The Reveille 1-22-24

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WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS

Patrick F. Taylor hall sees severe flooding followed by partial closure.

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FIRST-DAY FLOOD

B-16 Hodges Hall Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, La. 70803

North-side of PFT closes after burst pipe brings indoor deluge

BY CONNOR REINWALD, CROSS HARRIS & OLIVER BUTCHER @Conur16, @thecrossharris & @oliverbutcher73 LSU announced Thursday night the north side of Patrick F. Taylor Hall, including Panera Bread, would close temporarily for repairs following a burst pipe that wrought havoc Wednesday afternoon.

The email, broadcast on behalf of the Office of Communications & University Relations, asked students who don’t have class or work in the building to avoid PFT. “If you do need to access the building for class or work,” the message continued, “please stay out of any roped off or barricaded areas where maintenance is being done.”

PFT’s Thursday night closure began as a drip on Wednesday afternoon.

One drip turned to many, and soon water gushed through ceiling tiles, flooding classrooms and damaging expensive electronics in the building home to LSU’s College of Engineering.

“I saw one light fixture start leaking, then another. And then when the third one started to drip, I got up and moved away,” said engineering and computer science major Jay Smith. “And that’s right about when the ceiling in that area came down.”​​ LSU is no stranger to buildings breaking down. A 2022 report from the Reveille found that LSU suffered from a whopping $640 million in deferred maintenance.

LSU’s dilapidated main library is often seen as the poster child for this issue. Its basement flooded in 2018, damaging the university’s microform collection. And for the last year, the building’s caving fourth-floor ceiling has damaged books, as water finds its way indoors.

Hundreds of millions of dollars in deferred maintenance af-

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Editor in Chief CLAIRE SULLIVAN Managing Editor LAUREN MADDEN Digital Editor OLIVIA TOMLINSON News Editor OLIVER BUTCHER Deputy News Editor CROSS HARRIS Sports Editor PETER RAUTERKUS Deputy Sports Editor MACKAY SUIRE Entertainment Editor MATILDA SIPP MATTHEW PERSCHALL / The Reveille

Water drips from a hole in the ceiling Jan. 17, inside Patrick F. Taylor Hall on LSU’s campus in Baton Rouge, La. fects facilities campus wide.

Take pipe breakages for instance. LSU suffered multiple bouts in 2019, including the campus’ main pipe bursting, which caused a dining hall closure, and another burst pipe in Lockett Hall that rendered an entire classroom useless for a week. A year earlier, a burst pipe in West Hall caused similar flooding.

But for such a burst to happen in PFT, considered one of campus’ best kept buildings, is unusual.

PFT was born in 2007, when LSU renamed the building in honor of TOPS creator Patrick F. Taylor. This change came in anticipation of extensive repair and expansion.

Construction on the new PFT began in 2014, lasted three years and cost more than $100 million. Its conclusion saw the structure grow to 410,000 square feet, making it the largest academic building in the state of

MATTHEW PERSCHALL / The Reveille

A monitor and keyboard sit soaked inside a classroom Jan. 17 inside Patrick F. Taylor Hall on LSU’s campus in Baton Rouge, La.

Louisiana.

Today, PFT is among the most modern and up-to-date facilities on campus.

Even so, less than a decade after its completion, PFT has joined the ranks of the many LSU facilities beleaguered by water damage.

Students and teachers slogged Wednesday afternoon in an attempt to save valuables from being destroyed by the deluge.

Members of the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers were in a club meeting when they learned they needed to evacuate their equipment from one of the closets in PFT. “We have actually a meeting at 5 o’clock, and we were let know that we had to go get our supplies out of the back,” said piano performance sophomore Camila Cuadra. “So we are now trying to save our club and every other clubs’ materials in there.”

While janitors and construction workers tried to clean up the water, faculty and students attempted to save or salvage their things, dragging out books, printers, photos and other personal belongings.

Jacob Parent, an electrical engineering junior, was helping to move electronic equipment from labs when he spoke to the Reveille.

“I was surprised, but you know, we needed to get the equipment out of the way because there’s lots of electronics up here,” Parent said. “So, first reaction was to go to all the labs, help the grad students get their equipment out, go to the power lab, get all this equipment out and then go wherever I need to go next.”

Parent was unsure just how much damage the incident had

caused.

“I couldn’t put a number on it because I just imagine it to be too big,” he said.

Multiple classrooms, laboratories and offices on the north side of PFT were flooded, compromising roof tiles, electronics, personal items and equipment.

The Panera Bread on the first floor endured considerable destruction, forcing employees to throw all of its food away due to water damage. Ceiling tiles and light fixtures there were also damaged and the cash register broken.

“We have rain coming from our ceiling, from our lights,” said Panera Bread employee Chantenay Taylor. “Our ceiling just came through. Too much is going on in this one building.

We are always missing money.”

Asked for her reaction to the situation, Taylor stated simply: “Bullsh–t.”

Shortly after the flooding began, the source of the water was thought to be a burst HVAC system coil, according to Executive Director of Facility and Property Oversight Tammy Millican.

Not all of the building was affected by the leak, and on PFT’s south-side students have continued to study, and faculty continue to work. Power to the building wasn’t affected by the water.

Unclear still is just how much damage the flooding has caused, how much that damage will cost the university and how long the north side of the PFT will be closed.

The mass email sent out Thursday night didn’t contain a time estimate for when repair work would end.

Have you been impacted by the water damage? Contact the Reveille at editor@lsu.edu or on social media to tell us how.

Opinion Editor COLIN FALCON Multimedia Editor MATTHEW PERSCHALL Production Editor EMMA DUHÉ Chief Designer PAOLA SANTIAGO RODRIGUEZ

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CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS The Reveille holds accuracy and objectivity at the highest priority and wants to reassure its readers the reporting and content of the paper meets these standards. This space is reserved to recognize and correct any mistakes that may have been printed in The Daily Reveille.

If you would like something corrected or clarified, please contact the editor at (225) 578-4811 or email editor@lsu.edu.

ABOUT THE REVEILLE The Reveille is written, edited and produced solely by students of Louisiana State University. The Reveille is an independent entity of the Office of Student Media within the Manship School of Mass Communication.

A single issue of The Reveille is free from multiple sites on campus and about 25 sites off campus. To obtain additional copies, please visit the Office of Student Media in B-39 Hodges Hall or email studentmedia@ lsu.edu. The Reveille is published biweekly during the fall, spring and summer semesters, except during holidays and final exams. The Reveille is funded through LSU students’ payments of the Student Media fee.

