LSU conservatives discuss which Republican candidate they will support for governor.
GOP
GOVERNOR?
Conservative students, political scientist on Republican candidates
BY DOMENIC PURDY @tigerdom16
The campaign trail for the 2023 governor’s race has officially start ed, especially for Republican poli ticians seeking to take control of the office from Gov. John Bel Ed wards, set to end his second term next year.Only one candidate, Attorney General Jeff Landry, has officially started a race for the office. Landry, currently in his second term as at torney general, announced his candidacy on Oct. 5, receiving an official endorsement from the Lou isiana Republican Party a month later on Nov. 7, a day before the midterm election.
For many college-age conser vative voters, Landry is the clear frontrunner for the governor’s seat next year. About two weeks before his endorsement from the state GOP, Landry spoke to LSU’s chapter of Turning Point USA, a conservative non-profit organiza tion, meant to “organize students to promote the principles of free dom, free markets, and limited government,” according to their website.
Political science senior Sal Montalbano, a member of the or ganization’s LSU chapter since fall 2021, said that he is “in full support for Attorney General Jeff Landry.”
“We need someone who will take action, serious action, and make change in Louisiana,” Mon talbano said. “And Jeff Landry… has proven it.”
Landry had a previous unsuc cessful run for governor in 2019. Montalbano praised the attorney general’s rhetoric focused on law and order.
“We see what’s going on in our backyard in Baton Rouge; people are scared to pump gas, scared to go out at night and have a good time. A lot of college students are looking to move away to other states. I want someone who will step up and give the Louisianans and great smart students a reason to stay in this great state and use what we have.” Montalbano said.
“And I believe Jeff Landry will be the best candidate for that.”
Landry, running unopposed at the moment, is not the only can didate expected to run. Other Re publican officials expected to run include Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, State Treasurer John Schroder and recently reelected Sen. John Ken nedy, but none have made an of ficial announcement on their can didacy.
Kennedy, however, said he is “giving serious consideration to entering the governor’s race” in a public statement on Nov. 14.
“Over the last year, Louisian ians have asked me time and time again to come home to serve as governor during these difficult times,” the Senator’s statement read. “I’ll be announcing my deci sion soon.”
A Republican official who will not be involved in the 2023 gov ernor’s race is Sen. Bill Cassidy, announcing on Friday that, rather than running for governor, he has
“chosen to remain focused on the job [he] was sent [to Washington D.C.] to do and to see these efforts through.”
Regardless of whose name ap pears on the ballot in November 2023, politically engaging young voters is essential to any campaign for state executive.
“I have not found young people in Louisiana to be as politically en gaged or active on a broad scale,” said Melissa Flournoy, an adjunct political science professor teach ing Louisiana politics. “The chal lenge to get younger people to vote in the governor’s race is really going to depend on if any of the candidates want to talk about is sues that are important to collegeaged students.”
Josh Cummings, a political communication senior from Ath ens, Georgia, isn’t able to vote for Louisiana’s governor in the com ing election but said that if he had a vote in the state, he would sup port Landry, specifically for his oppositional stance on issues like gun control, abortion and vaccine mandates.
“I would not vote for a candi date if they were pro-choice, even if they were a Republican,” Cum mings said. “If I voted for a candi date, they would have to [be] pro[Second Amendment].”
The continued maintenance of Louisiana’s oil and natural gas pro duction industry is also an issue Cummings will be looking at when deciding who he will support for the governor’s seat.
According to Flournoy, Landry
REAGAN COTTEN / The Reveille
has the support of ultra-conserva tive voters who supported former President Donald Trump. This, she said, may end up being more of a crutch than a benefit.
“I’m a little concerned that, at least Kennedy and Landry, really want to be Donald Trump,” Flourn oy said. “They’re gonna focus on divisive messages and culture war issues that really have nothing to do with making Louisiana a better place to live.”
Flournoy said that one of the deciding factors in the upcoming election, especially for young vot ers, will be focusing on ending the brain drain, or the emigration of college educated Louisiana-born residents, the state is currently ex periencing.
According to data compiled by Gary Wagner, an economist at the University of Louisiana at La fayette, Louisiana has the secondworst net migration from the state, behind only Mississippi, among college-educated residents when compared to the other nine South eastern states.
The candidate that will win the election, Flournoy said, is one that has a vision for Louisiana’s future and will help bring the state fur ther into the 21st century.
“So far, I’m not hearing any body talk about solving some of the economic challenges that can improve the quality of life in Loui siana for all families,” she said. “I really hope someone gets in the race for governor that wants to talk about the future and not talk about the culture wars or the past.”
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BOOK DISPOSAL
Faculty Senate discusses options for disposal of library books
BY CHANDLER MCINTOSH & GABBY JIMENEZ @GeauxChandler18 & @gvjimenezzThe Faculty Senate met on Nov. 16 to hold Faculty Adjudica tion Committee elections and dis cuss the disposal of certain library books.
At the meeting, Dean of Librar ies Stanley Wilder said that LSU Libraries is choosing to take cer tain books and print collections off its bookshelves. He said that LSU Libraries holds approximately 2 million volumes of books, most of which haven’t been touched or read.
Wilder said that LSU Libraries is planning to place most books and print collections in a robotic retrieval system in a storage facil ity close to campus.
Wilder said that while most of the books taken out of LSU Li braries will be stored in a build ing close to campus, some will be disposed of.
While the notion of throwing items away is negative, Wilder said that LSU Libraries is willing to set up a process that involves any thing other than throwing books away, but the process is difficult.
“It’s extremely difficult to make a sustainable advantageous way to dispose of books,” Wilder said. “We can’t even recycle print
ACADEMICS
books anymore.”
Wilder said that LSU Libraries previously donated old journal volumes to firms that would recy cle them, but firms stopped receiv ing donations.
He said the faculty’s feedback will be helpful as to which books and print collections have value to the college departments and should not be fully disposed of.
“I have watched many universi ties do this process,” Wilder said. “Sometimes it’s done badly and sometimes it’s done well. When it’s done well, it’s done with a spir it of transparency between library
and faculty as to what is valued within print collections.”
Wilder said that the disposal of books and print collections will open up space within the library. He said that the use of technology to access books and print collec tions will be more effective.
For an example of how tech nology effectively stores items, Wilder said that around 300,000 journal titles that take up enor mous amounts of space are elec tronically accessible. He said that those journal titles need to be thrown away.
Regarding music collections,
Wilder said that LSU Libraries will not be disposing of them.
Wilder said LSU Libraries has a planning project for a new library, which he said will need all faculty input.
He said that the planning proj ect started on Sept. 5 and will end on March 1. The project’s focus includes what kinds of collections will be in an internet browsable format.
He also said that the new li brary will not be able to hold one hundred percent of books in a bookshelf browsable format.
LSU recognition for work pro duced by faculty.
Faculty Adjudication Committee elections
Three elections for the Facul ty Adjudication Committee were held at the meeting. According to the Faculty Senate website, the committee serves to “hear all complaints of faculty members re lating to outcomes of salary, pro motion, non-reappointment, and tenure decisions believed to be unfair or due to inappropriately applied procedures [and] allega tions of other unfair treatment.”
The committee consists of nine tenured faculty members who are elected based on senator votes to serve three-year terms. Current
see LIBRARIES, page 4
Climate March raises awareness
BY CHANDLER MCINTOSH @GeauxChandler18Climate activists and students from multiple organizations gath ered in the Parade Grounds and marched to the LSU Foundation building on Friday for a climate change rally.
