The Reveille 8-28-23

STATE AFLAME

Smoke, uncertainty settles over LSU as fires rage in Louisiana

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BY CLAIRE SULLIVAN & CROSS HARRIS @sulliclaire & @thecrossharris

It’s not often that Louisianans pray for rain in late August, when painful anniversaries of hurricanes pass and new systems threaten to renew destruction. But as hundreds of wildfires engulfed tens of thousands of acres of land in the state, swallowing homes and forcing evacuations, some turned their heads skyward for a source of hope.

“If you could pray for rain, that would be much appreciated,” said Mark Herford, sheriff of Beauregard Parish, where the Tiger Island Fire has burned 33,000 acres in a matter of days and is only 50% contained.

He said real relief is unlikely until rain comes. Statewide, wildfires have scorched 50,000 to 60,000 acres of land so far — or between roughly 78 and 94 square miles, according to Herford’s office.

State and local officials begged the public to heed the statewide burn ban — to not cook outside, not throw cigarette butts out of cars, not drive over dry grass nor do anything else that could spark a fresh flame.

Gov. John Bel Edwards said Saturday it’s “remarkable” no lives have been lost so far to the fires. The hundreds of wildfires come amid weeks of unusually hot temperatures and dangerously dry conditions, a combination that left behind parched land and brittle trees ripe for ignition.

“There’s nobody alive who remembers seeing conditions this dangerous with respect to the drought we have,” Edwards said at a press conference held at the

Vernon Parish Emergency Operations Center. “The temperatures have never been this hot for this long. We’ve not had this lack of rainfall.”

Flames forced mandatory evacuations in parts of Vernon Parish late Saturday afternoon.

“LEAVE NOW!! FIRE IS MOVING SOUTHBOUND AT HIGH RATE OF SPEED,” urged a social media post from the Louisiana State Police.

In Beauregard Parish, the flames forced the town of Merryville, with a population of roughly 1,000, to evacuate Friday and many others to flee. Some local schools planned to meet virtually for classes Monday. The fire destroyed more than 20 structures, most of which were residential, Herford said.

Casey Tingle, director of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, warned at a Wednesday press conference that the conditions were likely to remain or worsen in the coming days.

“There doesn’t appear to be any guaranteed relief in sight when you look at the forecast,” Tingle said.

Edwards declared a state of emergency earlier in August because of the extreme heat and drought. But the governor said the statewide burn ban hasn’t been followed — leading to avoidable destruction.

“Unfortunately, many of these fires could have been prevented if Louisianans were adhering to the statewide burn ban and practicing fire safety,” Gov. Edwards said in a press release. “We need everyone to do their part in order to prevent further fires with potentially tragic outcomes.”

Smoke from fires in the western part of the state settled over Baton Rouge and other parts of southeast Louisiana over the weekend. The city had some of the worst air quality of anywhere in the state, and a post from the National Weather Service in New Orleans advised those in the area with respiratory problems to avoid outdoor activities.

The wildfires, which officials have called unprecedented, also brought fear, shock and uncertainty to LSU’s campus.

“Something’s bad,” said environmental engineering freshman Jack Guice. “Something’s wrong—global warming, climate change.”

Scientists have predicted that the warming of the climate will make extreme weather events like wildfires, high temperatures and drought more common.

“Although wildfires occur naturally, scientists have indicated that climate change has the potential to increase the frequency, extent, and severity of fires through increased temperatures and drought conditions,” the Louisiana Department of Health website reads. “Additionally, wildfires themselves become a contributor to climate change.”

Guice stared into the heat, eyebrows tensed, thinking. Sweat beaded and rolled down his temples. In the space between his thoughts and the world, stark futures simmered.

“It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” he said. “So we need to make moves to prepare.”

Louisiana is accustomed to heavy rain and storms, but drought and wildfires are less familiar environmental crises.

“I thought Louisiana was real wet,” said Dylan Murrary, a history freshman from Pittsburgh. “I was expecting a whole lot of rain when I came down here, but ... it’s just been dry. Heat. It’s been like 100 plus every day. It’s like, damn. How am I supposed to live out here? For real?”

Though there weren’t fires raging in Baton Rouge, the danger remained.

“The threat is there for every part of the state,” Tingle said. “And so regardless of whether you live in a forest, or you live in the in the prairie, or you live here [in Baton Rouge] in a very urban area, any kind of spark can create a very dynamic and dangerous situation.”