NEWS AI VS. CANCER

A group of students are levereging artificial intelligence to fight cancer

BY MARTIN SULLIVAN @marty_sulli Shortened for Print Paper Jan. 22: A group of LSU students are leveraging AI to fight cancer - Martin Sullivan Four LSU students developed a new artificial intelligence tool last fall that could enable hospitals to automate cancer staging.

“Our project was to develop a large language model that can take cancer pathology reports, specifically breast cancer, and give them to Language Learning Models that both tell the staging of the cancer and help patients to better understand the reports themselves,” said computer science junior Yueh Wang.

Wang is one of four computer science majors, including senior Kyle McCleary, junior Aditya Srivastava and sophomore Jamar Whitfield, who developed the tool last fall in an honors course at the university.

The project’s sponsor was professor Lucio Miele, chair for the Department of Genetics at LSU Health New Orleans’ School of Medicine.

Staging is the process by which doctors determine a cancer’s severity by determining its size and spread. The most common is the Tumor, Node, Metastasis system.

The five stages of cancer, zero to four, provide a general description of specific staging protocols, like

GRAPHIC BY JACOB CHASTANT

This graphic is an artist’s rendition.

TNM. The LSU students’ staging tool used optical character recognition to scan doctors’ notes then determine stage with the TNM system based on the information.

Staging can be a long and timeconsuming for medical professionals because it involves collecting and synthesizing many documents.

“They collect thousands of reports. They have a very large number of files they have to go over, like pathology reports.” Wang said “Our involvement in it will improve their efficiency and save time.”

After the staging process, medi-

cal staff can export the information to JSON, CSB or Excel files to make them more compatible with their own systems.

Baseline tests during last semester reached 90% to 92% effectiveness, but the team of computer science majors is striving for better.

“We’re going to thoroughly verify the accuracy of the pipeline is at least 98% to 99%,” McCleary said.

In cases where there is an uncertainty or unknown, the tool is trained to report inconclusiveness to avoid confident falsehood, what computer scientists call hallucina-

tions.

All personal information is redacted prior to usage by the tool, so no sensitive information is used or at risk.

“Security in medicine is more important than almost any other industry, so being able to properly ensure we can deploy this stuff at scale without putting anything in danger is very important,” McCleary said.

The group also developed a framework and web app for deploying LLMs and other AI tools, named QueryLake. The model has a similar interface to ChatGPT but implements new features—like shareable document “playlists,” McCleary calls them—on top of existing language models.

McClearly said he sees QueryLake as the perfect tool for instructors who want to push productivity as much as possible, especially technical courses like programming.

Common to the rise of AI is the anxiety that more able computers will mean less work for people, but McCleary sees it differently. For him, the two aren’t mutually exclusive.

“Pessimists will say we’re automating jobs away, but I think every meaningful job can save time not doing the menial stuff,” McCleary said. “We get to recycle our own time by using it on something more valuable.”

page 3 WEATHER

Arctic freeze causes distress

BY TYLER LAULAND @tlauland An unusual and historic winter has kicked off the first month of the new year with freezing temperatures and icy conditions across Louisiana, leading to havoc and stress for its residents.

In preparation for the extreme weather, Gov. Jeff Landry signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency on Jan. 12, days before the harshest conditions were expected between Sunday, Jan. 14, and Wednesday, Jan. 17.

“We are encouraging everyone to prepare for these conditions and heed the advice of your local officials,” Landry said. “The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) stands ready to support our local emergency partners with any resources needed beyond their capabilities. Road crews are on standby in an attempt to keep our roads open.”

The anticipated freezing conditions appeared as expected and caused a multitude of problems around the Bayou State.

LSU canceled school on Tuesday and delayed its start time till 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday “due to the forecast of winter weather and icy conditions” said an email sent

see WEATHER, page 4

LEGISLATION

Session approves two majority Black congressional districts

BY ELIZABETH WHITE & CLAIRE SULLIVAN Manship School News Serivce BATON ROUGE—The Legislature on Friday passed the original congressional redistricting map backed by Gov. Jeff Landry after stripping out a House committee’s amendment that would have divided East Baton Rouge Parish into three congressional districts.

The bill now goes to Landry’s desk, along with a separate bill to approve his proposal to switch from open primary elections, in which candidates from all parties compete against each other, to more closed ones run by each party.

But that change came only after lawmakers amended Landry’s plan to allow unaffiliated voters to participate in one of the party primaries.

Both chambers then voted to end the special elections session without taking any action on a proposal to create new district

maps for electing state Supreme Court justices.

Rep. Beau Beaullieu, R-New Iberia, presented the congressional redistricting bill to the House on behalf of Sen. Glen Womack, R-Harrisonburg, and proposed an amendment to remove the changes made in Thursday’s House committee hearing.

“It’s my thought this instrument was in its best posture when it came over here from the Senate, and so I am offering an amendment to put it back in that posture,” said Beaullieu on the amendment.

The amendment, presented by Rep. Les Farnum, R-Sulphur, was debated heavily on Wednesday in the House and Governmental Affairs Committee and passed 14-1. Rep. Denise Marcelle, DEast Baton Rouge, opposed the amended bill because it divided East Baton Rouge Parish into three districts. Farnum was trying to avoid splitting Calcasieu and Ouachita parishes into more than district each, but that now

will be the case.

Beauilleu’s amendment passed 84-16, returning the Congressional map to its originally proposed version.

Louisiana’s population is more than 30% Black, and a federal judge had ordered the Legislature to create a map in which a second of the six congressional districts had a majority-minority district. Landry said he preferred to have the Legislature create the map rather than having the judge do it. Another Republican goal was to protect the seats of U.S. Reps. Mike Johnson, Steve Scalise and Julia Letlow.

“I firmly submit that the congressional voting boundaries represented in this bill best achieve the goals of protecting Congresswoman Letlow’s seat, maintaining strong districts for Speaker Johnson and Majority Leader Scalise, ensuring four Republican districts and adhering to the command of the federal court in the Middle District of Louisiana,” said Beaullieu in support of the

original version of the bill.

The House passed the bill outlining Womack’s originally proposed Congressional map 8616, and the Senate reapproved in 27-11.

Also Friday, the Senate passed an amended bill 29-9 that would allow unaffiliated voters to participate in party primaries for federal elections and several state offices, and the House then approved the Senate’s changes, sending that bill to Landry as well.

The inclusion of those not registered in a party sought to address concerns that the bill would disenfranchise those voters. It does not include people who are registered with a group called the Independent Party.

