The Reveille 9-29-22

THE

REUNITED FIELD

Two Former Razorbacks prepare to take the field.

TOGETHER AGAIN

Joe Foucha and Greg Brooks Jr. set to debut at safety

able.

BY HENRY HUBER & TYLER HARDIN @HenryHuber_ & @ttjhardin8

Joe Foucha and Greg Brooks Jr. each grew up about an hour away from Tiger Stadium, with Brooks Jr. spending his early life in Harvey and Foucha residing in New Orleans and briefly living with his aunt in Baton Rouge af ter Hurricane Katrina.

Despite being so close to LSU all their lives, they both initially decided to attend Arkansas, as Foucha said that he wanted to experience someplace new so that he could mature on his own. While he began his Razorback career a year prior to Brooks Jr., that didn’t stop the pair of Loui siana natives from immediately connecting. The two becoming roommates as soon as Brooks Jr. arrived on campus.

Throughout their time at Ar kansas, they developed a strong, brotherly relationship, becoming close off the field and competitive on it, striving to make each oth er better every chance they got. Every time Brooks Jr. got a pick, Foucha felt that he had to get one as well, and vice versa.

“He’s really my best friend,” Brooks Jr. said. “So me and him on the field is going to be great.”

That willingness to improve, along with coaching changes and other improvements in the secondary, led to solid improve ments in Arkansas’s pass defense. It wasn’t the best in the country, but jumping from the bottom of the category in 2019 and 2020 to circling the top-50 is consider

Three seasons and over 300 combined tackles later, the pair played in their last game with Ar kansas, finishing their Razorback careers with arguably the best performance of their time as a duo. Brooks Jr. intercepted a pass in the first to establish defensive momentum and Foucha intercept ed one in the fourth, a dagger in the endzone that all but solidified Arkansas’s 24-10 win over Penn State in the Outback bowl.

After briefly considering going pro, Foucha decided instead that it was time to return home to play his senior season at LSU, citing his family as the primary reason for the move.

“Just to have the dream of hav ing my whole family here without a question,” Foucha said on why it was important to come back.

“Every time we would play LSU, I would have my whole family here and that’s like the only time they really got to see me play.”

With Foucha opting to head back home, he stated that every one around them likely expected Brooks Jr. to do the same. They discussed the prospect of leaving beforehand, loving the idea of re turning home and continuing to rep the same colors.

“We had a talk like if we were to leave, we still wanted to play with each other,” Foucha said. “We were thankful enough to be able to play with each other here in our own hometown.”

Fast forward to fall camp and things seemed to be going well. Brooks Jr. was expected to start

at nickelback and though Major Burns and Jay Ward appeared to have the safety positions locked down, Foucha was still near the top of the rotation. However, the chance to play in Tiger Stadium sporting purple and gold wouldn’t come right away for Foucha, as he was forced to serve a four-game suspension due to academic is sues with the transfer process.

Foucha didn’t let that faze him, preparing throughout that period as if he would man the field at any moment.

“I still [had] to prepare as if I was going to play Saturday,” Fou cha said. “I felt like that helped me out in the long run and I got to go against the ones, and that helped them out as well.”

Although it wasn’t what the pair had planned when they ar rived in Baton Rouge, the one fa miliar dynamic that remained was making each other better. Even though Foucha has yet to play in a game this season, the two have continued to help sharpen each others’ skills in practice, mak ing sure both are on top of their games.

“He’s been practicing great, being a great scout team player,” Brooks Jr. said. “Now he’s free, so our guys are going to see what he’s capable of doing.”

Not only does he get to play alongside his longtime teammate for the team they grew up root ing for, they’re also getting the opportunity to play at each safety position with Jay Ward playing nickel against Auburn, something they were never able to do in the

past. This is what the pair had in mind over the offseason, and the game against Auburn will mark the beginning of this new chap ter.

