IRANIAN PROTEST
Students, Iranians protest nation’s human rights violations
BY MADDIE SCOTT @madscottyyStudents and members of the Iranian community gathered in Free Speech Alley on Friday with signs, flyers and anger to protest ongoing human rights violations in Iran.
LSU’s protest is one of many occurring internationally as a re sult of a pattern of human rights violations by the Iranian govern ment, particularly the death of Mahsa Amini on Sept. 16.
According to the Washington Post, nationwide protests in Iran were sparked by the death of Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Ira nian woman who was detained by Iranian police for a supposed dress code violation.
She has since become a sym bol “for nationwide anger over poverty, repression, clerical con trol and government impunity,” the article said.
Over 7,000 miles away in Ba ton Rouge, about 60 protesters stood in Free Speech Alley and handed out flyers, talked to stu dents walking by, chanted and held up signs reading “dictator ship, no thanks” and “stand with the women of Iran.”
Elnaz Parsaeian, 30, is an Iranian-born pharmacist who moved to the U.S. with her father when she was a 1 year old and returned to Iran at 11 to learn her native culture and language. At 17, she returned to the U.S. and has stayed since.
“I want to please ask the Americans all over the United States to please, please, please, stand by the Iranian women,” Parsaeian said. “We’re not asking for money. We’re not asking for donations. We are simply asking to please be Iran’s voice.”
According to Parsaeian, many of the people at the protest are in the U.S. through a visa, mean ing they must eventually return to Iran if they can’t find a job or need to visit family. Many protes tors wore sunglasses, hats and masks to hide their faces out of fear that the Iranian government would identify them.
“You don’t even know what’s going to happen to these peo ple,” Parsaeian said. “Once they enter Iran, they can get arrested. Anything can happen. So I guess more for their own safety and the family’s safety, they don’t want anyone to see their face, to be sent to Iran, [or for] anything to happen to their family.”
As a result of the Iranian gov ernment limiting internet access across the country, including bans on Instagram and What sApp, Parsaeian has not been able to contact her family in Iran for three days, adding that she is scared, worried and devastated.
Most of the Iranian protestors at the event can’t contact their family members and loved ones either, she said.
“I’m angry. I’m sad. I’m up set,” Parsaeian said. “I wish I was there where I could fight with my people. But unfortunately, I’m here, and I want to do something. But I am very, very angry. This is not right. This is not even about religion. This is about women who want freedom. They want to have a choice.”
With the current regime, women do not have any freedom, Parsaeian said.
Anthropology sophomore Jamshed Khomidov is not Irani an, rather Tajikistani, but attend ed the protest in support of his Iranian friends. Tajikistan shares deep cultural and ethnic ties to Iran, adding to Khomidov’s frus tration seeing his Iranian friends and women undergo these issues.
“It’s just really hard to see the Persian world going through so much right now,” Khomidov said. “And it just makes my heart sad.”
Khomidov said that he finds the issue is rooted in the Iranian government, not the Islamic faith.
According to Khomidov, the Iranian government forces ide ologies on the people. This, he said, is where the problem lies. The Iranian government should separate church and state and not force women to wear the hijab, he said.
The hijab, a religious head covering many Muslim women wear, can be beautiful if it’s a freedom of choice, he said.
“Islam is not the problem. The government is,” Khomidov said.
“Islam is a beautiful religion, and I think when people hear things about anything involving Islam in the media, they’re like, ‘oh, well, Islam is the problem.’ Islam is not the problem.”
Another protestor, Amir Vatan, said his entire extended family is in Iran and he’s had trouble con tacting them through their family group chat on WhatsApp.
Vatan said that when he last talked to his sister, she said that she could barely connect to the internet.
Not only are there human rights issues at play but there are economic issues occurring in Iran that are leaving many people hungry, Vatan said.
“This regime has been so in sufficient,” Vatan said. “They can’t bring bread to the table of the people. There are locations in the country of Iran that people lack their fundamental, minimum amount of food they need during the day. They don’t have drinking water.”
Amini’s death isn’t the only event that has triggered protest, he said, but the culmination of pressure from the Iranian gov ernment over the past 40 years. Since the current regime took power following the Iranian Revolution of 1978, the people of Iran have lost their freedom of speech, Vatan said.
The revolution occurred when the Pahlavi dynasty, which ran the country since 1925, was over thrown and replaced by an Is
lamic Republic practicing socially conservative sharia law.
“I hate this regime because where we grew up, we saw this oppression for years, and it’s happening and happening until someone stops that,” said Mo hammad, an LSU graduate stu dent who requested the rest of his information not be included. “So we all ask for help from the whole world to hope for freedom, women[‘s] freedom and to help us to have a normal life, just a nor mal life. Nothing more.”
Mohammad hasn’t heard from his family in Iran in 10 days be cause the Iranian government is keeping information from spreading, he said. Despite this, Mohammad believes the new generation is brave because they are dying in the streets right now.
“[Mahsa Amini] was inno cent,” Vatan said. “She died for nothing, and I believe this was a trigger for this great movement that we see is spreading all over the world.”
Vatan is scared that he will get detained when he returns to Iran.
But he won’t remain silent, he said.
“I’m really grateful for the people and students at LSU,” Vatan said. “Students [have] al ways been a great voice, either in Iran or outside of Iran. They motivate people. They are edu cated, and they know this situa tion. They analyze the situation well, and I’m so grateful to be in this community.”
The Reveille holds accuracy and objectivity at the highest priority and wants to reassure its readers the reporting and content of the paper meets these standards. This space is reserved to recognize and correct any mistakes that may have been printed in The Daily Reveille. If you would like something corrected or clarified, please contact the editor at (225) 578-4811 or email editor@lsu.edu.