The Senate also voted 28-9 to add back the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Public Service Commission to the list of offices that would select candidates through party primaries. Congressional seats and the state Supreme Court

were already included in the bill.

Under the state’s present primary system, candidates of all parties compete together on the ballot. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the first contest, then the top-two vote- getters compete in a runoff.

If this bill becomes law, parties would vote to select their candidates to compete in a general election. With the amendment added Friday, unaffiliated voters could choose to vote in one of the major parties’ races.

Those in favor of the legislation said it would help voters more easily vet candidates through a shorter ballot and allow parties to pick who they want to compete in a general election. Those opposed said it would be costly, confusing and that it was being rushed unnecessarily through the Legislature.

Chief among the disagreements was the question of why the issue had been brought up

see LEGISLATION, page 4

Monday, January 22, 2024

page 4 WEATHER, from page 3 out by the university in order to keep its community safe from potential dangers. This was an effort undercut by the sudden flooding of Patrick F. Taylor Hall after an HVAC coil is suspected to have burst due to the cold weather a few hours after classes returned.

“The cold was really biting and I had to layer up a couple of times but I think over the two days it happened I was pretty safe,” said coastal environmental science freshman Allen Barchak.

The low temperatures broke records, including a high of 34

LEGISLATION, from page 3 at this moment. Gov. Jeff Landry added it to the list of issues to address in a special session primarily focused on drawing new Congressional and Supreme Court maps.

“Why are we rushing this through?” said Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, who voted against the bill. “Why is this suddenly the biggest emergency you could imagine when we don’t even know what this would cost?”

Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, who also opposed the bill, echoed similar sentiments.

“We heard Gov. Landry talk about three things, primarily: crime, jobs and education,” he said. “I listened very intently

degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday in Baton Rouge, 28 degrees below the usual high that calendar day for the past 30 years. The lowest temperature Tuesday was 19 degrees.

Alerts had been sent out including hard freeze warnings and a windy conditions advisory for the Baton Rouge area.

These freezing conditions led to multiple wrecks on Interstate-10, and the closure of all lanes from La415 to the base of the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge in St. Martin Parish.

The National Weather Service in New Orleans and Baton Rouge advised drivers to stay off the roads

from Monday night to late Tuesday morning in southwest Louisiana due to black ice on roadways.

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development prepared for the icy roads with approximately 250,000 pounds of untreated salts on hand.

Major portions of I-10 from Lafayette to New Orleans were shut down beginning on the evening of Jan. 15, and smaller parts of Interstate-12 and Interstate-55 were shut down at times. All major bridges and roadways in the Baton Rouge area had reopened as of Tuesday evening.

The Baton Rouge Fire Department received calls ranging from accidents to fires, some of which were avoidable.

In one instance, building materials were brought into a home to make a fire in an attempt to stay warm, which then lost control, according to BRFD spokesperson Justin Hill.

The state recommends that when in freezing weather, to protect the 4 P’s: people, pets, pipes and plants.

LSU AgCenter horticulturist Heather Kirk-Ballard recommended through a video released on X

(formerly Twitter) to cover tropical plants during the warmest part of the day to trap in the heat and create insulation and to water in the soil at the soil line, as water is an excellent insulator.

The cold weather also affected the fishing industry, causing a struggle for crawfish farmers. The cold weather causes a decrease in crawfish and a raise in prices, affecting not just the farmers, but local businesses that depend on this product during the spring season, a sign that the wintery effects of the last week will persist into the future.

when he gave his inaugural speech. Even in his inaugural speech, he didn’t mention closed primaries.”

Sen. Blake Miguez, R-Erath, defended the timing.

“We have been forced to be here because a federal judge has asked us to draw our redistricting mass for Congress, but we serve the people and we’re here to work for the people,” he said.

“It doesn’t mean that we can’t take up other important issues.”

Miguez carried the bill on the Senate floor. He argued that the current primary system put Louisiana’s congressional members at a disadvantage. If they have to compete in a December runoff, he said, they could be a month behind their colleagues from

other states in preparing for office and jockeying for committee assignments.

Duplessis rejected the idea that Louisiana’s representatives had paid a cost in D.C. because of the state’s primary system.

“Colleagues, the speaker of the House of Representatives in the U.S. Congress is from Louisiana. The majority leader for the House of Representatives is from Louisiana,” he said. “I am not sure how we are suffering as a result of this schedule.”

Miguez also dismissed objections to the cost of the switch.

Senators were not clear when they voted what that exact cost would be due to the adding and subtracting of offices over the days to the list of what would fall

under party primaries.

“It holds our democracy together, and it’s well worth the money,” Miguez said.

Luneau raised specific concerns about including Supreme Court races in the bill, which he said would increase partisanship.

His amendment to exclude those offices was rejected 28-9.

Sen. Alan Seabaugh, RShreveport, criticized him for “picking away bits and pieces” of the compromise that had already been reached. “Let’s stick with the deal that was made yesterday,” he said.

“I’m trying to reach a compromise,” Luneau responded. “And I think it’s a reasonable request because it doesn’t say we’ll never do this, it doesn’t say we should

never do this, it says let’s put the brakes on, let’s just pump the brakes just a little while.”

The bill was authored by Rep. Julie Emerson, R-Carencro.

If it is signed into law, it would not go into effect until 2026, a delay from the governor’s original plan.

With Friday’s amendments, the Legislative Fiscal Office estimated the bill would cost over $19 million in the next fiscal year.

And though Landry spearheaded the push for closed primaries, not all members of his party were in agreement. The bill, without the provision for unaffiliated voters, had passed on a narrower margin in the House Thursday on a 64-40 vote, with some Republicans opposed.

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ENTERTAINMENT

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THIS WEEK IN BR MONDAY AT 5 p.m.

BY CLAIRE THERIOT @ClaireTheriot2

ND

Global Game Jam LSU Digital Media Center Theatre Global Game Jam is an event taking place across the world in various locations. Students will participate in a 48-hour session where they will design and develop several video games while hearing from professionals in the field. Tickets to the game jam’s theme reveal are $30 a person. The event will begin at 5 p.m. in the LSU Digital Media Center Theater on 340 E. Parker Blvd.

WEDNESDAY AT 7 p.m.

Join the Ballroom Club for country swing dance lessons from 6-8 p.m. in the Vieux Carre Room. No dance partner or dance experience is required. After the country swing lesson, social dance hour begins, and different ballroom and partner dances will be taught.