According to international stud ies senior Emily Clarke, the presi dent of student climate activist or ganization Geaux Green, the main goal of the march, referred to by organizers as the climate march, was to persuade the LSU founda tion to divest funds from fossil fu els.
The climate march also sought to spread awareness and educate LSU students on programs spon sored by organizations like Geaux Green, Climate Pelicans and Geaux Planet to combat climate change, environment management systems senior Cheyenne Austin said .
Austin, the organizer of the event, said that she has been plan ning the rally since the first week of school. She soon got in touch with Clarke, who assisted with re serving the Parade Grounds, differ
LSU, Alabama partner to give future teachers new learning tools
BY CHANDLER MCINTOSH @GeauxChandler18Education professors from LSU and the University of Alabama are partnering to help future teach ers understand the behavior of children with a social-emotional learning curriculum, according to Paul Mooney, a professor at LSU’s School of Education.
Mooney and Greg Benner, a professor at the University of Ala bama’s College of Education, are working together to give LSU and University of Alabama students ac cess to a social-emotional learning curriculum and Social Emotional Learning Study Group (SELSG+) materials for their research.
According to Panorama Educa tion, the company behind the pro gram, social-emotional learning is a process in which people obtain the knowledge, skills and attitudes to create healthy identities, man age their emotions, achieve per sonal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish supportive relationships and make responsible and caring decisions.
SELGC+ is described as a com plete guide for teachers on how to use social-emotional learning to
ward students, specifically for kin dergarten to third-grade students.
According to Panorama, a so cial-emotional learning curriculum like SELSG+ providers specialize in delivering comprehensive, ev idence-based programs that pro duce positive social, emotional and academic outcomes for students.
Benner created the SELGC+ be cause educators don’t get enough training on how to help youth with mental health concerns.
“[Educators] struggle to support all the behavioral health challenges they see from youth,” Benner said.
Within the SELGC+, Benner added seven core behavioral skills for children to follow. These in clude asking for help, following di rections, doing the best they can, following the rules, working out strong feelings and getting along with one another.
According to Benner, the chal lenge of giving each child the help they need is what SELGC+ is de signed to overcome.
“I want to give future educators the information to support the so cial and emotional needs of each child,” Benner said.
Mooney, who has collaborated with Benner on previous projects
regarding social-emotional learn ing, said that Benner reached out to him and LSU to inquire if the university wanted to participate in the social-emotional learning and SELGC+ curriculum.
At the beginning of the 2022 semester, Mooney agreed, and he worked to integrate the socialemotional learning curriculum into Consultation, Collaboration and Co-teaching, a special education teaching course.
According to Mooney, Consulta tion, Collaboration and Co-teach ing students use social-emotional learning, specifically the SELGC+ materials, to understand the behav ior within adolescents. He said the materials teach students within the class how to assist children with cooperating in school settings.
Regarding corporal punish ment, in which disciplinary mea sures are acted upon a child after misbehaving, Mooney said that so cial-emotional learning will reduce the need for teachers to use physi cal punishment.
According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychology, corporal punishment is legal in 19 states, including Ala bama and Louisiana.
“Hopefully the need for reac tive, punitive types of punishments in the classroom will go down be cause of social-emotional learning implementation,” Mooney said.
While the two universities col lide in sports, Mooney said that combining LSU and the University of Alabama’s resources help ad dress children’s emotional needs.
“When it comes to working with students with disabilities and students who are at risk for failure, there’s no reason for us to be com petitors,” Mooney said. “There’s a reason for us to be collaborators.”
Elementary and special educa tion junior Cate Sherman said that though the SELGC+ material, she has learned how to promote ex pectations of behavior in the class room.
“A lot of teachers come in and they have an idea of how they want to bring expectations of behavior into the classroom,” Sherman said. “There is no way to do it correctly without having guiding material that will direct you into making an effective behavioral plan.”
Sherman said that utilizing SEL GC+ lessens the need for yelling and hitting students in the class room, giving children an outlet to
express themselves.
“[Future teachers] are teaching the next generation,” Sherman said. “You have to have a passion for that and [social-emotional learn ing] helps teachers and children understand how to be respectful to each other.”
Sherman said that the elemen tary schools where they implement social-emotional learning materi als have a 95% poverty rate among students
“Some of these children have their only meal at school,” Sher man said. “They have to take care of themselves at a young age. If they can’t be a kid at home, they are more likely to act out during school.”
Sherman said that the socialemotional learning framework al lows teachers to respect the stu dent while treating them like a child, which some students don’t receive at home.
Social-emotional learning helps teachers find the background be hind students’ behaviors, elemen tary and special education junior Megan McGinnis said.
“You don’t know what any of the children are going through in their home life,” McGinnis said.
ly, the committee only has eight members due to not receiving a response from one of the elected faculty members.
“The 2023 cohort, we at tempted to reach out to someone – they declined. At this point, we thought that it didn’t make sense to continue that process given how hard it is to find faculty, to find someone who would serve out the remaining four months of that term...so we will hold another round of elections in April for the
2026 cohort,” Faculty Senate Vice President and political science professor Daniel Tirone said. “We decided that it would be best to proceed with the committee with eight out of nine positions filled.”
Current committee members include Kelly Blessinger, the head of Access Services at the LSU Li braries, and Meredith Gaglio, an architecture professor in the 2023 cohort. Veterinary medicine pro fessor Fabio Del Piero was the only member of the 2024 cohort prior to the meeting.
The first election held was to
fill the vacancies for two mem bers who rotate off in 2024, and the second election was to fill the vacancy for one of the three mem bers who rotate off in 2025.
Music professor Blake Howe and sociology professor Edward Shihadeh were announced as con firmed candidates for the 2024 co hort. The floor was open to new nominations, but after none were made, Howe and Shihadeh were elected by acclamation.
The two already confirmed candidates for the 2025 cohort were biological sciences profes
sor Dominique Homberger and accounting professor Joseph Le goria. Music professor Robert Peck was elected in the spring but declined to serve, leaving one va cancy.
Chemical engineering profes sor Kerry Dooley self-nominated himself and was elected by accla mation.
Following the elections, an audience member suggested to Tirone passing a motion to have an election for the 2023 cohort.
“I think you should ask if there’s anybody on the floor right
now who’d like to do the 2023. You basically, you’ve reached out but somebody didn’t want to selfnominate. I think that should not be limited, you should give people the chance to self-nominate,” the audience member said.
The motion to hold an election was passed, and nutrition and food sciences professor Joan King self-nominated and was elected by acclamation.
The next Faculty Senate meet ing will be held Dec. 1, in the Dalton Woods Auditorium in the Coast and Environment Building.
ent equipment for the rally, as well as outreach.
“I want to impact people by educating them on how their ac tions affect their environment, and therefore the planet,” Austin said. “How small negative actions such as littering have much larger ef fects. And how recycling positively impacts the environment.”
She said that she wants people to understand the importance of unity within the community and how collective action is the only way communities can make a dif ference in the fight against climate change.
Austin said that the climate march sends a message to the LSU administration to prioritize sus tainability within the community
such as recycling on game days, educating students on what can be recycled, implementing biodegrad able packaging over plastics and overall greater education on the climate crisis.
Clarke said that she is an envi ronmentalist at heart, motivating her decision to become involved in the rally.
“It’s my true passion to do something good for the environ ment,” Clarke said. “Through the environment, I want to help com munities.”