ABOUT THE REVEILLE
The Reveille 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. A single issue of The Reveille is free from multiple sites on campus and about 25 sites off campus. To obtain additional copies, please visit the Office of Student Media in B-39 Hodges Hall or email studentmedia@ lsu.edu. The Reveille is published biweekly during the fall, spring and summer semesters, except during holidays and final exams. The Reveille is funded through LSU students’ payments of the Student Media fee.
THE REVEILLE ARCHIVES Advocates in Free Speech Alley wear masks, sunglasses and cover their faces with signs to protect their identity to avoid being recognized by the Iranian government, said a protester on Sept. 23.Professors patent innovative solutions to modern problems LSU PATENTS
BY GABBY JIMENEZ @GVJIMENEZZLSU ranked 93 out of 100 uni versities granted U.S. utility pat ents in a report by the National Academy of Inventors and the Intellectual Property Owners As sociation.
LSU professors have inven tions patented in various fields across the university. Addition ally, the university and student researchers allow professors to research their ideas and test them before approval by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Biology professor Jim Mo roney’s research focuses on pho tosynthesis and he currently has two patents that could increase crop yield in certain crops.
While doing research, Ma roney noticed that some types of algae were better at acquiring the carbon dioxide needed for photo synthesis than other plants, and he researched why the algae was able to obtain more.
Experiments conducted in Il linois showed that certain crops responded positively to carbon dioxide blowing across the top, which improved photosynthesis and crop yield. Maroney’s re search discovered certain trans porters and proteins were needed for the process.
ACADEMICS“Most of the crop plants are what we call C3 photosynthe sis and their photosynthesis is relatively inefficient…wheat, soy bean, rice, are all C3 plants,” Ma
roney said. “In theory, this inven tion could help photosensors in any of those major crops. And if it were, you’d be talking five to 10 to 15% increases, which will be
very substantial.”
Department of Chemistry Chair John Pojman currently holds two patents. He works in collaboration with the Depart ment of Agriculture to find solu tions to agriculture problems.
One patent Pojman holds is for an adhesive that can be pro grammed to stick on demand. The idea initially started when a company came to him for a better way to stick insulation on walls.
His lab found that simple items like watermelon seeds are a good catalyst for polymer reac tions in various fields.
“This could be useful in ma rine applications because the fact that we can do it, it can cure un derwater,” Pojman said. “The ma terials are also not particularly toxic, so they’re safer than other materials. And the fact that we can program it…some other ad hesives, once you touch things to gether they’re locked. This gives you time to work.”
Petroleum engineering profes sor Dandina Rao has two patents for a technology called gas assist ed gravity drainage (GAGD), that aims to reduce industrial carbon dioxide emissions.
Many oil companies burn their extracted natural gas in a process
STUDENT GOVERNMENTNew SG election codes
BY CORBIN ROSS @CorbinRoss5Student Government amend ed their election code to include a cap on campaign spending, a shortened election timeline and defining roles for members of the election commission at their Wednesday, Sept. 14 meeting.
The new code will also insti tute changes to the number of penalties a candidate can have before being disqualified.
Political science senior and Student-body President Lizzie Shaw said SG worked over the summer to draft up an amended election code, adding that her experience as a candidate moti vated her push to alter the elec tion code.
“Everybody at the end of every year says ‘this sucks, we should change it,’ and then no one ever does and obviously from past presidencies there’s been this kind of ‘I suffered through it so you should suffer through it’ rite of passage thinking,” Shaw said.
She said the system was built unfairly and disadvantaged low er-income students.
In the previous code, can didates could announce their campaign at any time prior to
Professors and students discuss legality of room scans
BY CLAIRE THERIOT @ClaireTheriot2NPR reported in August that a Cleveland State University student won a lawsuit after suing his col lege for asking him to take a video of his surroundings before an on line proctored exam.
He said he felt his Fourth Amendment rights protecting U.S. citizens against “unreasonable searches and seizures” were vio lated, according to the article.
As conversation sparked around the country, LSU profes sors and students weighed in on their thoughts about online proc toring.
David O’Brien, director of Test ing and Evaluation Services at LSU, said this court ruling could possibly put students at more of a disadvantage than professors as physically monitoring tests can be more expensive and time-con suming than remotely monitoring a test.
If the ruling in Cleveland began to make a bigger impact through out the nation, making universities no longer allowed to offer online, proctored tests, the availability
and cost of online learning could be affected.
O’Brien said there is always a balance between providing a se cure testing environment and an invasion of privacy for students. He said room scans are enforced to help ensure room security for the student testing in the room.
“There would need to be an alternative in cases where the stu dent is unwilling to have the room scanned,” O’Brien said.
Another way to proctor tests, O’Brien said, is the LSU Testing Center, a secure testing location where students could be tested online and monitored in person.
He suggested that universities like LSU should provide testing rooms in libraries or quiet areas.
A student could take their online proctored test in this room and deal with no privacy issues.
He also said the ruling could affect the potential for students to cheat on exams, as they might still take the tests online, and they would no longer be proctored.
O’Brien said cheating on ex ams could create an unfair aca demic environment, lowering the value of grades received and de
grees earned. He said it gives no more value to cheat your way to a degree than to simply print out a degree on a piece of paper.
“Students who cheat are in fact cheating themselves and their fel low students of the quality of the degree they earn,” O’Brien said.
Charles Cloutier, operations coordinator of the Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures at LSU, said he agrees with the judge’s ruling that indi viduals have a right to privacy in their own homes. He said that the proctoring company had gone too far in storing data in that student’s room.