24

JANUARY

TH

23

JANUARY

LSU Ballroom Country Club Swing Vieux Carre Room

Queen’s of Louisiana presents Taylor Swift Trivia Series Tap65

RD

TUESDAY AT 6 p.m.

22

JANUARY

Want to see your event in The Reveille?

Email information to editor@lsu.edu.

Queens of Louisiana and AK Swifties are hosting a Taylor Swift Trivia Series event for all the Swifties at Tap65. They will quiz players on their knowledge of Taylor Swift as drag queen put on Swift-inspired performances. Taylor Swift themed cocktails as well as Indian inspired food will be available for purchase. The event is from 7–9 p.m. at 515 Mouton St. Suite 103. Entry is free and trivia seating is first come first serve.

A dive into the online world of ‘bookstagram’ creators

BY EMILY BRACHER @emily_bracher_ In the online cohort of “bookstagram” creators, tea is sipped while enemies become lovers and forbidden romance meets magical fantasy worlds.

A bookstagram account is an Instagram page for book reviews, discussions and recommendations. Creators post things like their favorite books and other aesthetic and inspirational content for their followers to enjoy. For avid readers, book enthusiasts and fantasy fan girls alike, these pages serve as spaces for community.

Zoey Mclean, 23, from Ontario, Canada, started her book-

stagram in November to talk to others who were also interested in reading. Her account started shortly after a shoulder injury that left her with enough downtime to start avidly reading again, a hobby that she said she fell off of in high school.

“I was feeling really lonely with spending all my time at home by myself and I wanted an outlet where I could chat about books and make new friends who shared like-minded opinions,” Mclean said.

Bookstagram gave Mclean the opportunity to expand and grow as a reader. She said that she treats it like a nine-to-five job. When she started, Mclean said that she primarily read ro-

mance but has now expanded to genres like fantasy.

“I love reading and always have because it’s been an escape for me, from either my responsibilities or the world itself,” Mclean said.

Her passion started when she was 11 years old, hiding from family dinner up in her room reading her “Warrior Cats” books. In 2023, she was hiding up in her room reading her fairy romance books.

“Not much has changed,” she said.

Reading doesn’t start at the first page for Mclean, but at her IKEA bookcase that she said she has finally set up beautifully.

Not only does she try to organize it by color, but also by author and series.

Mclean sets the tone for her reading time by lying on her couch and putting on a YouTube ambience video or instrumental music. She said she will add in a candle and some lighting while she reads to bring the cozy vibe over the top. Her big dream is to one day purchase a comfy reading chair.

“I’m hoping to keep finding

new, independent and smaller authors that I can support through my page,” Mclean said.

“The reason I feel so passionately about this space and creating book content on Instagram is a bit of my younger self who dreamed of being an influencer.”

Teagan Tensek, 22, from Sydney, Australia, is another bookstagram creator who is passionate about creating a space for people to talk about books.

She started her account in October and has already brought in more than 7,000 followers. Even though she has gained a following, Tensek said that she didn’t start this page to become an influencer.

“I started because I love reading,” she said.

One problem many people face when it comes to reading is getting into a slump where they can’t find the right book, and they lose the motivation to read. Tensek said to try rereading one of your favorites or getting a thriller so you have a page-turner.

Like Tensek, Mclean said that thrillers are great for getting out of a reading slump. Also, if

you’re looking for a book but don’t quite know what you’re looking for, Mclean said that the best way to start is looking through bookstagram accounts like her own. She said that there are tons of great recommendations out there and that you don’t have to go far to find a lovely, new book.

The creators of bookstagrams have become an important part of bringing reading back into people’s lives, and helping people who didn’t know where to begin reading. Mclean said that her account has allowed her to meet many smaller authors and promote their work on her platform.

“I would definitely encourage anyone who is passionate about reading or writing books to make that jump to start a bookstagram account because it’s made a massive positive impact in my life and I’m eternally grateful for this opportunity,” she said.

For more information and inspiration on the latest hit books, Tensek can be found @teags. reads and Mclean can be found @zozosbookshelf.

Monday, January 22, 2024

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Monday, January 22, 2024

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TIGER GYMNASTIC DEFEATS KENTUCKY WILDCATS 198.125 - 197.600 All-around freshman Konnor McClain competes on the balance beam.

All-around senior Haleigh Bryant adjusts her crown.

All-around graduate student Kiya Johnson receives a perfect 10.00 on floor.

All-around sophomore Annie Beard competes on the balance beam.

Vault/ balance beam/ floor exercise graduate student Sierra Ballard greets fans.

All-around graduate student Kiya Johnson concludes her floor exercise with a pose.

LSU wins on Jan. 19 in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center with 10’s from Haleigh Bryant on the uneven bars and Kiya Johnson on the floor.

All-around junior Alexis Jeffrey competes on bars.

All-around graduate student Kiya Johnson celebrates with her teammates after her perfect floor routine.

All-around junior Aleah Finnegan competes on the balance beam.

All-around junior KJ Johnson performs her floor routine.

Photos by Erin Barker & Francis Dinh

Classifieds

Monday, January 22, 2024

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We also transport larger groups (7-15) for special occasions in BR, Nola or other cities at very reasonable rates. We stay booked and have been serving the LSU community for years, so let us do the driving and Text us at 225-252-7155 for a link to our Transport Request Form to reserve your spot. Geaux Tigers!

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SPORTS HOT SHOTS

Sharp shooting leads LSU women’s basketball to a 99-68 win

BY TYLER HARDEN @ttjharden8 The Tigers were back in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Sunday afternoon for the first time in two games, and they were able to secure a 99-68 win over Arkansas.

There was a lot of sharp shooting for LSU on Sunday, especially from Mikaylah Williams, who hadn’t made a 3-point shot in the last two games.

Williams hadn’t made a 3-point shot in more than a week until this game; She shot 0-for-2 against Alabama on Thursday, and 0-for-1 in the loss to Auburn last Sunday.

Sunday’s matchup against Arkansas was different. Williams finished with 21 points and knocked down two 3-pointers in the first quarter. She finished the afternoon shooting 3-for-5 from three.

Williams hadn’t made a 3-pointer since Texas A&M came to town on Jan. 11, where she shot 2-for-5.

Could her recent 3-point success at home and her struggles on the road just be a coincidence? Yes. But the Tiger faithful could also be her secret weapon for knocking down shots from

ERIN BARKER / The Reveille

The LSU women’s basketball team celebrates a play on Jan. 21 during LSU’s game against Arkansas in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La. behind the arc.

Hailey Van Lith scored in double figures as well. While she shot 2-for-6 from three, she finished with 20 points and six assists, shooting 7-for-18 from the field, and 4-for-4 from the foul line.