The suddenness of the loss was hard for students to comprehend.

“It’s horrible,” said political science freshman Sophia Malone. “I can’t imagine that, losing everything—and how traumatic that is.”

Malone grew pensive, folding into herself.

“I’ve never been in that situation,” she stared, “or had to evacuate my home and leave everything and not know if it’s going to be there when I come back.”

Philosophy and history junior Madeline Schexnayder reflected on Louisiana’s transformation over the past few months.

“It’s definitely been different seeing the grass go so brown,” she pursed her lips, “It looks like, you know, it could burst out into flames.”

Schexnayder’s glasses reflected odd shapes from a muted video playing on her computer screen. Suddenly, she looked up.

“We’ve been praying for rain.”

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CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS

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ABOUT THE REVEILLE

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LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY / Associated Press

TEACHERS OF THE YEAR

Childcare and hunger-free: What you missed at the Board of Regents

BY OLIVER BUTCHER @OliverButcher73

The Louisiana Board of Regents gathered Wednesday for their first meeting of the school year to address a variety of business, notably to recognize Louisiana’s most outstanding educators, set an emphasis on childcare. To designate “hungerfree campuses.”

The session opened jointly with the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to receive and honor multiple educators across Louisiana for their efforts in education. The honorees are as follows:

State Teacher of the Year

Finalists:

• Janet G. McCrevan

• Kody J. Chase

• Jessica Parker

• Michelle Lee Shirley

• Richard Martin

2024 Teacher of the Year:

• Elementary School Teacher of the Year: Sandra SayeFoucquetueau

• Middle School Teacher of the Year: Cory Joy Craig

• High School Teacher of the Year: Dennis “DJ” Pevey

• Teacher of the Year: Kylie

CONGRESS

Students raise their hands to answer questions in class.

Altier

2024 Principal of the Year:

• Elementary School Principal of the Year: Dr. Monya Thomas-Criddle

• Middle School Principal of the Year: Barry Carter

• High School Principal of

the Year: Marvin M. Evans

• Principal of the Year: Tia Mechelle Trahan

Milken Educators:

• Elise Frederic

• Corrie Campbell

• Dereka Duncan

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

2024 New Teacher of the Year: Phoenix Morel Leblanc

2024 Teacher and Leader of the Year:

Phedra Jackson & Arielle Hughes

POLLUTION

Fire at Louisiana oil refinery

ASSOCIATED PRESS

GARYVILLE, La. (AP) — A massive fire at a south Louisiana oil refinery sent a tower of black smoke billowing into the air above the Mississippi River on Friday, forcing nearby residents to evacuate for several hours as emergency crews battled the blaze.

No injuries were reported and the fire was under control and contained to two damaged storage tanks by late afternoon, according Marathon Petroleum, which operates the facility in Garyville, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of New Orleans. Air quality monitoring was also taking place, officials said.

Photos from above showed orange flames leaping into the air beneath the dark cloud of smoke as emergency crews sprayed long arcs of water onto the inferno. The fire was burning in an section of the refinery surrounded by wide cylindrical storage tanks. The company said two tanks were damaged.

St. John the Baptist Parish President Jaclyn Hotard said she ordered the mandatory

see AWARDS, page 4 see AIR QUALITY, page 4

LSU Tiger Stadium to receive congressional protection

BY OLIVER BUTCHER @OliverButcher73

LSU’s Tiger Stadium will join a list of other historic stadiums that will receive protection courtesy of a new congressional caucus, Baton Rouge based U.S. Rep. Garret Graves announced Friday.

The “Historic Stadium Caucus” is a new bipartisan caucus headed by Republican Rep Garret Graves and Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin that will according to their press release. It will “...work on preserving the legacy and protecting the integrity of these treasured venues across America while enhancing their capabilities, so they are able to continue to host worldclass sporting events and concerts for generations to come”. according to a press release.

The caucus aims to accomplish these goals by focusing on three key areas: security and safety enhancements, technological upgrades and funding for infrastructure upgrades.

Graves, whose district spans much of Baton Rouge and includes LSU, emphasized the importance of his hometown stadium’s inclusion.

“When Tiger fans walk into Death Valley on Saturday nights, they do more than watch a football game – they walk into a 99-yearold local icon that supports our regional economy, “he said. “Every bowl of jambalaya scooped and Tiger Dog served injects jobs and resources into our community.”

