Candace Owens draws a crowd at LSU in her speaking tour

BY LIZZIE FALCETTI @lizziefalcetti

A jam-packed audience filled the LSU Student Union Theater on Tuesday to hear from conservative political commentator Candace Owens.

Before Owens stepped on stage, the audience roared with applause and chants ranging from “U-S-A” to “Let’s go Brandon.”

Owens joined Turning Point USA on the Live Free Tour to visit multiple college campuses. Her talks are aimed at energizing students and the community around conservative, pro-American values, according to promotional materials for the event.

Owens did communications for Turning Point USA from 2017 to 2019, during which she caught the attention of Kanye West and thenPresident Donald Trump. She now hosts a show on the Daily Wire, a conservative media site founded by political commentators Ben Shapiro and Jeremy Boreing.

Owens touched on a variety of topics in her nearly hour-long talk.

Owens repeatedly voiced her opposition to the public school system and advocated for “school choice,” which allows parents to choose alternatives to public schools, like charter schools.

“I think the Department of Education needs to be abolished and burned to the ground,” Owens said.

Owens provided background on how she developed her conservative beliefs, telling the crowd about a Feminism 101 class she took in college, which became a pivotal moment for her. She said her professor “brainwashed” women to blame their oppression on men.

“She [the professor] didn’t want us to think rationally,” Owens said.

“You will find this in classrooms, especially today. They are not teaching you how to think, they are teaching you what to think, and there is a big difference there.”

Owens also said feminists attack the family dynamic by not wanting strong men in society.

Owens has caught widespread attention for her opinions on gender roles, tweeting when Harry Styles wore a dress that it was “an outright attack on men” and making a call to “bring back manly men.”

Owens said pushing for women to be in the workforce and making motherhood a secondary focus means the government must step in to raise children. According to Owens, women need to drop the drug that causes a “feminism high” after college because “family is fulfilling, and family is what makes you happy.”

Owens connected her thoughts on family to what she said she believes is the United States’ move toward socialism.

“They know that if you come from a strong family, you are way better positioned to become more successful,” Owens said. “It doesn’t matter what your color is, it doesn’t matter what your gender is, you’re going to be better positioned in life if you come from a strong family.”

Owens also described what she believes makes liberals and conservatives different.

“The difference between leftists and conservatives is that when a leftist has an issue, they externalize it. They say I have an issue in my life and who can I blame … Conservatives, we do the oppo - site. We say I have a problem, and I have the ability to fix that problem,” Owens said.

Graham Head, a finance freshman, attended the talk and liked Owens’ perspective.

“I really liked how she made it clear what the conservative values are,” Head said. “What she is doing is she is not only presenting her side of the story, but she is making it more accessible for all sides of the story.”

The talk ended with questions from the audience, giving attendees the opportunity to address a variety of topics. Questions ranged from her opinion on vaccinations to critical race theory.

Enola Guyer, an animal science freshman, didn’t seem impressed by Owens’ responses.

“A big thing is that when people asked her questions, she kind of danced around the question and used buzzwords,” Guyer said.

CELEBRATION, from page 3 men fixed his costume.

“Today, we challenge each other with our art,” he said. “And with our art, we shake hands.”

“You know the story of chopping off the head?” Sleepy pointed.

On the front panel of his costume’s skirt, thousands of beads were sewn to depict an Indian wielding a hatchet over a cowboy on the ground. “The Indian there is chopping off the cowboy’s head,” Sleepy said.

On another costume, the tree

TENURE, from page 3 should be confident that they are being exposed to a variety of viewpoints, including those that are dissenting,” said Cathey’s Senate Concurrent Resolution 6, which passed the state Senate unanimously and the state House by a margin of 60-30 in 2022.

The resolution sought to establish a task force to study academic tenure and make recommendations based on its findings, but Cathey told the Louisiana Illuminator in January that he would no longer be convening the task force.