Flau’jae Johnson also made multiple 3-pointers, as she finished with 13 points, and shot

2-for-4 from three.

However, an unfamiliar face had a spot in the three-point club for Sunday’s matchup: Angel Reese. Reese made her lone 3-point attempt in the second quarter, and she finished with 16 points and 17 rebounds.

Aneesah Morrow came alive in the second half, as she finished with 14 points and eight

rebounds. After six points in the first half, she scored six points in the third quarter. Aalyah Del Rosario added seven points and four rebounds off the bench.

The 3-point success from LSU was ironic, as Arkansas is known for enjoying the three ball. But the Razorbacks didn’t have the same luck, as they shot 12-for-47 from behind the arc.

Arkansas’ lack of 3-point success seemed to have deflated its offense as a whole.

Samara Spencer led the Razorbacks with 20 points along with seven assists. She shot 3-for-9 from three. Maryam Dauda scored 16 points, shooting 4-for-11 from three, and Makayla Daniels scored 13 points along with six rebounds.

LSU looked like the team many expect it to be in Sunday’s matchup. There never was a dull moment from the opening tip to the final buzzer. And much of that had to do with Williams.

Arkansas made Reese its priority to defend and Williams and LSU’s guards took advantage.

Williams scored an early five points to force a timeout from Arkansas, as LSU had built a 9-0 lead within the first three minutes of the game. Johnson also

see SHARP SHOOTING, page 10

page 9 MEN’S BASKETBALL

LSU men’s basketball loses to Texas A&M

BY JASON WILLIS @JasonWillis4 Beating a team twice is more difficult than is given credit, but that doesn’t make it any easier to bear the loss.

After a last-second 73-69 loss to Texas A&M, a team that LSU had beaten two weeks prior, guard Jordan Wright sat with his head in his hands.

“They came out with a chip on their shoulder,” said Wright, who had a team-leading 15 points.

“We didn’t meet the challenge, we didn’t meet the physicality. So that’s something that we got to look in the mirror, and say, ‘Are we going to be the tougher team or are we just gonna fold over?’”

A&M won primarily because it played with more effort, which is what it’s done all year. The Aggies lead the nation in offensive rebounds for good reason.

Thanks to superior energy and positioning, A&M came up with loose balls and kept possessions alive, eventually finishing with 20 offensive rebounds and 27 second chance points; the Tigers had six and zero.

see MEN’S LOSS, page 10

GYMNASTICS

Double trouble: LSU gym defeats Kentucky in SEC opener

BY AVA HEBERT @avahebe4 LSU gymnastics won its Southeastern Conference opener against the Kentucky Wildcats 198.125197.600.

“I’m just proud of them,” LSU head coach Jay Clark said following the win.

Although the No. 8 ranked Tigers were underdogs heading into their meet against a No. 6 Kentucky squad, key gymnasts such as Haleigh Bryant and Kiya Johnson kept LSU in the lead consistently. Both gymnasts scored perfect 10.

“They’re hammers,” Clark said.

“They’re awesome.”

Bryant continued to show off her skill set as an all-around gymnast. With a score of 39.825, she took home yet another all-around title. It’s likely she will remain a top 10 all-around gymnast in the nation, as she is currently ranked No. 2.

Both teams came into the meet ranked 3-1 on the season, with each squad’s only loss being against the No. 1 ranked Oklahoma. Because of this, the Tigers knew they needed to bring their A-game against

the Wildcats.

“Kentucky is a strong team and we know who we’re on the floor with. They are very clean and execute exceptionally well,” Clark said in a press conference before the meet.

KJ Johnson led LSU on vault with a 9.850, followed by Amari Drayton’s 9.875. After sticking the landing, Savannah Schoenherr scored a 9.925.

After Johnson’s 9.90, Bryant, ranked No. 4 in vault, anchored with a 9.975, and the Tiger’s finished their first rotation with a score of 49.525.

Kentucky started the meet on the uneven bars. Freshman Delaynee Rodriguez led the Wildcats with a 9.90 followed by Annie Riegert’s 9.875.

Cecily Rizo and Candance Gormley followed with a 9.825 and 9.775 respectively. Raena Worley anchored with a 9.975, and the Wildcats finished with a 49.450 on uneven bars.

After the first rotation, LSU led 49.525 to Kentucky’s 49.450.

After transitioning to the uneven bars, LSU continued to prove its dominance.

Bryant scored her first perfect 10 of the season as the Tigers’ anchor on uneven bars.

Before Bryant’s flawless routine, Savannah Schoenherr scored a 9.925 and freshman Konnor McClain followed with a 9.875. In the Tigers’ prior meet, the Sprout’s Farmers Market Quad Meet, McClain scored the first 10 of her collegiate career and the first of LSU’s season in the same event.

Kentucky ended with a 49.400 on vault, allowing LSU to hold its lead 98.975-98.850.

Despite the Tigers’ difficulty with the balance beam in past meets, they hardly struggled to produce high scores against Kentucky.

Against the Wildcats, LSU moved its lineups around to produce better scores and seemingly found success.

“We knew it was only a matter of time,” Clark said.

Sierra Ballard led the Tigers with a 9.90 after a stuck landing. Sophomore Annie Beard followed with a 9.875 and McClain scored a 9.80, which was ultimately dropped.

The bottom half of the lineup

remained as strong as the top.

Johnson led the bottom half with a 9.90 after sticking her double full dismount. Bryant stayed hot after her perfect uneven bars routine, scoring another 9.90.

Aleah Finnegan anchored with a 9.850, leaving the Tigers with a score of 49.425 on their beam rotation.

Even after Kentucky scored a 49.475 on the floor, LSU held onto the lead by 0.75 points.

The Tigers finished the meet on floor, which has consistently been their strongest event.

Ballard started the Tiger’s off strong with a 9.875, and McClain followed suit, scoring a 9.925.

Though Tiger fans demanded a 10, KJ Johnson’s routine ultimately scored a 9.950.

Drayton ended her routine with a score of 9.90, Bryant followed with a 9.950, and Johnson anchored, scoring the Tiger’s second perfect 10.000 of the night.

“I’ve been looking forward to doing a floor routine in the PMAC for a long time now,” Johnson said.

Clark almost pulled Johnson off of floor since the Tiger’s had secured the win already, but since

she was healthy and feeling well, he allowed her to perform.

The victory marked Clark’s fiftieth win.

After dominating against the Wildcats, LSU’s program record now sits at 86-10-0 and 25-2-0 at home.