LSU Athletics generates an estimated $500 million a year for the state of Louisiana, according to the department.

The announcement was also met with warmth from LSU.

“Historic stadiums, such as Tiger Stadium at LSU, play an important role in the environment that makes college athletics special,” said LSU Athletic Director Scott Woodward. “The game day traditions in iconic venues around the country are unique and are worthy of discussion. I appreciate the Historic Stadium Caucus co-chairs, Garret Graves and Mark Pocan, for recognizing the need for healthy dialogue around the protection of historic stadiums.”

The caucus will look to grow in the coming weeks, asking more representatives to join and add more

/ The Reveille

Iger Stadiium sits empty Wednesday, March 1, on LSU’s campus in Baton Rouge, LA. see HISTORIC STADIUM, page 4

AWARDS, from page 3

Presidential Award for Mathematics Teaching Finalists:

• Amy Douglas

• Lainey Hodge

• Lucie Mesuch

• Jaimie Mosley

Presidential Award for Science Teaching Finalists:

• Amy Douglas

• Angela Lacy Hoosier

• Dr. Katherine Schilling

Louisiana Public Interest Fellows:

• Justin Templet

• Stephanie Robertson

also a new initiative: “Cradle to Career.”

“Cradle to Career” will be a new push by the Board of Regents to prioritize early childcare in Louisiana’s school systems as a response to the fact that 1 in 5 college students are parents.

The issue of early childcare is especially crucial to Louisiana as childcare issues result in more than $1.1 billion in losses ech year to Louisiana’s economy aaccording to presenter Dr. Michelle DeMeulenaere.

A focal point of the initiative will be to support Louisiana universities’ early learning centers, such as LSU’s Laboratory School.

• Husky Stadium (University of Washington, Seattle, Washington);

Next, the Board approved the “Hunger Free Campus” designation for 35 public and private institutions across Louisiana, including the LSU system.

The designation recognizes campuses that have:

• Established a hunger task force

• Informed eligible students of SNAP benefits

• Held, or participated in at least one anti-hunger awareness event

• Explored and maintained the use of an on-campus pantry.

After the designations, the Board adjourned and will meet again on Sept. 20.

sity of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio);

AIR

QUALITY

, from page 3 stadiums to the protection list.

The full list as of the time of this writing is as follows:

• Beaver Stadium (Penn State University, State College, Pennsylvania);

• Camp Randall Stadium (University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin);

• Cotton Bowl (Dallas, Texas),

• Davis Wade Stadium (Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi);

• Franklin Field (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania);

• Jordan-Hare Stadium (Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama);

• Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California);

• Memorial Stadium (University of California, Berkeley, California);

• Memorial Stadium (University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois);

• Memorial Stadium (Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina);

• Nippert Stadium (Univer-

• Rose Bowl Stadium (Pasadena, California);

• SJSU Spartan Stadium (San Jose State University, San Jose, California);

• Tiger Stadium (Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana);

• Vaught–Hemingway Stadium at Hollingsworth Field (University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi);

• Wallace Wade Stadium (Duke University, Durham, North Carolina); and

• Yale Bowl (Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut).

evacuation within two miles of the refinery as a precaution “even though we have been assured that all impacts are contained to the facility.”

“We just want to make sure that our residents are safe,” Hotard said during a news conference. “It’s alarming to see what’s going on. I understand residents’ concerns. It’s a little scary. We recommend you take the evacuation seriously in case there are impacts.”

By 2 p.m., Hotard had lifted the evacuation order. The fire broke out shortly before

7 a.m. when, according to the company, a storage tank at the facility released naphtha — a partially refined product used as feed stock to make gasoline.

Earlier in the day, company spokesperson Justin Lawrence told reporters he couldn’t estimate when the fire might be fully extinguished.

An investigation will be conducted to determine what caused the leak and subsequent fire, officials said in a news release.

This story has been updated to correct that the refinery is northwest of New Orleans, not southeast.

MATTHEW PERSCHALL / The Reveille Tiger Stadium peaks through the trees on Aug. 27, 2022, on North Stadium Drive in Baton Rouge, La.

HISTORIC STADIUM, from page 3

ENTERTAINMENT THIS WEEK IN BR

BY MADELON DAVIS @madelondavis

Cornhole Tournament Parade Ground

Grab a friend and participate in the Cornhole Tournament being held by Campus Outreach. This event is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the LSU Parade Grounds right outside the Student Union. There will be other games and food.