“I find it very unreasonable for students to have to show their en tire room for a single test,” Clout ier said.
Cloutier suggested that the best solution for proctoring online ex ams is being proctored by another person over Zoom. The student would share their screen with the proctor, and the proctor could as sess whether the student was us ing unapproved materials during the exam as well as look for signs of cheating and dishonesty.
He also said that in the future,
students and professors could think about completing exams via virtual reality. The student would be unable to use their notes with a headset covering their eyes.
“I believe with VR, higher edu cation would be able to control the test-taking environment to a high er degree,” Cloutier said.
In terms of cheating, Cloutier said that although the inability to control the testing environment could lead to individuals cheating on exams, students will always find a way to cheat.
“We really should not be po licing students, but rather trying to instill a sense of integrity in them,” Cloutier said.
Stacia Haynie, a political sci ence professor at LSU, said she believes colleges will adapt just like they did during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said universities could require students to still uti lize software at local libraries if they were uncomfortable in their own homes.
She also said universities could require students to agree to online monitoring when they schedule the course.
“If you are aware of the re
quirement, you are waiving the ex pectation of privacy,” Haynie said.
In terms of cheating, Haynie said professors learn strategies to limit it, and students learn strate gies to increase it.
Biochemistry freshman An tonio Zavala said that while he agrees with the court ruling, he understands this was during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when testing in person was not always feasible. The student had no say in whether he tested at home or in a monitored area.
Zavala said that the court rul ing over this matter puts students and the education system in a sticky situation as students might start having less of an option to test outside of campus.
“It can be assumed that a larger amount of students will cheat until a superior method of proctoring is discovered,” Zavala said.
Zavala said that he hopes soft ware with advanced face recogni tion systems could be the key to preventing students from cheating while also abiding by the Fourth Amendment. He said that regard less, he believes the education sys tem will find ways to adapt.
GABBY JIMENEZ/ The Reveille Department of Chemistry Chair John Pojman, left, and graduate student Fahima Shoan, right, work on a new type of adhesive in a lab in Choppin Hall on Sept. 26. PATENTSknown as flaring. However, Rao said this process releases green house gasses that contribute to climate change.
Rao is working on technol ogy to reduce the carbon diox ide emissions and enhance the production of oil by eliminating flares at oil sites.
The first patent proposes us ing existing vertical wells as gas injectors and drilling horizontal production wells near the bottom of the oil zone in the ground to produce the oil being pushed out by the expanding gas zone.
The second patent deals with accomplishing the same objective by using only horizontal wells for
SG ELECTIONS, from page 3
the beginning of the campaign season. According to Shaw, can didates can now only announce their campaigns at the beginning of the season to prevent people from getting a head start.
The cap on spending was de bated heavily at the meeting.
Some called for the limit to be at $5,000, while others called for as low as $3,000. After much de bate, the Senate agreed to a com promise: a cap on spending at $4,000, with 25% being allowed to be spent on food for both cam paign members and events.
both injecting the gas as well as to produce the oil. This saves sig nificant drilling costs while pro ducing similar oil recoveries.
Rao said this process is more environmentally friendly and al lows the gas to move the way it naturally wants to do.
“Let’s not fight with nature, let’s work with nature. Nature wants the gas to be at the top… thus working with nature helps us to solve the environmental is sue of CO2 emissions as well as provide the oil industry an incen tive of increased productivity,” Rao said.
The process can yield high oil recoveries even by injecting the flue gas generated at the site by burning the natural gas that is
According to psychology ju nior and Election Commissioner Chris Charles, the amount a cam paign was allowed to spend used to be $2,000 for the president and vice president and $50 per Senate and college council seat each campaign had on its ticket. The more people on a ticket, the more a campaign was allowed to spend.
“We just want to make sure that we’re not wasting people’s time, money or energy and that we actually try to make it bet ter,” Charles said. “That’s why the timeline was cut shorter than it was before. That’s why the mon
currently being flared and wast ed.
Currently, Rao said oil compa nies recover only five to 10% of their oil with a water-alternatinggas process by injecting carbon dioxide. Rao has seen the process work to recover 65 to 95% of the oil in the lab experiments.
“All oil companies should be using the GAGD process going forward in suitable reservoirs,” Rao said.
Mechanical engineering pro fessor Guoqiang Li currently has 17 patents. He said these patents can be divided into three catego ries: self-healing polymers, inven tions for the oil and gas industry and infrastructure solutions.
The first category includes
ey is a lot less now.”
In the past, if a campaign re ceived a donation, it was only re ported as 60% of the item’s value, Charles said. Now donated items are considered at their full value.
Additionally, SG members on the election commission now have clearly defined roles. The new roles include directors of finance, administration and com munication.
These new changes also put more of a responsibility on the commission to communicate with the public and increase transpar ency, Charles said. This includes announcing the beginning of
self-healing polymer composites that allow different technology to mimic the self-healing process of human skin, adding that the selfhealing polymer can fix the dents just by heating up.
The second category focuses on application in the oil and gas industry, including a shape-mem ory polymer. This specific inven tion injects a polymer in natural cracks that allows oil companies to drill safely.
The last category focuses on infrastructure. Li said that when cement concrete pavement is new, it often has a lot of cracks, add ing that water can cause further damage to the pavement with the weight of heavy traffic.
While most matter expands
campaign registration to the wid er LSU community.
Charles said the voting period will also now last two days in stead of one.
According to Charles, there’s now a clearer way of issuing pen alties on campaigns. Previously it was up to the judicial branch to decide on a case-by-case ba sis whether to disqualify a can didate.
