Graduation is here, spelling the end of another chapter in our lives and the beginning of a new one. If you’re anything like me, the start of a new chapter is scary. It’s intimidating, and it can be extremely uncomfortable. Changes are coming for all of us, but I’m confident in our ability to handle it with strength and grace.
Our four years at LSU have proven those qualities about us. We started our college career in fall 2019, and we spent the first six months of our newfound freedom rallying behind Joe Burrow, Coach O and the best college football team in history. Only two short months after celebrating the high of the national championship, our world would come to a screeching halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic put financial stresses and emotional burdens on us in addition to the need to protect our health. Our classes switched to Zoom as we adapted to an entirely new style of learning. We isolated ourselves from our peers, friends and family as we navigated the ever-changing landscape of public health and safety.
As soon as this became routine for us, it was time to transition back to the classroom. When we did, we did so with masks, social distancing and hybrid classes. We were hyper aware of every sneeze, cough and sniffle as we simultaneously tried to absorb every word our professors said from behind the plexiglass screens.
This past year has seemed like a return to normalcy, and we again rallied behind an iconic coach and our national champions as Kim Mulkey led the Tigers to their first basketball national championship in school history. We celebrated our football team again as we stormed the field after beating Alabama in Tiger Stadium. In these ways, our time at LSU is ending much like it began.
But we aren’t the same people we were four years ago. We are stronger. We are more resilient. We are more kind. And we know not to take anything for granted. Carry these hard earned lessons with you as you leave LSU to make your mark on the world.
It’s been an honor to grow alongside y’all, Hannah
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BY GABBY JIMENEZ @gvjimenezz
This article was orginally published Jan. 25.
The death of Madison Brooks, a 19-year-old political communication sophomore who was hit by a vehicle on Burbank Drive, has shocked the LSU community. Since her death, two men have been charged with raping Brooks prior to dropping her off near Burbank where she was killed.
Kaivon Washington, 18, and a 17-year-old were charged with third-degree rape. Everett Lee, 27, and Casen Carver, 18, were charged with principal to thirddegree rape, according to arrest documents obtained by WBRZ.
Brooks asked for a ride home and sat with Washington and the 17-year-old in the backseat of the vehicle, where she was allegedly raped, WBRZ reported. Brooks gave several different home addresses, and the men and unnamed minor eventually dropped her off near the Pelicans Lake subdivision off of Burbank Drive, where she was hit by a vehicle at around 3 a.m. Jan. 15. She later died in the hospital.
The driver who hit her was
CAMPUS LIFE
not impaired, WBRZ reported. According to WBRZ, Baton Rouge attorneys are working with the NAACP representing two of the suspects. They said there is video evidence refuting allegations of rape. Washington claimed he and the unnamed minor had consensual sex with Brooks after leaving Reggie’s, a bar in Tiger-
land, WBRZ reported.
WBRZ’s report said Brooks’ blood-alcohol level was 0.319, nearly four times the legal limit in Louisiana. According to the American Addiction Centers, a person can become unconscious at a BAC of around 0.300. Louisiana law says that third-degree rape can occur when the victim,
through intoxication, is incapable of resisting or understanding the nature of the act.
Washington told police that he, the other suspects and Brooks left Reggie’s bar early Sunday after a heavy night of drinking. He said he and the 17-year-old sat in the backseat with Brooks, with Carver and Lee in the front.
The Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control issued an emergency suspension for Reggie’s bar Tuesday, citing the “seriousness of the allegations and the potential threat to public safety,” according to The Advocate. The suspension will remain in place until a hearing next month.
LSU President William Tate IV released a statement Monday shortly after the four men were arrested.
“Madison was a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister, a niece, a classmate, and a friend to many of you,” Tate said. “By all accounts, she was an amazing young woman with limitless potential. She should not have been taken from us in this way. What happened to her was evil, and our legal system will parcel out justice.”
see MEMORIAL, page 4
This article was originally published Jan. 23.
Lifelong Baton Rouge resident Nancy Davis and her fiancé were overjoyed when they saw her positive pregnancy test in the summer.
Then she found out at her first doctor’s appointment that her baby would be born without a skull and wouldn’t survive. Just a week earlier, a trigger law had gone into effect in Louisiana, banning abortions except in cases where the pregnant person’s life is in danger or if the baby won’t survive.
After initially saying they could perform an abortion, Davis’ doctors changed their minds. So she went to New York instead. “I was being forced to carry my baby to bury my baby,” Davis said.
Davis led a march of about
see RIGHTS, page 4
This article was originally published Aug. 21.
In 2022, LSU is expected to welcome the largest, most diverse freshman class the university has ever seen.
Sound familiar?
Some variation of that statement graces LSU’s social media and official releases every September once enrollment numbers are calculated, with freshman enrollment numbers provided by the university surpassing those of previous years each year for the past decade.
It’s safe to assume that the size of the incoming freshman class will be larger than last year’s class of 10,622, LSU spokesperson Ernie Ballard said.
But as freshman classes increase at an average rate of about 7.5%, administrators and students alike have begun to question whether this rapid growth is sustainable with the university’s current housing and parking infrastructural facilities.
The largest single-year growth in freshmen population was between 2019 and 2020, which increased from 8,633 to 10,187.
Outgoing Executive Vice Presi-
dent and Provost Matt Lee has expressed concerns that the growth LSU experienced in recent years, despite bringing in more revenue to the university, is putting strain on its capacity.
“We’ve just gone through five years of enrollment growth,” Lee said at a faculty executive committee meeting on May 25. “Now what’s the plan because it’s not clear that we can sustain another five years of five percent incremental enrollment growth.”
Lee passes the question of an incrementally growing student population and role of provost to Roy Haggerty.
In his short time on campus, Haggerty has begun to notice the effects of incremental growth over the last five years that Lee spoke about in May, especially in the realm of student housing.
“This year, we were unable to accommodate several hundred sophomore and above students who wanted to live in LSU apartments. This was due to the unprecedented number of sophomores and above seeking housing this year,” Haggerty said. “Until this year, we had never achieved full capacity in our apartment inventory.”
Currently, LSU has four oncampus apartment complexes: East
and West Campus Apartments, Nicholson Gateway Apartments and Edward Gay Apartments, the latter being for graduate and doctoral students.
As a result of LSU’s incremental growth since 2011, 11 new buildings have been constructed since 2012, including six freshman residence halls. During the same time period, four residential facilities underwent significant renovations.
According to Ballard, on-campus housing, excluding Edward Gay Apartments, has a capacity of 8,493. There are currently 8,490 students assigned to live in dorms and apartments, consisting of 6,184 first-year students and 2,306 upperclassmen.
“Our goal is always to start as close to full capacity as possible, understanding we will have some melt, that is [a] phenomenon that every campus manages with the start of each semester,” Ballard said.
LSU’s carrying capacity isn’t solely a discussion of housing between administrators, but an issue becoming increasingly apparent for many students across the university’s parking lots.
“It’s the opposite of sustainable,” said Landon Zeringue, a political science sophomore living at
East Campus Apartments. “Before upperclassmen even moved into ECA, the parking lot is beyond capacity and the UREC is almost the same during the day.”
Zeringue explained that about three of ECA’s 14 buildings are occupied by freshmen, an issue he feels is unfairly attributed to Residential Life.
“Then there’s nothing done about parking with Res Life wanting to build more parking lots off campus and increase transport,” Zeringue said. “Buildings are also being closed and demolished like Kirby and turned into green space instead of housing or another
“All but one of the suspects involved in this horrific scenario were underage yet were able to consume alcohol at a local bar,” the email continued. “As such, our action plan starts with a deep and relentless focus on any establishment that profits off our students by providing alcohol to underage individuals. In the coming days, we will call a meeting with these business owners to discuss how their responsibilities directly impact the safety of our students. We will work openly against any business that doesn’t join us in efforts toward creating a safer environment for our students. Enough is enough.”
Tate said the administration will share additional “action items” in the coming days.
“President Tate’s message Monday was directed at perpetrators and establishments that enable them to weaponize alcohol against our students,” said Cody Worsham, LSU’s interim vice president of communications. “The subsequent actions of the ATC on Tuesday have already helped us enact real change, and the justice system will handle the accused.
“Honoring Madison’s life requires us to take every possible step to protect students. Coming down hard on bars that are serving minors in our community is one many strategies the President is proposing. We invite the entire Baton Rouge community to join us as we unite against all forms of violence and develop further strategies toward its prevention.”
Many students and advocates against sexual assault criticized
RIGHTS, from page 3
150 abortion rights protesters Sunday, on the 50-year anniversary of Roe v. Wade, from Galvez Plaza on North Boulevard to the capitol steps. Living in a state with a near-total abortion ban, they looked to the anniversary as a reminder of what they’ve lost.
The energetic crowd roared through downtown’s quiet streets with chants and hand-made protest signs. A drummer marched among the crowd, filling moments between words with beats.
A dozen volunteers wore reflective vests, guiding protesters through crosswalks as silent cars sat stalled at lights. Two of them were LSU Feminists in Action officers Myrissa Eisworth and Annie Sheehan-Dean.
“Abortion is…” SheehanDean, a history, political science and gender studies junior, yelled to the crowd through a bullhorn.
“Healthcare!” the protesters called back.
Speakers at the Capitol advocated for abortion rights and encouraged attendees to continue fighting despite the Supreme Court’s ruling. Among the speakers was Kaitlyn Joshua, a Baton Rouge native and community organizer who was denied care at two ERs as she suffered a miscarriage, according to NPR.
“Louisiana, this is our moment. This is our chance, a chance,
Tate’s message on social media for focusing on underage drinking, saying it misses the larger issue of rape culture at LSU and in the Baton Rouge area. LSU College Democrats and Feminists in Action released a joint letter addressed to Tate on Twitter Tuesday.
The letter says that while Tigerland businesses need to do more to protect patrons, the LSU administration should direct its energy toward addressing sexual violence in the community.
“These four individuals were arrested for ‘third-degree rape’ and ‘[principal] to rape,’ not underage drinking nor driving under the influence. The unaffiliated driver that struck her was unimpaired,” the letter read. “We are emphasizing these details because we can reach no other conclusion than to center blame on the rapists that discarded her near the scene where she was hit. LSU must focus on sexual violence instead.”
“Tate has completely failed to meet the moment,” said international trade and finance junior and former LSU College Democrats president Cooper Ferguson, who wrote the letter. “Instead of addressing the issue of sexual violence and greater violence in the Baton Rouge community, he instead blames the victim in this incident and says that Tigerland and the victim are at blame for alcohol consumption. Tigerland does have many faults, but the situation is completely separate from that incident.”