“The story couldn’t have gone any better. It’s a beautiful thing to see. God does things for a rea son,” Foucha said. “We’re here to gether and now we’ve got an op portunity to play alongside each other. We’ve been together for a while. We always wanted to play alongside each other and we re ally get to do it now.”

The journey of Joe Foucha and Greg Brooks Jr. is a testament to the places hard work, dedication and friendship can bring you. Despite both athletes dreaming of one day playing for LSU, they both initially decided it best to start elsewhere, bettering them selves at Arkansas before secur ing their dream of becoming LSU Tigers.

With Foucha finally being able to play alongside Brooks Jr. competitively again, the dream of playing with those three letters across their chests will finally be accomplished on Saturday.

“It’s going to be a beautiful thing to watch, especially with me sitting out. I’ve been waiting on this moment for a long time and that the moment has come,” Foucha said. “I feel I am pre pared, even with me not playing, I’ve still been preparing like I’m playing. So, now that I have the opportunity to finally get on the field, it’s like I just can’t wait. It’s all bottled up and I can’t wait to let loose.”

B-16 Hodges Hall

Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, La. 70803

NEWSROOM (225) 578-4811

Editor-in-Chief JOSH ARCHOTE

Digital Managing Editor HANNAH MICHEL HANKS

Digital Editor JAYDEN NGUYEN

News Editor

BELLA DARDANO

Deputy News Editor DOMENIC PURDY

Sports Editor

PETER RAUTERKUS

Deputy Sports Editor

MACKAY SUIRE

Entertainment Editor

AVA BORSKEY

Opinion Editor CLAIRE SULLIVAN

Multimedia Editor

MATTHEW PERSCHALL

Production Editor

MADISON COOPER

Chief Designer EMMA DUHÉ

ADVERTISING (225) 578-6090

Layout/Ad Design EMILY TRAN

Layout/Ad Design SOFIA RAMOS

CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS

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

ABOUT THE REVEILLE

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.

CHYNNA MCCLINTON / The Reveille

LSU football freshman defensive end Princeton Malbrue (94), senior safety Greg Brooks Jr. (3), and graduate student cornerback Sevyn Banks (1) excitedly ran onto the field Sept. 17, before LSU’s 31-16 win against Mississippi State at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.

FEMININE HYGIENE

Student, facility services on lack of menstrual product disposals

BY CHANDLER MCINTOSH @GeauxChandler18

When mass communication sophomore Macy McDade uses the women’s restroom in the LSU Library, she has to walk out of the stall to dispose of menstrual products.

She also notices small holes where the feminine hygiene dis posal boxes should be displayed within the stalls.

McDade said the experience is embarrassing, and she hopes to see a change.

Of 574 buildings on LSU’s campus, 34 do not have femi nine hygiene disposal boxes in women’s restrooms, according to the executive director of Facility and Property Oversight Tammy Millican.

Millican said that buildings such as Howe Russell, School of Music, Art Building, Allen Hall and LSU Library have women’s restrooms that lack at least one feminine hygiene disposal box in bathroom stalls.

Because LSU has 574 build ings with numerous restrooms, having only 34 buildings that lack feminine hygiene disposal boxes makes it manageable to fund these boxes, Millican said.

Facility Services has a budget to clean and maintain restrooms,

BR COMMUNITY

Millican said, and consequently, there’s no dedicated funding to add feminine hygiene disposal containers to restrooms.

“However, when new build ings are constructed or major renovations to a building take place, these hygiene disposal containers are placed in the women’s restrooms,” Millican said.

She also said there are cur rently no work orders in the system from students, faculty or staff regarding the lack of femi nine hygiene disposal contain ers.

Students, faculty and staff can contact the Facility Services Cus tomer Service Center with con cerns, and there are building co ordinators for each building that can place work orders for issues within specific buildings, accord ing to Millican.

She also said Student Govern ment partners with Facility Ser vices each year on several initia tives related to feminine hygiene disposal boxes, adding that fund ing for these boxes has been dis cussed before.