After placing second on the road in the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad Meet and winning their SEC opener, the Tigers are continuing to prove that they deserve to be a top 10 team.

FRANCIS DIHN / The Reveille

LSU gymnastics junior all-around KJ Johnson strikes a pose during her floor exercise Jan. 19 during LSU‘s 198.125 - 197.600 victory over Kentucky in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

page 10

Monday, January 22, 2024

SHARP SHOOTING, from page 9 had five points in the opening quarter. Van Lith then scored eight points in the second quarter, and Williams added another five points.

While Reese was a defensive threat in the first quarter with seven rebounds in the opening quarter alone, she was held to just two rebounds in the second quarter.

It was important that LSU’s guards came alive as quickly as they did. In more competitive Southeastern Conference matchups, and especially the postseason, more teams will make Reese and Morrow their priority to control. To stay in games and win, Williams, Johnson and Van Lith become that much more important for the team.

Speaking of more competitive SEC matchups, LSU will be back in the PMAC on Thursday to take on Dawn Staley and her No. 1-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks. The Tigers will obviously be tested, and they arguably won’t have a more difficult test until the postseason.

The Tigers and the Gamecocks square off in the PMAC on Thursday at 7 p.m.

At 6 p.m. that night, ESPN will host College Gameday at the PMAC, marking the first time College Gameday has come to Baton Rouge for a women’s basketball game. The game will also be aired on ESPN.

MEN’S LOSS, from page 9 gers had six and zero.

“They crashed really hard,” forward Jalen Reed said. “They sent a lot of people to the glass.

Tonight, we just weren’t getting them. I really wish I had an answer for why.”

In the last matchup with A&M, LSU did an excellent job of rebounding as a team, with seven different players having three rebounds to total six more rebounds than the Aggies. That effort was missing in the rematch.

Texas A&M also played its preferred brand of offense in the second half, running through guard Wade Taylor IV, one of the frontrunners for Southeastern Conference Player of the Year.

Limited by foul trouble, Taylor had zero points in the first half before being unleashed in the second half for 19 points and six assists.

Taylor and Tyrece Radford have taken almost 60% of A&M’s shot attempts during SEC play, and that trend continued. Radford added 15 points of his own on Saturday.

LSU fought back to match A&M’s efforts for much of the second half and had the ball down 72-69 with a chance to tie in the final seconds.

However, A&M’s defense out of the timeout caused LSU to move on from its original play and settle for a difficult Jalen Cook 3-pointer that was off, essentially ending the game.

LSU’s offense ran smoothly for most of the game, but the

ERIN BARKER / The Reveille ERIN BARKER / The Reveille

LSU women’s basketball freshman guard Mikaylah Williams (12) dribbles the ball Jan. 21 during LSU’s 99-68 win over Arkansas in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La

LSU women’s basketball junior forward Angel Reese (10) grabs a rebound Jan. 21 during LSU’s 99-68 win over Arkansas in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La.

ERIN BARKER / The Reveille

ERIN BARKER / The Reveille

LSU women’s basketball junior guard Last-Tear Poa (13) passes the ball Jan. 21 during LSU’s 99-68 win over Arkansas in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La.

LSU women’s basketball graduate student transfer guard Hailey Van Lith (11) dribbles the ball Jan. 21 during LSU’s 99-68 win over Arkansas in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La.

Tigers made two of their last 11 shots, getting bogged down in isolation offense instead of the ball movement that had worked well for them before.

“Too much dribbling,” head coach Matt McMahon said. “Couple of zero-pass possessions…

That played into their hands there.”

“As older guards, older players on this team we gotta do a better job of making sure we execute our entire set,” Wright said of his and Cook’s shot selection late in the game. “We didn’t even allow them to run clock, we didn’t even let our play develop.”

Cook in particular has struggled with taking consistently high-quality shots, and he’s now

where the Tigers would collapse on A&M’s drives.

The Aggies responded with uncharacteristically sharp shooting, as they shot 6-for-13 from distance in the first half without Taylor, the team’s best shooter.

In the second half, Taylor was cut loose, and there was an immediate difference. Taylor scored or assisted on eight of A&M’s first 11 field goals of the half.

Texas A&M players not named Wade Taylor cooled off considerably in the second half, combining to shoot nine of 25, including 0-for-11 from 3-point range. By that time, though, it didn’t matter; Taylor was back to his routine dominance.

made less than 40% of his shots in four out of five SEC games.

His playmaking has also taken a dip, with just two assists and 14 turnovers in his last three games.

Bad habits like those caused the game to get away from LSU in crunch time.

The Tigers also suffered from a missed opportunity to pull ahead in the first half, when Taylor played only six minutes after collecting two early fouls.

With Taylor absent, the rest of the Aggies stepped up.

A&M has been the worst team in the SEC in terms of 3-point percentage, which caused LSU to strategically give the Aggies space to shoot and instead focus their defense on the paint,

ERIN BARKER/ The Reveille

LSU men’s basketball head coach Matt McMahon reacts to a play on Jan. 17, during LSU’s 89-80 win against Ole Miss in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La.

LSU’s defense generally lacked its usual sharpness, as it once again committed too many fouls and also came up with only one steal, well short of its SECleading average of 9.8 per game.

The Tigers’ effort was nearly enough to win, but A&M ultimately came out on top by playing its brand of basketball.

The experience of being in a close game with a tough team will be a valuable one for LSU as it moves forward, although the late-game offensive execution is certainly cause for concern and will need to be addressed.

For now, LSU will prepare to travel to face Georgia on Wednesday, in a game that could once again be a fight to the end.

ERIN BARKER / The Reveille

LSU men’s basketball freshman guard Mike Williams III (2) reaches for the hoop on Jan. 17 during LSU’s 89-80 win against Ole Miss in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La.

OPINION

page 11

The education system desperately needs to get with the times ISABELLA’S INSIGHTS ISABELLA ALBERTINI

@BasedIsabella

Imagine growing up in the 1920s with long-outdated technology, cranky old cars and completely different fashion trends.

So much has evolved in the past century, but one thing has failed to change and adapt to its new environment: the education system.

If you look up a picture of a classroom from the 1920s, it won’t look too different from the one you grew up attending. You can look up a picture of almost anything else from 100 years ago, and you’ll see a big difference.

However, the format and content of education has mostly stayed the same. Why is that?