100 VisionZ LSU Student Union

AT 6 p.m.

It’s Cool to be Back at School Free Speech Ally

Student Government will be giving out popsicles outside of the LSU Student Union at the Free Speech Alley. This event will be held at 12:45 p.m. and last until 1:15 p.m. Go beat the heat with a free popsicle.

If you’re feeling like your college vision can’t come to life, come and change that with Collegiate 100 at LSU. This event will include making vision boards to put your dreams on paper. This event will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Atchafalaya room.

Column: Overnight fame in the music industry has its downsides

BY ARIS WILLIAMS @jonetaw

We live in a time in which everyone is hyper visible in society, especially artists. Thanks to platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, overnight fame is becoming more common, drastically cutting down the time it takes for an artist to achieve stardom.

While this could easily be life-changing for an artist, many see this phenomenon as a double-edged sword. Artist development gets skipped over, and many artists lose momentum just as quickly as they gain it.

As those working in this industry begin to share their perspectives on this newly emerging culture, it’s clear that artist breakthroughs are quickly becoming a thing of the past.

“Every issue that we’re facing right now comes down to oversaturation,” Dylan Bourne, an artist manager, told Billboard. “People are just buried in content.”

Industry leaders say two contributing factors driving this

phenomenon are label decisions and the unpredictability of social media trends.

It’s easier and less costly to milk a viral moment and then move on to the next one rather than formally develop each artist before they debut. According to one A&R executive in an interview with Billboard, music labels “signed more and signed worse than ever before” in the last ten years.

This pump-and-dump model is great for quick profits but inherently causes a “hit” to be less valuable than it was, say, 20 years ago. Combine this with streaming being the most popular method of consuming music and the decline of mass media such as radio, and you’re left with a volatile industry in an uncertain place.

As for the artists, if they can’t capture an audience beyond a few viral songs, the likelihood of them securing longevity for their careers is low.

For the first time ever, an artist can have millions of streams but be unable to sell out a con-

cert.

“It’s common to hear grumbles about young acts who have hundreds of millions of plays [of a single] but can’t fill a small room for a performance,” said J. Erving, founder of the artist services and distribution company Human Resources, told Billboard. “People need to care about you beyond the song. Where is the connectivity? Are people really dialed in in a deeper way?”

All of this makes the business models of music labels appear questionable and reveals the prioritization of profits over authentic artistry.

Some are returning to the drawing board and focusing on garnering profits from smaller artists with more dedicated fanbases. This approach still circles back to the original issue of caring more about money than properly supporting new artists so they can reach a secure place in their careers.

This volatility is likely to continue being the norm for now. Though the future of the music

allow authentic artists to be discovered and given a real chance at success.

COURTESY

DAY OF SERVICE

The LSU Public Interest Law Society hosted a day of service on the USS KIDD. Volunteers wiped windows of the museum and scrubbed the ship’s floors on Saturday, Aug. 26.

LSU PILS second year law school volunteers Matthew Broussard, Rory Blackmore and Francis Doan pose for a photo within the USS KIDD. The USS KIDD bathes in sunlight.

LSU PILS first year law school volunteer Garrett Powell wipes a window.

LSU PILS second year law school volunteer Drake Brignac mans a gun.

LSU PILS second year law school volunteers Francis Doan and Matthew Broussard carry a ice chest.

LSU PILS law school volunteers pose for a group photo.

LSU PILS law school volunteers clean windows.

LSU PILS law school volunteers exit the USS KIDD.

Cleaning supplies sits on the statue of lieutenant general John Archer LeJeune.

A submarine banner hangs on a wall in the USS KIDD Veterans Museum.

LSU PILS law school volunteers explore the machinery on the USS KIDD.

LSU PILS first year law school volunteers Joseph Mengis, Chris McDowell, Jacob Palkowski and Chris Quina pose for a photo.

The USS KIDD sits in a shrinking Mississippi River.

Photos by Francis Dinh

Help Wanted

A small, charming preschool is hiring part-time afternoon teachers. We are looking for individuals who love working with children and have a caring and nurturing attitude. Applicants must be professional, enthusiastic, and dependable. The hours are Monday-Friday, 2:30-5:30. No nights or weekends! If you are interested, please call 225-761-4800 or email your resume to congress@countrydayschoolbr.com.