“Previous SG administrations have discussed the possibility of

providing funding for these con tainers, and we look forward to resuming those conversations if this is an initiative they would like to pursue this year,” Millican said.

While only about 6% of wom en’s bathrooms on campus don’t have or are missing at least one feminine hygiene disposal box, it’s still a visible issue for female students on campus.

Political science sophomore and SG director of communi cations Emma Long said that SG has worked to supply femi nine products in all restrooms through grants, but feminine hygiene disposal boxes haven’t been discussed.

Long said that Facility Ser vices should be the ones that fo cus on placing feminine hygiene disposal boxes in bathrooms around campus.

“I feel that Student Govern ment has to be a voice for stu dents when disposal boxes should automatically provide by LSU Facilities,” Long said. “This should not be a Student Govern ment initiative. It’s a basic neces sity in women’s restrooms and the fact that this is an issue is a problem.”

Long said that eventually, SG

ACADEMICS Engineers design robotic arm

BY KATHERINE FRAZER @kathfzr

In cooperation with the Center for Innovations in Structural In tegrity Assurance, LSU’s mechani cal engineering department is de signing a flexible robotic arm with applications in both medical and industrial settings.

Mechanical engineering assis tant professor Hunter Gilbert is spearheading the creation of the robot, which is anticipated to be one and a half to two meters long and when completed will resem ble a tentacle-like arm.

The project was chosen out of four other projects after being presented to engineering industry members.

The robot, made up of several bent tubes nested together and configured into a snake-like shape, resembles other small robots used predominantly for minimally inva sive surgical procedures.

“The questions that we are asking and trying to answer with this research project this year are different than any other questions that have been asked about these robots before,” Gilbert said.

This style of robot has not been used in industrial applica

Historians, students discuss modern use of plantations

BY GABBY JIMENEZ @gvjimenezz

Louisiana and other southern states are home to many former plantations. Some become plan tation museums, while others are used as wedding venues and homes.

Actors Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds faced criticism from fans after getting married at the Boone Hall Plantation in South Carolina. While they eventually apologized, it raises the question – what should the South do with its former plan tations?

John Bardes is an LSU history professor who teaches courses on the Antebellum South, and when looking at the way plantations are viewed today, Bardes said it’s im portant to look at their past.

“[White people] wanted to find a way to present slavery in the Civil War that de-emphasized the role of slavery and racial strife and instead emphasized a mythologized image of the planter elite as this noble chivalric lost society,” Bardes said.

Bardes said that presenting plantations as romantic and chival ric places was part of a “broader cultural project” that was used to

harm African Americans.

“It was directly used to legiti mate Jim Crow, on the logic that… the South were this noble race of people who had the best interests of Black workers at heart, and who could be trusted to benevolently dominate the Black working class,” Bardes said.

Bardes doesn’t want old build ings with a plantation past to be torn down, but he realizes that there are too many to be turned into museums. He doesn’t have a solution to what should become of the South’s former plantations, but he says he is opposed to all efforts that romanticize the sites.

While the South can’t get rid of all its plantations, Bardes em phasizes the importance of honor ing the people who were enslaved there and not forgetting history.

History graduate student and president of the Society of African and African American Studies Jus tin Martin has lived in the South his whole life and believes that having weddings at a plantation ig nores history.

“[Plantation weddings] rein force this old idea that there’s this idyllic past where there were these fancy houses, and slavery wasn’t

there. You know, these horrible atrocities weren’t involved,” Mar tin said. “And so when you’re hav ing these weddings, you’re really glossing over that true history.”

Martin has heard of different celebrities facing backlash for hav ing plantation weddings, but he believes these conversations can be used as an opportunity to edu cate people and change the way they view these sites.

Martin has noticed that many plantation museums don’t cover the full history of what took place. He believes it’s crucial that muse ums teach all aspects of the his tory, even if it may be hard to hear.

“[A lot of plantation museums are] very kind of sanitized, and you don’t really have that learning ex perience…teaching about the hor rors of slavery is really important,” Martin said.

