The Reveille 4-24-23

SPRING SPRINGTAKEAWAYS SPRINGTAKEAWAYS TAKEAWAYS

B-16 Hodges Hall

Evaluating LSU football following practice

BY HENRY HUBER @HenryHuber_

With Saturday’s scrimmage marking the end of spring camp, there are still plenty of questions surrounding LSU football heading into the summer.

Based on its success from last season and how much of that roster has returned, there’s been plenty of hype surrounding this team and its potential to make and win the College Football Playoff. After all, if LSU got as close as it did last year with its entire offense and key defenders returning, what’s stopping it from taking a step up?

Well, there are a few concerns, some minor and some that could be jeopardizing. Some concerns could be alleviated throughout the fall and some there won’t be an answer for until September.

Overall Depth

When head coach Brian Kelly was asked about the prospect of competing for a national championship, he said the team was getting closer to having what they needed, directly implying there’s still work to be done.

While that’s expected with opening day still more than four months away, he stated that its overall depth wasn’t where it needs to be at the moment. With LSU having less than 85 scholarship players on its roster, Kelly considered its depth to be its Achilles’ heel.

“Two or three key injuries puts us in a very difficult position,” Kelly said on the current roster. “If we, knock on wood, stay injury-free and continue to develop, we’re going to be fine. But that’s not where you want to be in this league.”

Due to injuries on the of-

fensive line, it needed multiple defensive linemen to switch positions for the Spring Game to happen. Starting center Charles Turner will return in the fall, but more injuries on the line could be detrimental.

Other positions fitting the same criteria include linebacker, safety and cornerback.

LSU’s linebacker core has tremendous potential but lacks depth outside of the Weeks brothers. Without Major Burns, the safeties missed key tackles in the scrimmage, most notably on two 70-yard touchdowns from receivers Kyren Lacy and Landon Ibieta. While the cornerback room garnered depth through the transfer portal, a lot of those players need to develop, according to Kelly.

“JK [Johnson], Denver [Harris] and [Zy] Alexander, all three of them are still in that process for us in terms of weight room and defense itself,” Kelly said. “And just the consistency of doing it at a high level, they’re not there yet.”

While injuries can be avoidable, they happen regularly in college football. If the Tigers don’t have the depth to maintain proficiency in the case where they do occur, it could result in losses that take them out of playoff contention, especially when facing teams in the SEC.

Kicking

On Saturday, Kelly reiterated what special teams coordinator John Jancek told media on Tuesday regarding a position battle at kicker. Throughout the remaining offseason, LSU’s coaching staff will look to finalize its choice between previous starter Damian Ramos and sophomore Nathan Dibert.

“It’s clearly not a position where we’ve decided on who the starting kicker is,” Kelly said. “We have to keep an open mind on it, and we still have to keep them competing.”

So far, the competition has gotten off to a rocky start.

Had it not been for a gametying field goal to conclude the Spring Game, LSU would’ve ended it without a made attempt. Ramos managed to knock the 34-yard field goal through to give LSU a semblance of success, but it’s worth noting that their lone make came on the shortest kick of the afternoon.

Prior to the make, each kicker missed from over 40 yards away. While Ramos improved throughout last season and the sample size from the spring game is miniscule, the misses still spell concern.

One missed kick could be the difference between a win and a loss, with game-tying and gamewinning kicks typically coming into play in the most vital of situations. What’s good?

In terms of its starting lineup, especially on offense, and its depth at certain positions, the Tigers have considerable pieces that can navigate them to a playoff spot.

At quarterback, Jayden Daniels and Garrett Nussmeier each performed admirably, combining for 307 yards on 19 pass attempts. Daniels had just one incompletion in 11 attempts and that came on an ambitious end-zone pass placed just out of reach of Lacy after seven straight completions to start.

“We think he is committed to being the best quarterback in the country,” Kelly said on Dan-

iels. “We’ve seen that in his work ethic. I think he’s on the verge of moving in that direction.”

The receiving core played a vital role in that production as well. Lacy led the way with four receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown, a play in which he made an incredible one-handed catch and broke multiple tackles before carrying Harold Perkins into the endzone. Brian Thomas Jr. and Malik Nabers made great plays as well, combining for 101 yards and catching all six passes that went their way.

Offensively, LSU looks like a championship-caliber squad and it sports promise on the defensive end as well.

In terms of pleasant surprises, Laterrance Welch had a promising performance, breaking up two passes and locking up receivers throughout the scrimmage’s entirety. Omar Speights and Ovie Oghoufo, who have both garnered preseason hype, each met expectations and should be vital pieces of the defense come fall.

Other positives included defensive-line depth, which was impactful despite Maason Smith and Mekhi Wingo both nursing injuries, and improvements from Harold Perkins.

“Perkins was really good. We ran a counter, and he was able to slip the second puller to make a [tackle-for-loss] play,” Kelly said. “That requires training, and he’s been really good at picking those things up.”

There’s reason for excitement when it comes to this current roster. While there are plenty of questions surrounding this team as the 2023-24 season approaches, the potential is high if it manages to minimize its concerns.