“I’m terrified. I’m terrified for the safety of my peers, I’m terrified for the safety of myself. I’m
women of Louisiana – from the piney woods of Shreveport to the bayous of Houma across the river to Port Allen down to the Mississippi and New Orleans – to vote. Demand change. Never stop fighting for what is just and for what is right,” Joshua said.
Stacey Howard, who helped Davis organize the march, traveled from her home in New York City to protest in Baton Rouge. She said she had her own abortion when she was 27.
“Every state deserves to have the same access that New York has,” Howard said. “If I hadn’t had that access, my life would have been extremely different. I would have been an unwilling and unprepared mother.”
Howard said she is curating a book of women’s abortion stories to emphasize the importance of reproductive healthcare and break the stigma tied to abortion.
State Sen. Royce Duplessis spoke to the crowd about his own great-grandmother, who he said died after she performed a “coat hanger abortion” on herself around 125 years ago.
“That’s inhumane, unacceptable – not in 2023,” Duplessis said. “I will not stand for it. We will not stand for it. Together, however long it takes to restore the rights of women, we’re going to do it right here in this statehouse.”
Abortion came under a near-
terrified that LSU doesn’t seem to care about the issues that we’re facing,” Ferguson said. “I wish I could be angry, but anger doesn’t convey the feeling of fear that’s emanating around campus.”
The LSU administration has not been responsive to previous calls for action, Ferguson said. He said there was little response in 2021 when student organizations on campus called for the removal of French professor Adelaide Russo, who allegedly ignored sexual assault complaints against a student within the French department while she served as the
total ban in Louisiana in June when a trigger law went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the ruling that had largely protected abortion access across the country since 1973.
Louisiana’s abortion law doesn’t include exceptions for rape or incest.
Lack of guidance from the Louisiana Health Department and threats from Attorney General Jeff Landry have left doctors, faced with up to 15 years in prison for performing an abortion, nervous to treat patients who fit the stated exceptions or are experiencing miscarriages, according to local and national media reports.
Two days before the Baton Rouge rally, thousands of antiabortion rights protesters gathered at the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., rallying to end the practice nationwide. Among the protestors was Steve Scalise, the U.S. House majority leader from Louisiana’s first district.
“Boy, did we get a huge victory just a few months ago when Roe was overturned, but as you all know, that’s only the end of the first phase of this battle,” he said to the crowd in a video posted to his YouTube channel.
Meanwhile, Duplessis called for Louisiana’s abortion law to be repealed in his Sunday speech,
to a hospital, she wouldn’t have been dead. But because rapists did that, it’s why she’s dead,” said Morgan Lamandre, the president of STAR.
Lamandre recommends LSU engage with Tigerland bars to discuss other ways to keep patrons safe, including providing training to bartenders to spot potential predators.
“People want to have a reason or somebody to blame for sexual assault when the truth is, it’s just the rapist…You could be in all those situations, but unless you encounter a rapist, you’re not going to be raped,” she said.
Landon Zeringue, a political communication sophomore and vice president of LSU College Democrats, said the case was “a million times worse” than Tate conveyed.
department chair.
Similarly, he said Feminists in Action received no response when they released a statement in November calling for the university to renew their contract with Sexual Trauma Awareness and Response, a Baton Rouge nonprofit that helped the university reorganize the Title IX department following a 2020 USA Today report that exposed LSU’s mishandling of sexual misconduct complaints.
“The alcohol did not kill [Brooks]...I mean, if any person who was not a rapist would have picked her up and brought her
“It’s disgusting,” Zeringue said. “It’s something that doesn’t even come up in the email…And it’s tied to a prevalent rape culture on this campus and in this community that makes people feel unsafe…[Tate is] making the scapegoat of alcohol and underage drinking, fully aware this situation could happen at any age.”
Anthropology and sociology junior Myrissa Eisworth serves as the president of Feminists in Action. Eisworth, who has experienced sexual assault, described learning about the details of the case as “heartbreaking.”
“When all of the articles first started coming out…I cried about them,” Eisworth said. “But at this point, I don’t have the energy to be so sad anymore. Now I just want [the LSU administration] to actually do something.”
where he was met with applause from the crowd.
For Davis, the fight is personal.
“Today, which should have been the 50th anniversary of the
passage of Roe v. Wade, I am reminded of what was stolen from me last June – the power to make my own personal decisions about my body, my family and my future,” Davis said.
This article was originally published Sept. 21.
When LSU international graduate student Soheil Kafili set up a meeting with Julie Hupperich, executive director of the Student Health Center, to discuss solutions for students who can’t afford medical services on campus, he said he didn’t get any answers.
Two hours into the Zoom meeting, which The Reveille obtained a recording of, Kafili said he and the other students made no progress in finding short-term solutions for their situation.
“The short-term plan is to enroll in better insurance coverage,” Hupperich said to the students during the meeting. “Or connect with our case manager who can help you to connect with other resources.”
“You’re not offering anything,” Kafili said in response to Hupperich. “I’m asking since you’re not offering anything, and [the] LSU insurance plan is very expensive for everyone, and no one wants to use that.”
Kafili went on to recommend solutions like re-prioritizing funding within the Student Health Center to reallocate money to lower the cost of primary medical services for students.
Hupperich said that students need to enroll in health care coverage and that students can meet with the case manager.
Kafili said that Hupperich is putting the problem on students in response to her restatement of her short-term solution.
The conversation was “going in circles,” Hupperich said, and the Student Health Center has not received many complaints about billing. She has tried to advocate for students who can’t afford the university’s plan, she said.
When LSU partnered with the LSU Healthcare Network on May 10, 2021, it became “in-network,” with most major US-based insurance plans, so that more insurances could be used at the Student Health Center. However, students believe this also caused a raise in primary care prices.
“We try to put safeguards in place so that students wouldn’t just wave out of appropriate coverage and get these substandard plans, and for the students who
GROWTH, from page 3 parking tower.”
Parking is another area where LSU’s capacity is strained, students say.
“Remember last year when they issued like 2,000 more parking passes than available parking spaces? It’s about to get so, so much worse,” chemical engineering senior Kyra Boudreaux said.
In 2021, LSU briefly rezoned the parking lot of the Parker Agricultural Coliseum to exclusively be occupied by campus residents, including the increasing freshmen
have done that, it’s had a major impact, and we see it every day.” Hupperich said. “It’s hard for us to see because they don’t have the access they need. But we did everything that we could to advocate and support them and educate them in the process, so they wouldn’t end up in this place.”
But they still did end up in that place, Kafili said. He said the Student Health Center is just trying to get revenue out of students.
International geophysics graduate student Ritu Ghose is from Bangladesh and is president of the International Student Association at LSU. She was one of the three international students in the meeting with Hupperich.
“I don’t know if she was even considering the fact that international students cannot afford the LSU health insurance,” Ghose said.
The cost for the LSU sponsored health insurance plan (SHIP) is $3,064 annually, according to LSU’s billing and insurance website. Students enrolled in SHIP also have to pay ranging copayments on top of the $3,064 cost. The additional $185 student health fee from the university’s fee bill is another payment SHIP-enrolled students are responsible for, as well as all full-time students.
Because many students can’t afford to enroll in SHIP, they enroll in cheaper insurances that may not cover as much of a service as they would hope. Many international students enroll in International Student Insurance, known as the ISO plan.
“We encourage students to enroll in the university-sponsored plan because anybody with an ISO plan is grossly under-insured, and no matter where they go, even if it’s in-network with their plan, that plan covers next to nothing,” Hupperich told the students during the meeting.
The problems started a year ago when the Student Health Center became in-network with other insurance plans and changed certain financial policies, such as the cost for certain services, Ghose said. Students with good health insurance have the option to receive medical care from anywhere.
“At the time, we knew [LSU going in-network] would dispro -
classes. As a result, many commuters were forced to park elsewhere until a few months later, when the lot was rezoned to accommodate residents and commuters.
This, Boudreaux explained, is emblematic of the university approaching its carrying capacity.
“There’s already so much strain on our resources,” said Boudreaux, a resident at Nicholson Gateway. “Housing and parking are pushed to their limits every year but admin keeps letting in more and more people every year.”
As each incrementally larger freshmen class progresses past
portionately impact international students and graduate students,” Hupperich said. “We actually requested that the leadership consider mandatory insurance.”
Hupperich also wanted a hard waiver so international students would have to either enroll in SHIP or provide proof of an equally robust plan, so they wouldn’t be able to enroll in insurance that provides little-to-no coverage, she said. Her efforts of enforcing mandatory insurance and a hard waiver did not succeed.
“You’re cutting off the benefits that would previously help the students with no insurance or students who are underinsured, so you’re not thinking about students,” Ghose said. “[You’re] thinking about business here.”
Ghose feels terrible that the SHC has put her and her colleagues in a financially stressful situation. It is especially not fair to international students, she said.
“When [international students] come here, they don’t have any idea about the whole situation,” Ghose said. “In their I20s, it’s not written that ‘hey, the medical care situation is kind of like that there.’ They don’t have any idea about that.”
living in dorms and onto life in on-campus apartments, the university’s population will begin to reach its carrying capacity unless changes are made. One of Haggerty’s priorities, he explained, is solving these issues of hitting capacity.
“In terms of teaching capacity, several units across campus are stretched,” Haggerty said. “To grow further, some units will need additional faculty.”
Lee, in the same meeting where he addressed the problem of unsustainable growth, explained that LSU needs to seek avenues
Director of Revenue Cycle Compliance at ACS Medical Billing Solutions, the billing company for the Student Health Center, Rachel Ricks, responded to billing criticisms regarding late fees in a past article by The Reveille. She said ACS does not charge late fees and does not set any prices.
Instead, insurance companies set the prices of visits to the clinic, Ricks said.
“That [charging late fees] would be a violation of contract,” Ricks said. “Pretty strict government and state laws for some patients, and there are other rules and guidelines that govern what we can send the statement to a patient for.”
Chief Operating Officer of ACS, Peggy Kelly, said ACS is open to questions at any time and generally has no problem communicating with students about issues that come up.
“We have attempted and have always made that our forefront is to help these students walk them through whatever we have to walk them through as best we can, and I do think that the clinic is trying to make that something a little bit more proactive, if you will,” Kelly said.
Two students may receive the same service at the clinic, but
to increase the university’s budget to accommodate current students without continuing to increase class size.