She said that Geaux Green’s fo cus takes a holistic outlook on sus tainability. Geaux Green’s mission is based on the United Nations’ sustainable development goals: no poverty, no hunger, access to healthcare, education and inequal ity, climate action, access to clean
water and access to a clean envi ronment, according to Clarke.
Clarke said that the climate march brings awareness to envi ronmental justice.
“It’s easy for apathy to take root,” Clarke said. “Seeing people care about environmental justice persuade[s] people to learn about it.”
Clarke said that she hopes that following the Climate March, LSU and the LSU Foundation will col laborate with students more to cre ate a better future for students and future generations.
“We won’t stop taking actions and we want LSU and [the] admin istration [to] work with us,” Clarke said.
Coastal science graduate stu dent Corrine Salters and oceanog raphy doctoral student Ben Farmer
created Climate Pelicans in 2021 as an interdisciplinary climate activist group focusing on climate justice and social justice.
“I didn’t see any activist groups around campus and decided to start it ourselves,” Salters said.
Salters said their involvement in the Climate March will show the administration that there’s a student body that isn’t intent with the investment of funds and LSU’s close connection to the fossil fuel industry.
“The fossil fuel industry de grades the environment that many Baton Rouge communities rely on,” Salters said.
Farmer said the Climate March is a lasting legacy for LSU students to build an impact on environmen tal change.
Oceanography and coastal sci
ence doctoral candidate Jill Tupitza is the head of the divesting cam paign for Climate Pelicans and has done significant outreach for the event.
Climate Pelicans’ divesting campaign asks the LSU Foundation to divest financial holdings from fossil fuel companies, according to Tupitza. She said that divesting fi nancial holdings would restrict fos sil fuel companies’ profit and their license to operate in Louisiana.
“It’s the South saying ‘We are kicking you out,’” Tupitza said. “It’s so important to voice for climate justice coming out of an area such as the deep South that has been ravaged by fossil fuel companies. Having voices within this state that put climate justice at the forefront of the state’s priorities instead of a profit is powerful.”
THIS WEEK IN BR
BY MADELON DAVIS @madelondavisWant to see your event in The Reveille? Email information to editor@lsu.edu.
Pet Nights with Santa Mall of Louisiana
Bring your pets to meet Santa Claus! This event is from Monday, Nov. 21 to Monday, Dec. 5 from 4 to 7 p.m. on each day. Re serve your spot on whereissanta.com
NOVEMBER
Resgiving
LSU Student Union
The Residence Hall Association is hosting a home away from home Thanksgiving feast. This free event will be in the Atchafalaya Room in the Student Union. It will start at 5 p.m. and last until 7 p.m. Register on TigerLink.
EMILY ABBOTT
RYAN ACHEE
MARY MALONE ADCOCK
ALEXIS RAYE ALBERT
JULIA ALBRIGHT
KEITH U ALDRICH
JADA ALLEN
LILY ALLEY
EMILY LEIGH ANDERSON
MICHAEL APOLDO
AVA VICTORIA ARCEMONT
COLLIN R. ARDON
MIA ARIZMENDI
RILLEY ROSE ARREOLA
HAILEY MARIE ARTUS
CARIANNE L. ASBERRY
CLAIRE ASHWORTH
MARCUS AUSTIN
MALLORY VILA
COLE AYDELL
ISAIAH BADUA
MIRANDA N. BAGE
CHELSEA-ROSE BAGNERISE
CARLEY BAJON
BRIANNE LEIGH BANKSTON
PRESTON BARRON
REBECCA JOY BARROWS
SARAH BARTON
JONATHAN DAVID BATEMAN
AIDAN BECNEL
AMIRA BENGHOZI
LAUREN MARIE BERGERON
CAMERON CHRISTOPHER BESSE
MATTISON BINGHAM
GARETH FREDERICK BLOEMEKE
JEKAI CALISE BOGAN
AIDAN BONANO
AVA ELIZABETH BORSKEY
KYLA BOUDOUIN
SAMI BOUDREAUX
ALEAH ELIZABETH BOURGEOIS
BREANA BOVIE
NICHOLAS BOWMAN
CONNOR BOYLAN
JOSE BRAN JR
BLAKELY BRASHER
LAILA A. BREAKBILL
ANNA NICOLE BREAUX
MACKENZIE BREAUX
MADELINE BREAUX
ALYSSA BRIGHTBILL
CHALESE BRISCOE
MADELINE CLAIRE BROADWAY
COLE BROCATO
KRISTIAN DENEISHA BROOKS
SYDNEY BROUSSARD
ISABELLA BROWN
JARED BROWN
JORDAN ELIJAH BROWN
MYKAH ANGELIQUE BROWN
ANNA BROWNFIELD
EMMA ELISE BRUNEY
EMILIE ALICIA BRYANT
BRANDON DANIEL BULL
SARAH BURAS
WILLIAM S BLAKE BURGETT-MERKEL
BETHANY BURRIS
MISTY BURROW
BAILEY BUTTS
ALEXANDRIA R. BUZZARD
STACEY CAMBRE
KAITLYN JOYCE CARLOCK
SYDNEY CARR
JACOB CARTER
GABRIELLE CASSAGNE MASON CAVALIER
MALIA CAZALOT
MICHAEL CEDENO
FRIDA CERVANTES
CODY CHAISSON
HANNAH CHAMPAGNE
KRISTEN CHARBONNET
MICHAEL GERARD CHARBONNET
CHRISTOPHER ADAM CHASTANT
JOURDAN CHEEK
MANIE CHEMIN
ELI CHERAMIE
SETH CHIASSON
GARRETT CHRISTMAS
OLIVIA CHRISTOPHER
ALEXANDRA CLAY
ASHLEY CLEMENTE
KEVIN CLUNEY
MARLON COATES JR
WESTIN COBB
ERIN COCHRAN
LAINE ARIEL MARIE COHEN
CHADERICK COLEMAN JR
MICHAEL VOORHIES CONGER
LAUREN COOKE
KATE COOPER
MORGAN COOPER
SYDNEY CORBIN
EVA COUNTS
MICAH SCOTT CRAWFORD
BENJAMIN CROWLEY
KEVIN CRUZ
LINDSEY MARIE DANIELS
BELLA DARDANO
HAILEY DARNIELLE
ARON DAVIS
HANNAH GRACE DAVIS
LARK DAVIS
TYLER DAWSON
RAUL DELIRA
CHLOE DENMAN
JOSEPH DERRINGER
HOLLIE ANNE DEVOLTZ
TAMAYA DIXON
ALYSSA CLAIRE DODD
MADISON DOLIVE
ALFRED W DONALDSON III
TAYLOR J DONNELLY
OLIVIA ALICÉ DORNAN
BAIJA DOROUGH
CHRISTOPHER JARED DORSEY
MAEGAN DOWNEY
THOMAS LAWRENCE DUET
DARNELL PATRICK DUPUY JR.