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CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS

The Reveille holds accuracy and objectivity at the highest priority and wants to reassure its readers the reporting and content of the paper meets these standards. This space is reserved to recognize and correct any mistakes that may have been printed in The Daily Reveille. If you would like something corrected or clarified, please contact the editor at (225) 578-4811 or email editor@lsu.edu.

ABOUT THE REVEILLE

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REAGAN COTTEN / The Reveille

LSU football players swarm one another on April 22 during LSU’s 32-32 tie during the spring game in Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.

DINING CHANGES

Meal swipe exchanges, new dining area and more under pending contract

BY OLIVER BUTCHER @OliverButcher73

The LSU Board of Supervisors finance committee voted on Friday to approve a contract with higher education dining company Chartwells that promises nearly $39 million in investments into LSU’s dining system.

The plan includes changes to the meal plans, renovations of the 459 and the 5 dining halls and an all-new dining area called the Headhouse in the Greenhouse District (the area near Camellia and Azalea halls).

The contract is pending final approval by the full Board, but if it passes, it will go into effect on July 1.

“We have a wonderful deal. It’s going to upgrade three campuses and provide wonderful services for folks who are matriculating at the three campuses where this contract will be in place,” said LSU President William F. Tate IV in an endorsement of the contract. “It’s a sustainable 10-year revenue generation contract. This is called winning.”

Here’s some of what students may see from the new contract: Meal exchanges

Starting in the academic year 2023-2024, meal swipes will be assigned a value of $8.50. What this means is that if a student’s meal at a specific location amounts to $8.50 or less, they can elect to use a meal swipe as payment as opposed to paw points or cash. This could be done a maximum of once per

CAMPUS LIFE

Income tax elimination proposal suspended

BY MOLLY RYAN LSU MANSHIP SCHOOL NEWS SERVICE

BATON ROUGE–Rep. Richard Nelson suspended his proposal to eliminate the state income tax after discussing it this week with skeptical lawmakers at a House Ways and Means Committee meeting.

Instead, Nelson, R-Mandeville, will likely make his proposal the linchpin of his run for governor this year.

His plan includes phasing out the personal income tax and corporate franchise tax over the next four years while eliminating various tax exemptions.

It also would reduce the state’s portion of the Minimum Foundation Program formula that funds K-12 education and reduce state spending in other areas to offset any lost revenue.

Lawmakers said his proposal is unlikely to receive further attention this session.

day.

Available locations for this would include Red Stick Subs, Bowl Life/Geuax Halal, Sonic, Einstein’s, Zippy’s and the Student Union meal of the day.

Notably absent from the options are student favorites

Chick-Fil-A and Panda Express, who are currently unable to ac-

commodate the meal exchange system due to already sky-high demand at each location. The Board added that one day they might be able to accommodate meal exchanges at these two if additional locations were to open on campus.

459 And 5 renovations

The contract also calls for

extensive renovations to the 459 and 5 dining halls, with a common theme being additional open space and higher capacity. Also of note is a WOW Wingery being incorporated into the 459, in a manner similar to how Popeyes is in the 5.

Personal income tax generated about $4.4 billion of the state’s operating budget last year, according to a Louisiana audit report.

Other lawmakers are concerned about losing that revenue, especially with a 0.45% temporary sales tax increase expiring in 2025.

Rep. Jack McFarland, a Republican from Winnfield who

LSU volunteers plant 12,000 trees in front of Student Union

BY LIZZIE FALCETTI @lizziefalcetti

Campus Sustainability and Geaux Green hosted Spring Greening Day and a sustainability expo on Thursday to plant native and perennial greenery in front of the Student Union and highlight organizations that are advancing sustainability on campus in preparation for Earth Day on Saturday.

Volunteers spent the afternoon on their hands and knees getting dirty to improve the landscape from Tower Drive to Highland Road.

The event was made possible through a grant from Keep Louisiana Beautiful, according to Tammy Millican, the executive director for facility and property oversight at Campus Sustainability. LSU Auxiliary Services also provided funding.

Volunteers including students planted 12,000 plants covering more than 17,000 square feet of

ground, according to the LSU Campus Sustainability social media post.

“When students arrive on campus it’s important for them to learn to live sustainably be -

cause they are going to take that back out into the world once they graduate,” Millican said. “We can make a real difference in the entire world if we start learning those skills here.”

Christina Pleasant, a kinesiology freshman, volunteered at the Spring Greening Day because she enjoys helping out on campus and making a difference.

“LSU is a big-name school, so the fact that you can get students on board to contribute, it just means so much more and helps people care about how they treat the campus,” Pleasant said. “It makes you feel good about yourself when you’re helping something that you’re so heavily involved with, which is the campus you walk on every day. So, get out and do service hours. It’s fun.”

Along with Greening Day,

see DINING, page 4 see TAX, page 4 see

REAGAN COTTEN / The Reveille

A student makes their plate from the vegetarian options on Oct. 3 in The 5 Dining Hall in Baton Rouge, La.

FRANCIS DINH / The Reveille

Volunteers make improvements to the landscape April 20 for Spring Greening Day in front of the LSU Student Union on LSU’s campus.

SUSTAINABILITY, from page 3

organizers held a sustainability expo, which Millican explained as “an opportunity for us to learn about what’s happening on campus in terms of sustainability – research that we’re doing, student organizations who are focused on sustainability and the way we are operating, products that are offered that are green.”