“The obvious one would be to increase tuition, but we don’t have tuition authority so that is off the table,” Lee said. “We are having to honestly rely more on philanthropic dollars, but the work I’ve been trying to focus on over the past year is not on individual level philanthropy but on corporate partnerships and industry based partnerships because they have big money.”
Lee also said that the univer-
due to differing insurances, one student may be responsible for a deductible or a higher out-ofpocket cost, Kelly said.
All international students must sign a waiver before changing insurance, Hupperich said.
“They go through a process where they have to answer certain questions about the new plan that they intend to enroll in, and it walks them through questions that make sure that they basically are getting comparable coverage to the university-sponsored plan,” Hupperich said.
The SHC crafted the questions to protect the student, Hupperich said, so that students are educated during a walk-through of what to look for in a health plan. The challenge comes into play when a student completes the waiver but still enrolls in a plan with little-to-no coverage, she said.
According to Kafili and Ghose, international students are still not satisfied with Hupperich’s response, and they plan to conduct a town hall with Hupperich so more students can voice their concerns.
“If we can afford a robust insurance, what’s the need of a Student Health Center on campus?” Ghose said.
sity is seeking, over the next 12 months, to deepen its relationship with the state legislature to secure more funding for the state’s flagship university and the value that comes with that designation.
To solve the issues of capacity and class sizes that have no sign of getting smaller, Haggerty is looking to work closely with Residential Life on a range of options that will allow for the best path to sustain growth of the student body going forward.
“We are in the early stages of those conversations now,” Haggerty said.
This article was adapted from articles originally published on the following dates: Sept. 29, Jan. 9, Feb. 1 and Feb. 23.
In 2019, LSU Police concluded that the university’s then assistant director of Greek Life, Donald Abels, was creating fake fraternity recruit profiles to entrap fraternity members in university policy violations and state drinking laws, a police report obtained by The Reveille reveals.
No criminal laws were broken, however, so LSU Police referred the matter to an internal investigation. LSU denied The Reveille’s request for records related to the internal investigation, citing privacy interests.
“The Greek Life office will not be providing comments on this matter,” LSU Greek Life Director Shawnna Ebhard-Smith said in response to The Reveille’s request for an interview.
Abels left LSU in August 2021, two years after the initial incident.
The accusations against Abels are now resurfacing at his new university, Sewanee: The University of the South, a small liberal arts college in Tennessee, where Abels is the director of Greek Life. The LSU Police report began circulating among students after Sewanees’ oldest sorority was suspended under Abels’ leadership.
The Reveille called Abels several times but couldn’t get in touch. However, in an interview with Sewanee’s student newspaper, The Sewanee Purple, Abels denied the findings of the LSU Police report, calling them false. He said that he left LSU in good standing.
Abels told The Sewanee Purple that he didn’t inform Sewanee administrators about the LSUPD investigation during his hiring process.
“There was nothing to share,” Abels said.
In response to the circulating accusations about Abels, Sewanee sent the following email to students:
“Members of the University’s administration were sent an email making allegations about a current University employee, Donald Abels, Director of Greek Life, concerning his behavior while he was an employee at another institution. A thorough review of the allegations raised in the communications to the University has been conducted and found the allegations to be unfounded. The former institution confirmed that Mr. Abels left in good standing.”
The Sewanee Purple also contacted LSU Police detective John Meliet, who wrote the 12-page police report.
“Everything I wrote in my report is accurate,” Meliet told The Purple. Citing LSU policy, he declined further comment.
The Report
On Aug. 19, 2019, LSU’s Inter-
fraternity Council contacted LSU Police concerned that the online program they use to recruit new fraternity members had been hacked.
IFC administrators told LSU Police that a new recruit named “Crew Brooks” had enrolled in their online recruiting program. The narrative Meliot wrote in his report for LSU Police said as follows:
After fraternity members began contacting Crew Brooks and inviting him to various events, the IFC started receiving complaints from “Jenny Brooks,” the supposed mother of Crew Brooks, saying that LSU fraternity members had been contacting her child and attempting to recruit him with alcohol.
The IFC soon discovered that all of Crew Brooks’ information had been fabricated, including his LSU ID number. They also found fake social media accounts tied to Crew Brooks that were soon deleted around the time of the discovery.
“It appears that the person pretending to be Crew Brooks had modified the intellectual property of IFC and [the online recruiting program] to obtain information pertaining to fraternities on campus and possibly entrap them in criminal or policy
violations by utilizing the email of [Jenny Brooks] to make complaints,” the police report said.
Police concluded that Crew Brooks was communicating with fraternity members via Snapchat and soliciting them to commit crimes that violate LSU policy, such as fake ID’s and underage drinking.
Since IFC administrators still at this point believed that they were being hacked, potentially by an LSU student, the university’s Office of Student Advocacy and Accountability was involved. Jonathan Sanders and Chelsie Bickel, then administrators in the office, told LSU Police that Abels had been forwarding them the complaints from Jenny Brooks.
Detectives later learned from an employee at Interactive Collegiate Solutions, the owner of the recruiting software, that someone with LSU credentials created the fake recruit.
On Aug. 28, detectives interviewed Abels, eventually confronting him, saying that it was possible he created the fake recruit, according to the police report. Abels denied it.
The Interactive Collegiate Solutions employee was also able to give detectives the IP address of whoever was using the recruitment program around the time
that Crew Brooks’ classification in the system was moved over from a “recruit” to “potential member.” One of the IP addresses belonged to Abels’ laptop.
Detectives also subpoenaed Microsoft to find the IP address connected to Jenny Brooks’ email. Only one device was associated with that IP address: an iphone with the name “Donalds-iPhone,” associated with Abels.
Detectives noted in their report that Abels was unable to give any explanation as to why the IP addresses associated with the fake accounts traced back to his devices. Still, Abels denied wrongdoing and insisted he left LSU in good standing.
“Detectives have concluded that the assistant director of Greek Life (Donald Abels) initiated a scheme (catfishing) to entrap fraternities in inappropriate behavior with recruits,” the police report says. “He used this information to reach out to fraternities and stop certain events from happening and/or circumventing the need for additional follow-up investigations.”
An email obtained by the Reveille through a public records request suggests that LSU didn’t find Abels responsible for the entrapment scheme detailed in the police report. Instead, Abels was
“only guilty of sharing [his] password out of an attempt to help some of the guys [he] worked with,” according to an email from an LSU HR employee to Abels in August 2022.
Abels left LSU in 2021, two years after the LSUPD investigation, to become director of Greek life at Sewanee: University of the South, a private college in Tennessee. The full email suggests that LSU officials told Sewanee officials that they didn’t have any findings against Abels and that he left the university in good standing.
Abels has denied multiple phone calls and emails from the Reveille. In an interview with Sewanee’s student newspaper, The Purple, Abels called the accusations in the 2019 LSU Police report “false.”
A Baton Rouge judge ruled against the Reveille editor-inchief on Thursday in a public records lawsuit, arguing that documents related to a 2019 internal investigation of an LSU employee are not subject to public record.
The decision comes after Reveille editor-in-chief Josh Archote sued LSU for the release of the records in January. Archote and
“The court’s decision today is incredibly disappointing,” Archote said. “The ruling, if it stands, will offer greater immunity for LSU and other state agencies to shield themselves from public records requests, which means less transparency and accountability for these institutions.”
On Sept. 29, Archote submitted a public records request to LSU’s general counsel office to inspect records related to an internal investigation of former assistant director of Greek Life Donald Abels.
LSU denied the request, saying that the requested documents weren’t subject to public record, and used a previous court case, McMakin v. LSU, as a basis for the denial.
In the McMakin case, LSU was sued for the release of the same records, but the court sided with the university because Abels’ “right to privacy in his employment/personnel records are superior” to the plaintiff’s public records request.
Archote’s lawyers argued that circumstances surrounding Abels and the 2019 police report are different now compared to when the McMakin case was decided, and that Archote’s reasons for seeking the records were related to the public’s interest in the case.
“If LSU declined to investigate him, that is a matter of public interest,” the lawsuit states. “If LSU investigated his conduct but found that it did not violate any policies, that also is a matter of public interest. If LSU investigated Abel’s conduct, found it improper and imposed discipline, that is a matter of public interest. And if LSU investigated Abel’s conduct, found it improper, but declined to discipline him, that also would be of interest to the public -- here and elsewhere.”
The court ruled in the McMakin case that the privacy of the accused former employee, Donald Abels, took priority to the records being made public.
The judge, Kelly Balfour of the 19th Judicial District Court, held that because access to the records had already been denied, no one can seek those records in the future.
Archote said his lawsuit could have wider implications on public transparency in Louisiana.
“The Reveille needs access to university records to continue serving as a watchdog over LSU,” Archote said. “We believe that records related to the investigation of a former Greek Life administrator are being unfairly kept behind closed doors away from the public, which deserves to know how the state’s flagship university handled a case of alleged employee misconduct.”
This article was originally published March 31.
LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey has brought the team one of its best seasons in style.
Mulkey is known for her expressive faces and passion for women’s basketball. She’s the first and only person in college basketball to win a Division I national championship as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
But Mulkey doesn’t wear typical coach apparel. She brings the fire to every game, starting with her outfits. Her style differs from your average 60-year-old – she loves sparkles, bold patterns and bright colors, making her the true star of the court.
Many of her favorite outfits come from Queen of Sparkles, a brand founded by local designer Jamie Glas, who’s known for bedazzling her clothes and adding unique designs making one-ofa-kind pieces. This is seen in Mulkey’s polka dot or heart blazers.
Many times she questions if her outfits are over the top and has to give herself a pep talk into wearing them.
“There are ones I really have to talk myself into wearing,” Mulkey told The Advocate. “I ask, ‘Is it stylish or does it look like a clown?’”
No outfit is complete without shoes, and from pumps and stilettos, Mulkey has plenty.
She owns over 171 pairs, according to the Advocate, with brands varying from Christian Louboutin to Ralph Lauren.
My personal favorite is Mulkey’s fully hot pink suit and heels outfit. It’s incredible because, to the average person, this outfit might seem uncomfortable to coach in, but it doesn’t phase her as she stays making a statement game after game.
While many fans enjoy going to the games to see what outfit Mulkey will sport, others question her fun fashion taste and take to social media to pick fun at her clothing choices.
Of all her outfits, the one thatgot the most negative attention on social media with users comparing her to “The Muppets.”
Mulkey’s Final Four outfit also drew attention on social media, as she wore yet another bright pink ensemble. This time, her granddaughter also tagged along to support Mulkey in matching style.