EMMA C. DUSANG
MARIAH R EAKMAN
SAVANNAH EDWARDS
JILLIAN BLAIR ELLIOTT
GIANNA ENOCH
MATTHEW ERWIN
DYLAN N FALTERMAN
WATSON FARBER
MICHAEL SPORT FAUST
ALEXIS FAVALORA
JAMES G FAZIO
TAYLER FENTON
COLLIN FERNANDEZ
LILY FIELDING
MADELINE FINKENBINDER
CHRISTIAN FITZGERALD
NICOLE DENEE FONTENOT
J’MANI MAJOR FOSTER
KYLE FOSTER
RIES FRANCIS
GARRICK FRANCIS II
MIA FRASER
JOSHUA ANDREW FREDERICK
LUKAS FRICK
GABRIELLE FRIEU
ANN MARIE FRISBY
ARMANDO FRANCISCO FUENTES
HALEY FULLER
MONICA SARMIENTO GALVEZ
JONATHAN GALLAGHER
CRISTINA GARCIA
KIRSTYN GARLAND
RENDY DANIELLE GARRETT
TONYA GAUNA
CONNOR GAUTHIER
KENNEDI GEORGE
REGINA D. GEORGE
KADYNN GERMAIN
JACK GETTYS III
DALANA GILL
CAITLYN GILLIAM
SCOTT N. GOMEZ
ANGEL ANTHONY GONZALEZ CALDERON
ASHLEY ANN GORRELL
CAROLINE MICHELLE GREEN
TRINITY DUSHANE GREEN
RAEGAN GUIDROZ
AMBER REECE GUIDRY
ALLISON RENA GUTHRIE
BRICE GUIDRY
JAROD GUTIERREZ
NICHOLAS HAGAN
NICHOLAS HAGSTETTE
DOMINIQUE NAKIA HAILEY
HANNAH ROSE MICHEL HANKS
SOFIA HALE-BENSON
HALEY HANSEN
FORD E. HARDWICK
JANEE’ HARNESS
RAELEE HARRIGAN
KENNETH KALEB HARRIS
C.J. M. HARRISON
JAVON HARRISON
ALYSSA HAUPTMANN
DESTINY HAWKINS
BROOKE BANTA HAYS
MAKENZIE HELMS
TYLER MICHAEL LIAM HENDRICKS
JOSEPHINE HILL
STACIE HINKELMAN
CHELSEY LYNN HINTON
JANE ELIZABETH HOLLAND
SARAH HOWARD
LINDSEY ALLYN HUDSON
BRANDON HUGGETT
PIPER HUTCHINSON
GIULIANA M. IMBRAGUGLIO
JADEN JACKSON
JULIA JACKSON
KELLEN JANDA
ALEXANDRIA JARQUIN
MARK JEREMIAH
ALEXIS JOHNSON
CHEYENNE JOHNSON
DAMON JOHNSON
DANIEL JOHNSON
JAMES M. JOHNSON
KENEDI S JOHNSON
MACY JONES
ARIEL LYNN JOSEPH
TATIANNA KAILANI
KADEN KELLER
CECILIA ANN KELLEY
JYEKEELON KELLY
SASCHA KIRK
JARED PAUL KITTO
JACE KNOTT
KARA KOLESSAR
NATHAN MICHAEL KRATZBERG
JAMES KRIEGL
NICOLE ASHLEY KRUEGER
SARAH ELIZABETH KYLE
LYNDSAY N. LACAZE
CATHERINE LADNER
TAIT M. LAFONT
LEIGH ANN LAUREN LAFRANCE
AARON LAGRONE
ANNIE ELIZABETH LAMKE
LAUREN K LANDHOLM
KENSLY LANDRY
LEXI ELIZABETH LANDRY
YESSENIA LANZA
SARAH JANE LASTRAPES
ALLIE MADISON LAWS
DAVID LEACH JR
AUSTIN MICHAEL LEBLANC
ELIZABETH MARIE LEBLANC
JARAD LEBLANC
REAGAN SIERRA LEE
TAYLOR LYNNE LEE
BRU’KIA LEGARDE
HANNAH LEGER
COLTON LEGGETT
CAROLYNN ANNE MARIE LEMAN
EDDIE ROY LEWIS III
LUNA LINDENBERGER
KANE M. LINK
BLAIR OLIVIA LIPPS
EMMA LITTLE
TABITHA LOBELL
ANNE E LOBITZ
JUSTICE LOGAN
BRANDI LOPEZ
JAMES LOSNESS
GAVIN LOUVIERE
SHANYA ATHENA LUNA
GRACE MACKENZIE LUNSFORD
OLIVIA MARIE LUNSFORD
PAIGE ADRIAN LUSTER
LAUREN MICHELE LYONS
VALERIE ANGELINA MACEDO
GABRIELLA MAGGIO
CARSON MAGINNIS
CHLOE A MAHL
ALVIN M MAHLER
SEOUL MAJOR-CONYERS
MATTHEW MALDONADO
ASHLYN MANUEL
CATHERINE MARCHAND
HAILEY MARINO
ABIGAIL MELISSA MARKEY
TIMOTHY MARQUESS
COLIN MARTIN
ELLIOT RAYMOND MARTINEZ
FRANKIE MARULLO
ALEXUS MATTHEWS
NICHOLAS MCCAULLEY
CONNER MCCORMICK
DELANEY MCDONALD
AUSTIN MCDONNELL
EMMA S. MCDOWELL
GARY MCELROY
MADALYN MCGINNIS
MEGAN MCGINNIS
ALEX FELIPE MEJIA
YESSENIA MENA
ANDREA MENESES DE FARIA
INDIA MERATH
BRITTA MICELI
HANNAH MICHEL
BRIDGETT MILLER
CODY MILLER
DEREK DREW MILLER
EMILY GENEVIEVE MISTRETTA
ARIANA MOHAMMED
MICHAEL MONISTERE
KATHERINE MONROE
RAQUEL CRISTINA MONTALVO
GABRIEL MOORE
ISABELLA ELIZABETH MOREL
KENYON DEANDRE’ MORGAN
MEA F. MORRELL
NATASHA MOSHA-KALEMBA
AMANDA ANASTASIA MUNCH
CHAMYRIA L MUSE
MATTHEW W. MYERS
JOSEPH NATALE
ROBERT NEWSOME JR
KATELYN K NGUYEN
KYLIE NICHOLSON
DYLAN NICOLOSI
CAMERON SHAE NIEMIETZ
SKYLAR NORTON
AINSLEY PAIGE NUNNELEY
MORGEN NUNNERY
PRESLEY NUTTER
ISABELLA OCKMAN
CASSIDY NICOLA O’CONNELL
KRISTEN MARIE O’CONNOR
SHELBY SIMPSON OLIVEAUX
ALONA KALEI OLIVIER
SARAH CLAIRE OLSEN
SALVADORE ORLANDO
FRANK PEREZ ORTEGA
MEGAN OSHEA
BRENDAN MONROE OXFORD
VICTORIA PACE
CAROLINE PADEN
ELISE PAGAN
ALEXANDRIA M PALUMBI
MELODY PARA
ALEXANDER PAUL PARADIS
JACEY PATTERSON
KIMBERLEIGH PATTERSON
ZOE PATTON
KAMERON PATUREAU
KENNEDY PAYNE
JAEDYN MARIE PEARMAN
GARRETT ALAN PEAVY
TORI RENÉE PELLERIN
ANTHONY PENNISON
DANI GABRIEL PERCLE
LAUREN MICHELLE PETE
CHRISTINE BAO TRAN PHAN
LEAH PHILLIPS
KYLE EDWARD PICHON
EMILY PIGLIA
ANGELIQUE PINEDA
MADISON J. PLAISANCE
HAYDEN PLESCIA
VALERIE NOEL POGUE
KYLLE NICHOLAS BROUSSARD POIENCOT
SELINA N POLK
BRANDON CHRISTOPHER PONS
ELISA ANNE PORTER
DANIELLE POUNDS
DANIEL I. POWELL
ISABEL POWELL
KATELYN K. POWELL
PEYTON MONIQUE PRICE
BRYCE PROBST
DOMENIC PURDY
KAREEM H. QARADEH
SAVANNAH RAMOS
PETER RAUTERKUS
KAYLA J RAZO
HEIDI REED
JACOB WESLEY RHODES
REGINALD RIDEAUX II
DOMINIC ROBERT
CHANDLER ROBINSON
JORGE ROBINSON
SYDNEY NICOLE ROBINSON
GINALEY ROGERS
OLIVIA ROGERS
PAYTON ROGERS
JASON ROHLEDER
JOSÉ ROJAS-IRACHETA
OLIVIA ROMAGUERA
ELIZABETH ROMEO
JESSICA ROMERO
ANDREA RUIZ
EMILY CLAIRE RYE
NATALIE SAENZ
KATHERINE OLIVIA SALMON
LUCAS SANCHEZ
EVERETT GARRALL SANDERS
SAVANNAH M. SCHENCK
ASHLEY NICOLE SCHMID
MICHAEL SCOTT
TERRENCE SCOTT
JORDAN SCROGGINS
NICHELLE SCURA
JOSHUA Q SCURRIA
JAYTON SEGREST
DANE D. SHACKELFORD
SHAKIR SHAFEEK
LIZZIE SHAW
EMILY SHELL
BRAXTON WADE SHELTON
JACKSON KYLE SHELTON
NYAH SHEPHERD
SAMUEL SHIRK
MAKIAH C. CONLEY-SILLER
LAURECE SILCOX
NATALIE ANN SISK
DIANA SMERINA
BRIONNA MARVALOUS SMITH
DEVIN SMITH
EMMA ELIZABETH SMITH
KALEB SMITH
THOMAS SMITH
THOMAS DAVID SMITH
WINSTON G SMITH
ROBERT SNOW
DAVID E. SPARKMAN JR.