Organizations such as the LSU Ag Center, LSU Pollinator Gardens, Geaux Planet, Geaux Green and the LSU Olinde Career Center showcased their sustainability initiatives.

At the expo, Geaux Green, an environmental club, provided recycling polls to gauge students’ interests in campus recycling programs and determine the effectiveness of recycling, director of Geaux Green Emily Clarke explained.

“We really want to know what students believe so that we can help Campus Sustainability start marketing recycling practices better to students or just improve [them] in general,” Clarke said.

Geaux Green aims to educate students on the importance of sustainability because of the larger impact on our world.

“Sustainability is the only fu-

TAX, from page 3

chairs the Louisiana Conservative Caucus, has questioned how the Legislature could eliminate the income tax without a politically acceptable way to offset that revenue loss.

Nelson wants to increase state sales tax from 4.45% to 6.25% and expand the base of the sales tax to help balance the state budget. He also would like to phase out the homestead exemption, a tax exemption for all homeowners on the first $75,000 of their home’s value.

Rep. Laurie Schlegel, R-Jefferson, said she is a proponent of eliminating the income tax but not at the expense of ending the

DINING, from page 3

Headhouse

The only new construction project, the Headhouse, will be a commons featuring two restaurants just outside Camellia and Azalea halls where the currently dilapidated greenhouse sits in what the university is calling the “Greenhouse District.”

Louisiana emphasis

The new contract will put an emphasis on Louisiana cuisine, leaning heavily on local chains and suppliers to source students’ meals. The contract will also enter into a partnership with the Dooky Chase brand, with the intent that the brand of the famed late New Orleans chef further showcases Louisiana cuisine to the LSU community.

Both the contract’s price and process drew the ire of some supervisors.

“There’s a better deal for LSU in this. Clearly there’s a bet-

ture that we have. It’s the only option whether or not we see it that way,” Clarke said. “That’s really the truth. We’ve done a lot of damage to our environment and our planet. Options are looking kind of slim for actually having a healthy environment and life in the future in general, so promoting sustainability in any way, especially to students, can make a difference.”

Similarly, Geaux Planet brought awareness to the climate crisis by educating people who visited their table on the causes of global warming and the main threats of climate change.

“Louisiana specifically is an area that’s suffering the consequences of the climate crisis due to things like sea level rise and coastal erosion, so we are trying to spread awareness and make sure people are taking actions that mitigate this issue,” said Cheyenne Autin, the president of Geaux Planet.

Geaux Planet works to educate people on the climate crisis and encourage students to limit their carbon footprint by promoting walking, biking and taking the bus, Autin shared.

Another exhibitor, the Horseshoe Gardening Club, focused on education about the use of polli-

homestead exemption. Schlegel said about 70% of her constituents would oppose eliminating income tax if it means the homestead exemption is phased out.

Others say Nelson’s proposal will shift too much of the tax burden on lower-income individuals and on businesses.

Nelson acknowledged the concerns and the complexity of the proposal, saying it is “100% negotiable.”

He has argued that restructuring the tax code and eliminating the income tax is necessary to attract investment. He said he wants to strike a balance that avoids putting the burden on lowincome individuals and on corporations.

ter deal. [Chartwell’s] costs for just the meals for what I read out, for the semester, is under $5 million…We pay them for that $15 million. This contract should not be approved today,” said Supervisor Jay Blossman Jr., who advocated for another round of negotiations to push the price down.

Blossman wasn’t the only one skeptical of the plan.

“The idea that they get some type of credit for proposing capital outlay improvements when they’ve had the contract for at least 20 years and could have done capital outlay improvements at any time during that 20-year period, but have not, but now they promise gift backs to get the contract? It strikes me as not the best deal LSU could make,” said Supervisor Rémy Voisin Starns.

The Board will meet again on June 15 in the LSU University Administration Building in Baton Rouge.

nator gardens in front of Evangeline Hall to attract bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects. Hollie Hale-Donze, the science residential college rector, said she hopes this program becomes a legacy-garden to help teach science.

“We are a science residential college and so we would like to offer programming,” Hale-Donze said. “We have students who are interested in the environment, so it gives them the opportunity to come together. It’s just another

outlet for them to have some programming that gets them outside, gets them away from studying all day.”

Beyond environmentally-focused offerings, the career center provided an opportunity for students to practice upcycling by donating or receiving clothing from The Tailored Tiger, which is coming to LSU this fall.

“It is a space to support students at LSU and their need for professional attire,” said Sharalle Arnold, manager, career prepara-

tion, at the Olinde Career Center. “Any student at LSU can come to The Tailored Tiger to come in and seek out gently used or new, clean, professional clothing, so they can be ready for any career fair, interview, networking event.”

Arnold added, “I think it’s important for students to take part and get involved in these activities because it’s a shared responsibility. It’s for the Earth, and our environment is ours, and we should all be responsible in doing our part to take care of it.”

FRANCIS DINH/ The Reveille

Volunteers make improvements to the landscape April 20 for Spring Greening Day in front of the LSU Student Union on LSU’s campus.

MOLLY RYAN/ LSU Manship School News Service

Rep. Richard Nelson discussed his proposal to eliminate state income tax.

