor uses art to spark reflection about immigration BY KATIE GAGLIANO @katie_gagliano
Printmaking assistant professor Leslie Friedman is using art to inject empathy into discourse about immigration. Friedman said today’s rhetoric lacks empathy for our neighbors and the experiences of others. It’s difficult for people to relate to others who are distant or who look different than themselves, she said. Many people believe because they haven’t experienced the hardships of immigration that they aren’t real. Friedman is working to change that by bringing community members’ experiences to the forefront through her installation series “Go Home.” The
professor is calling for accounts from immigrants, participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, refugees and others with firsthand experience with the U.S. immigration system. The original iteration of “Go Home” was inspired by a friend’s struggle to gain asylum status, and later citizenship, in the United Kingdom, Friedman said. The woman was born in the Czech Republic, but she and her father fled the country in response to a threat on his life. She grew up in the United Kingdom but struggled with the country’s immigration system into early adulthood, Friedman said. The “Go Home” installation featured prints of application documents, letters of support
from the friend’s school and rejection letters from the British government. Friedman transformed the documents into wallpaper by printing them in large scale and wheat pasting them on the wall of a dilapidated hotel room. The show also featured felt and vinyl bras covered in foil using a screen printed adhesive. The bras were hung from a shower rod to evoke the idea of being home but not having a place to put your belongings. It’s a feeling most people experience when staying with friends or family, but Friedman wanted the audience to imagine it as an everyday experience, she said. The show was part of an
see PRINTMAKING, page 5
WHITNEY WILLISTON / The Daily Reveille
Professor Leslie Friedman creates printed works using different techniques and firsthand accounts on Nov. 2 in Hatcher Hall.