Now, if a campaign receives up to six penalties they are au tomatically disqualified, Charles said.
Some infractions are worth more than others, Shaw said.
when heated and contracts when cooled, Li created a sealant that behaves opposite to common physics. The new sealant expands when cooled down and shrinks when heated up, which would re duce the cracks in the pavement.
Li said the pavement sealant will create safer infrastructure for communities, believing that these patents are the first step in solu tions to modern problems.
“I always say that…I’m very happy…From the department, from the college, from the univer sity, from the [intellectual prop erty] office, they have given me a lot of support. And that’s actually the driving force for me to con tinuously…do good work for new inventions,” Li said.
According to Shaw, some, like lying about campaign finances, can be worth six penalties by it self and will automatically result in disqualification.
If a campaign is disqualified, they are not allowed to run again for the rest of the academic year, Charles said, meaning that if they are disqualified in the fall, they can’t run again until the follow ing fall, but if they’re disqualified in the spring they can still run again in the fall.
“It was just time that we really look at our code and say what can we change to make elections better,” he said.
Ballroom Dancing Lessons
LSU Student Union
Ballroom dancing may not have been some thing you have thought about in the past, but this fun class is a great way to meet people and learn something new. This class is open to all — from beginners to people who have been dancing for years. There is no fee or registra tion required. The lesson starts at 6 p.m. every Tuesday in the Vieux Carre room 325 in the LSU Student Union.
Want to see your event in The Reveille? Email information to editor@lsu.edu.
LSU Wellness Week
LSU Parade Grounds
If you need a mental break, wellness week activities include meditation, yoga, tarot readings, and many other peace ful activities. Wellness Week is a threeday event hosted by Sofia on Campus, a holistic health and alternative well ness organization. Activities begin on Monday, Sept. 26 and lasts from 4 to 8 p.m. each day. Registration is required, but the events are free! You can register ahead of time on Eventbrite.
Louisiana Advocacy 101 Training East Baton Rouge Main Library
Not every citizen can speak up for themselves. Louisiana Advocacy 101 was created to help educate people on how to effectively advocate on the behalf of children and families in need. This event teaches people how to communicate their thoughts to those in government. This training session is at 6:30 p.m. in the large conference room at the East Baton Rouge Main Library, 7711 Goodwood Blvd. Sign up in ad vance on the Save the Children Action Network website.
COURTESY COURTESY COURTESYHigh stakes football and fashion found across SEC schools
BY GRACE GIBBONS @grace_gibbCollege football is in full swing in the South, and so is gameday fashion.
SEC schools are known for their high-stakes sports, espe cially football. It’s more than a game; it’s an all-day occasion. Families set up tailgates the night before and wake up early the next day to get started.
Students’ fashion choices during the season also reflect the high-stakes atmosphere.
From sundresses to cowboy boots, game day fashion is tak en seriously across universities in the South.
On a typical day at LSU’s campus, you’ll see women at tending classes in athleisure, t-shirts and leggings. But on Saturday nights in Death Valley, women adorn their best clothes
and full faces of makeup.
Emma Gardener, a sopho more studying psychology at the University of Mississippi, said she sees a lot of the same at Ole Miss.
“People don’t dress up much for class, so getting to show my style during the weekend is great,” Gardener said. “Game day is an event here. I know that my friends and I all have our outfits picked out before school even starts.”
Building up a wardrobe builds anticipation for game days, when women dress up in their best clothes, full faces of makeup, and styled hair to spend several hours outside in the heat. To an outsider, this may seem less than ideal, but to Gardener, it’s all about tradi tion.
“We’ve always just dressed up for games,” Gardener said. “My mom did it. I do it. My friends do it.”
Emily Taylor, a junior study ing communication at the Uni versity of Tennessee, said one of her favorite game day fashion trends is wearing a customized button to represent her sorority.
“It started out as a way to tell frats what sorority you were in to get into their tailgates,” Tay lor said.
The trend has grown to in clude all kinds of buttons with creative slogans and designs. Here at LSU, women often hand out stickers representing their sorority. It’s not unusual to see a man walking around the stu dent section proudly wearing a Phi Mu sticker on his chest.
For many students who grew up tailgating and attending col lege football games, it’s a natu ral decision to wear their school spirit any way they can.
“I love dressing up for these games,” Gardener said. “It’s such an enjoyable thing about our culture.”
MATTHEW PERSCHALL / The Reveille A trio of girls walks down Victory Hill on Sept. 11, 2021, prior to LSU’s win over McNeese State at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. MATTHEW PERSCHALL / The Reveille A group walks down Victory Hill on Sept. 11, 2021 toward Tiger Stadium for the LSU vs. McNeese State game in Baton Rouge, La.Swifties of LSU: Taylor Swift, LSU themed Instagram page
BY GRACE GIBBONS @grace_gibbEver wondered what it would be like if Taylor Swift went to LSU?
The account @swiftiesoflsu is a fan page for Taylor Swift run by a current LSU student. The account posts Taylor Swift and LSU themed content, like a pho toshopped image of Swift at an LSU football game, wearing a No. 13 jersey.
Taylor Swift is a superstar who has been in the music industry since 2006 when her first album came out. Her fans call them selves “Swifties” and are known as one of the most loyal fan bases out there.
The owner of the account said she has been a Swiftie since she was 6-years-old. The first CD she ever bought was Swift’s album, “Fearless.”
“I’ve been hooked ever since,” the account runner said.
After seeing similar collegeand-Swift paired accounts, like @ swiftiesofucf, the account runner decided to create her own LSU themed account. Swifties of LSU made its first post in January of 2022.