Mock up of renovations to the 459 Commons dining hall presented to the Board of Supervisors on April

ENTERTAINMENT

Student-owned store AnnLian provides affordable fashion

BY MADELON DAVIS @madelondavis

Emily Graham and Taylor Paysse aren’t just fans of fashion for the fancy looks and big names – for them, it’s all about the feeling of fashion.

“I got into fashion mostly by the way it made me feel. Wearing fun, colorful clothes and feeling put together in an outfit makes you feel confident and like you can do anything,” Graham said.

Graham and Paysse opened their clothing store AnnLian in May of 2021. The name AnnLian comes from both owners’ middle names. Paysse’s middle name is Ann and Graham’s middle name is Lian.

“We chose this name because it’s something personal to us in every aspect, so it seemed fitting,” said Graham.

Clothing for college students can be hard when your options are expensive boutiques. Paysse said that’s what drew her to want to open a store. She said that it’s difficult to find good, quality clothes at affordable prices, and she wanted to fill that consumer gap.

Both owners said they got into fashion because of the way it’s seen as art. It helps people have an artistic outlet, according to Graham.

“I never understood why people would say fashion is art until I watched Jacquemus’ first runway show, and I was able to feel the emotions and expressions the

designer was trying to portray,” Paysse said.

The decision to open up AnnLian wasn’t made on a whim. Both Paysse and Graham’s studies have taught them the business side of opening a store. Then, with a common interest in fashion, the idea came to life.

Social media platforms were the owners’ best friends. They learned a lot from YouTube as well as Pinterest and podcasts to help them gain more knowledge about owning a business and the style they wanted to sell. Paysse said that it took them all of summer 2020 to truly get everything together. They meticulously planned, and Graham said after six or seven months, they were finally able to launch AnnLian.

Opening a business is hard and comes with challenges. Both Paysse and Graham said that multiple problems arose during the first few months of opening AnnaLian. One challenge was drop-shipping, according to Paysse. During COVID, shipping was a nightmare, and it could take over three weeks for customers to get their clothes.

Another challenge they faced was the plateau of sales. Graham said initially after launching, friends of theirs bought up a lot of items, but then, once that ended, they found it harder to get new customers.

“Getting new followers to our Instagram where we did most of our advertising and content was hard as well,” Graham said. “How

can we put our brand in Instagram users’ faces to increase leads to our website?”

But along with the bad, there are also many high points in starting a new business. Paysse said one high point was when she and Graham saw people at LSU tailgates wearing their clothes. Girls would come up to the owners and tell them how much they loved their clothes, Paysse said.

Graham said a high point for her was when they did a fashion show at Fred’s in Tigerland in spring 2022. Fred’s did a spring fashion show for local boutiques, and they were able to style and hire models to wear their clothes.

“This was the most fun event we have been a part of,” Graham said. “Our friends came to support us, and we got to see other businesses’ clothing as well.”

Both owners contribute to the clothing of their brand. Paysse and Graham choose clothes based on their personal style. They also run Instagram polls so customers can be a part of the choosing process.

“This helped us have a final decision on certain items we were debating so that we knew the likelihood of it selling was high,” said Graham.

AnnLian utilizes social media in every aspect of its business. When posting on social media, they both shoulder the responsibility. Paysse said she mostly runs the TikTok, but both owners run the Instagram.

When choosing models for

their social media posts, they use friends and Instagram users. They have also reached out to LSU’s Department of Textiles, Apparel Design and Merchandising to find models.

“We try to switch up our content and post different items throughout the week to showcase everything we have in stock currently,” Graham said.

Both owners are passionate about and love their store, and they want to continue focusing on growing their customer base and social media presence.

While their online store is booming and popular with women all around LSU’s campus and the Baton Rouge community, both owners said that opening an in-

person store right now isn’t their main priority.

However, AnnLian has held pop-up location events for sororities. At first, it was just stand-alone pop-up events for each sororities’ members, but then they connected with sisterhood coordinators to host even more.

Before each event, they load up all their clothes, racks, mannequins and more. The process of pop-ups isn’t easy, but it’s rewarding to meet the customers who show up, Graham said.

“Hosting pop-ups is one of our favorite things to do because we get to meet so many amazing girls and help girls find clothes that make them feel confident,” Paysse said.

Rev Rank: Netflix’s dark comedy ‘Beef’ is insane & binge worthy

BY JAYDEN NGUYEN @jaydenguyen_

Have you ever hated someone so much that you would stalk them? Pee all over their bathroom?

Vandalize their car? Catfish their sibling?

Netflix’s latest trending TV show, “Beef,” is a dark comedy that explores the lives and intense ongoing “beef” of Danny Cho, a contractor played by Steven Yeun, and Amy Lau, a wealthy small business owner played by Ali Wong. Yeun and Wong’s characters meet in a road rage incident that goes viral, kickstarting their strangers-to-enemies storyline.

Cho struggles with money and his career, which in turn impacts his rocky relationship with his brother, Paul, and his parents. He wants to prove himself to his family, but fails to find contracting work and maintain clients.

As the breadwinner for her family, Lau also struggles with her career. She wants to close a deal to advance her career, and everything she does revolves around trying to be the perfect, model business -

woman in order to impress others and maintain her reputation.