Martin thinks that plantation museums should go more into Af rican American traditions, such as jumping the broom. Jumping the broom is a Black wedding tradi tion where the bride and groom hold hands before jumping over the broom as a symbolic way to seal the marriage.

“Thinking about these planta

tions, it’s a good opportunity to also say, okay, while we’re teach ing about the horrors of slavery, can we also talk about how, you know, Black people had these very creative responses to trying to live their lives under these really hor rible conditions,” Martin said.

Martin thinks a way people can begin to have conversations about plantations is through education.

According to Martin, many peo ple in the South aren’t taught the full history of the land. By taking school field trips to local planta tions, younger students could learn more about the history of their sur rounding environment.

“It has to be this kind of slow process…that starts by having con versations about, you know, what

it was really like, what these plan tations actually mean, versus what people have kind of been told as they’ve grown up,” Martin said.

History doctoral student Ash ley Rogers is the director of the Whitney Plantation, a museum and memorial that educates people on slavery and its legacies.

While many former plantations serve as house museums, Rogers said the Whitney Plantation is the only plantation museum in Loui siana that exclusively focuses on slavery.

Rogers said other museums don’t always cover the entire scope of what happened at the site.

“Plantation tourism was invent ed by and for white people,” Rog

CARTOON BY BLAINE SWANZY

FRANCIS DINH / The Reveille

The Magnolia Plantation’s slave cabin sits during a hot sun on Sept. 17 at Magnolia Mound off of Nicholson Drive.

PLANTATION, from page 3

ers said. “So you know, it’s their stories about the grandeur of the old South…in many cases, kind of packaged and sold to northerners who kind of wanted to see this, you know, romantic ideal of the 19th century.”

While the way plantation mu seums present history is changing, Rogers said many of them have previously glamorized the expe rience. Historically, interpreters would wear hoop skirts or focus on the house and the plantation owners rather than the people who were enslaved.

Rogers said using plantations as venues creates an “erasure of the past.” She doesn’t allow any

ROBOT, from page 3

tions, but Gilbert’s design, upon completion, will have the ability to inspect and predict failures in industrial applications. For ex ample, the robot can be used to inspect for corrosion in areas that would be too labor-intensive for humans.

According to Gilbert, the robot can easily access the interior of a machine or underneath insulation in pipelines to identify and predict rust that could damage structures.

Structural deterioration and mechanical issues will likely be the primary job of the robot, Gil

weddings or events to take place at the Whitney Plantation, with one notable exception. A staff member who was a descendant of the site was allowed to get married in the Freedmen’s Church at the planta tion.

“For her, that was like, a really meaningful story. And it wasn’t about glorifying the plantation South,” Rogers said.

It’s not uncommon for people in the South to live in former plan tations. While Rogers doesn’t think it’s wrong for people to privately own these homes, she thinks they should be properly honored, even if it’s just with a simple plaque, so people don’t forget.

“If you were to not allow peo ple to live in homes where peo

bert said.

Currently, human workers are doing the tasks that the robot will eventually perform. The imple mentation of a robot in equipment inspection would prove to be cost effective and efficient, Gilbert said.

Shahrior Ahmed, a mechanical engineering graduate student, has been involved in the design and assembly of the robot’s prototype. He is still working on fabricating, assembling and creating other parts of the arm.

The $50,000 funding for the project comes from Center for Innovations in Structural Integ

ple were enslaved, you’d have to kick everybody out of the French Quarter, because the entire French Quarter is still to this day full of slave cabins…I do think that those places should be appropriately commemorated in some way,” she said. “We have a culture of misre membering…because we think of these as shameful stories.”

Rogers said it’s especially im portant to learn about the history of slavery in order to understand how it affects the South today.