For Rent

TIGERS FALL TO UCLA

BY CHLOE RICHMOND @chlorichmond

The UCLA Bruins came into the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Saturdsy with hopes of avenging their first-ever loss against the LSU Tigers on Friday. They did just that.

First-year head coach Alfee Reft led his Bruin team to a 3-2 victory over head coach Tonya Johnson and the Tigers.

After a nail-biting five sets of volleyball, the Bruins topped LSU in the fifth set 15-6 to walk away with the win. Across the match, UCLA tallied 55 kills and 49 assists off a 0.291 hitting percentage. The Bruins also added 52 digs and six aces.

Even with LSU’s 56-kill performance and 64 digs, the Tigers halted themselves with a hitting percentage of 0.188 after committing 28 errors, which is double the amount of UCLA errors. Johnson said the team as a whole needs to work on blocking technique, as the Bruins led with 10 blocks over LSU’s seven.

“I think we just need to play,” Johnson said. “We need to let go of our mistakes and just go out and compete. We can’t change anything that has happened. We need to learn how to play in the present. [UCLA] put a little pressure on with their serve, and we didn’t respond to that.”

There were some high-

lights in the Tiger gameplay, though. With 12 aces, LSU attacking from the service line propelled it to success in sets one and three. Five LSU players had multiple aces; libero Erin Carmichael and right side hitter Jade Demps tied with three aces to lead the Tigers.

“We’ve got to keep the pressure on teams. I think it’s one of our better skillsets this year,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to be able to use that as a weapon for us, and I think at

times we did today, and then other times, we let them off the hook easy.”

Another bright spot for the Tigers was, once again, star freshman Jurnee Robinson. In her second collegiate appearance, Robinson dropped another 20-kill performance off 47 swings, the most by any player on the court.

“I thought Jurnee played as well as Jurnee could play today,” Johnson said. “[She] hit .277 with 23 kills.”

LSU announces

No. 7, No. 18

BY PETER RAUTERKUS @peter_rauterkus

LSU football announced who will wear its prestigious No. 7 and No. 18 jerseys this season on Saturday, but this time was different than in the past.

Offensive tackle Will Campbell was awarded No. 7 for the 2023 season but will wear it as a patch on his jersey due to NCAA rules.

“This year we wanted to highlight the group that doesn’t get much notoriety. We went with Louisiana bred Will Campbell. I like the significance of the left tackle because he is a playmaker who must protect the quarterback every play,” head coach Brian Kelly said in a statement.

“I think she’s really awesome,” Demps said. “I’ve gotten to know her in just a little bit of time, but she’s a great teammate. She’s a great player. I really enjoy playing with her.”

Even with Robinson’s best efforts, the rest of the offensive production was lacking. The player with the second-most swings on LSU’s side of the net drops off to 34; 13 less than the number of swings Robin-

see TIGER LOSS, page 10

The No. 7 jersey has historically gone to a playmaker since the tradition started with Patrick Peterson in 2008, and Campbell is the first lineman to wear the number since then. Since Kelly’s arrival, the jersey now honors players from Louisiana.

“We want to build upon the tradition of No. 7 and award it to the best player from the state of Louisiana,” Kelly said in the statement, “that’s why Will deserves it, and I know he will wear it with pride.”

A Monroe native, Campbell is the second player to wear No. 7 unsee JERSEYS, page 10

LSU Volleyball secures first program win against UCLA in five

BY CHLOE RICHMOND @chlorichmond

UCLA’s first-year head coach Alfee Reft brought his Bruin squad to town for LSU volleyball’s annual Tiger Classic. In the teams’ first meeting in Baton Rouge since 1983, LSU volleyball’s head coach Tonya Johnson and the Tigers stunned UCLA with a 3-2 win, making it the first win in program history against the Bruins.

LSU finished the match hitting at a 0.314 clip, totaling 66 kills off 63 assists through five sets. The Tigers defended UCLA well, adding 45 digs and 12 blocks to their stat sheet, and attacked from the service line with eight aces.

As an LSU volleyball alumna, Johnson knew how much this win would mean for the future of LSU volleyball.

“It means an awful lot,” Johnson said. “UCLA is a storied program, obviously, having won many national cham-

pionships. I think we lost to them in the semifinals in 1990, so it was just incredible. Our kids came out on fire in the first two sets, [then we] kind of

took our foot off the gas a little bit [in sets three and four]. We really got our focus back in set five to win it in five, so I’m super proud of them.”