Both characters are extremely dissatisfied with their lives and take out their frustrations by trying to get revenge on each other after their road rage incident.

The lengths that these characters go to to make the other person’s life a living hell is entertaining, but the longer you watch, the more it starts to get a little aggravating.

You root for both Cho and Lau, but continuously face disappointment as they continue one upping each other in their seemingly never ending game of revenge.

It can get a little tiresome at times, but each plot twist in the show makes it feel worth it.

One of the biggest highlights of “Beef” for me was the amount of Asian representation throughout the show. Almost the entire cast is of Asian descent, and as an Asian woman, it felt refreshing to see so much representation without it being the main premise of the show.

Yeun and Wong are acting icons in the Asian community, but their performances in this show are probably their best to date. Their rare ability to deliver hu-

mor combined with such heartfelt, emotionally intense drama scenes shines in every moment of “Beef.”

Each of them brings their characters to life so well, you’ll forget that Yeun and Wong are the ones playing them – which is something that has been difficult for such well-known Asian actors like Yeun and Wong to overcome in previous roles.

“Beef” does have a flair for ex-

aggeration and the dramatic – you can tell just by each episode’s title screen, which features slightly frightening paintings by one of the cast members – but it’s just grounded in realism enough to work.

There are points in the show where I did roll my eyes. (Watching the upper class, snobby characters in Lau’s life have so many discussions over a basic green

chair got particularly annoying at times.) But most of the time, I found myself unable to look away, which is why I finished the show in three days.

The A24-produced series is an insane, mildly anxiety-inducing rollercoaster from start to finish. You may laugh, cry, get scared and almost want to gag while watching it, but “Beef” is a show that you just have to binge.

COURTESY OF ANNLIAN

Owners Emily Graham and Taylor Paysse at their store AnnLian.

SPRING GAME

LSU purple and white teams tie 32-32 on April 22 in spring game at Tiger Stadium.

Photos by Reagan Cotten

LSU football redshirt sophomore quarterback Garrett Nussmeier (13) looks to pass during drills.

LSU football redshirt freshman wide receiver Landon Ibieta (24) celebrates a touchdown.

LSU football freshman quarterback Rickie Collins (10) races against the defense.

LSU football sophomore running back Malachi Lane (38) sprints down the field.

LSU football redshirt sophomore wide receiver Javen Nicholas (33) sprints down the field.

LSU football senior quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) avoids the defense.

LSU football freshman quarterback Rickie Collins (10) runs the ball.

LSU football junior wide receiver Malik Nabers (8) races down the field.

LSU football senior quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) runs down the field.

LSU football senior running back Noah Cain (21) rushes down the field.

LSU football senior wide receiver Kyren Lacy (2) rushes down the field.

LSU football senior wide receiver Kyren Lacy (2) stiff arms his opponent LSU football redshirt freshman safety Sage Ryan (15).

LSU football senior running back Noah Cain (21) attempts to avoid his opponent LSU football junior linebacker Omar Speights (1).

LSU football freshman quarterback Rickie Collins (10) avoids the defense.

SPRING GAME

Big plays in the passing game highlight 2023 LSU football Spring Game

BY PETER RAUTERKUS @peter_rauterkus

Spring games are often weird.

This year’s LSU Spring Game was far from conventional, with injuries limiting what LSU could do. Rather than a conventional scrimmage with two teams, LSU opted for an offense versus defense scrimmage, with the defense scoring points by getting stops, forcing turnovers and earning sacks and tackles for loss.

The game ended in a 32-32 tie between the offense and defense, as Damian Ramos kicked the tying field goal on the final play of the game.

“I would’ve went for two,” head coach Brian Kelly joked walking into his postgame press conference.

The scrimmage started off with a bang, though, as Kyren Lacy reached back to make a one-handed catch over the middle of the field before breaking multiple tackles en route to a 70-yard touchdown.

Kelly credited Lacy’s development earlier in the spring,

FOOTBALL

rushes into the end zone and celebrates with sophomore wide receiver Malik Nabers (8) April 23 during LSU football’s annual spring football game with White winning 51-31 over Purple in Tiger Stadium.

and that was seen in the Spring Game. Lacy finished as the game’s leading receiver, catching four passes for 92 yards and the opening touchdown.

“So Kyren, really the work that he’s been doing is much more about consistent approach in practice and I think we’re starting to see how that’s trans -

Men’s tennis loses to Ole Miss

BY CONNOR BAREY @theconnorbarney

No. 10 seed LSU’s time in the SEC Tournament came to an end following its loss to No. 7 seed University of Mississippi in a close 4-3 battle. The Tigers were eliminated in the second round following their loss to the Rebels.

Ole Miss was ranked No. 30 in the nation coming into the match, while LSU jumped the rankings following two SEC wins last week. The Tigers were seated at No. 32 in the nation before their loss.

The match started in LSU’s favor, and the Tigers pulled together two quick wins for a crucial double’s point. Stefan Latinovic and Welsh Hotard started the day strong with the first win, completing their match 6-4.

lating to performance,” Kelly said after the game.

LSU’s wide receiver group

see HIGHLGHTS, page 10

No. 50 ranked duo Nick Watson and Ronnie Hohmann followed with the second win to secure the lead for the Tigers, finishing their match 6-3. Chen Dong and George

see LOSS, page 10

LSU football Spring Game: How did the newcomers do?