No matter your opinion on Mulkey’s coaching, there’s no denying that she’s changing the fashion game for college basketball.
In this outfit, Mulkey does a monochromatic look, including a bright purple stiletto to pull everything together.
At the LSU vs. Ole Miss game, Mulkey sported a sparkling pink blazer with rainbow butterflies from Queen of Sparkles. After LSU took the win, she was so ecstatic she gifted her blazer to an adoring fan.
Mulkey is able to keep it relatively simple at times, by wearing a sweater or sweater vest. But she will always incorporate something a little special, such as sleeves adorned with feathers or sparkly letters.
Even LSU mascot Mike the Tiger has joined in on the fun by having his own matching butterfly jacket to Mulkey’s at games, which shows just how important and iconic Mulkey’s style has become to LSU women’s basketball.
Oct. 30
March 25
BY MADISON HEYDARI @madisonheydariTaylor Swift’s 10th studio album “Midnights” marks the artist’s glorious return to pop.
The album, which Swift describes as “the story of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout [her] life,” is definitely one of her more vulnerable works, but not her best (and yet, not her worst).
While “Midnights” is great, I think if you choose to listen to the album, “Midnights (3am Edition)” is the way to go. The seven additional tracks are worth it.
Jan. 20
BY MOLLY TERRELL @keenryantiWhen the first season of the Netflix original “Ginny & Georgia” aired, it was called a less enjoyable copycat of “Gilmore Girls.”
While the first season of the hit show was hailed as a guilty pleasure due to its cringeworthy dialogue, the second season is being praised for its execution of heavy topics such as mental health and the external struggles faced because of it.
Despite the more serious tone of the sophomore season, there is still a lot of humor and romance to latch onto, making the 10-episode stretch a well-rounded watching experience.
March 29
BY ALISON AGENA @alison_hana“Wolf Play” is a theatrical production about a young boy who is forced to undergo many changes in his life. By the age of six, the child has been through three families. Each time he becomes comfortable, he has to move to a new family.
A lot of time was taken by everyone who was a part of this production, and the work is evident in the quality of the production.
It’s truly a one-of-a-kind experience and worth every minute. I don’t think I have ever seen any play at LSU quite like this one. I highly recommend taking the time to see it.
BY AVA FRANCIS @avamohsochicAttention all foodies: T-Beaux’s Creole Café is open and ready to give you and your taste buds an authentic experience with a full menu of classic creole cuisine and fresh daily specials.
T-Beaux’s is the perfect addition to LSU’s dining. Located in Foster Hall and open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., LSU’s students, staff and faculty can drop in and have a quick bite or grab a meal to go.
T-Beaux’s owner and head chef, Melissa Anderson, is bringing a completely new vibe to LSU.
This article was originally published Sept. 22.
You should probably start worrying about getting hit by a car while walking through the LSU Quad.
Well, maybe don’t worry — but know that it’s a possibility.
There have been at least three instances of LSU students driving their cars into the Quad. The most recent incident occurred in 2020 when a driver got lost and accidentally made their way into the area before being escorted out by LSUPD.
The driver asked pedestrians where they could find the nearest street, according to @overheard_ lsu on Twitter. Pictures and videos of the lost driver quickly spread on social media and left many people asking the same question: “How did they get their car in the Quad?”
I decided I would find the answer. Obviously, I cannot drive my real car through the Quad.
Instead, I created a model of my car to pull through the Quad to see if my car would fit and where. By model, I mean a rectangle on roller skates.
I collected tent poles from my
parents’ house, roller skates from my roommate and duct tape from my friend – all the conventional components of a Reveille story.
I measured my car, and it came out to be 15 feet long, 5 feet wide and 5 feet tall. Then I measured out the tent poles to make a rectangle with the same measurements as my car. I added duct tape to hold the tent poles together.
Finally, and most crucially, every car needs wheels. The car outline needs to roll just like a car since I would not be able to pick up my actual, real car if I needed to go down steps to get into the Quad.
I tied roller skates to the four corners of the car outline, and then I had a realistic car model to test with.
The best location for a car to enter the Quad seemed to be the parking lot between Nicholson Hall and Coates Hall. There are other entrances that would work, but most were harder to get to or involved driving over stairs and curbs.
The parking lot between Nicholson Hall and Coates Hall has a ramp that leads to a wide sidewalk, making it almost seem like LSU wants people to drive into the Quad.
After carefully, and sweatily, bringing the car model to the entrance between Nicholson Hall and Coates Hall, it was time for the final test.
I set the model down and slowly dragged it through the columns, along the sidewalk and down the handicap ramp, all while getting
confused looks from bystanders.
My “car” fit perfectly. The model made it down the ramp and into the parking lot without needing to take any stairs or hopping any curbs.
It’s most likely that the people who drove into the Quad over the years took this entrance, the
walkway between Nicholson and Coates, as this route looks the most like “You can keep driving this way,” although it still seems obvious that this isn’t the case. Do not actually do this with your real car. It is illegal, you will get in trouble and my editor will yell at me.
This article was originally published Aug. 22.
Sean Ardoin grew up as a fourth-generation Creole accordion player with passion for music in his blood from the moment he entered the world. However, it wasn’t until his time as a student and member of the marching band at LSU that it became his career path.
Three Grammy nominations and a few hit music videos later, Ardoin decided it was time to go back where it all began. Or in his words, go “Full Circle.”
Ardoin got the idea after listening to the band perform at an LSU football game against Auburn. He discussed it with the current band director, Kelvin Jones, and a couple months later, Ardoin and the Tiger Band began working on an album.
Chart work, or writing the instrumental music, started in February, and recording was completed in mid-April. Ardoin was impressed with the ability of the LSU band members, describing them as incredibly capable musicians who could effectively follow instructions no matter the situation. They recorded 16 songs over
the span of one weekend.
“They didn’t know that they weren’t supposed to be able to do that,” Ardoin said. “That shows the level of musicianship that the Tiger Band has.”
Ardoin described the album as historical.
“It’s the first one of its kind in the music industry,” Ardoin said. “Most people will have a band come through and play some stuff, then have to sit out.”
Ardoin featured the Tiger Band on every single track.
The 12-song album, entitled “Full Circle,” is available on digital platforms now. “Full Circle” is also available for pre-order on commemorative purple and gold double vinyl, with 15% of the proceeds going to the LSU band. The vinyl version includes four extra tracks that are purely instrumental so the band can be heard more clearly.
“Full Circle” was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Regional Roots Music Album.
When he was asked what he wanted listeners to take away from the album, Ardoin said he wanted them to recognize it as a tribute to LSU and the state of Louisiana. Not only is it an album involving the LSU marching band and an LSU alumnus at the helm, but the
music is Kreole rock and soul, a genre created by Ardoin that’s based heavily on Zydeco music.
“It’s Louisiana through and through,” Ardoin said. “LSU was playing Zydeco and Kreole rock and soul. It doesn’t get more Louisiana than that!”
This album isn’t just a big deal for LSU and Louisiana though; it’s a big deal for the artist himself. The fact that Ardoin’s journey as
a musician has led him to a point where he had enough influence to accomplish something like this means a lot to him.
He said the journey was much more difficult than it looks.
“Everybody thinks this is an ‘overnight success,’ but in reality, it’s a lot of work,” Ardoin said. “You keep putting in the work, and you don’t quit. Keep the vision before you, and once success
starts to happen, you don’t do anything to mess it up.”
Ardoin has always produced music that embodies the Louisiana culture he grew up with, but he took it a step further this time with his most ambitious project yet. With a discography spanning over 30 years, he decided it was time to go back to where his career began.
To go “Full Circle.”
This article was originally published Nov. 8.
If you’re an undergraduate student at LSU in the year 2022, you were likely born in the early 2000s.
LSU has a long history stretching back to its founding in 1860. It’s gone through many changes. But what was it like right before you were born? And how has it changed in comparison to the present day?
Weekend Plans
There are tons of activities within the Baton Rouge area. From Top Golf to Tigerland, there’s something for everyone.
Pam Kocke, an LSU class of ‘99 alumna, said bars like The Library, which was located around the North Gates of campus, and those that were in Tigerland were the biggest hang-out spots for college students.
Even though The Library may no longer exist, it’s not uncommon to find LSU students partying like it’s the end of the world every Saturday in Tigerland. Some things never change.
Shopping
In today’s life, LSU students can barely walk a mile off campus before finding a shopping outlet or a few clothing stores. In the ’90s, there were slim pickings.
Maura Sharp, LSU class of ‘97 alumna, said that before the shops we know today and even before the Mall of Louisiana, which was built in 1997, most
LSU students made trips to one store.
“If you needed something, your options pretty much were you went to Walmart,” Sharp said.
Today, Baton Rouge is home to one of only two Trader Joe’s locations in the state. College students can take their pick from a variety of grocery stores and other shopping centers, like the boutiques in Perkins Rowe, which opened to the public in 2007.
Social Media
Due to the advancements in technology, today, the spreading of information is much faster than before and there is much more of it. The current LSU student body is well aware of how much information is at the touch of their fingertips.
When it came to social media in the ’90s, computers and phones were not common items in every person’s living space. So, to share their interests and make a small profit, students began writing “zines.” Zines were small magazines made by young adults to showcase their favorite bands, trends and jokes.
Andrea Weinbrecht, LSU class of ’98, said she and her friends created many zines.
“It was about tons of bands,” Weinbrecht said.
Weinbrecht also commented that these zines were written solely about what the individual liked. Whether it was indie bands or satirical humor, there was a zine for all the different crowds.
Music
From the zines of the ’90s to the Grammys and Billboard
Charts, music is always in high demand and well celebrated.
In the ’90s, American rock music was in. Bands like the Dave Matthews Band, R.E.M. and Widespread Panic were all the rage, according to Julie Sanders, a member of the LSU class of ’97. Today, the trending charts are typically full of pop music and throwback songs made popular by TikTok.
Artists like Harry Styles and Taylor Swift have been consistent fan favorites for the past couple of months; whereas, music from other artists blow up for shorter bits of time, like Kate Bush’s “Runnin Up That Hill” and Måneskin’s cover of “Beggin’.” Society as a whole has changed so much in the past 30 years. LSU today versus LSU in the ’90s are two completely dif-
ferent environments. The progress, better or worse, has been shaped by the community of students and will continue to evolve and change as future generations come and go.
When reflecting on what is and what has been, it’s important to remember to live in the present so that you too can be a part of LSU’s large and ever-growing history.
This article was originally published Nov. 20.
When Christopher Langley applied to “Wheel of Fortune,” he did so on a whim. He had no idea he would be chosen as the next contestant on the famous television game show.
