The Reveille 10-17-22

MARIJUANA PARDON

Legal experts, students weigh in on what Biden’s marijuana pardon means for Louisiana.

‘IT’S INEVITABLE’

Law professors, students react to Biden’s marijuana pardon

BY MADDIE SCOTT @madscottyy

In an Oct. 6 announcement, President Joe Biden fully par doned US citizens and lawful per manent residents who committed simple possession of marijuana on a federal level.

Still, there are questions as to the extent of the pardons across the nation, specifically in Louisi ana.

Biden’s actions only affect those convicted under federal law, estimated by the U.S. Sentencing Commission to affect about 6,600 citizens, so people arrested for simple marijuana possession un der Louisiana state law, for exam ple, will Levy believes the future of marijuana decriminalization depends on what happens in the upcoming Senate midterms. If Democrats keep the power in the Senate following midterms, they could decriminalize marijuana, Levy said.

He said he hopes that after the elections, Louisiana will legalize marijuana recreationally, with medical use being legal in one form or another since 2015.

“The trend is increasingly for legalization,” Levy said. “I think it’s inevitable. I think within five years every state will have legal ized it, not just medical marijuana but marijuana generally, recre ational use, and the federal gov ernment. That’s my prediction.”

Third year law student Karl White is the president of the LSU Cannabis Law Society, an advoca cy group that advocates for a legal

cannabis market and reevaluation of drug policy. He believes there may still be a couple of states that will not legalize marijuana in the next five years.

“I think generally speaking, most states, maybe not within five years, but in the next 10 years, I think we’ll have some sort of le gal cannabis market,” White said.

Louisiana passed several new laws on marijuana in August.

One law prohibited law en forcement from using marijuana odor as pretext for searching someone, with another not al lowing discrimination of state workers based solely on a posi tive marijuana drug test if they’re state-registered as a medical mar ijuana patient.

In June 2021, the governor signed House Bill 652, which re duced the penalty for people pos sessing 14 grams of marijuana or under to be $100 in Louisiana.

“I absolutely think it’s ridicu lous,” Levy said. “Pot should be treated like alcohol. For me the real hard question is: should we legalize the harder drugs?”

The United States Drug En forcement Administration classi fies drugs into five categories, a term known as drug schedules. Marijuana is ranked as a schedule one drug, which means it’s a drug “with no currently accepted medi cal use and a high potential for abuse,” according to the USDEA’s website.

Like Levy, White believes mar ijuana should not be classified the same as other schedule one drugs like heroin and LSD.

Biden’s statement pardoning federal drug charges was fol lowed by his support of reassess ing marijuana’s placement on the list of schedule one drugs.

White believes the over po licing and criminalization of marijuana possession is targeted against minorities, especially Black communities.

“When you look at the his tory of the legislation a lot of it is designed specifically to target minority communities to basical ly use them as a source of cheap prison labor,” White said.

First year law student Julia Montgomery believes in addi tion to the use of criminaliza tion of marijuana to target Black people, there is also a racial stigma against Black people who use marijuana, while society has glamorized the white stoner aes thetic, Montgomery said.

When she heard about Biden’s pardon, she was in support.

“I wasn’t super ecstatic or any thing,” Montgomery said. “Obvi ously I’m really happy for these people but mostly I was just like, ‘It’s about time. Weed is no more dangerous than alcohol.’ So there’s no reason to keep people locked up for something like pos session.”

According to The Advocate, Governor John Bel Edwards sup ports Biden’s pardon, but has said that he doesn’t have the power to do the same on a state level. Mont gomery believes Edwards took a “middle of the road” approach in response to Biden’s pardon and that he is likely trying to keep his

position as governor instead of effectively helping people.

“But at least he is taking the step to say he agrees; that’s a step in the right direction, even if it’s not as big of a step as Louisiana needs,” she said.

Political science, psychology and sociology sophomore John Michael Sweat supports the com plete decriminalization and legal ization of marijuana.

When it comes to simple pos session of harder drugs, he be lieves they should not be legal ized but instead, decriminalized. Sweat used Portugal as an exam ple, a country that did the same thing and saw positive results. A similar law was passed in Oregon in 2020, which decriminalized personal use of small amounts of all drugs.

Sweat said that it’s the sale of hard drugs that perpetuates a sys tem of violence that kills people, not their use.

“[Selling hard drugs] is essen tially like owning a casino,” Sweat said. “You’re sucking this per son’s life away, and it’s criminal. You’re enabling them, but, at the same time, if you possess those things, you need help. You don’t need jail. You need counseling and support.”

Sweat is also hopeful that Lou isiana will legalize marijuana in the next 10 years.