One of the account’s most popular posts is “Taylor Swift songs as majors at LSU,” which assigns different areas of study to different Taylor Swift songs.
The captions of the posts of ten play off Swift’s song lyrics.
“One of my favorite things about Taylor is her ability to write lyrics that are so thought out and paint a story so beautifully,” the Swifties of LSU account runner said.
Swift has been praised for her songwriting abilities. Rolling Stone named her one of the great est songwriters of all time. Swift
has 11 Grammy awards. She is one of three artists, and the only woman, to ever win Album of the Year three times.
The Swifties of LSU account brings fans on campus together to form a community where they can talk about Swift’s music, news, and just have fun. The ac count has over 500 Swiftie follow ers and counting.
“I love seeing the community of Swifties at LSU and being able to talk to them about our shared love for Taylor,” the account run ner said.
Being a college student and running a fan account on social media can make life busy, but the account runner said she enjoys having a place to share her pas sion with her fellow Swifties.
“It has given me an outlet to explore my creative side a bit more, which is a nice stress re lief,” she said.
Listen to something new: Song releases from the past month
BY ALISON AGENA @alison_hanaOlder
5 Seconds of Summer
5 Seconds of Summer’s song “Older” will have you reminisc ing on your past relationships or memories of your current one. It can easily draw tears to your eyes. The melody is beautiful, and per fect for those times when you just need to cry.
Citrus King
Wumbo
In the local scene, Wumbo, a Baton Rouge band, dropped its newest album “Depression Era Guitar.” The song “Citrus King” tells a story in first person of the “citrus king” recounting the days before he surrendered his power. It has a very catchy chorus, and you’ll be humming along as you walk from class to class.
Sad Girls
Clean Bandit & French the Kid (feat. Rema)
“Sad Girls” is a new release by Clean Bandit & French The Kid, featuring Rema. This song has a club-type beat with an overall chill feeling. If you’re looking for a background song when walk ing around, working out, or doing virtually any other activity, this is the song for you.
COURTESY OF SPOTIFY.COM
September Rain
Cassyette
British singer Cassyette’s indie pop single “September Rain” has more of an indie rock feel. The vo cals in this song are a bit intense during the chorus and are con trasted in the verses, where her voice is calm, and the accompani ment is at a much softer dynamic. Like “curious/furious,” if you are looking for songs to scream along to, this song is for you.
Anyway Wave Runner (feat. Speak Easy)
“Anyway” is an upbeat tune featuring two Baton Rouge groups, Wave Runner and Speak Easy. It’s a song about spending time with a partner and enjoying every moment together — even if you get caught in the rain. If you’re a fan of Panic! At the Disco, it will remind you of Brendon Urie’s older music. This song has a fun feel to it and is great for driving around or just listening to music in your room.
COURTESY OF GENIUS.COM
Don’t I Make it Look Easy Meghan Trainor
Like Meghan Trainor’s oth er songs, “Don’t I Make It Look Easy” is an upbeat pop song about self-image issues. This song tackles the idea that just because someone looks fine on the sur face, underneath it all they may be struggling. Maybe after giving this song a listen, reach out to one of your friends and check up on them.
curious/furious Willow
“curious/furious” by WILLOW comes from the album “<COPING MECHANISM>” . This rock song delves deep into the emotions of not being able to control the out come of every situation. WILLOW highlights that “life doesn’t choose either side”. Scream singing this song when driving can feel very ca thartic after a rough day.
“Wonder Woman” by John Leg end is what every girl wants to be told. Legend sings a romantic mes sage about the strength of the sub ject of his song. His vocal range is nothing less than impressive. This song will give you butterflies, even if you aren’t a huge Legend fan. If you’re having a bad day, this song will lift your mood.
COURTESY OF SPOTIFY.COM BLAINE SWANZY / The Reveille COURTESY OF BANDCAMP.COM COURTESY OF SPOTIFY.COM COURTESY OF SPOTIFY.COM Wonder Woman John Legend COURTESY OF GENIUS.COM COURTESY OF SPOTIFY.COMHelp
Chengs Restaurant on Essen/I-10 is looking for servers to joint our team. Person must have good com munication skill, be punctual, ad here to all relevant regulations and customer service guidelines. Call to set up interviews 985-634-2580 or 225-663-6478.
Help Rouge! Pointe is located directly across from LSU’s Southeast park ing lot, having entrances onto Gourrier Ave. and Burbank Dr. We are on the bus route and with in walking distance to anywhere on the LSU campus. We have an excellent staff, online resident ser vices 24-7 with shopping and en tertainment close by. minute bike ride to Rent
COMPLETE GAME
Three game balls: LSU vs. UNM
GRANT CHACHERE @ChachereGrantLSU Football’s defense shines in dominating 38-0 win over New Mexico
BY PETER RAUTERKUS @peter_rauterkusWith the murderers’ row of the SEC schedule on the horizon, LSU put together a dominant perfor mance in its final tune-up game until late November.
The Tigers faced New Mexico, a team that went into the game 2-1, but was heavily overmatched on paper. LSU made that clear from the start in this game.
New Mexico failed to get on the scoreboard in this game, and really never got close. Defensively, LSU was dominant, playing one of its best games in recent history on that side of the ball. The Tigers held New Mexico to just 88 yards
of total offense and just two first downs all game.
“It’s difficult to shut out any body in football,” Head Coach Brian Kelly said. “College football is set up for success on offense. We had three or four starters out on defense and we had to juggle in the lineup. We had Jarrick [Ber nard-Converse] playing safety, and the guys really rallied.”
one who’s seeing a bigger role each week.