He had no idea he’d win $19,550 in cash and prizes either.
In May 2021, Langley, an LSU broadcast journalism senior, decided to apply to be a “Wheel of Fortune” contestant.
“I filled out the form, sent a video of me explaining why I would be a great contestant and then submitted the application,” Langley said. “Cue December, I get an email inviting me to do a virtual audition for the show.”
The audition was part interview, part writing test and partly a portion of the game itself.
“Once I completed everything, I was told I would hear back in two weeks if I was selected to be a contestant,” Langley said.
Two weeks later, he was chosen.
For Langley, this was a dream come true from his childhood.
“My dad and I would always watch ‘Jeopardy!’ and ‘Wheel of
Fortune’ after our family ate dinner,” Langley said. “We’d have a friendly competition to see who would do the best during each episode.”
It was Langley’s father who recommended he try out and submit an application to “Wheel of Fortune.”
Together, they went to Hollywood to record the show.
“It was so weird walking around the set,” Langley said. “Watching it through the TV is one thing, but being there in person is a whole other experience.”
Langley said getting the
chance to spin the wheel was fun and a memory he’ll forever hold close.
As for his winnings, Langley said he’s planning to use it for future investments, like bills and a new car.
He encourages anyone interested in competing in a game
show to apply.
“It may seem like a long shot, but anything is possible when you put your mind to it,” Langley said.
Langley’s “Wheel of Fortune” episode aired on Monday, Nov. 21, 2022 as part of the gameshow’s “College Week.”
This article was originally published April 2.
Making the Final Four in the second year under Kim Mulkey was a huge deal for the LSU women’s basketball program. Making it to the national championship was an even bigger deal. But winning the national championship is the biggest surprise of all.
LSU made history Sunday afternoon with a 102-85 win over Iowa in the women’s college basketball National Championship game.
LSU finishes the 2022-23 season with a 34-2 record. With this national title, the team becomes LSU’s first basketball team, both men and women, to win a national championship. In addition, Kim Mulkey becomes the first college basketball coach to win national titles at multiple schools.
The Tigers arrived at the American Airlines Center in Dallas Sunday afternoon set to play the season’s biggest game with the most on the line. The players, the coaches and the stakes hyped the game up more than it already was. But the player who came up biggest for the Tigers hadn’t seen the spotlight since LSU’s Round of 32 matchup versus Michigan.
Jasmine Carson was held scoreless through the Sweet 16, Elite Eight and Final Four matchups, but it only took one make in the national championship to
get her rolling. In her last game for LSU, Carson scored 22 points, shooting 5 of 6 from three, seven for eight from the field, and 3 of 4 from the foul line.
“It was a surreal moment, every player dreams of being on the big stage like this and having the game of your life,” Carson said. “I was just living in the moment.”
However, she was contained entering the second half, and Iowa started to crawl back. Luckily for LSU, all of its offense seemed to click.
Angel Reese and LaDazhia Williams held the fort down in the paint once again. Williams finished with 20 points on the game, and Reese finished with her 34th double-double performance of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
After Carson cooled down after halftime, Flau’jae Johnson and Alexis Morris picked up the slack for the guards. Morris scored 21 points and nine assists.
“She just gets into a mode where she’s just unstoppable at some point,” Reese said of Morris. “She played a great defensive game it wasn’t all her offense tonight. It was her defense.”
Johnson added 10 points with seven rebounds and four assists.
Just as LSU had an all-around impressive offensive day, Iowa did as well, and it was led by the player who has led them all season in Caitlin Clark.
Clark was close to unstoppable from three, a performance that backed up why she is this
season’s AP women’s basketball National Player of the Year. She finished with 30 points including eight made three-pointers. She also added eight assists.
But the Hawkeyes saw other players make shots from the perimeter. Kate Martin scored 13 points with three made threes and six assists, and Gabbie Mar-
shall scored 12 points with two made threes.
see CHAMPIONS, page 15 FOOTBALL
BY MACKAY SUIRE @macthetiger
This article was originally published Dec. 4.
There’s never a chance of rain in Death Valley. Fans hear it before every kickoff in Tiger Stadium. But the Tigers weren’t in Baton Rouge anymore, where the roars of fans continued to grow louder each week. They were now on the biggest stage they had seen all season, preparing for a game that most people believed they wouldn’t even come close enough to reaching.
The Mercedes Benz Stadium was encased in gloomy clouds and a steady rain. Moments after fans entered the stadium and found their seats, those dark clouds seemed to find their way in. The Georgia Bulldogs took the SEC Championship game by storm, effortlessly pulling the title from right under LSU.
It was an outcome that most people expected, acknowledging the powerhouse the Bulldogs had proved themselves to be in this season of college football. Week after week, fans watched as
Georgia plowed through its opponents.
Hours away in Baton Rouge, however, LSU fans watched their beloved Tigers rise more and more from the ashes. What was supposed to be a rebuilding year became one where people began seeing glimpses of success similar to what the program had found in 2019. The season didn’t start out that way, though.
Brian Kelly marched into Baton Rouge with bold statements, preaching that his newfound purpose at LSU was to build a team that was once again worthy of being a National Championship title contender. He stressed, however, that this would take trust and it would take time to build that trust.
“Look, let me tell you why I’m here,” Kelly said in his first team meeting with LSU. “I’m here because I wanted to coach the very best players in the country, that are afforded the best resources in the country, that play in the best conference in the country. I get a chance to work with the best ath-
16
This article was originally published Nov. 5.
Tiger Stadium has a long list of memorable moments, but few will top the events of Nov. 5, 2022.
In just his first year in Baton Rouge, Brian Kelly has already cemented his name in LSU history. In just nine games, Kelly has LSU on the brink of the SEC Championship and just led the Tigers to their first home win over Alabama in 12 years.
The game itself was an instant classic. A back-and-forth game all the way to the end, LSU continued to show its ability to fight. LSU never trailed in the first half, but when Alabama earned its first lead in the third quarter, LSU answered every Alabama score on the following drive.
The game featured eight lead changes, but Alabama never took an offensive snap with the lead. LSU answered every blow delivered by Alabama, leading to the wild finish.
Even when LSU went down in overtime, it took just one play for the Tigers to find the endzone. Then, in stark contrast to LSU’s first setback of the year against Florida State, Kelly opted to go for the win, rather than kicking the game-tying extra point.
That decision was the difference. Jayden Daniels rolled to his right and found true freshman Mason Taylor in the corner of the endzone to win the game.
“When they first called the play my heart lowkey dropped, I’m not gonna lie,” Taylor said. “We practiced for this, and pressure is a privilege at LSU.”
Taylor played his best game of his young career, finishing with three catches for 36 yards
The guards showed out for Iowa, but their post players didn’t disappoint. Monika Czinano finished with 13 points and six rebounds. McKenna Warnock added nine points for the Hawkeyes.
To everyone on the team, there is no better feeling than winning a national title. It was a team of returners, transfers and freshmen. They’ve talked about “piecing it together” all season long, and it’s safe to say a national championship pieced everything together.
But to the seniors, it means everything.
Morris started her college career with Mulkey at Baylor, but Mulkey had to release her from the team due to an off the court issue. Fast forward to Sunday, Morris is reunited with Mulkey at LSU, this time cutting nets and holding up a trophy.
“This is a kid who owned her mistake, this is a kid who never blamed a coach,” Mulkey said. “Look where she is sitting today.
and the biggest play of the game. Taylor earned the game ball for his efforts and is yet another example of an LSU freshman stepping up this season.
Outside of Taylor, the story of the game for LSU offensively was Daniels. He finished the game with 182 yards passing and two touchdowns to go along with 95 yards rushing and the touchdown to set up the game-winning twopoint conversion. Kelly was once again complimentary of Daniels after the game and stressed the importance of quarterback play.
“We’re not here unless our quarterback plays really well,” Kelly said. “Whether it’s peewee football or high school or college football or the NFL, your quarterback has to play well.”
Daniels did that against Alabama and has continued to do that all season long. His numbers weren’t the most eye-catching in this game, but he made every single play for LSU when it mattered.
“I’m just out there playing football,” Daniels said. “It’s about going out there and being decisive, trusting myself, and I know I’ll go back and watch film, it’s some things I missed, but I’m just happy we got this win.”
The atmosphere was a major factor in this game, and Daniels spoke to that as well.
“It’s No.1,” Daniels said when asked where this game ranks for him in his career. “Nothing means more than this, making history at LSU. A top-10 ranked game, a lot on the line, so it means a lot.”
Fans immediately rushed the field as soon as Taylor entered the endzone for the game-winning two-point conversion. Pandemonium ensued inside Tiger Stadium in what was an atmosphere the building had not seen in some time.
But in her second season at LSU, a national championship was the last thing on Mulkey’s mind; that was a plan she had further down the road. But for the three national titles she won at Baylor, none of them can compare to winning one for her home state of Louisiana.
“With about a minute and 30 to go, I couldn’t hold it, I got very emotional” Mulkey said. “I don’t know if it’s the mere fact that we’re doing this in the second year that I’m home, I don’t know if it was the fact that I am home, I don’t know if it was looking across there at my daughter and my grandchildren. I don’t know what it was, but I lost it.”
Mulkey has always said the program has not arrived yet because they’ve “only won basketball games.” But now she’s helped not only the program, but the school win its first basketball national championship.
It was quicker than expected, but the mission is accomplished.
Mulkey has brought LSU women’s basketball back to life.
This was a statement win for LSU. Not only does this put LSU in a position to lock up the SEC West, this gives all the energy back to a fanbase that lacked energy the last two years. What transpired in Tiger Stadium had not been seen at least since 2019, and a win of this caliber creates the opportunity for more of those nights in Death Valley.
For LSU fans, this game was a breath of fresh air. As Alabama
continued to put together drives late, the game began to feel similar to LSU losses against Alabama in 2012 and 2014. Both of those games saw LSU outplay Alabama for long stretches, but both times came up short.
The Tigers will travel to Arkansas next week with a chance to win the SEC West with a win and an Ole Miss loss. Few expected LSU to even compete for the SEC this year, and now, in
Kelly’s first year, the Tigers are at the doorstep of returning to championship ways.
“This is really about building a program and doing it week in and week out. And we’re here to graduate champions, and we want to win a championship,” Kelly said. “We’ve got Arkansas next. We’re going to enjoy this win over the next 24 hours, and then we’re gonna get ready for Arkansas.”
This article was originally published Feb. 6.
LSU men’s basketball isn’t very good right now.