“There’s gonna be states like Alabama that I don’t think will, but Louisiana I actually do think has a chance of having that hap pen,” Sweat said. “It’s pretty prev alent already.”

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MARY ALTAFFER/ Associated Press

Marijuana plants for the adult recreational market are seen hanging in a drying room at a farm in Suffolk County, N.Y., Oct. 4.

INDEPENDENT SWEETS

Student-run baking business finds success: ‘She just made it so easy’

BY GABBY JIMENEZ @gvjimenezz

Sports administration senior Marileah Niddrie’s baking com pany, Independent Sweets, start ed as a fun way to make money during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, she averages about 120 or ders per month.

Niddrie’s business began by selling chocolate-covered treats on Facebook and Instagram and has since expanded to include other baked goods, such as cup cakes, brownies, cookies and charcuterie boards. She also cre ates special limited-edition menu items during most holiday sea sons.

Niddrie’s customer base is primarily LSU parents. Holidays, Welcome Week and exam season are especially popular times for orders, as parents want to buy treats for their children who are away from home. To keep up, Ni ddrie often works long hours.

“My day’s usually wake up, review what orders I have, go to school, come back, go to the store – [work on] orders, and

ACADEMICS

then schoolwork at night. So it’s just like that pretty much on re peat every day,” she said.

Niddrie believes part of the reason her business is so popu lar is that she delivers orders di rectly to students’ dorms.

“A lot of my parents are usual ly freshman year parents, and so [the students] usually don’t have a car on campus. So it’s kind of hard for them to, you know, get deliveries…unless they mailed it to the LSU mail room.” she said.

Niddrie is still deciding if she wants to continue the business after she graduates but has ideas to potentially expand the busi ness into a physical storefront.

“My ultimate goal might be to franchise it at some point…and I really want to maybe even trial, do that for other colleges spe cifically because I do know that there have been other parents on [Facebook] who’ve been like, ‘I have friends who have kids at other schools who wish they had something like this at their school.’ So it’s definitely a work in progress,” she said.

Niddrie said that her business

and having the opportunity to get to know so many LSU parents and students has been a “bless ing” in her life.

“Just being able to connect with…all these different students with different backgrounds, from different locations is definitely something that I really enjoy,” she said.

Heather Verdi lives in Mas sachusetts and has made multi ple orders this semester for her

freshman son.

Verdi purchased a charcute rie board, brownies, cookies and chocolate-covered strawberries from Independent Sweets to be sent to her son during Welcome Week. She also ordered a cookie cake for his 19th birthday – his first birthday away from home. She’s been so happy with the service she’s received that she’s

Professors study methane emissions

BY KATHERINE FRAZER @kathfrz

Researchers at LSU are join ing a group of scientists from four universities to investigate naturally occurring methane emissions in Louisiana’s coastal wetlands.

Professors in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Science Dubravko Justic, Haosheng Huang and Giulio Mariotti are set to rep resent LSU when they join the Uni versity of Tennessee, Rowan Uni versity, the University of Kentucky and the Louisiana Universities Ma rine Consortium, a research center on the coast of Louisiana, on the project to research how methane gasses affect coastal regions.

The funding for the project comes from a $2.9 million National Science Foundation grant divided among the universities involved. The Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium is receiving $945,000,

New exhibit portrays Louisiana’s relationship with water

BY CHANDLER MCINTOSH @GeauxChandler18

LSU Libraries’ newest exhibi tion showcases Louisianians’ re lationship with natural resources and the potential they have to threaten life and property.

The exhibition, “Water, Water Everywhere: Control and Con sequence in Louisiana’s Coastal Wetlands,” will be on display in the Hill Memorial Library through Dec. 21.

Leah Jewett, exhibitions man ager for LSU Libraries Special Col lections, said the timeline of the displays is from the early 18th cen tury with original European settle ments into contemporary times.

Displays for the exhibition, which started on Sept. 6, include historic photographs of men work ing on levees, letters describing floods and citizens’ responses to them, and documents promoting various shipping canals.

One of the most notable addi tions to the exhibition, Jewett said, is a 19th-century piece of sheet music named after a levee break, “The Bell Crevasse Mazurka.”

Jewett said that the issues Loui sianians face regarding flooding and coastal wetlands loss due to human activity are long-standing.

“You cannot study Louisi ana history without studying our struggles with flooding and our attempts to control waterways,”

Jewett said. “The exhibition fea tures items that put in context the human activities that have had an impact on the coastal wetlands but have also benefited Louisianans.