Instead, Cathey said he would draft a bill to address academic tenure directly. The move all but eliminates any chance for public input that would have been al- of life was sewn. “We had a lot of loved ones that passed away,” the creator, Flag Boy Al, said. “I just wanted to do my suit as a tribute. You know, to show them respect.”

Beside the tree, one Indian reached up toward the sky and another kneeled, looking down into the river of beads. Beyond, deathly black feathers shuttered in the wind.

The tradition of masking is mostly handed down through families. Flag Boy Al’s father masked. Now he does, too.

But 40 years ago, the tradition was slowly dying out. Fewer and lowed under the task force, as the contents of the bill likely aren’t going to be revealed until its unveiling in the state Senate.

Many professors believe the bill isn’t receiving any specialized input from those it would most severely affect.

“We have no additional information on the contents of this alleged bill or the individuals with whom he is consulting, though we have been told that the senator has not spoken with anyone from LSU about this new approach,” LSU Faculty Senate President Inessa Babayev said at a Faculty Senate meeting.

If the new bill is introduced and ultimately passed, Louisiana would join in a trend of conservative states such as Florida and Georgia in wounding academic fewer young people sewed costumes. Fewer and fewer strutted. So, in a vie for resurgence, the tribes came together to form the Mardi Gras Indian Council—which continues to this day.

“I’ve been masking since I was two years old,” Flag Boy Al said. “We need more participation. We need more Indians to come out each year.”

Meanwhile, the infant sons and daughters of Mardi Gras Indians were held in their mothers’ arms. Atop their heads were coronets of smaller feathers. And during the tenure, which is something many academics say Louisiana and LSU can’t afford to do.

“If something were to happen to tenure in Louisiana or at LSU, I think that you would find it will be much more difficult for LSU to attract faculty members,” Heidelberg said.

“If you want to be known for your research, if you want this university to be an R1 in good standing with a national reputation, you need to be able to attract people to come at a senior level,” said Robert Mann, a tenured mass communication professor.

On the prospect of the Cathey’s bill passing, Mann said, “There’s no way anybody would be that stupid to come to a state like this or to Florida.”

The Faculty Senate passed a parade, a toddler fitted with an aura of plumes and shine wobbled down Washington Avenue, sucking her thumb. resolution to “reaffirm protections of academic freedom and tenure” when the initial bill to set up the task force passed.

Through their chants and steps and ebullient dress, the Indians are passing on their heritage. The new guard took up the flagstaff, as the old heads traced a path through Mid City they’ve known all their lives. They danced on the ragged streets of New Orleans, some of them by walker and wheelchair, over potholes made deeper with time and construction that flays the loop.

“We stand by the Faculty Senate’s original affirmation of support for tenure and academic freedom,” Bazayev said.

LSU President William F. Tate IV followed suit in the most recent LSU Board of Supervisors meeting.

“The reason that we have tenure is so that these faculty members who are outstanding have an opportunity to speak the truth without any intervention at all… So, if you want to know where I stand on this matter, I personally believe that we ought to invest in our faculty and their ability to give us the truth because it is truly the core of what a place like LSU should be,” Tate said.

Soon, new heads will wear the crowns of feathers that look as light as air but weigh heavy on the temples. The streets they stepped through will pose new bumps and old pitfalls, but they’ll be the same streets.

When the strut ended, the Uptown Skull and Bone Gang sang. “We’ve come to warn you before you die, you better get your life together. Next time you see us, it’s too late to try. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust,” they sang with a dance. “You best straighten up before you come see us.”

But not all academics are convinced of the administration’s response to the academic tenure attacks.

“The higher education leaders in the state have shown no backbone when it comes to fighting for their schools in the past. The only reason this hasn’t gone anywhere really...is because there’s been a Democratic governor, John Bel Edwards, who I think everyone assumed would veto the bill,” Mann said.

With Gov. Edwards term limited, the fate of academic tenure may rely on the upcoming gubernatorial election, where candidate Jeff Landry, who has been endorsed by Louisiana’s state Republican Party, has shown a willingness to weaken faculty protections.