“I believe the purpose of education is to prepare students to be participants in communities posthigh school and post-college. That includes employment. It includes higher education. It includes their ability to be civically engaged in the communities that they live in,” said Belinda Davis, an associate professor in LSU’s political science

GRAPHIC BY MADDIE FITZMORRIS

department and a former member of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

These communities, however, won’t be the same for all students. Not everyone goes on to attend college after graduating high school, yet they receive the same education. The education system needs to prepare students of all backgrounds and career plans, not just those who take the conventional route.

“Do I think that we are doing a good job of fulfilling that mission?

I think that we are doing a good

job with some students for preparing them for higher education; we could be doing a better job preparing students to leave high school and enter the workforce,” Davis said.

About 20 years ago, Louisiana adopted a college-for-everyone approach to high school education.

As a result, high schools switched gears and shut down their vocational education and career tech training, Davis said. In wake of that mistake, those programs had to be re-geared, and there has now been an increased emphasis on ca-

reer and technical education in the state over the past several years, she said.

“Change like that doesn’t happen overnight, and it requires reinvestment of dollars in programs that have been shut down. I think that we are moving in the right direction when it comes to that,” Davis said.

Although change may not always come from the top down, it can start with one student, teacher or parent. After all, we all participate in the education system in one way or another, and its effects have lasting consequences on your lives.

There are many aspects of the system that different people want to change, whether it’s the inequality of resources that some schools get over others, the shortcomings of disability services or post-high school career preparedness.

According to Davis, there’s always a possibility for change to take place.

“Those kinds of policy changes have to come from either the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education or the state Legislature, but that doesn’t mean that educators or parents or even

students are powerless,” she said.

“If enough educators are reaching out to local school board members, then the statewide association can make that an issue where they pursue legislative change. They should advocate to both their local school board as well as the state school board.”

If everyone involved in education, in one way or another, voices their concerns and promotes change, we’ll see the system make progress toward meeting students’ current needs.

It’s up to the parents to speak up in local school board meetings, up to the teachers to see what’s happening in the classrooms and demand change and up to the students who go through the system and leave feeling something was missing.

We may not see drastic change happen in two or 20 years, but with positive, constant change, the system will hopefully be substantially improved and unrecognizable when the next century comes around.

Isabella Albertini is a 23-year-old mass communication junior from Lima, Peru.

Louisiana needs its jungle primary to maintain democracy PELLITTIERI’S PERSPECTIVE MATTHEW PELLITTIERI @m_pellittieri It’s only January, but Gov. Jeff Landry and the GOP-controlled state Legislature have already started to secure their eternal reign over Louisiana.

On Jan. 19, a bill by Rep. Julie Emerson, R-Carencro, passed the Senate in a vote of 29-9 and the House in a vote of 67-36. It’s a slightly watered down version of one of Landry’s top priorities for the special session that he called to address Congressional redistricting and other electoral matters.

Beginning in 2026, Louisiana will hold party primary elections for Congress, the state Supreme Court, BESE and the Public Service Commission. Landry had hoped for this to extend to other offices as well.

This is a substantial change from the unique electoral system Louisianians are used to. For de-

cades, all candidates for an office, regardless of party, have appeared on one ballot. If no candidate received a majority, then the top two vote-getters would proceed to a runoff.

There are three reasons why Emerson’s bill and Landry’s vision for our elections are bad for the state’s democracy.

First, party primaries promote political extremism. When a candidate only has to appeal to their core base of supporters, they’re drawn to the extremes of their party. In a “jungle” primary, they have to appeal to the whole electorate, or at least reign in their more partisan perspectives.

In a conservative state like Louisiana, party primaries mean that the Trumpiest of MAGA firebrands will not just get more political oxygen, but light the government ablaze with bigotry and populist rage.

Second, runoffs simply give voters a second chance and ensure that the winner has majority support. If a horrible candidate with terrible beliefs manages to get a plurality of votes, then the major-

ity of voters who chose someone else have another opportunity to prevent that candidate from winning. They don’t have that option without a two-round system.

Third, party primaries institutionalize political parties. When the state Legislature passes a law that says there will be a Democratic primary and a Republican primary, they are fully incorporating those parties in the apparatus of our elections more than they already are. The parties go from just collections of like minded individuals bound together by a network of cash and relationships to pieces of the state which the government can’t check but must submit itself to.

Political parties are already bad enough. We don’t need to elevate their members above all other Louisianians.

The political pessimist may at this point ask whether any of this matters.

After all, the Louisiana Republican Party already holds immense power, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon. This columnist himself wrote two rather

negativeopinions about the weakness of our state’s democracy last fall.

Landry won outright in the first round and the GOP secured supermajorities in both chambers of the state Legislature. But this is neither a failure of the current electoral system nor a corrupt process working as intended.

Poor turnout and widespread voter apathy have been responsible for pushing nimrod politicians with noxious policies into office.

The current system is what stands between a powerful state GOP and an omnipotent one. The likes of Landry and Emerson are bad, but closed party primaries are a recipe for an unending disaster that will trump (pun intended) whatever nightmares await in the March legislative session and the entire Landry administration.

It is not hyperbolic to say that the new system makes it more likely that GOP Congressman Clay Higgins might one day be governor or a U.S. senator—and that should terrify anyone who’s ever heard him speak. He’s a man who once began a floor speech

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The Reveille (USPS 145-800) is written, edited and produced solely by students of Louisiana State University.

The Reveille is an independent entity of the Office of Student Media within the Manship School of Mass Communication. Signed opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, The Reveille or the university. Letters submitted for publication should be sent via e-mail to editor@lsu.edu or delivered to B-39 Hodges Hall. They must be 400 words or less. Letters must provide a contact phone number for verification purposes, which will not be printed. The Reveille reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for space consideration while preserving the original intent. The Reveille also reserves the right to reject any letter without notification of the author. Writers must include their full names and phone numbers. The Reveille’s editor in chief, hired every semester by the LSU Student Media Board, has final authority on all editorial decisions.

about a routine spending package with “Witness, then, the demise of a nation once great.” Do you want that guy to have more power?

In 2024 Louisiana, party primaries would amount to indefinitely renting out the state to the most regressive and reactionary parts of the state GOP. And handing over control of our electoral process to the two parties is certainly not democratic.

If we want all Louisiana voters to have any chance at all to effectively impact our state government, we need to get out the vote and fund civic education, not confine and distort their voices through party primaries.

Open jungle primaries and runoffs, in combination with high voter turnout and strong political efficacy, are a recipe for a healthy democracy.

Are there better electoral systems? Of course. But party primaries are certainly much worse.

Matthew Pellittieri is a 19-yearold history and political science sophomore from Ponchatoula.