Louisiana’s history with water is complicated, Jewett said. Ac cording to Jewett, individuals must study and understand this history because of its importance to the coastal regions and the people who live there.

Jacob Gautreaux, a fifth year Ph.D. student and teaching as sistant in the university’s history department, said that the exhibit can reveal some of the reasoning behind the choices of manipula tion of water and nature made in Louisiana during the 20th century.

“These choices make Louisiana an exhibit for the rest of the nation to envision a possible future where sacrifice for profit exponentially increases exposure to climate-re lated risks,” Gautreaux said.

Gautreaux said that he hopes the exhibition itself will motivate change and remind individuals that the larger global impact of man-made climate change starts in the national and local context.

“Not only do our decisions mat ter as an entire globe and nation, but even more so at a local and in dividual level,” Gautreaux said.

Exhibits like the one at Hill Memorial Library help to draw in curious-minded students and re searchers that may not have the

knowledge of the extent at which water has impacted Louisiana.

Gautreaux said that this exhi bition creates a chance to interact with past records and traditional cultural knowledge related to wa ter.

“Water is an ever-present fea ture in Louisiana that I have yet so much to learn about,” Gautreaux said. “The amount of information those in the past have written on, talked about, debated over and actually carried out the manipula tion and attempted management of water is beyond the scope of an individual.”

He said that audiences should view the exhibit and ask questions about any display that intrigues

their interest.

Civil and environmental engi neering senior Madalyn Mouton has worked on projects such as water budget analysis on the Mis sissippi River, as well as the effec tiveness of the dredge sediment in recent marsh creation projects and environmental flow rates in the Atchafalaya, with the Hill Memori al Library exhibition assisting her research into the Mississippi River, the Atchafalaya Basin and coastal Louisiana.

According to Mouton, there are QR codes within the exhibition that link to other LSU Libraries col lections, including the “LSU Librar ies Louisiana Waterways Manage ment Collection,” “William Barth Photographs of Mississippi and Atchafalaya River Operations” and “Burrwood, Louisiana and South west Pass Jetties Constructions Photographs.”

While Mouton’s focus is look ing for certain keywords and doc umentation of data, she said the exhibition inspired her by show ing the stories of the people be hind these water-related problems.

“The letters, the photos, and even the music show more about how we have interacted with the water over the two centuries we’ve been here,” Mouton said. “This makes [my research] mean some thing more when understanding the bigger picture of living with water.”

COURTESY OF INDEPENDENT SWEETS

A charcuterie box created by Independent Sweets.

KARLI SMITH / The Reveille

A map at the Water and Louisiana Consequences with Coastal Land exhibit at Hill Memorial Library on Field House Drive in Baton Rouge, La on Oct. 11 illustrates how water flows through Louisiana.

already placed another order for Halloween.

Verdi was originally drawn to the display and variety of items Independent Sweets had avail able. Her son prefers healthier food, and Verdi said he espe cially enjoyed the charcuterie boardt.

For out-of-state parents, Verdi said sending treats helps them feel close to their kids while they’re at school.

“We’re so far away, and we can’t see our kids that often. It’s nice to just send something to them to let them know you’re thinking of them,” she said.

All the orders were delivered

to her son’s dorm, and Niddrie even sends pictures to parents of their child holding the treats. Af ter not seeing her son for so long, Verdi said it was nice to receive the pictures.

“It’s just been tremendously helpful, being out-of-state [and] having someone there to provide something for your child to make them feel extra special and cared for...Especially with boys, they never send you pictures of any thing, so it’s nice to actually see your kid,” Verdi said.

After hearing about Indepen dent Sweets from a 2026 LSU parents Facebook page, Suzanne Heck, who lives in Illinois placed an order for her daughter’s birth day.

Heck ordered sugar cookies, M&M and peanut M&M cookies, and brownies for her daughter. Heck also purchased brownies and chocolate-covered strawber ries for her mom, who spent her birthday in Baton Rouge visiting her daughter.

“[My mom] loved it – she ate them all and she didn’t share,” Heck said.

According to Heck, Niddrie goes above and beyond with her customers. She recalled one parent mentioning their kid was feeling sad and lonely, and Nid drie offered to meet with them and make sure they were okay.

“[Niddrie is] a student, and she’s just very sweet and sup portive and genuine with ev

erybody…I think anybody that’s hurting, she would, you know, [say] ‘I can help, what can I do for you?’” Heck said.

Heck said she is amazed at Niddrie’s work ethic and intends to order from her again in the future.

“It’s really impressive for a student to run a whole small business like that, because it takes a lot to do – the marketing, the ordering, the billing and the delivery,” she said.