EMILY ELISE SPERA
KYLEIGH FAY SPRING
AMY SQUIRE
KAYLEE STAKER
JULIA K STANDER
SARAH STATHAM
ELIZABETH STEINDORF
SARAH STEINITZ
MAGGIE STEWART
KATELYN STUART
KYLE YEZID SUAREZ
DEVIN THOMAS SURCOUF
JULIANNA SYLESTINE
CATHERINE GRACE TALBOT
PRESLEY TAPIA
KOURTNEY MAE TAYLOR
SETH TAYLOR
ELENA RENE’ TEMPLET
TAYLOR NICHOLAS TEMPLET
KALEB O’ROURKE TERRELL
RAVIN MARIAH TERRY
CRISSY THOMAS
KYLA ALEXIS THOMAS
TERRANCE THOMAS
GREYSON THOMPSON
KARA THORNTON
AMY THORPE
MICHAEL TILLMAN
JACQUELINE TRAHAN-DEJESUS
ISABELLA TRAMONTE
EMMA KATHERINE TRIGG
JAYDEN PAIGE TURNER
MALCOLM TURNER
AVERY VALDEZ
MIKAYLA VANVOORHIS
LUCIA VASCO
CHLOE VAUGHN
MATTHEW VESELY
SCHYLER VICKNAIR
JULIANNA VIGILOTTI
EMMA VINES
BRENNEN W. VINSON
GABRIEL VOTAW
SHAMARRIA SHANTYIA WALKER
DYLAN WATSON
CAROLINE RENEE WEBRE
JADA WESLEY
JARRETH WHEELER II
CARTIE WHITELAW
TRINITY MICHEL WICKER
EVELYN WILLIAMS
JULIAN NIGEL WILLIAMS
KAIA WILLIAMS
AMAYA WILSON
ZHIRIA KE’RAE WILSON
CAMRYN WISNIEWSKI
SYDNEY NICOLE WISNIEWSKI
GRACE WOOD
STEPHANIE ROZELLE YATES
ZOII A. YEARWOOD
ELIZABETH M ZANOLLI
KALIE A. ZVONAR
SENIOR NIGHT WIN
Strong offensive performance leads LSU to 41-10 win over UAB
BY TYLER HARDEN @ttjharden8Entering Saturday’s home matchup against UAB, LSU looked to be the clear favorite.
While this might cause some teams to become complacent, the Tigers took care of business, walking away with a 41-10 win Saturday night. In addition, the seniors were able to get a prop er send off in their last game in
OPINIONTiger Stadium on senior night.
Despite the cold tempera tures and the off-and-on rain, the Tigers still impressed and played quality football. To Coach Brian Kelly, the ability for the team to still perform at a high level required not only physical toughness but also mental toughness.
“I’m so proud of our mental toughness and our ability to do it the right away late in Novem
ber against a team we’re sup posed to beat,” Kelly said fol lowing the win.
On offense, Jayden Daniels led the way for the Tigers. The junior transfer from Arizona State shined with 297 passing yards, completing 22 of his 29 passes, and also threw for a touchdown. In addition, he ran for 111 yards and scored on the ground as well.
“We wanted to bounce back
from what we felt was offensive ly a less than our best game,” Kelly said. “Jayden [Daniels] prepared really well; you can make a case that this was his best game of the year.”
Just as Coach Kelly looked for the offense to bounce back as a whole, Jayden Daniels bouncing back had much to do with their success in doing that. Last week
SOCCER LSU soccer falls 4-1 to FSU
BY SPENCER VERRET @spenerverretLSU soccer’s season came to an end in Tallahassee Friday night as it fell to the No. 1 over all seed, Florida State Universi ty. The game was a tight contest in the first half. Going into half time, the scoreboard read 1-1. FSU’s strong second half was the difference maker. The Semi noles scored three goals to take the game 4-1.
FSU was always going to be a tough team to beat. The Semi noles are the No. 1 ranked team in the country for a reason. LSU, however, had a different plan in mind. The upset-minded Tigers started off the match on top as in the 10th minute, Wasila DI wura-Soale punched home An gelina Thoreson’s cross to make it 1-0. The Tigers were up.
Just 10 minutes later, the Seminoles responded. Jenna Nighswonger ripped a powerful shot from 16 yards out which beat Mollee Swift and brought the game back level. The game continued to be a back and forth affair for the rest of the first half. It seemed that neither team could take control of the game.
In the second half, FSU showed their quality in just sev en minutes. In the 52nd minute, a shot from Jody Brown was saved by Swift, but it was put right into the path of Ran Iwai. She powered it home to give the Seminoles the lead.
Two minutes later, Onyi Echegini outleapt everyone on a corner kick to give FSU a 3-1 lead. LSU hunted for an equal izer, but in the 79th minute FSU sealed the game. Ameila Hor
The current College Football Playoff scene and where LSU falls
JASON WILLIS @JasonWillis4With LSU being ranked No. 6 in the country by the College Football Playoff (CFP) commit tee, a well-deserved feat given the run the Tigers are on, it might be easy to forget how astonishing this outcome is considering how LSU began the year.
After LSU looked disorga nized and incapable of executing in some of the simplest areas of the game in the season opener against Florida State, no one
would have expected the Tigers to be in the thick of the playoff race. No one would have foreseen it after a blowout loss to Tennes see in Tiger Stadium, either.
Five straight wins later, in cluding two over top-ten teams, and LSU’s destiny is in its hands.