The Tigers have lost 10 games straight, and the program feels night and day from what it was this time last year. To many though, that doesn’t come as much surprise.
LSU was forced to enter rebuild mode this season after former head coach Will Wade was fired last March after LSU received multiple Level I violations from the NCAA.
The fallout was massive.
Just weeks later, LSU was left without a single scholarship player and new head coach Matt McMahon had to rebuild the program from scratch. A few months later, LSU had a full roster again, one that consisted of six transfers, three freshmen and three returners who McMahon was able to rerecruit after initially entering the transfer portal.
Going into the season, expectations were tempered, but there was hope given some of the talent on the roster. Those expectations began to inflate as LSU finished non-conference play with an 11-1 record, the only loss coming against now No. 7 Kansas State.
Though the Tigers were winning, there were warning signs
early in the season. LSU’s nonconference schedule ranks 326 out of 363 teams in the KenPom strength of schedule rankings, and LSU’s average point differential in non conference games is just +7.7.
The hype reached another high after an upset win over then No. 9 Arkansas, but LSU has yet to win a game since that Dec. 28 contest.
Over the last 10 games, almost nothing has gone right for LSU. Even though there have been small improvements in the last few games, only two of the losses during the streak have been by single digits.
While LSU sports a +7.7 average scoring margin in non-conference play, in SEC play, that number sits at -14.3. Rock bottom came in a 40-point loss against Alabama, where LSU was dominated from the opening tip, giving up 106 points in the loss.
Any 10-game losing streak is a nightmare situation for the team, but as LSU holds a 12-11 overall record, it’s worth comparing the first year under McMahon to other coaches in program history.
McMahon’s record in year one is nowhere near as bad as the 3-23 record LSU finished with in the 1966-1967 season. That ranks as the worst finish in school history and was the first year under Press Maravich.
The most comparable situa
see LOSING, page 17
This article was originally published Sept. 11.
Some games are bigger than football.
That was the case as for the first time in the history of the two programs, LSU and Southern University met on the football field. The event was a coming together for not just the two programs, but for the city of Baton Rouge.
A week that was filled with anticipation, celebrating and unity was capped off with more of the same Saturday evening. The atmosphere surrounding LSU’s campus was one not seen since the now distant 2019 season. Streets were packed with cars and tailgate tents filled what seemed like every inch of green space around campus.
The game was sold out. Around 100,000 people filled Tiger Stadium, creating the pregame atmosphere many expected when the game was first scheduled. Two college football teams from the same city playing each other is rare. When that city is a football-crazed town like Baton Rouge, special things can happen.
For LSU, not only was it a celebration of the city, but the first home game for new Head Coach Brian Kelly. The excitement for his debut in Tiger Stadium
was clear from the moment the team walked down Victory Hill. Thousands of fans lined South Stadium Drive to greet Kelly and the team before making their way into the stadium.
After the game, Kelly reflected on the entire event, and the opportunity for LSU to play Southern.
“It was an exciting day in Baton Rouge,” Kelly said. “We were excited about this matchup against Southern. It was great for the city, the community, to play a traditional HBCU school.”
The energy and anticipation built up all the way until the opening kickoff. Both teams took the field to thunderous roars, as a packed crowd filled with both purple and gold and blue and gold cheered on the two teams.
All of that emotion came to a head as the teams took the field for the kickoff when the Southern band played the infamous “Neck” song. A song that has lived in infamy at LSU after its ban due to profanity, “Neck” made both sets of fans go crazy when it blared through Death Valley.
On the field, that energy only seemed to carry over for LSU. On the opening kickoff, a big hit from Zavier Carter forced
RECAP, from page 14
of winning a national championship. That’s why we’re here.”
Those big ideas remained just that, as fans waited impatiently to witness the success the new head coach felt he could bring. They yearned to see Kelly’s plan in motion.
When week one had finally arrived, any excitement of what this rebuilding year could bring became diminished. A blocked extra point in overtime was what ultimately led to LSU’s first loss of the season. The block allowed Florida State to walk away with just one point more, defeating the Tigers 24-23. Despite the doubts, Kelly continued to move forward with reconstruction, believing that his plan would come to full fruition.
And then, it did.
Week after week, the pieces seemed to fall together for LSU. Although sometimes there were still pieces missing, fans started to see that the program was getting closer and closer to being a completed puzzle.
The Florida State loss was followed by four deserving wins. Kelly’s new culture became more evident. Right when things started to look up, though, is when the team had hit their next roadblock. A tough loss at home to then No. 8 Tennessee made many wonder if LSU would have the ability to compete against the bigger opponents it would be seeing later in the season.
After that 40-13 loss to the Volunteers, doubts once again circled the program. It was after that loss, however, when the magic really started to happen. Offense quickly strengthened when Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels finally seemed to build the trust with his receiving room that was necessary to succeed. Defense remained rock solid, quickly quieting some of the
LOSING, from page 16
tion and season to LSU’s situation this year, is the 1997-1998 season. This was the first year under head coach John Brady who replaced Dale Brown after 25 years at LSU. Like this current season, LSU was in hot water with the NCAA, eventually being placed on probation in 1998, following an investigation revealing former LSU player Lester Earl was paid $5,000 by an LSU booster.
In that 1997-1998 season, LSU won just nine games, a mark it has already eclipsed this season. Brady’s team finished just 2-14 in conference play, a mark McMahon and LSU still have eight games to reach or eclipse this season.
To look at this comparison in a positive light, Brady led LSU to a 28-6 record and a Sweet Sixteen appearance in the NCAA Tournament just two seasons later. Brady went on to coach at LSU for 11 seasons, finishing as the third-winningest coach in LSU history after reaching four NCAA tournaments and one Final Four in 2006.
Circling back to LSU’s current 10-game funk, a more recent sea-
stronger offenses found within the SEC.
LSU faced some of the best talent in the SEC multiple weeks in a row and Kelly’s idea of what he believed this team could be finally started to ring true. Fans saw several nights that were similar to what they would have experienced back in 2019.
The nation watched LSU completely shut down the offense and defense of a then No. 7 University of Mississippi. The Rebels’ two touchdowns they had collected early in the game would be their last scores of the entire game. The Tigers racked up 28 points in the second half alone, defeating Ole Miss 45-20.
Alabama headed to Baton Rouge as a No. 6 team and left with a loss against what they ultimately found out was a No. 15 LSU powerhouse. Fans relived the night over and over again, replaying the Mason Taylor catch that threw the game into overtime, followed by his catch that gave the Tigers the 32-31 win over their infamous rivals.
Fans finally felt like they were witnessing what many have deemed “Peak LSU Football.”
LSU headed into its final regular season game as the SEC West champions. It was 9-2 on the season and ranked No. 6 in the AP poll. Many expected that a win against the then unranked Texas A&M would be the obvious ending to LSU’s regular season before it took on Georgia in the SEC Championship game.
That’s not quite how it went though.
The Aggies played as if they had nothing to lose, which they truly didn’t. No matter the outcome, this game against LSU would be their last of the season. With guns blazing and Aggie fans ignited with passion, Texas A&M handed LSU its third loss of the regular season, taking the game 38-23 in College Station.
Heading into the SEC Championship game as huge underdogs, Kelly stated over and over again that no matter the outcome, he was extremely proud of his football team. They had overcome obstacle after obstacle, proving that they could be a heavy competitor.
Though the 50-30 loss against the Georgia Bulldogs in Atlanta was rightfully disheartening, the fact that LSU had gotten there meant more to the program than any trophy or title ever could have. Kelly explained that the loss provided LSU with ample opportunity for continued growth.
“The best team won today,” Kelly said after the loss in the SEC Championship game. “But I love the way our guys competed and they fought, and that’s been the identity of this team all year.”
Kelly has built up the backbone of a program that previously didn’t have one. The successes, as well as the failures, of LSU’s season have built a foundation that is solid enough to build on for, most likely, years to come. The head coach explained that the development of the team will never be over; that academics and character hold more importance than any football game ever could.
points scored and points allowed per every 100 possessions.
This season, LSU currently ranks 127th out of 363 Division I teams in KenPom with an adjusted efficiency margin of +3.6. This puts LSU 45 spots higher than its final KenPom ranking of the 2016-2017 season, where it ranked 172nd with an advanced efficiency margin of -0.25.
“We’ve got to continue to develop our football team, but this foundation is really strong, and we’ll be able to continue to build on it,” Kelly explained.
Kelly finished his first year in Baton Rouge in historic fashion, pioneering what became one of the most successful seasons that a first year head coach at LSU has ever had. This season was just a glimpse into what he believes this program will be able to achieve.
“It’s a young football team that will take this lesson and build off of it,” he said. “And I’m so excited to have the opportunity to coach them.”
non-conference opponents held an advanced efficiency margin of +2.91.
son serves as a good comparison. The 2016-2017 season was LSU’s worst since year one under Brady, as LSU finished 10-21 overall, resulting in the firing of then head coach Johnny Jones.
In that season, LSU once again won just two SEC games, and had its longest losing streak in school history, losing 15 straight between Jan. 4 and March 1.
There are a few different ways to compare the two teams, but for
the sake of this article, let’s compare the two teams’ KenPom numbers.
The KenPom rankings are an analytics-based ranking system started by college basketball analyst Ken Pomeroy in the early 2000s. It ranks teams based on its adjusted efficiency margin which takes the difference between a team’s adjusted offensive efficiency and adjusted defensive efficiency. Those stats come from a team’s
One thing to keep in mind when comparing the two, though, is the difference in strength of schedule. According to KenPom, LSU’s strength of schedule ranks 50th in the country compared to 34th in 2017. KenPom calculates strength of schedule by averaging the adjusted efficiency margin of a team’s opponents.
The bigger discrepancy comes when comparing the two teams’ non-conference schedule. This year’s team ranks 326th out of 363 Division I teams in non-conference strength of schedule with its nonconference opponents holding an average adjusted efficiency margin of -5.97. While LSU had four nonconference losses in the 2016-2017 season, it ranked 69th in non conference strength of schedule as its
Neither of these two seasons were as bad as the 2010-2011 season in terms of KenPom numbers. That was LSU’s lowest rank since the KenPom rankings began in 2002, as LSU finished the season ranked 232 with an adjusted efficiency margin of -5.68. What makes the 2010-2011 team look even worse is that its overall strength of schedule ranked 130th, 80 spots lower than this year’s team.
Looking at these metrics and past losing seasons should give some perspective on this current skid for LSU. While after 1998 John Brady was able to turn it around, that wasn’t the case for Jones in 2017 and Trent Johnson in 2011.