Setter Maddie Waak struggled with the connection with her hitters at first but gradually improved as the game progressed. She evenly spread out

the offense by finding her hitters and ran combination plays that threw off UCLA’s blockers. For her first time running a 5-1, she proved worthy of the task at hand.

“I thought Maddie Waak did an unbelievable job,” Johnson said. “I thought she served tough, I thought she played some defense when we needed it, and I thought she kept it simple for most of the match and that’s what we’re going to need from her night in and night out. [We need her] to be steady and run a bit of offense.”

Right-side hitter Jade Demps, transfer from Wisconsin, also struggled, committing errors back to back early in the match. She eventually found her groove and terminated for kills, finishing the match with 14. Aside from her offensive production, Demps contributed a great amount to the

VOLLEYBALL

ERIN BARKER / The Reveille

The LSU volleyball team huddles together on Aug. 25, during LSU’s 3-2 win against UCLA in the Pete Maravich Assembly.

ERIN BARKER / The Reveille

LSU volleyball senior Jade Demps (23) prepares to serve the ball on Aug. 25, during LSU’s 3-2 win against UCLA in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

TIGER LOSS, from page 9

son took. What the Tigers are looking for is more termination from the second outside hitter, Sanaa Dotson. After struggling through sets one and two, Dotson was pulled out of the game until the third set.

“I thought Sanaa started out really slow,” Johnson said. “I think she got very passive aggressive, and I need her to stay aggressive in order for us to do what we want to do. I pulled her out just so she could take a breather and think about things for a little bit, then I put her back in and I thought she was locked in.”

Moving forward, Demps said she’s ready for the team to move past this loss and focus on the competition ahead of them.

“I’m looking forward to us getting to the point where we are just competing day in and day out,” Demps said. “When we get to that point, and when we are at the point where we’re just wanting to bury opponents, it’s going to be awesome.”

The Tigers are on the road

TIGER WIN, from page 9

defense, tallying 10 digs and three blocks.

True freshman Jurnee Robinson came in as one of the most decorated players in the 2023 recruiting class and it showed in her first game as a Tiger. Robinson got off to a hot start in the first set and never looked back, showing how diverse her shot selection was. She also got the nod to play six rotations, putting her back row skills on display.

“I was just like, ‘Give it everything you’ve got, this is your first game, you can’t hold back now,’” Robinson said.

As the game progressed, Robinson started to take over the game and shut it down for the Tigers, showing why she was out on the court. She showed her ability to swing for kills when out of system, which is an important skill to have as an outside hitter. Through five sets, Robinson registered 23 kills, three blocks and six digs. Averaging 4.6 kills per set is All-America numbers, and Johnson couldn’t be more proud.

“What an incredible performance tonight by Jurnee,” Johnson said. “I could not be more proud of her for coming out and just playing volleyball and not letting the little things get to her. [She didn’t let] the notion that this was her first collegiate match be too big for her. I just thought she handled it really well and handled the pressure well. She did a heck of a job tonight, I couldn’t be more proud of her as her coach.”

Erin Carmichael won the starting libero job and proved why. The Jacksonville State transfer drilled the Bruins with

for their next match as they travel to Omaha, Nebraska, for the Bluejay Invitational. LSU will face Northern Iowa, Creighton and Ball State on

her serve and was strong on defense, especially when she had to cover her hitters. Servereception broke down in the middle of the match, but Carmichael slowly gathered herself and got her and the Tigers back in the game.

Despite a slip in sets three and four, the Tigers kept battling until the very end. Communication breakdowns and passing issues stunted LSU, but Johnson was able to settle her team down and led them to a successful fifth-set win.

“I think we lost our focus,” Johnson said. “First off, I thought we lost our attack mentality, and I just thought we made too many errors. We were working for them and for

Friday, Sept. 1; Saturday, Sept. 2; and Sunday, Sept. 3, respectively.

“I think this weekend shows the type of team that we’re

ourselves, too, so we were doing double the work and not getting anything out of it.”

“When we got in the huddle before set five, I said, ‘Ok, Cardiac Tigers,’ because that’s what we were known as last year, ‘Here we are again, but I think we can do some things to help make our play on our side of the net better.’”

Anita Anwusi brought her Collegiate National Team training to the gym tonight and it showed. Waak easily fed Anwusi every chance she got, giving way for Anwusi to finish the night off with 13 kills. She also added six blocks to LSU’s total of 12.