Christa Seal is from Bogalusa, Louisiana, and used Independent Sweets to send a dozen cookie sandwiches to her son, who’s a freshman at LSU.

Even though she’s in-state, Seal said it meant a lot to her see

ing the picture of her son with the treats.

“He had been gone for a while, so I was a little bit bro ken up because you know, that’s my baby,” Seal said. “But she sent me a picture with him with the things, and he was so surprised. He didn’t even know what was going on.”

Seal said Niddrie was always quick to respond and made it easy for parents to send a gift to their kids.

“You can just contact her, kind of pick out what your child likes that you normally would have at home…[Niddrie] just made it so easy. It was just a very convenient little service to sur prise your child,” she said.

the most funding of the universi ties involved.

Huang, an associate professor in LSU’s Department of Oceanog raphy and Coastal Sciences, said that it took multiple attempts to fund the project.

The researchers applied to fund methane dynamics research sev eral times but were not approved until February 2022 after refining the original approach.

“We refined our research meth od and objective,” Huang said. “Then [in] February of this year we got funded.”

According to a press release from LSU, about 40% of all meth ane in the atmosphere is from coastal wetlands. The team of re searchers plan to investigate what components of the wetland affect methane production.

“We accumulated certain expe riences and knowledge about Lou isiana coastal hydrology and wet land dynamics,” Huang said. “In coastal wetlands, they are micro bial communities, they decompose organic organisms and during this process, it will release greenhouse gasses.”

Researchers intend to learn more about how these naturally

occurring methane gasses affect global warming and coastal ero sion.

“All three scientists at LSU, we are mainly doing simulations about wetland environments,” Huang said. “Especially their change with climate, ways global sea levels will rise, how the wetland will be sub merged.”

Annette Summers Engel, a pro fessor of aqueous geochemistry at the University of Tennessee, is the principal investigator of the project, who previously worked together after the BP oil spill to re search how Louisiana’s coast was affected.

Prioritizing reduction of green house gasses in their research, En gel said that the researchers will meet virtually as a way to keep the group’s carbon footprint at a minimum during the early stages of this research. Planning field and modeling work will take place vir tually, with plans in place to meet in-person for presentations down the line.

“Basically, we will really build this data set about methane and how the Louisiana marshes are changing,” Engel said.

According to Huang, the major ity of the research will take place in the coastal marshes of the Ter

rebonne-Timbalier estuary. There are over 20 locations in Terre bonne parish where data is being collected.

Researchers will collect gas emissions and soil cores over the next two years to develop a base line information set. After samples are taken, the team will begin to use the data to predict patterns for future use.

“Because of the land loss and rapid relative sea level rise that the coast of Louisiana is experiencing, it really gives us a chance to study this,” Engel said. “This research is ideally done in a place like Loui siana.”

THIS WEEK IN BR

BY ARIS WILLIAMS @jonetaw

The Wyatt Houston Collection of African American Poetry The Main Library at Goodwood

LSU librarians Narcissa Haskins and John David Miles will be hosting a segment of the library’s Baton Rouge Room Series, discussing how LSU Libraries Special Collections came to be home to the largest privately held collection of African American poetry in the country. This discussion will be held at 6 p.m. at the East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, 7711 Goodwood Blvd.

OCT.

Want to see your event in The Reveille? Email information to editor@lsu.edu.

Trivia Night: Double Double, Toil and Trouble Painting with a Twist

“Painting with a Twist” will be hosting a painting class accompanied with Halloweenthemed trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. on Monday, Oct.

17. Entrance is $39-$45 and includes all painting materials. Guests 21 and older can bring their own alcohol. “Painting with a Twist” is located at 711 Jefferson Highway.

OCT.

19TH

Rico Nasty

Pete Maravich Assembly Center

Rico Nasty is this year’s LSU Homecoming performer. Her performance will be held at the PMAC on Wednesday, Oct. 19, with doors opening at 7:30 p.m. Students can register for a maximum of two tickets via Tigerlink.

NEED A

COFFEE BREAK?

Four brew-tiful coffee shops to try in Baton Rouge

A young woman scrolls on her laptop in the courtyard on Oct. 1, at Highland Coffees on Highland Road.

A barista expertly pours a hot beverage in a to-go cup on Oct. 2, at Light House Coffee on Lee Drive.

The open concept work station includes ceram ic cups, flavored syrups, and coffee machines on Oct. 4, at Coffee Joy on Perkins Road.

Customers enjoy the interior on Oct. 1, of Highland Coffees on Highland Road.

A handwritten menu displays the items

on Oct.

at Garden District Coffee on Perkins Road.

The word “JOY” hangs from the ordering counter on Oct.

at Coffee Joy on Perkins Road.