BY TYLER HARDEN @ttjharden8

On Saturday, LSU fans got a glimpse of the 2023 LSU Football team during the annual National L-Club Spring Game. For some players, this was their first chance to suit up in the purple and gold and play in Tiger Stadium.

Despite the spring game being an offense versus defense format and having different scoring rules, some of these new players immediately made themselves known.

Jaxon Howard

Howard was highly recruited out of high school with 60 offers, so he came to Baton Rouge as an early enrollee-freshman expected to make an impact. He showed his quick burst off the edge right away, finishing the spring game with four total tackles, including a solo tackle, a sack and a tackle for loss. For LSU’s defensive line consisting of several newcomers including Howard, it will be interesting to see if it will be anyone’s position to grab throughout summer camp.

Bradyn Swinson

Swinson, another newcomer on the defensive line, showed Tiger fans his college experi-

ence in Saturday’s spring game. The junior edge rusher from the University of Oregon finished the spring game with two total tackles, including a solo tackle, a sack and a tackle for loss. Swinson coming to LSU already

having college experience will work in his favor when it comes to a potential position battle.

Omar Speights Speights, a transfer from Oregon State University, came to LSU expected to be a leader in

the linebacker room. He backed up his hype and expectations in the spring game with three total tackles, all solo tackles. With Harold Perkins and Greg Penn III doing well together at linebacker last season, Speights’ ex-

perience will help the linebackers even more.

“Omar Speights was outstanding,” Kelly said. “He gives us the type of production that

see NEWCOMERS, page 10

TENNIS

PETER NGUYEN / The Reveille

LSU football junior quarterback Jayden Daniels (5)

REAGAN COTTEN / The Reveille

LSU football freshman running back Trey Holly (25) attempts to run through the defense on April 22 during LSU’s 32-32 tie during the spring game in Tiger Stadium.

HIGHLIGHTS, from page 9

was widely considered one its strengths, given the returning production. Alongside Lacy, leading receiver Malik Nabers returns along with Brian Thomas Jr. and Chris Hilton Jr.

Thomas was the next leading receiver, tallying 66 yards and a touchdown on three catches. Nabers also added three catches, tallying 35 yards.

“[Lacy] adds to a mix of receivers that can be obviously very good for us in the SEC,” Kelly said.

Like any offseason, quarterback was another position that captured the public’s focus going into the spring game.

The focus was multifaceted with Jayden Daniels looking to

LOSS, from page 9

Stoupe played the third doubles match. That match went unfinished with the Tiger duo up 4-3.

LSU continued its success heading into singles play with No. 75 Hohmann taking a ranked win over No. 67 Nikola Slavic and putting the Tigers up 2-0 after a statement 7-5, 6-0 score.

LSU’s success was short lived and the Rebels took back some points of their own. Julien Penzlin fell first, dropping in straight sets 3-6, 4-6 as Ole Miss took the lead with a score of 2-1.

Latinovic fell soon after Penzlin, dropping a dramatic first set 5-7 and losing the second set 3-6, allowing the Rebels to even the score at 2-2.

Hotard brought life back to the Tigers, completing a comeback win after losing his first set 3-6. The New Orleans native won the last two sets 6-2, 6-1 to put LSU back on top, setting the match score to 3-2.

Stoupe played a hard-fought

take the step as one of college football’s best quarterbacks, and Garrett Nussmeier competing with him for the starting job. Kelly has maintained that Daniels is the starting quarterback, but Nussmeier has continued to show flashes, including in the spring game.

His most impressive play of the day was a 51-yard pass down the sidelines to Thomas, before finishing off the drive with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Thomas.

Nussmeier finished the game with 139 passing yards and two touchdowns on 5 of 8 passes.

“I thought Garrett Nussmeier, equally as efficient, and at times doesn’t have the same protection that Jayden does, and given those circumstances, you

match, losing the first set 2-6 but rallying back and winning the second set 6-4. He fell in the end, losing the third set 6-3. That loss allowed the Rebels to level the playing field once again at 3-3.

LSU’s destiny fell on No. 123 Chen Dong, who in the past has proved himself to be a clutch in tight scenarios. The first set was a gritty one, going all the way to a tiebreaker, with Dong finishing strong for his first set win 7-6(7-3).

His opponent, Simon Junk, battled back, taking the second set 3-6 with little trouble. The match, as well as the tournament, fell in the third set, and Dong battled hard but fell in the end, losing 5-7.

LSU lost 4-3 overall in the match and was eliminated from the tournament in the second round. The season is far from over for the Tigers, as NCAA regionals start May 5. A two-week break will comence before fans see the Tigers back in action as they look to qualify for the NCAA Championships.

can make the case that he was equally if not better, in some instances,” Kelly said.

Daniels had an efficient game as well. He threw just one incomplete pass, going 10 of 11 with 168 passing yards and two touchdowns.

His biggest play came on the 70-yard touchdown pass to Lacy, and he continued to look efficient leading the offense. His contributions in the run game were felt as well, picking up from where he left off last season. He had just two carries, but gained 19 yards on the ground.