At safety, it was Jarrick Ber nard-Converse who filled in for Burns, and he made the transi tion smoothly. This was a position Bernard-Converse hadn’t played in over two years, but according to him, it wasn’t a big change.
coaching staff.
“I was thankful and blessed be cause I was in a position to where our team, our defense was able to trust me,” Bernard-Converse said on earning the game ball.
LSU completely blanked New Mexico 38-0 in what was a dominat ing performance. The Tigers played their most complete game by far as they looked crisp from start to fin ish. LSU also outgained the Lobos 633-88 in total offensive yards.
Even though a lot of people al ready knew what the end result was going to be before they entered the stadium, LSU fans and coaches wanted to see who will be depend able in SEC play. With a road game against Auburn next week and a heavily anticipated clash with Ten nessee in Baton Rouge on Oct. 8, it was important that Tigers did what they had to do against New Mexico.
BY TYLER HARDEN @ttjharden8LSU could not have built up any more momentum heading into SEC play following its loss to Florida State. After they picked up a big in-conference win over Mis sissippi State, the Tigers’ matchup with New Mexico allowed them to experiment, find out what works and give players their confidence back as they head into conference play.
Great strides were made in the passing game for LSU from Jayden Daniels and Garrett Nuss meier. Daniels passed for 279 yards and completed 24 out of his 29 attempts. He clearly felt more comfortable throwing the ball and sent the ball to several differ ent receivers.
“[He’s] more familiar with the offensive structure, concepts, and we were really firm on fast feet, and then slowing down the thought process,” Coach Kelly said of Jayden Daniels. “We got into a really good coaching point with fast feet, slow decision mak ing, and it really helped him a lot.”
BJ Ojulari, Major Burns and Jay Ward were all prominent start ers who missed this game, but their absence didn’t seem to affect the defensive production. Fresh man linebacker Harold Perkins stepped in and led the way on de fense, tallying eight total tackles. He continues to emerge as some
“It was a little different because of the offense that we played to night. Overall, I feel like playing DB is all the same at the end of the day,” Bernard-Converse said.
He tallied just three tackles on the night, but was a consistent presence in the back end of the defense. His performance step ping in at safety, though, war ranted the game ball from the LSU
Here are three performances from that deserve a game ball. The Defense
The defense from LSU was fan tastic again. LSU’s defense only al lowed 88 total yards throughout the entire game. New Mexico only rushed for 41 yards and 1.6 yards per carry.
New Mexico committed to run ning the ball early in this game, meaning the LSU defensive line was going to be called upon heav ily. They answered that call, hold ing New Mexico to just 41 rushing yards on 26 attempts. The Lobos struggled to move the ball at all in the game, only picking up two first downs on the night. Though the score wasn’t too lopsided early, the defensive dominance is offense explodes for 633 total yards in shut out win
Nussmeier entered the game when Daniels came out due to a minor lower back injury.
“Jayden strained his lower back, he could’ve gone back in, but there was no need at that time of the game,” Coach Kelly said. “He was cleared by the doctors, so he’s good.”
But Nussmeier didn’t allow the flame to burn out, as he passed for 135 yards and a touchdown, and completed nine of his 10 at tempts.
Brian Kelly and his staff felt comfortable experimenting with players in different spots and roles against New Mexico, and an experiment that stood out was that Jack Bech was back return ing punts for the Tigers. The staff could’ve found something with Bech, as he returned a punt for a 76-yard touchdown, but the play was called back due to a blindside block penalty. With his ex perience in high school returning punts, Bech was ready for the challenge.
“They asked me if I want to catch punts, and I said ‘you know I want to catch punts,’” Bech said. “I love being back there, so they
let me go catch a couple at prac tice, I guess coach got to a point where he was confident in me be ing back there.”
Bech wasn’t the only receiver who shined on the field in Satur day’s matchup with New Mexico, in fact, several other receivers made their marks in the game. Malik Nabers led the receiving corps with 65 receiving yards on six receptions, and Bech wasn’t far behind with 43 receiving yards on six receptions. Jaray Jenkins, Kyren Lacy, Mason Taylor, Brian Thomas Jr., Josh Williams, Chris Hilton Jr., Kole Taylor and Armoni Goodwin all caught passes yester day. Thomas Jr. caught a touch down pass on a 57-yard play.
The run game was just as spread out for the Tigers, but Noah Cain seemed to find his stride the most out of everyone. The Penn State transfer ran for 94 yards on 11 carries and scored two touchdowns. Seeing how Cain was able to perform against New Mexico, it may be apparent that LSU could run with several backs throughout the season, but Cain is one that could use more reps in SEC play.
MADALYN CUNNINGHAM / The Reveille LSU football senior defensive end Ali Gaye (11) celebrates after making a play on Sept. 24, during the LSU vs New Mexico game in Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.“I still have a lot more I want to prove to myself, I still want to help this team in the best way possible,” Cain said. “So I’m just
blessed to be here, just getting better every week.”MADALYN CUNNINGHAM / The Reveille LSU football junior running back Noah Cain (21) runs the ball on Sept. 24, during the LSU vs New Mexico game in Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.
what kept LSU firmly in control.
“I’ve been coaching for 32 years, so I’ve had some of those games,” Kelly said. “It was pretty clear that they were going to have a difficult time moving the foot ball on us. I thought our plan was excellent and we felt pretty good going into halftime even though it was only 17-0.”
Even as the offense got go ing in the second half, LSU’s de fense continued to dominate New Mexico. Astonishingly, the Tigers held New Mexico to just seven to
tal yards in the second half. LSU had an answer for everything New Mexico tried, although that was not much. The Lobos attempted just seven passes on the night, but totaled more yards there than they did rushing on 26 attempts.