For McMahon, LSU made it clear that it was committed to a long term rebuild, giving McMahon a seven-year contract. Growing pains aren’t uncommon for first-year coaches, and with eight games left in this year’s regular season, the momentum of the program is still up in the air.
This article was originally published Sept. 1.
Jayden Daniels’ current situation is much like the beginning of his college football career.
Facing the inevitable departure of longtime starting quarterback Manny Wilkins after the 2017-18 season, Herm Edwards and the Arizona State coaching staff did what they could to prepare by recruiting three quarterbacks from the 2019 class. They recruited four-star Joey Yellen, three-star Ethan Long and of course, four-star Jayden Daniels.
Alongside those three was Dillon Sterling-Cole, who backed up Wilkins for three seasons and registered a start as a freshman in 2016. Despite Sterling-Cole’s edge in experience, Edwards didn’t indicate anyone as a favorite initially, stating that the race was wide open.
Similarly to LSU in 2022, the quarterback competition lasted most of the offseason. After a few months, the race went from four to two, with Daniels and Sterling-Cole coming out as the front runners. Come mid-August, Daniels was announced as the starting quarterback.
Daniels recalled that quarterback competition in player interviews during fall camp, sporting a similar attitude to the quarterback room that he currently has with the Tigers. Even though they were competing, he did his best to form positive relationships with them.
“Those are the guys you’re going to be with on the sidelines and talking to throughout meetings,” Daniels remarked. “You’ve got to be able to trust them, and they have to be able to trust [you].”
Though Daniels has won every quarterback race, at least since his freshman year of high school, he’s never let those victories get to his head, striving to
SOUTHERN, from page 16
a Southern fumble giving LSU the ball in prime field position to start the game. An 18-yard run by Jayden Daniels on third down put LSU on the board first, and from there it was all LSU.
The Tigers went on to score a school record 37 points in the fourth quarter, propelling them to a 51-0 halftime lead. At halftime, though, is when the fireworks started again.
The Southern band took the field first, putting on a show that garnered more crowd noise than just about any play on the field.
After both bands did their individual performances, the two came together for a joint performance, lining up in the shape of a heart, followed by the Baton Rouge area code 225 before performing the cupid shuffle. It was a symbol of unity and togetherness for the two schools,
form good relationships with his quarterback rooms. He’s done a decent job so far, evident by the fact that the two quarterbacks he joined Arizona State with opted to stay until early 2022.
Though the decision to start Daniels would initially pay off for the Sun Devils, with the then-freshman flourishing in the PAC-12 and improving the team’s previous record by a win, the fireworks wouldn’t last. Fast forward two seasons, and the team showed little improvement, following a promising 5-1 start with an embarrassing, midseason collapse that had it finishing with the same record as 2019.
Among their disappointments was Daniels, whose second full season as a starter did not meet expectations. If you took seven of his touchdowns from his freshman season and converted them into interceptions, you would have his touchdown-to-interception ratio from 2021.
With two years of eligibility remaining and controversy placing Arizona State football in jeopardy, he had two options: ride the ship to its impending doom or swim in search of better waters.
He took that decision to the next level though, opting to test his abilities at the highest difficulty and with the most eyes on him in the SEC. After less than three weeks in the portal, he became a Tiger.
“The opportunity presented itself to compete at the highest level, against the best conference in college football in the SEC West,” Daniels said about the decision. “To be able to be around the top matches where I’m trying to go and where I’m trying to be.”
Not only did he join a team in the toughest division in college football, he also wasn’t guaranteed the starting job despite his track record. He would have to compete with long-time backup
celebrating the city the institutions share.
When the game resumed in the second half, it was more of the same. LSU went on to win 65-17. Even with the lopsided result, the mood remained festive though, the Southern section of the stadium exploded after an interception returned for a touchdown gave the Jaguars their first points, despite still being down 58-7 at the time.
Southern actually outscored LSU 17-14 in the second half, and though much of the crowd dwindled after halftime, the ones still in attendance continued to bring the energy. After the final whistle, the two bands continued to play for upwards of 20 minutes in a battle of the bands type of spectacle.
All of these things capped off what this event was and was expected to be. A blowout on the field, but a spectacle not seen in the history of Tiger Stadium.
THE REVEILLE ARCHIVES LSU football junior quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) 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.
Myles Brennan, up-and-coming redshirt freshman Garrett Nussmeier and five-star prospect Walker Howard, a near-identical
spread to the one he dealt with at Arizona State.
Brennan and Nussmeier had already proven they could hold
their own as the starter in a limited capacity at the SEC level,
see DANIELS, page 19
DANIELS, from page 18
and Howard impressed tremendously throughout the offseason. Though Howard quickly got marked off as a candidate, this was a three-man race through much of the offseason, and a tight one at that.
Daniels considered this a plus in regard to what he’s trying to accomplish, as he sees it as another factor to help better himself.
“I just want to help prepare them and help them prepare me because at the end of the day, whoever’s called to be the starter is going to be the starter,” Daniels said. “It’s a great quarterback room, one of the top in the country.”
In an attempt to better himself, he risked losing a quarterback battle and potentially dropping his NFL draft stock. That doesn’t seem to bother him though, as he firmly believes that whoever gets the starting job will provide the team with the best chance to win.
Even with Brennan departing halfway through fall camp, the race remained tight, with Brian Kelly and the LSU coaching staff not coming to a decision until about a week before kickoff. While Daniels has been consistently seen as the favorite lately, we won’t know until Sunday.
The competition also isn’t
technically over, with Kelly stating he wouldn’t be surprised if both players see the field this season.
Whatever is decided, it isn’t likely to damper either player’s motivation or their relationships with each other. According to both quarterbacks, the camaraderie in the quarterback room is strong, and neither has seen this as a competition.
“That’s my little bro,” Daniels said about Nussmeier. “I know I’m trying to help prepare him because you never know what could occur at the end of the day.”
“In the quarterback room, we’re going to need each other. It can’t be divided because we all have to be in the this together.”
He’s had the same attitude regarding the quarterback room since the start of his college career, seeing the quarterback role as a team effort rather than an individual one. Throughout the press conference, he preached the importance of leadership, citing it as one of the aspects he has worked on the most.
The decision to transfer to LSU was high-risk, high-reward, with Daniels potentially losing a sure starting job in pursuit of a better opportunity to prove himself a develop of his skillset. Whether or not he wins the role, he will still have a role with this team as a leader.
This article was originally published Sept. 21.
LSU President William Tate IV doesn’t seem to be a fan of our coverage. During a Board of Regents budget meeting on Tuesday, he said so publicly.
“Every student newspaper article in all the systems, if you pick them up, 95% of the information is negative,” Tate said. “The negative instinct is overwhelming in journalism. They cannot help themselves.”
Tate seemed to notice that his comments struck a nerve among some LSU faculty and Manship School of Mass Communication alumni and students, as he attempted later that day to clarify his position and say he values journalism on Twitter.
“I hold journalism in high regard. As a scientist speaking to a group about how institutions are described, I built on the empirical realities of the negative instinct,” Tate tweeted.
Which empirical reality was the “95%” figure based on? The editorial board searched for academic articles showing this to be true. We couldn’t find anything.
We’d expect a trained epidemiologist to be more careful about throwing out anecdotal numbers to prove a point, especially when a quick browse of The Reveille’s website shows how ridiculous the claim is.
Here are the headlines of some of the latest Reveille news stories:
• “LSU, SG to introduce reusable to-go box alternative in dining halls”
• “LSU assists in bringing humanity back to the moon through partnership with NASA”
• “‘If you can see it, you can be it’: Student organizations work to empower women in maledominated fields”
• “Muslim Student Association brings LSU Muslim students community, comfort on campus”
This isn’t the first time Tate has criticized The Reveille’s coverage.
He said in a September 2021 interview with The Reveille that every news article he reads is a critique of an institution. At a Faculty Senate meeting in August, he referenced The Reveille’s Page 1 story about the string of crimes during the first week of school, saying that the negative bias in journalism makes these events seem worse than they are.
It’d be interesting to know what coverage, specifically, Tate takes issue with. Or, maybe, what we’ve reported on that he’d rather you didn’t know.
Was it our recent front page story about LSU ending its contract with Sexual Trauma and Awareness Response? Our coverage last fall of protests sparked by revelations of yet another instance of LSU mishandling rape cases? Our in-depth series last semester about LSU infrastructure problems?
Amplifying students’ complaints about parking and other capacity issues at the university? Or that recent story about crime on campus?
Does Tate take an issue with how we cover these issues, or the fact that we cover them at all?
The president’s recent statements are in stark contrast to the praise he gave student media upon his arrival at LSU in August 2021.
“I have three principles that guide my leadership: Seek truth.
Be empathetic. Demonstrate a courageous act. If you have a student media that is seeking the truth, and they’re empathetic, and they’re courageous, you’re a better campus,” Tate said in an interview with Tiger TV. “And so for me, I view journalistic activity in general, but obviously students who want to be in that world both while they’re students and perhaps as a career, as vitally important to a robust campus.”
He said, too, that students have a unique opportunity to represent issues on campus.
“There’s a part of being a stu-
dent that allows you to say some things that some people can’t or won’t, and so I love it,” he said.
“I think it’s extremely important that students have a voice in that way.”
It seems that the president is less eager about student journalists seeking truth when it comes to his own administration.
We agree with what Tate said when he arrived at LSU: Our primary job as journalists is to seek truth. It takes empathy. It takes courage. And, often, it makes people in power upset – including, evidently, the president.
It’s not our job to do PR for
the university, and it never will be. The Reveille’s history of being censored by overly sensitive administrators lives fresh in the mind of Reveille reporters and Manship alumni. We hope that Tate’s comments were a lapse in judgment, and not revelatory of a more troubling attitude toward student media.
President Tate, we always welcome an opportunity to interview you and get your perspective. But if you’d prefer to bash us publicly, feel free. It won’t slow us down one bit.
Piper Hutchinson contributed reporting to this article.
This article was originally published Sept. 22.
Dear Reveille Staff:
Please accept this letter as a formal apology for mentioning this paper during a recent budget hearing. I offer no excuse. It was unnecessary to mention this paper or your colleagues across Louisiana.
In addition, I greatly appreciate the response by Piper
Hutchinson in this paper. As a leader, you never know if your aspirations and values have been heard. To see truth, courage, and empathy recited as shared values gave me great hope for our future as a community.
Thank you for your service and leadership. And you have my unwavering support to operate as an independent voice in pursuit of truth.