Quote of the Week “Love is what can’t be helped. When it waxes, and when it wanes.”

Joyce Carol Oates American writer 1938 — present

Monday, January 22, 2024

page 12

Jo Koy’s hosting disaster prompts reflection on his comedy NATE’S TAKES NATHANIEL DELA PEÑA @NateDerDoner Jo Koy has emerged as a polarizing figure after his disastrous monologue at the Golden Globes earlier this month. It’s so disappointing that he lost the confidence of the crowd and much of the online audience so quickly.

As a Filipino American, I enjoyed Jo Koy’s previous presence in the media. I have been a fan of his work since his breakout Netflix special in 2016 “Jo Koy: Live from Seattle.” Seeing a comedian on mainstream American media with experiences I could relate to was refreshing. Jo Koy is the son of a Filipina, and most of his comedy relies on his experiences as a second-generation American.

The stories Koy used in his Netflix stand-up specials are bound to have been experienced by many Filipino American children. Both of us spent lunchtime afraid to trade the lunches that our moms had packed the last night. It was evident no one at the lunch table would trade their Lunchables for the delicious Filipino food packed in a repurposed box of Cool Whip.

I felt secondhand embarrassment just watching him describe the astonished faces of his lunchmates contemplating whether to trade their “normal lunches” for the “mystery box,” as Koy put it in his special “Coming in Hot.” While I admire Koy for finally

AP PHOTO / Ashley Lands

Jo Koy speaks to reporters during the Golden Globes awards Press Review. allowing Filipino American culture a seat on the table, his performance at the Golden Globes shows that the main appeal of his comedy is his overreliance on stereotypes and accents. I always found Koy’s reliance on these two to be the main weaknesses of his comedy.

Hosting the Golden Globes placed him in unfamiliar territory, and it showed.

I found two key jokes in his monologue to be the best indica-

tor of how his night went.

Firstly, he made a weird joke about Barbie and plastic dolls, and secondly, the most controversial joke he made that night was about “white people” stealing the plot of “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

And later on in the night, he made a joke about Taylor Swift getting more airtime for a Chiefs game than the Golden Globes.

The Barbie joke fell flat quickly, owing to his attempt at schoolboy humor. Koy said, “And Barbie

is on a plastic doll with big boobies. I watched Barbie. I loved it.

I really did love it. I don’t want you guys to think that I’m a creep, but it was kind of weird being attracted to a plastic doll. It’s just something about your eyes, Ryan [Gosling].” This sorry attempt at comedy was met with a cold response. I think a more sophisticated joke would have carried weight with the crowd.

Koy added fuel to the fire by going after white people in “Kill-

ers of the Flower Moon,” saying, “The one thing I learned about that movie is that white people stole everything. You guys stole everything. Not like 97%, you guys 100% of everything. You took the land. You took the oil. You took the premise of the movie.” Considering the makeup of Hollywood, Koy made an unwise decision to make a racially-charged joke against the mostly white spectators.

His jab at Taylor Swift didn’t help his standing with the already exhausted crowd. Once the camera showed Swift’s sour reaction, anyone could have expected the entirety of social media and Hollywood stars to heap endless criticism on him. Swift outranks Koy, by far, on the totem pole of American celebrities, and this impromptu joke towards Swift was promptly trashed.

Despite the universal agreement that Koy bombed his role as the host of the Golden Globes, he has the talent to redeem himself.

And as a fellow Filipino American, I look forward to seeing Koy’s redemption arc. He has a unique experience as one of the few Asian American stars in mainstream comedy, and I believe he fills a key niche here.

However, Koy must go through self-reflection and refine his comedy to evolve into a universally acclaimed comedian.

Nathaniel Dela Peña is a 21-yearold political science and history senior from Alexandria.

Evaluating affirmative action, the successes and failures JEMIAH’S JUSTIFICATIONS JEMIAH CLEMONS

@Miclemah

Since the Supreme Court deemed affirmative action unconstitutional in June 2023, many have wondered what this will mean for the college admissions process.

Now that the current admissions cycle is coming to a close, it’s clear that people of color have once again been used as pawns to further the ideals of white supremacy.

Early last year, Asian American students became the center of this discussion when Jon Wang was featured in a viral video on X (formerly Twitter). Wang was rejected from six elite universities, so he blamed affirmative action and other students of color for those rejections.

It was confirmed that the University of California has a history of suppressing Asian American admissions in competition with white students since the 1980s. American strategist, Edward Blum, and other anti-affirmative action groups have coined Asian Americans as the victims of race based admissions.

This has created friction between Asian Americans and other minority groups.

Instead of directing their justified anger toward white admissions boards, Black and brown

MATTHEW PERSCHALL / The Reveille

Pleasant Hall stands Jan. 21 on Dalrymple Drive on LSU’s campus in Baton Rouge, La. students have become the target of the affirmative action discussion.

In Wang’s viral video, it’s implied that he and other Asian American students don’t receive admissions into universities at the same rate as Black and Hispanic students.

While I don’t agree with most anti-affirmative action ideals, I can understand why some Asian American students feel overlooked by universities. Organizations like

the Education Data Initiative publish statistics that favor Black and brown students. For example, the initiative published, “Attendance among [Black or African-American] demographic has increased by 125.5%.” A similar statistic was released for Hispanic and Latino students.

Meanwhile, that statistic is not present for Asian or Asian American students on the same website.

This is just one instance of the education system pinning people of color against each other. This makes it much easier for these organizations to use and manipulate Asian Americans for their cause.

It’s undeniable that Asian American students are being wronged by the college admissions process, and it should also be known that the racial friction as a result is very intentional. It’s evident that the

Asian American identity has been weaponized by people like Edward Blum in the court to get the decision they wanted. Blum’s first attempt at striking down race-based admissions was by using white plaintiffs, but those cases failed miserably.

To be clear, affirmative action was never a perfect system, but it certainly helped even the playing field for students of color, including Asian Americans. Over time, universities found ways to manipulate the policy. Now that it’s been struck down, I don’t think university practices will go anywhere.

These institutions will still find a way to admit the students they want and reject the students they don’t.

Affirmative action has been struck down, and this means diversity, equity and inclusion programs are next. The university has already gotten a head start by doing away with the DEI initiatives on campus.

Race based admissions is only the beginning for what’s to come.

Now that affirmative action in higher education is gone, who will these organizations blame when certain students aren’t admitted at their desired rates? What will be the new excuse?

Jemiah Clemons is a 19-year-old kinesiology sophomore from Miami, Florida.