“Daniels was very efficient, played very well,” Kelly said. “I think he is committed to being the best quarterback in the country. We’ve seen that in his

work ethic. I think he’s on the verge of moving in that direction.”

Outside of the quarterbacks and wide receivers, the rest of the offense was hit hard by injuries this spring. LSU only had one scholarship tight end and two scholarship running backs available for the Spring Game.

The offensive line also saw its fair share of injuries during the spring, attributing in part to the Spring Game’s format.

At running back, Noah Cain and Trey Holly saw the bulk of the snaps in the Spring Game. Holly, an early-enrollee freshman, led the team in rushing, gaining 26 yards on eight carries. He also added 21 receiving yards on two catches.

“Trey Holly, love coaching

him. He’s got a smile on his face. He loves to play the game. He brings a great energy,” Kelly said. “He’s got great natural vision, can see a crease, and those things are hard to coach.

Despite not showing up as much on the stat sheet, Kelly also had high praise for Cain.

“He might be the one guy that we might be sleeping on a little bit,” Kelly said of Cain. “We really see a different guy in terms of the way he moves in and out of his breaks. He’s a lot smoother.”

With spring practice now behind LSU, the Tigers won’t return to the practice field until August for fall camp. The focus now shifts to recruiting and summer conditioning as LSU prepares for the 2023 season.

we’re looking for…his addition is going to be really good for us.”

Denver Harris

Cornerback has been a position of concern this offseason for how much the Tigers lost, but Denver Harris was a transfer that Brian Kelly and his staff knew could make an impact right away. The transfer from Texas A&M finished with two total tackles, both solo tackles, in Saturday’s spring game. Harris, a five-star recruit out of high school, has the talent to be a leader for the cornerbacks this coming season.

Trey Holly

Holly still has room to grow only being an early-enrollee freshman, but the amount of reps he received in Saturday’s spring game is worth noting. While both John Emery and Josh Williams were out for the spring, Holly’s reps in the spring game were as valuable as they come. He finished the day with 26 rushing yards on eight attempts and 21 receiving yards on two catches with

a receiving touchdown. Given the running back group is running thin, Kelly has been trying to add more depth and options, and he looks to include Holly in that.

“Love coaching him, he always has a smile on his face… he brings a great energy every day,” Kelly said. “He has things you can’t coach, he sees everything.”

Ovie Oghoufo

Oghoufo shined the brightest in the simulated red zone plays at the start of the spring game, which is always good to see from defensive players up front. Oghoufo, a transfer from the University of Texas, will be an asset to LSU’s defense. Similar to Speights, Oghoufo comes to LSU with an expected leadership role. But with his background with Kelly at Notre Dame, Oghoufo should be comfortable playing in a new environment.

“You have a mature football player here that has been in two really good systems,” Kelly said. “And now you have him here, I think he’s ready to break out.”

LAYNE DAVIS / The Reveille

LSU men’s tennis senior Stefan Latinovic and LSU men’s tennis graduate student Nick Watson fist bump after scoring a point in a doubles competition during LSU’s 5-2 loss against UGA March 24 at the LSU Tennis Complex.

NEWCOMERS, from page 9

REAGAN COTTEN / The Reveille LSU football players swarm one another on April 22 during LSU’s 32-32 tie during the spring game in Tiger Stadium.

Take a moment and appreciate the beauty in the madness

HAMMER TIME

LINDSAY BICKHAM @lindsayymariah

Take a second and think about the last time you observed the world around you. Not the obvious and most alarming things, but the small and overlooked things.

Life can get chaotic and busy at times, your schedule may never seem free or your to-do list may always seem never ending.

It’s easy to not have time for yourself or anything else.

When was the last time you stopped and honestly noticed the little things?

It can be difficult when life is so busy. There always seems to be a million things to do but it’s so very important to dedicate time to have gratitude for the world around you, to have gratitude for yourself, and to actively try to look for the good in every situation.

Many attribute their success

and accomplishments with how busy they are.

Busyness does not equal success though, nor does it equate to happiness.

How successful are you really if you aren’t happy?

This is a common misconception that many fall into. We tend to believe that by accomplishing all

of our goals that somehow it will be enough. Usually it’s not.

Living in the present and not just going through the motions can lead to happiness.

Actively choosing to see the good even when you don’t always accomplish your goals can lead to happiness. There are so many ways to stay busy, accomplish your

goals and live in the moment without burning out.

Overworking yourself might not be as conducive to your goals as letting yourself breathe. It’s beneficial to take time out for yourself every day to avoid burning out. A passionate madness is normal and can be great in some ways, but burning yourself out isn’t.

It’s good to have obligations and stay busy, but only when it’s not at the cost of your mental health. A healthy and certain level of stress can be beneficial, but only when everything is in moderation.

Try to give yourself grace in life. You are doing the best you can and it is okay to give yourself credit. Especially when it’s due, which is way more often than you think.

There’s so many things that we don’t notice just throughout our day, but if we did notice it could change the entire impact of our day.

There’s truly beauty through

the madness, no matter how bad the situation may seem. There’s always a silver lining or something positive. With this mindset, it’s easier to find these things. Eventually you won’t have to actively seek the good out, it will come naturally to you.

For starters, each day, you should task yourself with the challenge of appreciating something new. It could be as small as appreciating the sun for brightening your day or as large as telling your friends how much they mean to you.