The second half performance showed the emphasis that Kelly and the coaching staff placed on playing a complete game. Holding a team that is already being blown out to single-digit yards in a half is a sign of commitment and being locked in for four quarters.
Safety Greg Brooks Jr. was an other player who shined in this
game, and he echoed that point of playing a complete game.
“Coach [Matt] House made a big emphasis on that,” Brooks said. “Especially since we played a triple option he said ‘so you guys can shut it down?’ We just do our job, we did our job and shut them down.”
This was yet another impres sive defensive performance for LSU. Since the Florida State game, the defense seems to be steadily improving, which is key going into the next stretch of SEC play. The competition will get tougher, but the communication and com
Along with Cain, Goodwin shined as well. The sophomore back scored twice on eight carries for 24 yards. John Emery Jr. also made an impact, as he ran for 45 yards on nine carries.
The Tigers seemed to have found their rhythm, and the tim ing could not be better. But the team seems to also have found its identity heading into SEC play. This is a team that uses its depth to its advantage and rolls with a “next man up” mentality. For ex ample, Kayshon Boutte was out for the New Mexico game, but Bech rediscovered his spot in the receiving lineup, and he showed out when needed.
“If a guy goes down, we have
no problem bringing the next guy in and giving him that opportu nity,” Kelly said. “They feel the trust from us and that gives them the confidence to go in and play at a high level.”
The depth the Tigers have will be very important heading into conference play; in the games against the nation’s best teams, LSU will need to be able to bring in fresh players that could make an impact just as well as the start ers.
The first season under Kelly was going to be a learning expe rience and also a long-term ap proach. These last three games for the Tigers have been a testa ment to that, and they only show that things are headed in the right direction.
Before this game, the Lobos averaged 160 rushing yards per game. New Mexico only gained two first downs compared to LSU’s 28. Harold Perkins led the night in tackling as he recorded eight. It’s the second time this season that the true freshman linebacker has led the team in tackles.
Sophomore linebacker West Weeks also performed well with four tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. Three other Tigers got a sack as well, in which Sai’vion Jones, Greg Brooks Jr. and Ali Gaye got one sack each. For his efforts on the field, LSU head coach Brian Kelly gave Jarrick Bernard-Converse the game ball.
fortability seems to improve with each week.
Next week, LSU will face Au burn, and despite Auburn strug gling early on this season, it’s an SEC game that LSU has struggled in the last couple years. Now is the perfect time for the defense to hit its stride, and that can really start next week in another SEC test. Especially when taking into consideration the players who missed this game, the stock of the defense is rising, and the next couple weeks will prove whether the optimism is warranted or not.
Overall, the momentum LSU
Jayden Daniels
Although it was against New Mexico, Jayden Daniels had his most complete game of the season. Dan iels completed 24 of 29 passes and threw for 279 yards. He also threw for a touchdown but it was negated due to an offensive pass interfer ence committed by Malik Nabers.
Daniels went through his pro gressions and did not look to run as much as he did in the first three games of the season. This was due to having a better connection to his receivers as well as the improve ment of the offensive line. Daniels also rushed for 37 yards on nine car ries. He was subbed out for Garret Nussmeier in the third quarter after Daniels got injured on a 16-yard scramble for a first down.
Although Daniels didn’t return,
carries into October is a posi tive sign for this still developing group. Stacking wins is the best way to build morale and consis tency and that’s what LSU has done since the Florida State loss. Kelly echoed this point, vocaliz ing his confidence in the direction of the team with SEC play right around the corner.
“I told our guys one time’s an accident, second time’s a coinci dence, third time’s a habit,” Kelly said. “They’ve won three in a row; they’re building good habits and we look to continue to build on that heading into SEC play.”
he will still be available for Auburn as he only suffered a back strain.
Noah Cain
LSU running back Noah Cain didn’t see much of the field against Mississippi State and the first half of the New Mexico game due to the return of John Emery Jr. How ever, Cain may have proven why he should still be on the field in the near future.
Cain exploded in the third quar ter as he ran for two touchdowns, including a 49-yard touchdown run where he broke four tackles en route to the end zone. Cain finished the game with 11 carries for 94 yards along with the two touchdowns in the third quarter.
Due to his performance, don’t be shocked if Noah Cain gets more reps against Auburn on the Plains.
With the LSU Symphony Orchestra & LSU Wind Ensemble
Psychology grad student conditions show deeper issues
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
BENJAMIN HAINES
@bphaines
Walking down the halls of nearly any building in LSU’s Quad is tantamount to visiting a mu seum.
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 el evators 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 psychol ogy graduate student who spoke on the condition of anonymity in fear of retaliation from employers.
She said that before this sum mer, Audubon had what seemed to be a good problem: its air con ditioning 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 blan kets and space heaters to keep warm, the grad student said.
Without access to a thermo stat, students went to facility ser vices, who, perhaps misunder standing 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 workspac es 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 vis ible 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 de partment-wide email announcing the closure of graduate student labs and workspaces on the third floor of Audubon. The grad stu dent shared this email with The Reveille.
“As many of you know,” Elliot said, “we’ve been having strug gles with the HVAC on the third floor. We also have a separate in
cident 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. El liot continued, “Some rooms are worse than others but our under standing 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 tempo rary workspaces to any student who needed it, but most have found it easier to work in the li brary – a difficulty, given the sen sitive, confidential information they handle – or the Psychological Services Center, which lacks the expensive assessment kits and re search materials kept in the Audu bon labs.