There’s plenty of work ahead for the Tigers if they want to make their second ever College Football Playoff appearance. For one, they need to take care of business to close out the regular season. UAB proved to be an easy win for LSU. A win against Texas A&M seems to be likely as well, but still shouldn’t be overlooked. As hapless as A&M has looked
at times this year, anything can happen in Rivalry Week, and the roster is still as talented as any.
After the close of the regu lar season, LSU’s most important game of the season will come next: the SEC Championship against Georgia in Atlanta.
It’s important at this point to give a disclaimer that Georgia is a heavy favorite in the SEC Championship, and it would be a big ask for LSU to knock off the defending national champions, who are playing their best foot ball recently. A loss would be just fine for LSU in the big picture. No one expected Brian Kelly to bring home a conference cham
pionship in his first year in Baton Rouge.
And yet Kelly’s success has al lowed Tiger fans to dream well into November about a deep post season run. It’s given fans free range to imagine what LSU could do in the CFP and given them a reason to insert themselves into the annual debate about which teams belong in the playoffs.
Looking at the CFP landscape, a clear hierarchy has emerged. Georgia has established itself as a clear No. 1, followed by two ex cellent Big Ten East teams in No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Michigan. Another tier down is the surpris ing No. 4 TCU, No. 5 Tennessee
and No. 7 USC, with LSU slotted at No. 6. Those seven teams seem to be the only ones with reason able chances of securing a CFP slot at this point in the year.
LSU would obviously need to jump two of the teams ahead of it in order to take a spot in the top four. However, Ohio State and Michigan will eventu ally face each other, meaning the loser will likely fall out of playoff contention. That makes things simpler.
Various arguments have emerged about how LSU com pares to the other teams on the
UAB, from page 9 against Arkansas, Daniels was held to just 86 passing yards and 19 rushing yards, and was kept out of the end zone.
“Last week, I got out of my routine a little bit, but I got back on that routine,” Daniels said. “You can’t take practice for granted, it’s another opportu nity to get better and improve your craft. So I feel like that’s just the next step in leadership.”
For the players catching the passes from Daniels, Malik Na bers led the receiving corps with seven catches for 129 yards. Jack Bech also saw much more ac tion in the offense against UAB. He totaled 61 receiving yards on three catches.
Daniels’ lone touchdown pass went to Brian Thomas Jr., who caught four passes for 21 yards.
Jaray Jenkins and Mason Taylor also made an impact Sat urday night. Jenkins caught two passes for 29 yards, with a long of 25 yards. Taylor caught three passes for 39 yards.
While Daniels also ran the ball effectively, Noah Cain and John Emery Jr. also helped the ground game thrive throughout the game. Cain led the backfield with three touchdowns on 13 carries for 76 yards. Emery also found the end zone on nine car ries for 46 yards.
‘We’ve always had faith in him [Noah Cain],” Kelly said. “He’s a kid that wanted to come back to Louisiana, and it’s great to see him on this night, last op portunity in Tiger Stadium this year…have the kind of game that he had.”
On defense, Greg Penn III stepped up and led the team in tackles with eight, five of which were solo tackles, and
one of which was a tackle for a loss. Last week against Arkan sas, Penn totaled nine tackles, which was his season high.
“I feel like early in the sea son, I feel like I wasn’t playing like myself, being as physical as I wanted to be,” Penn said. “These past couple of weeks, I feel like I’ve been playing a lot better.”
Harold Perkins Jr., who was coming off his game-altering performance against Arkansas, where he totaled eight tack les, four sacks and two forced fumbles, shined again against UAB. The true freshman had five tackles, two of which were tackles for loss, on the night.
Joe Foucha and B.J. Oju lari also made their presence, both totaling four tackles in the game.
The Tigers have found their rhythm, and they have found what works. They look to con tinue running as they head into their last regular season game of the year next week against Texas A&MStr
“You’re building trust, you’re building relationships, and that takes time, it doesn’t happen overnight,” Kelly said. “My first meeting I said, ‘Listen, you’re going to have to trust me, and it’s not going to happen today, it’s going to happen over my words and deeds, I have to back it up. What I say I mean, and that’s going to take time.’”
They look to continue to build that trust in each other, as they are set to head into the weeks where bringing your best matters most with the SEC Championship on the horizon. Until then, the Tigers finish their regular season with Texas A&M in College Station, Texas on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 6 p.m. C.T.
PLAYOFFS, from page 9 fringe of the playoff race like TCU. Though TCU plays in a comparatively weak Big 12 con ference and has won all but three of its games by a margin of 10 or less, the committee seems to have made a statement with their rankings that they respect the Horned Frogs and would fa vor them over LSU in any headto-head comparison, at least for now.
In addition, LSU will almost certainly be compared to Tennes see, previously undefeated until a loss to Georgia. Even if LSU pulls off a miraculous upset of
Georgia in the SEC Champion ship, the result of LSU and Ten nessee’s game will loom large. Tennessee thoroughly outclassed LSU and looked like a far better team, and LSU’s improvements since then might not be enough to earn it a higher ranking than the Volunteers.
In the event LSU defeats Geor gia, there might even be a debate between LSU and Georgia for one of the final Playoff spots. Even with the head-to-head out come going the Tigers’ way, the committee might favor Georgia’s overall resume, with impressive wins over Oregon and Tennes see. The committee has made it
clear they believe Georgia is the best team in the country and one slip-up may not change that.
As complex as the various ar guments for each of the top sev en teams are, it would be hard to imagine a world where LSU wins the SEC Championship and isn’t selected for the CFP. The SEC champion has never missed the playoff, so the Tigers’ fate is en tirely up to them.
As Brian Kelly’s debut sea son nears its end, LSU comes to a fork in the road. Behind all of the fluff and arguments about the College Football Playoffs, LSU has two simple options: win out or stay home.
ton scored giving the Seminoles four goals to the Tigers’ one. FSU had officially defeated LSU.
“I am incredibly proud of this team for their efforts to night,” Coach Sian Hudson said. “We frustrated them earlier and it was a close game for 45 min utes. Unfortunately, we opened the second half a bit slow and gave them the lead and that’s not something you can do with a great program like Florida State.”
The Tigers finished the sea son with a record of 10-4-7. LSU had back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in program his tory. It was a successful season overall that only can be built on after this year’s freshman class showed great promise.
“I think our team has shown all season long that we can battle through adversity,” Hud son said. “In my three years at LSU, we’ve taken steady steps forward and this year’s group showed great consistency. Over all, it’s been a great team ef fort from start to finish and I’m proud of this group,” Hudson said.
Stop tearing down female athletes like gymnast Livvy Dunne
TAYLOR’S TALKS TAYLOR HAMILTON @taylorhami04Heads turn when LSU tigers hear the name Olivia Dunne. Dunne is known for her grace as a gymnast and for being an ener getic and enthusiastic social media personality.
Though Dunne is famous for her talents as a gymnast, she be came even more admired when she created a TikTok account featuring videos of her gymnastics routines, her dancing with her friends and more. Dunne now has over 6 mil lion followers on TikTok and over 2 million followers on Instagram.
Nowadays, Dunne and many other college athletes have Name, Image and Likeness deals that al low them to make money through marketing agreements. Dunne has partnerships with American Eagle, Vouri, Bartleby and Plantfuel, ac cording to the New York Post.
Recently, Dunne posted a pho
tograph of her and fellow gymnast KJ Johnson on her Instagram story wearing sports bras with their leo tards only covering their bottom halves.