The simple acts add up and can overall improve your outlook on life. You become more aware of your surroundings and your intentions. You come to the realization that everything is intentional as you are intentionally choosing to see the beauty throughout the madness.

No one should be scared into self-censoring themselves

their thinkers, where they are doomed to live out their days squashed under the threat of ostracization.

Clemson said.

Everyone self-censors. It might be a concerted decision to not spill the latest tea about Mike and Bailey making out at a Tigerland bar, or the whispering of something objectionable (“not to be racist, but…”). Maybe it’s the lowering of the voice to avoid anyone hearing a cancellable opinion on gender, immigration, or any number of issues that might have Twitter trolls invading your replies.

On one hand, there’s social utility to self-censorship. To be known as a gossip is to have a bad reputation. To have and advertise actual bigotry isn’t conducive to making friends. To seek out controversy by commenting on every culture war issue, right or wrong, isn’t good for one’s employment status, not to mention the fact that it’s obnoxious.

On the other hand, too much self-censorship can be dangerous – for oneself and for society. It can lead to a quiet killing of valuable parts of our public discourse, keeping allegedly unpopular opinions in minds of

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The best example of this phenomenon is the case of conservative students and faculty in universities. Often, right-leaning students keep their opinions to themselves in the classroom. A 2019 College Fix poll reported that 73% of Republican college students “withheld their political views in class for fear their grades would suffer.”

“I’m a conservative, but my essays are very liberal,” admitted one student from Mizzou in the poll

“Why would I get myself killed to say I’m a libertarian in a philosophy class,” said another from North Carolina State.

“I have had grades affected when I didn’t withhold my views,” confessed an Auburn student.

“When writing papers for gen ed classes? Absolutely. I know a guy who chose to write a proborder wall argumentative essay for our super liberal professor and the prof just wrote ‘this whole paper is one big fallacy’ and bombed him. Me? I wrote about the evils of horse racing. Perfectly safe topic,” a student at

Though these anecdotal outcries may not be justified (maybe that border wall paper was fallacious), there are still causes for concern that corroborates these students’ claims.

Journalist Conor Friedersdorf found in a 2020 study at the University of North Carolina that student populations are quite intolerant to a diversity of viewpoints, students of all political persuasions self-censor, students don’t engage with differing opinions and “disparaging comments about political conservatives are common.”

These facts beg an important question. If it is the case that students, especially those with the conservative viewpoints, are having their social and academic currency taxed via an implicit threat of public or intellectual castigation, what happens to university culture – and the world beyond?

The effect on universities is that conservative students will simply continue to self-censor for the sake of a good grade. They will tune out the opinions of their left-wing professors, never listening and thus never learning from what wisdom their educators do have to pass on.

It also means that liberal students will have their opinions unchecked by both conservative classmates, who are probably the only right-wingers on campus. In the least, such challenges almost certainly won’t come from faculty, for there is a significant overrepresentation of left-wing over right-wing faculty and administrators in the university. A 2018 survey of Sarah Lawrence College, for instance, reported that liberal administrators outnumber conservative ones at a ratio 12 to 1. Across northeast schools, too, liberal faculty are more numerous than conservatives at a pace of 28 to 1.

Which means that former college students will in all likelihood carry their unchecked left-wing education and censorship with them from their campuses to their cubicles. Just as they learned about, say, finance and applied it to their jobs, they also learned about such fictions as microaggressions, toxic masculinity, or implicit bias and will subsequently rage around their workplaces making frequent demands of censorship against perceived ideological enemies. (Spotify employees’ demands of censoring Joe Rogan come to mind.)

The more conservative students keep their mouths shut on campus, then, the more society loses a valuable part of its public discourse. As more time passes, the more conservative values and voices will be washed out in an ecosystem of political and ideological one-sidedness.

Though this doesn’t mean that conservatives are always right, or that they can’t poorly communicate their ideas, it does mean that their persistence in self-censorship may ultimately lead to their extinction, which in turn extinguishes a robust part of our social heritage and culture.

Right-leaning, public-minded students can choose to continue the defensive game they’re playing – shut up, listen and graduate – or they can be proactive and go on the offensive by making the marked decision to stick their necks out and speak their minds, for the sake of broadening the interest of public opinion, and invest their social currency in diversifying the knowledge of the public, well outside their own private circles.

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The Reveille (USPS 145-800) is written, edited and produced solely by students of Louisiana State University. The Reveille is an independent entity of the Office of Student Media within the Manship School of Mass Communication. Signed opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, The Reveille or the university. Letters submitted for publication should be sent via e-mail to editor@lsu.edu or delivered to B-39 Hodges Hall. They must be 400 words or less. Letters must provide a contact phone number for verification purposes, which will not be printed. The Reveille reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for space consideration while preserving the original intent. The Reveille also reserves the right to reject any letter without notification of the author. Writers must include their full names and phone numbers. The Reveille’s editor in chief, hired every semester by the LSU Student Media Board, has final authority on all editorial decisions.

“Don’t violate your own code of values and ethics, but don’t waste energy trying to make other people violate theirs.”

Lindsay Bickham is a 19-year-old mass communication freshman from New Orleans.

GRAPHIC BY MADDIE FITZMORRIS

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