TELEVISION: Host of “Tattoo TRACK & FIELD: Goodman twins share Hunter” to speak at University, p. 11 more than just a love for track, p. 7
Reveille The Daily
www.lsureveille.com
Thursday, October 4, 2012 • Volume 117, Issue 29
Let the debates begin Emergency Students offer their views on election
Megan Dunbar Staff Writer
Interdisciplinary studies senior Adria Porsche summed up the first presidential debate Wednesday night in two words. “I’m exhausted.” President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney both talked over moderator Jim Lehrer and exceeded their allotted speaking times during Wednesday’s debate. “They talked a lot, but didn’t say much,”
computer engineering freshman Justin Kilpatrick said. Students watched from the Holliday Forum in the Journalism Building and the Laville Honors residence halls as the debate spanned 90 minutes, covering issues from tax cuts to healthcare changes to domestic energy policy. Obama and Romney did not differentiate themselves, and the Libertarian party candidate Gary Johnson would have lent a nice contrast to the argument, said Young Americans for Liberty president Kyle Aycock.
“If I had my back to the TV, I couldn’t tell a difference between the two candidates,” he said. Aycock said he was unsure why news outlets viewed this as a victory for Romney. Political science associate professor Belinda Davis said in a text message she thought Romney exceeded expectations. “I think Romney stayed to his major points, and even though those points lacked DEBATE, see page 6
photos courtesy of THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney [left] and President Barack Obama [right] answers questions from each other during the first presidential debate at the University of Denver. Listen to Reveille Radio on 91.1 KLSU at 4:20 p.m. and 5:20 p.m. to hear more on Wednesday’s first presidential debate.
TRANSPORTATION
contraflow ‘not feasible’
Preparation time is a huge factor Chris Grillot Staff Writer
The University’s Sept. 17 bomb threat sent the campus into a frenzy of students and faculty trying to evacuate, creating deadstop traffic for hours in the areas around campus. After the incident, one question was frequently asked: “How can 90,000 people leave campus in an orderly and timely manner after a football game but not during an emergency?” The answer is contraflow — a plan that requires cooperation from everyone involved, hours of preparation and more than 300 police officers from different agencies, according to LSU Police Department spokesman Capt. Cory Lalonde. Thus, evacuating the campus in such an orderly manner in an instance like a bomb threat “is not feasible” due to the lack of officers and time to plan contraflow, Lalonde said. CONTRAFLOW, see page 6
UNIVERSITY
Geology camp serves as vital educational tool LSU owns 1,500 acres of land Joshua Bergeron Staff Writer
Nestled in a mountain valley eight miles south of Colorado Springs, Colo., sits a little chunk of home for many University geology students. The LSU Geology Field Camp, opened in 1928, sits at approximately 7,000 feet above sea level in the front-range of the Rocky Mountains — more
than 6,500 feet higher than Baton Rouge. The camp occupies a meadow at the base of the mountains with a small river cutting through it. Just beyond the meadow are vast plains. But the camp is more than a nice landscape — it serves a vital role within the Department of Geology and Geophysics, according to Department Chair Carol Wicks. He said every student is required to attend camp at least once before graduation. Most students attend camp between their junior and senior years, but the school also offers a camp for incoming freshmen.
“Freshmen take eight hours of introductory geology courses,” she said. “The senior field camp students earn six hours of credit. For both, it is beneficial because they have the opportunity to work in a real environment rather than in a classroom.” Geology senior Gregory Keller said the camp is essentially a capstone for the first three years of school, but added that the living experience is as valuable as the classwork. “There were wildfires right near our camp,” Keller said. “But GEOLOGY, see page 6
AUSTIN BENNETT / The Daily Reveille
Geology students carry out preliminary mapping June 11 at South Twin Mountain during LSU Geology Field Camp near Colorado Springs, Colo.