Sincerely, William F. Tate IV
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.
“You cannot create experience. You must undergo it.”
Albert Camus French philosopher 1913 —1960
This article was originally published Sept. 22.
Walking down the halls of nearly any building in LSU’s Quad is tantamount to visiting a museum.
Constructed in the 1920s and 30s, the buildings look and feel as if they’re a part of a bygone era, a time in which necessities like elevators and air conditioning were viewed as luxuries.
One doesn’t need to look any further than the third floor of Audubon Hall. The building’s safety and integrity have been declining for at least the last few months, according to a psychology graduate student who spoke on the condition of anonymity in fear of retaliation from employers.
She said that before this summer, Audubon had what seemed to be a good problem: its air conditioning was working.
But it was working too well. In fact, it was so cold on the third floor that graduate students and workers were forced to use blankets and space heaters to keep warm, the grad student said.
Without access to a thermostat, students went to facility services, who, perhaps misunderstanding the intent of the many work orders sent, failed to fix the problem. This issue went on for months.
Over the summer, however, third-floor offices and workspaces developed the opposite, and arguably worse, problem: the air
conditioner stopped functioning properly, caused by a leak in the HVAC system, turning once icy air into muggy summer heat.
Due to limited summer hours, it took a while for the problem to be noticed, during which time visible mold began to develop along the walls of the third floor.
It wasn’t until the semester started that faculty and students realized what was going on. On Aug. 26, psychology department chair Emily Elliot sent out a department-wide email announcing the closure of graduate student labs and workspaces on the third floor of Audubon. The grad student shared this email with The Reveille.
“As many of you know,” Elliot said, “we’ve been having struggles with the HVAC on the third floor. We also have a separate incident of water damage in rooms 305/306, which is ongoing, and is adding moisture to the floor in general. We are closing the third floor until we can restore the air conditioning and do a thorough inspection.”
There was enough fungus from the accumulated water to make the air hazardous. Elliot continued, “Some rooms are worse than others but our understanding is that mold is airborne and given the visual presence of it, we suspect there is more that we cannot see.”
Elliot went on to offer temporary workspaces to any student who needed it, but most have found it easier to work in the library – a difficulty, given the sensitive, confidential information they handle – or the Psychological Services Center, which lacks the expensive assessment
kits and research materials kept in the Audubon labs.
Thankfully, the health hazard has just been resolved, and students are now back working in their previous offices.
But that hasn’t stopped frustration from building among psychology teaching and graduate assistants, who see this episode as yet another example of LSU’s lack of support and care for graduate students across campus.
There are two main issues: First, an uncompetitive and unlivable assistantship stipend – around $15,000 annually on a nine-month contract, even though psychology students are expected to work for the school virtually year-round, including summers, by conducting research.
Second, dilapidated, embarrassing work conditions not only produce a potentially hazardous work environment, but also may prevent top graduate students from choosing LSU over other schools. Peeling paint, cracks in the walls, damaged stairwells – or worse – don’t offer an air of welcome to prospective students.
Take, for example, the elevator in Audubon, which has been out of service since July: Why would a disabled prospective graduate student choose a school that doesn’t prioritize keeping their buildings accessible? Furthermore, there are several buildings in the Quad, such as Himes Hall, that don’t have a single elevator.
If a prospective graduate student who’s disabled wanted to get a doctorate degree in history
at LSU, for example, they would have to have an office in another building, separate from all the other graduate assistants. This isn’t exactly a welcoming feature, especially when considering that grad school is challenging enough without immediately facing social and professional isolation.
It seems as if LSU is following the letter of the law in these health, safety and maintenance issues. According to Tammy Millican, LSU’s executive director of facility and property oversight, the university has solved the leaking and mold problems in Audubon, making sure to include the Environmental Health and Safety staff in their efforts; they are waiting on new parts for the broken elevator, and they plan to add elevators in the coming years to the buildings currently lacking them to be in accordance with an Americans with Disabilities Act transition plan.
However, this is the issue. LSU seems to be following the letter of the law only to avoid litigation, instead of fairly taking care of the most overworked and underpaid workers on campus — graduate students and assistants. They’re not being proactive, nor are they seeking to solve deeply seeded issues at their root. Instead, they’re only addressing symptoms, pulling weeds as they appear in the garden instead of putting out fertilizer.
Where does most of the blame for these issues lie? It’s difficult to say. The fault probably doesn’t lie with any single department or employee. It’s
not exclusively with facility services, which is bogged down in a bureaucracy that inhibits them from efficiently completing work orders. The same likely goes for different administrative or academic heads, who are similarly hampered by an enormous amount of legal and financial red tape. Nor is it exclusively the problem of LSU President William F. Tate IV or Provost Roy Haggerty, who haven’t been at the university long enough to undo the long-lasting damage done by past management.
It’s also important to remember that LSU’s deferred maintenance budget is controlled by the state legislature, which, on average, gives the school $2-3 million annually for campus upkeep, a measly sum compared to the almost $604 million worth of repairs needed in aging buildings across campus.
Regardless, though, graduate students desperately want to see swift action by LSU and the state legislature to address these urgent needs. They want to see their university and employer advocate for them – not just for the athletics programs or the academic departments that bring in money or television revenue –and they want to see their state officials step up and give the school the resources it needs.
Whether this will happen is a dubious prospect. Nonetheless, LSU and the state of Louisiana have a responsibility to take care of some of their most undervalued students and workers.
LAUREN MADDEN @lllomadd
This article was originally published Feb. 1.
We all want to win this game we call life, right?
We win the game by achieving success. To be successful, we must be the best. To be the best, we must accomplish things. When we accomplish these things, we must never experience failure, right?
Failure.
I used to be afraid of this seven-letter word. I would often use the word to define who I was.
It wasn’t until I acknowledged the beauty and opportunity within failure that my fear of it disappeared.
Failure is inevitable. It can be disappointing, discouraging and embarrassing. We want to be successful and flaunt idealized versions of our lives, while simultaneously hiding our unsuccessful moments from the world. We want our failures to remain invisible.
What we frequently overlook is that we learn more from our failures than we do from our wins.
Walt Disney is known for his success. He created “the Happiest Place on Earth” and timeless characters that captivated audiences of all ages. What we don’t associate with his legacy is that he dropped out of high school at 16 or that his theme park was turned down over 300 times by bankers and financers.
Instead of sulking in his failures, Disney persevered, and because of that his legacy continues to grow today.
Before fans of Beyoncé Knowles-Carter started calling her “Queen Bey,” a nickname given to her because she is the queen of entertainment, she failed several times.
Her rise to fame came from her girl group “Destiny’s Child,” which split up in 2006 due to legal turmoil and conflict between group members. Beyoncé continued to pursue a career in the music industry after the split and is currently the highest-earning Black musician in history.
Failure makes us uncomfort-
able, but we don’t grow in comfort.
Failure is simply redirection. It’s not your final destination. It presents you with two choices: give up or keep going. You decide which path to pursue.
Our failures allow us to see how much we have grown as peo -
GRAPHIC BY MADDIE FITZMORRISple. They provided us with more insight into life than any victory ever has.
For me, selecting a college was, at the time, the most stressful decision of my life. I wanted to select a school that would provide me with the best experiences during the best years of my life.
I realized two years into my college education that I had made the wrong decision and I transferred to LSU.
Not only did I choose the wrong college, but I also chose the wrong major, twice.
These failures propelled my life down a path that I never would have planned for myself. In making the wrong college decision, I discovered things I wouldn’t have discovered at LSU. The different majors I chose taught me valuable information that wouldn’t have been taught to me elsewhere.
Failing isn’t a threat. It’s an asset for success. Successful people understand how to fail. They give themselves the freedom to fail.
Have the courage to do something that may end in failure. It’s better than not attempting it at all.
Many successful people have failed before you, and several will continue to fail after you. I hope that I continue to fail, and that you do too, because that means we are one step closer to success.
Lauren Madden is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Mandeville
This article was originally published March 12.
Editor’s note: The following column is satire.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…” This section of the Declaration of Independence proves that the founding fathers couldn’t have predicted the existence of adults who still care about Disney.
Disney adults have a growing presence online. All over social media, there are reviews and commentary about children’s movies and television shows being posted by people who should have aged out of kids’ entertainment during the Obama administration.
Anyone who has infected the internet with this sort of content shouldn’t have the liberties afforded to regular citizens. Supporters of Disney adult rights would protest that without a crime being committed, enacting punishment is unjust.
That argument is frankly ir-
relevant to the conversation because there are plenty of legal actions that justify some sort of punishment. If someone noticed that their roommate was ordering beanie babies, cutting their heads off, smearing them in blood and then lighting them on fire inside of a pentagram while playing the music from the masquerade scene in “Eyes Wide Shut” in the kitchen every night it would be within their rights to do something. Most people would agree that the police should at least monitor the roommate from hell, if not detain him.
Some would say that such actions are a gross violation of human rights. However, that raises the question: when has that stopped the police before?
I’d rather see the police focus on getting the manifesto-writing roommate and Disney adults thrown in prison without a trial than putting people in jail for petty drug crimes. Some would call this move a fascist overreach of the government, but it can be thought of as a necessary use of force.
Disney adults shouldn’t be allowed to hold office, vote or even have First Amendment rights. They should have a separate Bill of Rights that features
a few prominent alterations. One of which is that instead of a right to a jury trial, they should have a right to a trial by fire or life in prison.
Disney adults also shouldn’t be allowed to have children if not for the fact that they will raise the worst child imaginable for the presumed existence of a pre-coital routine that involves the participants singing the “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” song and doing all of the dances from the title sequence.
Any adults who attempt to enter a Disney park without a child should be dropped into alligator-infested water through a trap door. The military and national guard should act as an occupying force looking for any perpetrators that evaded the trap door system.
If the number of Disney adults continues to grow the only recourse will be to lure them to a mostly vacant state like Montana with the promise that it’s the location of the Disney vault. Once they arrive the military should invade like it’s Iraq in 2003, shock and awe tactics and all.
In the future, there should be a discussion around doing similar things to the cousins of Disney adults, Marvel nerds. Marvel
nerds display some of the same troubling behavior as their more simple-minded counterparts, but they are less likely to be barred from elementary schools and their surrounding areas. This point will likely have to wait, as there are bigger, Mickey Mouse hat-wearing, fish to fry.
The insidious force of Disney adults is growing by the day. Ex-
treme measures are necessary and will only become more so soon. Concerned citizens should write to their representatives about this issue and perhaps even send them this article for legislative suggestions.
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