Various decorations including a sloth sit on the shelves on Oct.

at Light House Coffee Lee Drive.

Photos by Karli Smith

SPORTS AGAINST ALL ODDS

Column: Jayden Daniels solidifies his role as QB1 against Florida

Why Khai Prean decided on LSU

BY TYLER HARDEN @ttjharden8

In LSU’s huge matchup against the Florida Gators on Saturday, quarterback Jayden Daniels de molished any doubts of his role in that starting position. Daniels has slowly but surely been proving why his name should be the one leading the field. His performance in the Swamp, however, solidified it.

Prior to Daniels’ performance against Florida, his passing game was a talk of contention. Fans argued that in order to be a Na tional Championship quality team, LSU’s starting quarterback would have to be able to do more than rush the ball. Daniels had trouble in the pocket, leading to being swarmed by defense or allowing his open chances to get rid of the ball decrease tremendously. There seemed to be a lack of trust be tween Daniels and his receivers. That lack of trust streamed into poor passes or no passes at all.

This was simply not the case

in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. There had been word within the previous weeks that Daniels and his receiv ers had a players only meeting, in hopes that whatever relationship between both parties could be strengthened. Kelly hoped that these kinks would be worked out in time for bigger games. This was especially important as LSU con tinues to take on the most daunt ing opponents of their schedule.

Whatever was said in those meetings seemed to work. Dan iels threw for 349 passing yards against Florida. He also collected 44 rushing yards, and added three more touchdowns on the ground.

Daniels’ passing total was a season high, and his best performance during his time at LSU even with the matchups that LSU took with ease. His performance against Tennessee was the only one where

he was able to reach 300 passing yards. Daniels completely outshined Florida’s starting quarter back. Anthony Richardson only collected 185 passing yards. He also garnered 109 rushing yards.

In terms of connection with receivers, they were strengthened in this matchup against Florida. Kayshon Boutte was a receiver

Khai Prean is the only utility player or “athlete” in LSU’s 2023 recruiting class. That being said, he could be the most versatile player in the recruiting class, and could potentially play mul tiple positions at the next level.

Prean is a 6-foot, 190-pound athlete from St. James High School in St. James, Louisiana. He’s ranked as the No. 16 ath lete in the country, the No. 15 recruit in Louisiana and the No. 262 overall recruit in the coun try.

Prean living about 45 min utes from LSU worked to the Ti gers’ advantage. While LSU has been able to recruit impressively out-of-state, the Louisiana ties allowed LSU to land yet another four-star recruit. Prean commit ted to LSU on Aug. 16.

One of those in-state ties that Prean is closest with is recruit

Offensive Explosion: Three key’s to LSU’s win over Florida

BY HENRY HUBER @HenryHuber_

Prior to LSU’s matchup with Florida, its best offensive perfor mance came against Mississippi State, where the Tigers managed 31 points and just over 400 yards. Their other matchups included an incredibly slow start against Flor ida State, a putrid performance against Auburn and a performance against Tennessee that had bright spots but didn’t lead to much on the scoreboard.

It’s safe to say they eclipsed that on Saturday, finally finding their footing on offense. Whether they can continue that or not re mains to be seen, but for now, let’s talk about their biggest points of improvement displayed against Florida.

Consistent confidence from Jayden Daniels

Throughout the season, Dan iels has shown what he can do when he’s completely locked in. We witnessed it in New Orleans, where he almost led a 14-point comeback that was capped by an incredible 99-yard touchdown drive in just over a minute, which was ultimately negated by a blocked PAT.

We witnessed it again in the second half against Mississippi State, when the quarterback led a

14-play, 85-yard drive to kill some clock and put the Tigers up by eight with seven minutes left in the game and a defense that was playing out of their minds.

He found his footing a bit against Tennessee, putting the ball in tight windows and taking more risks down the field. Then against Florida, everything came together.

He put on a show in Gaines ville, passing for 349 yards and three touchdowns on a 72% com pletion rate, also finding the end zone three times on the ground. He connected with nine different players and consistently found open receivers down the field, something fans had criticized him for not doing throughout the first half of the season.

Apart from one, overthrown ball being intercepted in the fourth quarter—which was over turned due to denying the pass er penalty— his throws were on target and demonstrated what he could do when he wasn’t play ing conservatively.

He was taking risks, but they were calculated.

From start to finish, he played his best football sporting purple & gold so far, which brings us to our next point.

Finally, a fast start

LSU was one of the worst first half teams in the SEC heading into

this game, placing just inside the top-100 in the country in first half points against FBS opponents, ac cording to teamrankings.com. It managed 10 points in the first half against Mississippi State and sev en against Auburn and Tennessee.