In response to that post and other “racy” photographs, the New York Times attempted to knock Dunne off her pedestal by argu ing that female collegiate athletes showing off their bodies in flirty ways may not be a good stepping stone for female athletes.
Stanford’s women’s basketball coach Tara VanDerveer seemed to agree, telling the New York Times, “I guess sometimes we have this swinging pendulum, where we maybe take two steps forward, and then we take a step back. We’re fighting for all the opportunities to compete, to play, to have resourc es, to have facilities, to have coach es, and all the things that go with Olympic-caliber athletics. This is a step back.”
VanDerveer’s statement is dra matic. Female athletes can now make deals with brands and be themselves through social media,
which they weren’t always able to do. By having these deals, female athletes are getting their message out there and giving exposure to their sports. They can create a fan base that will also drive attention to their teammates and coaches. How exactly is that taking female sports backward?
But of course, women always seem to get criticism, no matter what they do. If anything, female coaches and other female ath letes should support athletes like Dunne who are simply trying to build a brand, make a little money and live their lives. If women can not support other women, I have to question if we can even ask for athletic support from men and oth er genders.
I wouldn’t even characterize Dunne’s Instagram story as “racy.” Her and Johnson were stand ing in front of a mirror wearing sports bras looking happy with big smiles. Dunne is one of the least “racy” influencers of all the celeb rities I follow on Instagram. She’s a 20-year-old wearing leotards for
the sport she loves and having fun with her friends.
The humorous thing about this situation is that women like VanDerveer don’t want female athletes to be sexualized. How ever, who’s the one doing the ac tual sexualizing? Oh, that’s right, people like VanDerveer who claim that Dunne and other female ath letes are sexualizing themselves.
It’s not like Dunne is wearing lingerie or going nude. She’s wear ing a leotard. If you didn’t know, a leotard is that colorful article of clothing that gymnasts wear on the balance beam, floor, vault and bars to cover themselves while also allowing judges to see their bodies for technique purposes.
Nevertheless, Dunne, being the badass that she is, responded to the article through an Instagram story with her standing behind a balance beam wearing an LSU leo tard with the caption, “Is this too much?” and tagged the New York Times.
I applaud Dunne for gracefully clapping back against the unneed
ed criticism she received on her so-called “racy” photographs. She handled the whole situation with great sophistication, self-control and confidence—much more than was shown by the writer who de cided to attack her for simply liv ing her life.
Dunne talked to the New York Post in October about the benefits of social media for female athletes.
“I think it’s [social media and brand deals] great for female stu dent-athletes in gymnastics like myself because there is really no professional league after college, so we can capitalize on our oppor tunities right now,” Dunne said.
“It’s such a special thing. It’s like I’m part of history, all of us stu dent-athletes are.”
To anyone who has further comments about what Dunne and other female college athletes choose to post or wear, keep them to yourself.
Taylor Hamilton is an 18-year-old mass communication freshman from Tallahassee, Florida.
Louisiana attorney general lawsuit fights Big Tech, censorship
HEADLINE NAVIGATOR BRANDON POULTER @BrandopinioneLouisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said in an October speech at LSU that a lawsuit in a U.S. district court in Louisiana would be one of the most impor tant of our time. I figured he was another politician speaking hy perbolically and shrugged.
But Landry was right.
Over the past two years, the scope and scale of the social media crackdown on misinfor mation and disinformation has been expanding. At times, it has seemed coordinated, and it has seemed one-sided and biased against conservatives.
Conspiracy theories explain ing why ranged from woke em ployees of social media com panies hating conservatives to a vast interconnected network of government agents policing speech or so-called misinforma tion and disinformation, much like George Orwell’s Ministry of Truth from his dystopian novel “1984.”
Much of the so-called mis information and disinformation
censored by social media com panies has turned out to be nei ther.
There’s emerging evidence that the COVID-19 virus may have arose from a Wuhan, Chi na, laboratory, and the U.S. gov ernment is now investigating this, according to the New York Times. You were smeared as a conspiracy theorist if you said this earlier in the pandemic.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, was suspended from YouTube for posting a video claiming that cloth masks are ineffective against COVID-19 based on in formation from two peer-re viewed studies, according to the New York Times. Four months later, the Centers for Disease Control admitted this was true.
Then there was the Hunter Biden laptop story. The New York Post reported that President Joe Biden’s son left a laptop at a Delaware computer repair shop with sensitive information about the Biden family on it. The pub lication was subsequently sus pended from an array of social media platforms. A letter was signed by 50 former intelligence analysts saying the laptop story sounded like Russian disinfor mation, according to The Hill.
It wasn’t and was later veri fied by the New York Times.
Many of us knew these things to be true initially but were con tinually censored and labeled conspiracy theorists and misin formation spreaders.
So, what’s going on here?
A lawsuit filed by Landry and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt argues that the U.S. gov ernment has been colluding with social media companies to cen sor and take down information related to COVID-19, racial jus tice, U.S. support of Ukraine and much more.
Much of the information in this lawsuit was revealed by a recent Intercept report titled “Truth Cops.”
The Biden administration and Department of Homeland Security have been in contact with multiple major social media sites and have been suggesting these social media sites to take down “misinformation” and “dis information” about COVID-19, according to documents revealed by the Landry lawsuit.
Facebook has a portal set up where government agents can go and submit so-called misin formation for review. That portal is still up.
This is a massive First Amend ment violation.
In principle, the government cannot use private corporations to do what it cannot do. But more importantly, according to Supreme Court precedent, the government s constitutionallybarred from doing this.
How many times have con gressman, senators and the Biden Administration called for Big Tech regulation? Always seem ingly after bouts of so-called CO VID-19 misinformation, much of which turned out to be true. The lawsuit by Landry lays out many incidents like this.
In a recent opinion written by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, he noted that in the 1982 Blum v. Yaretsky decision, it was established that the gov ernment cannot perform actions through private entities if that action is unconstitutional.
The government’s appro priate role in the minds of our founding fathers was to first gov ern the citizens but secondly to govern itself, according to Feder alist #51, one of the papers writ ten by James Madison in defense of the Constitution. Our found ing fathers were aware of the capacity for the government to
Editorial Policies and Procedures
run out of control, and our Bill of Rights was written in order to check that possibility.
Our freedom of speech is in deed under attack in America. The marketplace of ideas is be ing illegally fixed by the great est information cartel that has ever existed: the government. Landry’s lawsuit aims to combat this for the citizens of Louisiana, standing upon the principles of free speech.
The freedom to express your self, to figure out who you re ally are, to praise God or not to praise God and to be happy are ensured by the freedoms guar anteed to us in the Bill of Rights. These freedoms, once fully in corporated, allowed for the flourishing of ideas in America and led to our country being one of the most tolerant nations on the planet.
Landry’s lawsuit is a fullthroated defense of the right to free speech that rightfully goes after those in the federal govern ment who have sought to vio late our most sacred rights—the rights that make America great.
Brandon Poulter is a 27-year-old political science and psychology major from Baton Rouge.
Quote of the Week
EDITORIAL BOARD
Josh Archote Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Hannah Michel Hanks Deputy News Editor Domenic Purdy Bella Dardano News Editor Claire Sullivan Opinion EditorThe 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.
Ralph Waldo Emerson American writer“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.”
Republicans should steer clear of Trump’s next presidential run
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
BENJAMIN HAINES @bphainesIn an unsurprising surprise announcement, Donald Trump declared that he’s running for a second presidential term.