Captain Alia Williams was quiet during the game, only

capable of being, but from a mentality standpoint, we have to get tougher. Especially when the match gets on the line like it did today,” Johnson said.

registering two kills and three blocks. Despite that, her leadership on the court was needed to push the Tigers through for the win. She showed up when it mattered most. Williams’ block made it 11-7 in the fifth set, and from then on, it was all LSU.

In a match full of highs and lows, LSU volleyball gave the PMAC crowd an electric performance that perfectly showed what to expect this season.

“I’m proud of this team,” Johnson said. “I loved their fight tonight. They could have laid down when UCLA came back and won sets three and four, but they didn’t. They refocused, we started over and we won the match.”

Monday, August 28, 2023

JERSEYS, from page 9 der Kelly after Kayshon Boutte, a New Iberia native, wore it last season.

Campbell, a sophomore, started 13 of LSU’s 14 games last season, missing one game due to a medical event. He impressed as a freshman, and earned Preseason First Team All-Southeastern Conference honors for the upcoming season.

Defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo was awarded the prestigious No. 18 jersey, becoming the 18th player to earn the number since the tradition started in 2003.

“The number 18 has great historical significance with our program,” Brian Kelly said in a statement. “It’s a number that has national championship significance with Matt Mauck wearing it in 2003 and leading LSU to its first national title since 1958. He passed it on to Jacob Hester who won a national championship in 2007.”

“It’s worn by a player who represents the traits and spirit associated with a successful program and that’s Mekhi,” Kelly said.

The No. 18 jersey has historically represented leadership, both on and off the field. Wingo represented LSU at SEC Media Day and is a member of the SEC Football Leadership Council.

On the field, Wingo earned Third Team All-American honors last season along with preseason First Team All-SEC honors in 2023. He was LSU’s most productive player on the interior defensive line last season, filling the hole left in Maason Smith’s absence. Wingo finished the season with 47 tackles, three sacks, six tackles for loss and a forced fumble.

Wingo enters his junior season in 2023, his second at LSU. He started his college career at Missouri before transferring to LSU after his freshman season. He earned SEC All-Freshman honors in 2021, making 27 tackles with two tackles for loss, one sack, one interception and one touchdown.

CHYNNA MCCLINTON/ The Reveille LSU football freshman offensive lineman Will Campbell (66) looks towards the Ole Miss defensive line Oct. 22, during LSU’s 45-20 win against Ole Miss at Tiger Stadium.

ERIN BARKER / The Reveille

LSU volleyball freshman outside hitter Jurnee Robinson (5) hits the ball on Aug. 25, during LSU’s 3-2 win against UCLA in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

ERIN BARKER / The Reveille

LSU volleyball graduate student middle blocker Anita Anwusi (11) hits the ball on Aug. 25, during LSU’s 3-2 win against UCLA in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

OPINION

Some ‘boy moms’ coddle sons, yet disregard daughters

JEMIAH’S JUSTIFICATIONS

JEMIAH CLEMONS

@Miclemah

Before his death, NBA superstar Kobe Bryant coined the term “girl dad” as an identifier for fathers with daughters. He used the term not only to honor his four daughters but also to support the WNBA. Following the moniker’s rise in popularity, mothers with sons decided to put their own twist on it. Thus, the “boy mom” was created.

What started out as a silly social media trend quickly took a turn for the worst. Viewers began noticing that some women have a clear bias for their sons. For example, some boy moms would express how much they adore their sons and how boys are “easier to raise.”

This trend is a clear symbol of misogyny — one that’s detri-

mental to people of all genders. Unpacking this trend is difficult, because it’s not actually a trend. It’s a toxic mindset that could harm generations to come if it’s not corrected.

Of course these women still love their other children, but the preferential treatment toward their sons creates a rift between mother and daughter. As a young girl, your mom is supposed to be your first friend: You do your nails, go shopping and talk about boys together. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case for girls with “boy moms.”

Most girls are taught to cook, clean, be home before dark and remain lady-like. Meanwhile, their brothers are allowed to roam free and do as they please. This is problematic, because it teaches boys that men and women are not equal while reinforcing patriarchal standards.

When boy moms push this toxic mindset, it matures their

daughters prematurely. Yes, knowing how to cook, clean and take care of a home is important, but those life skills shouldn’t be gender specific.