The comparison between those three first halves and the one that occurred against Florida was night and day.

The Tigers scored on every first half possession they had, with two long, calculated drives to start and two quick punches to the Gators’ guts capped off with deep touch down passes to Brian Thomas Jr. and Jaray Jenkins to conclude the half. They produced more points than they had combined in their first three SEC games.

Not being able to put up points early put them in bad positions in their first three SEC games, ulti mately crushing them against the newfound juggernaut that is Ten nessee. Having them finally have a great first half is a great sign head ing into the tail end of the season.

Boutte finds life

Heading into this game, LSU star receiver Kayshon Boutte hadn’t been as impactful as most fans and analysts anticipated he would be. He was projected to compete for the Biletnikoff award as one of the top receivers in the country, but before Saturday, he

hadn’t even been able to crack 50 receiving yards in a game.

By the end of the first pos session on Saturday, Boutte had already surpassed his best game of the season in terms of yard age. He caught two passes for 54 yards on that drive alone, with his first catch going for 40 yards on a third-and-long and his second be ing an incredible catch in traffic.

The fireworks would not stop there, as he remained effective throughout the game, finishing

with six catches for 115 yards. He led the team in both receptions and receiving yards, surpassing 100 yards for the first time in over a year.

While the game wasn’t perfect, fans got a lot of what they want ed. The offense looked improved in every asset and the defense did what it needed to do, bend ing but not breaking. LSU enters its second bout with a top-10 team in Ole Miss with a 5-2 record and three SEC wins.

JOHN RAOUX/ Associated Press

Florida defensive lineman Gervon Dexter Sr. (9) bears down on LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) during the second half of an NCAA college football game Oct. 15, in Gainesville, FL. Dexter was penalized for a late hit.

JOHN RAOUX / Associated Press

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) scrambles from the pocket as Florida linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. (1) cannot make a tackle during the first half of an NCAA college football game Oct. 15, in Gainesville, FL.

MACKAY

that Daniels especially seemed to work hard in the pocket to find.

Boutte’s name was widely known going into this season, following a knockout 2021 performance and even being chosen to wear the cov eted No. 7 jersey. His numbers up until this Saturday, however, told a much different story. In that game against Tennessee, for example, Boutte only took on 33 receiving yards. His energy in this game was unmatched though. Boutte accounted for a staggering 115 receiving yards, allowing for the eight other receivers to account for the remainder of Daniels’ passing yards. The next receiver for LSU who collected the highest amount of receiving yards was Jaray Jen kins, who accounted for 67 yards.

PREAN, from page 9

ing specialist, Jordan Arcement. His bond with Arcement carries before he was recruited by LSU.

“Him being not too far from my area, and me knowing him since before I was recruited, when they came together as one staff, it was just a big green light for me,” Prean said.

Not only is Prean close with Arcement, but he’s also close with wide receiver coach, Cor tez Hankton. While Prean is listed as an athlete, he primarily

Head Coach Brian Kelly said that this type of trust between Daniels and the receivers has been a huge focal point all season. This was just finally the game where it all seemed to come together.

“It’s been a process of him be ing more confident and comfort able within the offensive structure, knowing where people are and I got to tell you, the receivers, you know, played at a level that I think they’re capable of, and that has a lot to do with it as well, but as sertiveness is confidence in who you’re throwing to and confidence in yourself and I think you’re see ing that just happen you know through the relationships that he’s building with players on the team.”

Daniels helped capitalize on each possession, and everything both the coaching staff and fans

plays wide receiver, and that’s where he’s expected to get the majority of his reps once he ar rives in Baton Rouge.

“I’m really close with Coach Hankton, him showing me tape and stuff like that, stuff I can put in my game,” Prean said. “He’s trying to get me there as early as possible so I can get fa miliar with the offense, so when I get there I can rock and roll.”

Prean has built strong re lationships with the coaching staff, and the coaches praise Prean not only for his talents

have yearned to see from him all season finally seemed to come to gether. Daniels has made it abun dantly clear from game one of this season with LSU that if nothing else, he could run the ball. The lines wavered, however, when his ability to run the ball became less profitable just as his ability to throw the ball successfully became nonexistent.

Daniels finally proved against Florida that he could handle the ball in both situations extremely well. Daniels rushed the ball three times, yet each time, he found him self in the endzone. On the pass ing side, Daniels threw for 32 at tempts. He completed 23 attempts and finished the game with a 72% completion rating. Richardson, for the Gators, finished the game with a 60% completion percentage.

on the field, but also for what he brings to the program as a person.