This comes, of course, on the coattails of a majorly disappoint ing midterm performance by the Republicans; the conservative takeover prophesied by pundits proved, in the least, exaggerated.
At the most, it was a loss –and if it was, no one lost more than Trump. Not only did his tired demagogic style fail to win independent swing voters to the MAGA cause, but his main Re publican rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, won an astounding 19-point reelection victory.
Perhaps the worst defeat Trump has recently suffered, though, came after the midterm, in anticipation of his campaign announcement. Many conserva tive writers, despite former al legiance (or at least friendliness) to Trump’s cause, have begun to turn on him in favor of DeSantis.
The conservative magazine National Review ran a piece called “Pick Now: It’s Trump, or Winning.” According to Huff Post, American evangelical leader Mike Evans said “he’s done with
Trump” and that “Trump can’t save America.” Robert Jeffress, a former evangelical adviser to Trump, admitted he’s not quite ready to endorse Trump again. In a Washington Post piece, James Robinson of Life Outreach Inter national, a Christian organization, said he’s worried about Trump’s ego, asking, “If Mr. Trump can’t stop his little petty issues, how does he expect … to stop ma jor issues?” More still, five GOP megadonors are looking to fund Trump challengers.
While Trump certainly retains the loyalty of some groups, such as the die-hard, red hat-wearing MAGA bros and select Catholic integralists, such as Sohrab Ah mari, he seems to be losing elec toral steam by the day.
It’s not difficult to see why. This is the second time that Trump has failed to use noxious, bombastic behavior to his ad vantage. 2020 CNN presidential election exit polling found that 68% of people voted for Presi dent Joe Biden as a vote against Trump; compare this to 53% of people who voted for Trump in an attempt to avoid a Biden presi dency.
Some of these numbers aren’t surprising. The last few years of American politics have followed the trend that this poll indicates –that is, voting against a candidate rather than for one.
But just because it’s become normalized doesn’t mean it should be, especially when Republicans have a much more electable can didate in DeSantis. The only trick will be convincing Trump’s base to give up their dream of mak ing the libs cry just one more time, which isn’t totally out of the realm of possibility. DeSantis, who has for months been widely identified as the main threat to Trump in Republican presidential primaries, had 95% of 2020 Flor ida Trump voters select his name on the ballot box in his recent gu bernatorial victory.
DeSantis, however, has his work cut out for him. Trump be gan his campaign against him even before midterms began, call ing the Florida governor “Ron De Sanctimonious.”
But there’s a clear path for ward: DeSantis needs to keep do ing what he does best – fighting the culture wars – while avoiding the mudslinging, ad hominem at tacks from which Trump seems to benefit so much.
The culture wars, after all, are what brought DeSantis national recognition. He refused to shut Florida down during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, all while keeping COVID-19 deaths below the national average; he has fought critical race theory, a particularly hot button issue among members of the American
right; and in his victory speech on election night, he promised to “reject woke ideology” in Florida.
So far, his strategy is working. According to one conservative exit poll, DeSantis has gained significant traction in several Re publican presidential primaries against Trump: He’s gained 11 percentage points in Iowa, seven percentage points in New Hamp shire, seven percentage points in Florida and eight percentage points in Georgia.
Outside of his electability, though, DeSantis is simply a bet ter candidate than Trump by ev ery reasonable metric. The rea sons for this are relatively simple: He simply hasn’t committed him self to any of the same asinine an tics as Trump. He’s been agnostic on election fraud. He refuses to engage in childish name calling.
He’s a much stronger leader than Trump – in Politico, Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming, said that DeSantis “is the leader of the Re publican Party.”
None of this means that De Santis is perfect. Democrats and those on the left will certainly criticize him for any number of his policies, especially concern ing COVID-19 and his “book ban ning.” But DeSantis, according to poll numbers at least, is just sane enough to bring independents and key swing voters to the con servative cause.
This is more than what can be said for Trump. What the 2020 election warned for Republicans was that just about anyone who didn’t absolutely detest Demo cratic policy was going to vote against the former president and that people were tired of his clowning, dirty style. The mid terms only proved this; in elec tion after election, Trump-backed candidates lost their races in what were supposed to be comfortable victories.
If the midterms are consid ered as a fourth Trump election, it shows that, for all his claims of “winning,” Trump is actually quite the loser. In 2016, he won; in 2018, his party lost control of Congress; in 2020, he lost; and in 2022, his poisonous personality cost his party secure control of the Senate. One win in four isn’t exactly a good batting average – at least, not for the man who claims near-infallibility.
The Republican Party should hope that their members real ize this fact and reject a second Trump term when their prima ries come around. If voters don’t, Trump may very well cost the country – not just conservatives –another four years of Democratic control.
Scheduling classes at LSU is more stressful than it needs to be
BESKE’S BUZZ KATE BESKE @KateBeskeBetween servers going down and getting waitlisted for classes, scheduling is a stressful time for most LSU students.
I’ve been waitlisted for nu merous classes that are neces sary to my major. When a limited number of a certain course is of fered, it can be difficult to get in.
While no one should expect perfection from a university, it’s upsetting to deal with the same issues every time scheduling oc curs, especially while attending a university with so much mon ey.
Kinesiology senior Gillian Aguilera said she always feels stressed during scheduling and finds the process to be difficult.
“To be honest we shouldn’t be building our own schedules, LSU has enough money to hire people or get the internet to do it,” she said.
Aguilera said it’s unaccept able that the servers crash near ly every time she has tried to schedule at LSU.
Many students have the same experience with the server crash ing right when it’s their turn to schedule.
She also feels priority sched uling can be upsetting, especial ly when a freshman gets priority over upperclassmen.
Aguilera was waitlisted in the fall and didn’t get into a class. She thinks a solution could be hiring more professors.
“Every semester classes are full within the first week, so why not pay for more professors?” she said.
If the university hired more professors, it could have more sections of required classes, and students wouldn’t have to deal with being waitlisted.
After scheduling for the spring semester, I’m waitlisted
for a class that many others in my major are waitlisted for as well. There are only four sections of the course offered, but if more professors were hired, more stu dents could take the class.
Bridget Robicheaux, director of student services at the Uni versity Center for Advising and Counseling, said UCAC “strives to provide multiple opportuni ties for students to prepare for scheduling and registration.”
The university offers individ ual advising appointments, drop-
in meetings, pre-registration email communication, University Center for Freshman Year group advising workshops and UCFY website scheduling resources to aid in students scheduling, Robi cheaux said.
“It is important for students to closely monitor their LSU email as important information regarding scheduling/registra tion as well as advising oppor tunities/resources are sent via email,” she said.
She recommends that stu
dents seek advising appoint ments early and to check for scheduling holds on their ac count before their scheduling day to ensure a smoother experi ence.
While from a student per spective hiring more professors seems to be an easy solution for classes filling up, Robicheaux said that course offerings are determined by each individual department and so are hiring choices.
It also seems like a good so lution to hire someone to focus solely on scheduling; however, she said LSU offers professional advisors and faculty advisors to assist students in understanding university policies and to sup port students’ academic careers. With so many staff focused on advising students, there’s not necessarily a need to hire more people just for scheduling, but this could be a good option as class sizes continue to grow each year.
Though there’s no quick fix to all of LSU’s scheduling prob lems, it’s nice to see things from a different perspective and un derstand what LSU is doing to help students throughout their years on campus.
Still, that might not stop stu dents from dreading another “server is full” or waitlist mes sage.