Thankfully, the health hazard has just been resolved, and stu dents are now back working in their previous offices.
But that hasn’t stopped frus tration from building among psy chology teaching and graduate as sistants, 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 un livable 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, embar rassing 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 wel come to prospective students.
Take, for example, the elevator in Audubon, which has been out of service since July: Why would a disabled prospective graduate stu dent 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 stu dent 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 follow ing the letter of the law in these health, safety and maintenance is
sues. According to Tammy Milli can, LSU’s executive director of fa cility and property oversight, the university has solved the leaking and mold problems in Audubon, making sure to include the Envi ronmental Health and Safety staff in their efforts; they are waiting on new parts for the broken eleva tor, and they plan to add elevators in the coming years to the build ings 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 is sues at their root. Instead, they’re only addressing symptoms, pull ing weeds as they appear in the garden instead of putting out fer tilizer.
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 inhib its them from efficiently complet ing work orders. The same likely goes for different administrative or academic heads, who are simi larly hampered by an enormous
Editorial Policies and Procedures
amount of legal and financial red tape. Nor is it exclusively the problem of LSU President William Tate IV or Provost Roy Haggerty, who haven’t been at the universi ty long enough to undo the longlasting damage done by past man agement.
It’s also important to remem ber that LSU’s deferred mainte nance budget is controlled by the state legislature, which, on aver age, gives the school $2-3 million annually for campus upkeep, a measly sum compared to the al most $604 million worth of re pairs 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 uni versity and employer advocate for them – not just for the athletics programs or the academic depart ments that bring in money or tele vision 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 underval ued students and workers.
Benjamin Haines is a 24-yearold history graduate student from Shreveport.
Quote of the Week
EDITORIAL BOARD Josh Archote Editor-in-Chief Managing EditorHannah Michel Hanks Bella Dardano News Editor Deputy News EditorDomenic Purdy Claire Sullivan Opinion EditorThe Reveille (USPS 145-800) is written, edited and produced solely by students of Louisiana State University.
The Reveille is an independent entity of the Office of Student Media within the Manship School of Mass Commu nication. Signed opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, The Reveille or the university. Letters submitted for publication should be sent via e-mail to editor@lsu.edu or deliv ered to B-39 Hodges Hall. They must be 400 words or less. Letters must provide a contact phone number for ver ification purposes, which will not be printed. The Reveille reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for space consideration while preserving the original intent. The Reveille also reserves the right to reject any letter without notification of the author. Writers must include their full names and phone numbers. The Reveille’s edi tor in chief, hired every semester by the LSU Student Media Board, has final authority on all editorial decisions.
“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”
Carl Sagan American Astronomer FRANCIS DINH/ The Reveille Audubon Hall sits Sept. 17 on LSU’s campus.‘Little Mermaid’ casting shouldn’t upset people
SERIOUSLY KIDDING
FRANK KIDD @FK446852315Singer and actress Halle Bailey has been cast as Ariel in the up coming live-action remake of the “Little Mermaid.” This decision has sparked rage among some fans who say a white actress should’ve been cast instead of a Black one.
Given that much of the dis course surrounding this issue is happening on blogs, articles and posts on social media, the cohort of the offended in this case are adults who are upset about a mov ie for children. There may very well be a legion of racist children upset about the casting, but the smart money is on Disney nerds clinging to their childhood.
It’s nice that those concerned took time out of their busy sched ule of posting on the “Barney & Friends” subreddit to engage in more relevant social discourse, but their objections are laughable.
Continuity between stories seems to only become a discus sion when the characteristic being altered is race. No one bats an eye when a character’s height or eye color changes. Some adaptations even take liberties with the per sonalities of characters, opting to
take the story in a different direc tion.
Ariel being white is not signifi cant to her character. The movie is fictional; it’s entirely possible that race doesn’t matter in the world of the film. That’s easier to believe in than the existence of mermaids and a patois-speaking crab.
The idea of someone caring at all about a Disney live-action re make is baffling given the compa ny’s poor track record. Live-action remakes are here today and gone tomorrow, and their only cultural relevance comes from them be ing mocked for their poor quality and for their transparency in being cash grabs. No sane person would look at Disney’s history of remakes and think that the new “Little Mer maid” was going to be “Citizen Kane” before it was ruined by cast ing an African American.
Certainly, some of the negative reaction is from well-intentioned, over-enthusiastic fans of the origi nal. However, a large number of the people in this movement are racist nerds who are too scared to join the Klan for fear of being beaten up.
The opponents of Bailey’s cast ing may be immature and/or rac ist, but they did put in Michael Jor dan game six-like performance on their memes.
Operating under the premise
that race swapping doesn’t mat ter, some internet users decided to put white actors in Black roles. The best included Tom Hanks as Malcolm X, Mel Gibson as Martin Luther King and Jim Carey and Will Ferrell replacing Ice Cube and Chris Tucker in “Friday.”
There should be a remake of “Straight Outta Compton,” the movie about rap group N.W.A., but this time it stars all of the white LSU students that have gotten in
trouble for saying the n-word in the past few years.
Jokes aside, society would ben efit greatly if those boycotting the movie would instead go outside and talk to another person in real life. Anything but getting upset about media made for children 35 years their junior.
Frank Kidd is a 21-year-old mass communication junior from Springfield, Virginia.
President Tate: ‘You have my support’
Note: The following letter from LSU President William F. Tate IV is a formal apology to The Reveille for comments he made about stu dent media.
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 Louisi ana.
In addition, I greatly appreci ate the response by Piper Hutchin son 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
BLAINE SWANZY / The Reveille