“It’s just them wanting to talk to me every day, being in terested in me off the field as a person, that’s what stood out to me,” Prean said.

LSU being close to St. James also played a role in Prean’s de cision. While he wanted to keep his options open, LSU being so close to home was something he couldn’t shy away from.

“Just the push they made recruitment-wise, it was like no

When discussing Daniels’ per formance against Florida, Kelly was not at all surprised at the success that his quarterback had found. After all, Kelly has seen this talent in Daniels for months now. He’s just been waiting for every one to have the ability to witness it as well.

“Absolutely, of course,” Kelly said after the game when asked whether or not he had expected this type of performance from Daniels. “For me, I mean, we were hoping that he was going to be more assertive with the football, and push it down the field. He’s seeing things a lot better, the of fense is coming to him. It’s a new offense that he’s in and it’s slowing down for him, and obviously, you know, throwing for three and run ning for three, you saw his athletic

other,” Prean said. “Also them being home, they had a slight advantage over everybody else, but I didn’t try to be biased about that.”

Prean isn’t the only recruit that found what he needs in a school close to home. Quarter back Rickie Collins, who plays at Woodlawn High School in Baton Rouge, has a close bond with Prean. Collins will be throwing the ball to Prean in Tiger Stadium eventually, and Prean’s relationship with Collins is bigger than football.

ability and his ability to move this offense.”

This athletic ability that Dan iels performed with will have to continue throughout the rest of LSU’s season if the Tigers want to be successful. Heading into the biggest, and arguably what will be the toughest, next few weeks for LSU, Daniels’ success will be para mount to the success of the entire team.

Daniels and the rest of the Ti gers will most likely be carrying a load of confidence and energy with them from the Swamp, and with their next game against the Uni versity of Mississippi, they’ll need it. While Daniels has appeared to make a breakthrough, his true test will be against the Rebels, where everyone will be judging whether or not that confidence rings true.

“I’m very close with Rickie [Collins],” Prean said. “Him be ing the quarterback that’ll be throwing me the ball, it’s special that I have a bond with him.”

But Prean’s senior season at St. James is not over. The Wild cats are 5-1 on the season, and when Prean faced off against Collins and his Woodlawn team, St. James won with a fourthquarter comeback of 30-27.

After Prean’s senior season, he will suit up in the purple and gold and start his college career in Death Valley.

Content Director Sales

an LSU student

OPINION

‘Vote buying’ claims weak for Biden’s marijuana pardons

elections.

President Joe Biden’s execu tive order to pardon marijuana possession offenders, while urg ing governors to do the same at the state level, has drawn criti cism from some claiming that he’s trying to buy votes ahead of the midterm election.

This is a common argument used by whichever party is not in power at a given moment, meant to cast doubt on the true inten tions of their rivals. The problem with this argument is that the intentions of the politician don’t matter as much as the impact. So long as the impact is what his constituency put him in office for, there should be no problem.

The term “buying votes” shouldn’t even refer to politicians doing what their people want them to do, it should refer to the impact of wealthy people who spend ungodly sums of money on

Our current conception of the term “buying votes” is understood as when a politician does what they were elected to do around election time. This shouldn’t be looked at as a negative—carrying out the will of their voter base is what politicians are supposed to do.

No sane person would criticize a coach for trying to win games just because he’s due for a con tract extension soon. Would they rather the coach sit idly by with his hands behind his back and wait to be fired?

Politicians get the entire term that they’re elected for to do what people put them there to do. Ex pecting them to effectively cut their time in office short because taking action near election time is “buying votes” is foolish.

The timing of actions may be intentional, but that’s part of what comes with the election. Any op positional party that’s upset by an administration would be better suited by trying to win elections than complaining.

The vote-buying criticism is meaningless. It’s a term used cyn ically to attack any politician that dares to do their job near election time.

The opposition to this initia tive is particularly troubling given the impact of this executive order. The order is a step towards recre ational legalization, which is sup

ported by 60% of Americans, ac cording to Pew Research Center.

Popular policies being ad vanced is a welcomed change for an electorate whose views aren’t often reflected by the actions of the government.

According to a study done by Princeton University, public opin ion has a “near zero” impact on

public policy. The bottom 90% of earners have little to no statistical impact on legislation.

Money speaks far louder than citizens in elections—money from people who have stakes in high-earning industries like the for-profit prison industry. Such a person could reasonably expect a few favors from a politician after funding his entire campaign.

Those politicians would, con sequently, be against any govern ment action that would limit the number of people prisons can ex ploit as a labor base. They would oppose legislation that would free people who the majority of Amer icans don’t want in jail.