Even though the boys are being treated better, they become emotionally handicapped and unequipped to take care of themselves as adults. Raising boys to believe that women are beneath them while giving praise to their every move involves a form of emotional incest and creates a vicious cycle of misogyny.

This dynamic also creates a hostile environment for non-binary people. Since a boy mom’s actions are heavily based on the nuclear family structure, non-binary people are stuck in a limbo of patriarchy and gender roles. So when it comes to fulfilling those roles, there’s a heavy pushback from nonbinary people that challenges those traditional beliefs.

Boy moms aren’t solely to

blame for this; after all, they’re just products of the system. It’s fun to make fun of these women because their behavior is ridiculous, but these concepts aren’t new. They’re old, and they’re harmful. Boy moms and other

social media trends like it are simply mirroring the problematic systems within society.

Artificial intelligence deserves to die, will harm humanity

PELLITTIERI’S POLITICS MATTHEW PELLITTIERI @m_pellittieri

Over the past year, artificial intelligence has become just another part of daily life.

Its applications potential and actual are seemingly endless: legal briefs and lesson plans, student essays and personalized tutors, screenplays and standup sets, animation and game design, newspaper articles and book reviews, music and poetry.

Each of these examples relies on generative AI, which produces “new” content based on the patterns it “recognizes” within its massive training samples.

The practical implications of this technology are and have been terrifying. Countless talented artists, educators, journalists, lawyers and more are at risk of losing at least some portion of their jobs to the cheap “labor” of tools like Chat-GPT and DALL-E.

This is bad enough, but the real threat of AI is more philosophical.

The “products” of artificial intelligence are just that. They are merely mechanical and trite trash garbled out from code,

EDITORIAL BOARD

Claire Sullivan Editor in Chief

Managing Editor Lauren Madden

Cross Harris News Editor

mathematical models and statistics. The areas of society that generative AI threatens are all subjective, but AI bastardizes human creativity, complexity, curiosity and consciousness

Deputy News Editor Oliver Butcher

Colin Falcon Opinion Editor

with its objective approximations.

Its use in education especially makes a mockery out of institutions of learning.

In reality, AI can’t generate

a better world through machine “learning.” It only degenerates society through machine cheating.

This is why actual human beings with actual intelligence need to resurrect a label from two hundred years ago: the Luddite.

Historically, the term refers to groups of Industrial Revolutionera, English workers and craftsmen who rioted and destroyed the machinery that they viewed as threats to their wellbeing and way of life. It has since come to be a term thrown around to describe (and often to criticize and even mock) those opposed or at least resistant to technological change.

Those original Luddites resisted mechanization for personal, economic and social reasons, but new Luddites have a motive that is more universal. Theirs is a mission for humanity — for everything that humanity is, has been and hopefully can become in a future without generative AI.

So, is it too late to stop AI’s momentum and reverse its invasion of human society?

Almost certainly.

If that’s the case, then what’s the point of resisting this inevitability?

Simply put, it deserves to die. It is a moral and philosophical abomination, and its distortion of civilization should be treated with the same quiet disdain and forceful resistance that the powerless masses would reserve for a seemingly invincible oligarchy.

In the same way that the lowly many can counter the noble few when they recognize their true political and social power, real intelligence can protect itself against fake intelligence by recognizing its creative, curious, and complex consciousness.

The most effective way to do this would be to reject generative AI as a valid form of media. AI’s words are not poems. AI’s images are not paintings. AI’s videos are not films. Never forget that, even if universities and corporations do.

This artificial intelligence Luddite will never stop hating generative AI, and you shouldn’t either. Maybe then we won’t have to worry.

Then again, if everyone cared as much as they should about their humanity, we wouldn’t even be in this predicament in the first place.

Editorial Policies and Procedures Quote of the Week

The Reveille (USPS 145-800) is written, edited and produced solely by students of Louisiana State University. The Reveille is an independent entity of the Office of Student Media within the Manship School of Mass 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.

East

American writer 1902 — 1968

“A man without words is a man without thought.”

John Steinbeck,

of Eden

Jemiah Clemons is a 19-year-old Kinesiology sophomore from Miami, Florida.

GRAPHIC BY MADDIE FITZMORRIS

Matthew Pellittieri is a 19-yearold history and political science sophomore from Ponchatoula.

GRAPHIC BY JACOB CHASTANT