The vote-buying claims being levied against Biden are a weak attempt to preserve a morally du bious industry. Critics of Biden in this instance are using the most illogical political argument ever devised to perpetuate billionairebacked modern-day slavery.

Frank Kidd is a 21-year-old mass communication junior from Springfield, Virginia.

Don’t feel forced to celebrate student loan forgiveness

dividuals who didn’t receive a Pell Grant, a form of federal aid for low-income undergraduate students, and $20,000 for those who did.

Read this column in full at LSUReveille.com

For a college student, ex citement about President Joe Biden’s recent student debt for giveness executive order almost seems like an expectation. On the one hand, if you’ve bor rowed money for school, it’s un deniably convenient to not have to pay it back. On the other hand, if you haven’t taken out loans, it seems only fair that ev eryone else receives the benefit – right?

Don’t be so sure. Although it may appear to be a much-need ed win for those burdened with inescapable debt, Biden’s plan is costly for just about everyone involved.

The most obvious negative to this policy is its enormous cost: It’s the most expensive executive order in history, com ing in at just over $400 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It’s set to forgive $10,000 in student loans for in

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The cost for the general population is almost equally ob vious, given the U.S.’s current economic situation. Inflation is currently at an all-time high, sit ting at an astounding 8%, while the current recession, despite the president’s protests, only grows, bolstered by the huge amounts of money being sent to fight a foreign war in the east. $400 billion dollars added to the federal deficit will do little to help.

The executive order also has consequences for soon-to-be college students. It will cause tuition inflation, hiking up pric es for future students, student loans or not.

In an interview with Forbes Magazine, University of New Haven associate professor of economics Patrick Gourley said that student debt forgiveness will set a dangerous precedent for universities going forward.

“If you think the price of tu ition has gone up in the past 10 years, just wait for the next 10,”

Gourley said.

The main losers in this sce nario are the students of the fu ture who will have to shoulder this burden.

For those college students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels who didn’t take out loans, too, Biden’s plan is frustrating. Not for the ones who were fortunate enough to have their parents pay their way (not that there’s anything wrong with that), but rather those who chose to attend schools they could afford.

I’m one of these students. I attended LSU-Shreveport for my undergraduate education, be cause it was there that I could pay for my school through scholarships instead of loans. This was a conscious choice I made: to forgo attending a higher-ranked university in or der to avoid borrowing money, even though it could’ve hurt my chances for graduate school.

Years later, I came to Baton Rouge because it was at LSU that I received a scholarship, even though I had been accept ed at higher-ranked programs.

And though I certainly don’t begrudge anyone whose stu

dent debt is being forgiven –in fact, I have family members who will see their debt forgiv en – it does leave me wonder ing what my educational op tions could’ve been knowing I could’ve received up to $20,000 off my tuition.

But there are other, less per sonal reasons to not embrace the White House’s plan: It’s al most certainly a pragmatic, not principled, attempt to garner support from young members of the middle and lower classes ahead of midterm elections.

At the heart of this cynicism is the dubious legality of the ex ecutive order.

Take, for example, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s, D-Calif., flip-flop on the presidential au thority to forgive student loans.

Pelosi praised Biden’s order as a “strong step in Democrats’ fight to expand access to higher education and empower each American to reach fulfillment,” but in July, Pelosi denied that Biden had the authority to for give student loans.

Any explanation for the speaker’s flip-flop, outside of pure political expediency, is flimsy at best.

None of this is to say this ex ecutive order is the worst thing in the world. It’s most certainly not, and it will relieve many people in the short-term.

But politics and policy aren’t just about satisfying immediate political ends. They aren’t about winning the next election or about keeping power no matter the practical or economic bur den.

Politics should instead be about doing what’s best for the nation and about sacrificing the immediate needs of party for the good of the whole especial ly the next generation, who will desperately need a strong civic education if we’re to overcome the troubles quickly approach ing.

College students shouldn’t feel pigeonholed into support ing the executive order just be cause they feel that their educa tional or debt status demands it. Principles and the common good are equally worth fighting for, even if there’s an explicit cost.

Benjamin Haines is a 24-yearold history graduate student from Shreveport.

Editorial Policies and Procedures Quote of the Week

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 Commu nication. 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 deliv ered to B-39 Hodges Hall. They must be 400 words or less. Letters must provide a contact phone number for ver ification 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 edi tor in chief, hired every semester by the LSU Student Media Board, has final authority on all editorial decisions.

John A. Shedd

“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”

EVAN VUCCI/ Associated Press

President Joe Biden talks to reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Oct. 6 in Washington.