“If you do not understand how central slavery was to our past, there is no way to understand the present day that we’re living in, there’s no way to understand pres ent day conversations about race and equity,” she said.

rity Assurance, a joint project be tween LSU, Louisiana Tech and the National Science Foundation’s Industry-University Cooperative Research Center that, according to their website, seeks to “transi tion industry-driven research into commercial applications.”

Michael Khonsari, the proj ect’s director for several statewide grants for projects like this, said that the National Science Founda tion has brought in over $100 mil lion in grants.

“We are in a position to help them as a trusted source for re ally transformative insight,” said Khonsari, who is also a professor

HYGIENE, from page 3

will have to advocate for dispos al boxes because of LSU Facility Services’ priorities.

“Student Government will have to have a hand in this is sue,” Long said.

“Things that are needed don’t get pushed very fast by LSU ad ministration, and oftentimes it’s up to students to do that.”

Long said she believes there are men in positions of power at LSU facilities who don’t prioritize feminine hygiene disposal boxes.

“There’s a lot of men that are in positions of power in LSU Fa cilities who don’t advocate for feminine items in restrooms,” Long said. “It is only an issue

of mechanical engineering at LSU.

According to Khonsari, the partnership with the National Sci ence Foundation is a positive step in developing LSU’s reputation and establishing the university as a center in the National Science Foundation’s network.

“We have really created what I call an innovation driven ecosys tem,” Khonsari said.

The Center for Innovations in Structural Integrity Assurance’s funding of projects like Gilbert’s flexible robot provides opportuni ties to students and faculty alike.

Khonsari said that about 30% of students that work with faculty

for women. Men never had to think about the issue. These is sues have not been addressed by LSU Facilities because it does not come up during meetings.”

Millican said that Facility Ser vices doesn’t see feminine hy giene disposal boxes as less of a necessity.

“I don’t think there is anyone [within LSU Facility Services] that doesn’t think that feminine disposal boxes are unimportant,” Millican said. “I think the prob lem is that all of the restrooms have a large number of indi vidual stalls. The sheer number of what you need can be a hin drance to getting enough fund ing to purchase enough of [femi nine hygiene disposal boxes].”

and industry on projects like this end up being recruited in similar industries in the future.

Opportunities for the univer sity and industry professionals are created with the projects funded by the Center for Innovations in Structural Integrity Assurance and collaboration on projects similar to the robotic arm, Khonsari said.

“Having the project at LSU means that we are leading and in novating in the area of robotics for structural integrity applications,” Gilbert said. “In my opinion, it is a good thing both for the University and the community that we are doing this research here at LSU.”

ENTERTAINMENT

THIS WEEK IN BR

BY ALISON AGENA @alison_hana

Want to see your event in The Reveille? Email information to editor@lsu.edu.

THURSDAY AT 9 29TH

SEPT.

Frequency Dance Party

Chelsea’s Live

If you want to dance the night away, head to Chelsea’s Live, 1010 Nicholson Drive, on Thurs day, Sept. 29, for a Frequency Dance Party filled with techno, club and house music. Dancing starts at 9 p.m. Admission can be purchased in advance for $10 on Ticketweb. Cover is $12 at the door.

SEPT.

The Haunted Book Create Studios

Create Studios is kicking spooky season off with a class to create your own eerie book cover that you can use to decorate your living space for Halloween. The event is from 6 to 9 p.m. at 546 Bienville St. in Baton Rouge. Tick ets are $35 on Eventbrite, and you are required to bring your own reader’s digest book for the craft.

FRIDAY AT 6 PM

SUNDAY AT 1 PM 2ND

OCT.

First Free Sunday

LSU Museum of Art

From 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 2, the Museum of Art is offering free admission into its galleries. If you are looking for a chill activity this weekend, walking around and looking at the art makes for the perfect Sunday outing. The LSU MOA is located on the fifth floor of the Shaw Center for the Arts, 100 Lafayette St.

COURTESY OF EVENTBRITE

COURTESY OF REVEILLE ARCHIVES

Tables tower over the walkway on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, in the Student Union in Baton Rouge, La.

Windows rise above the trees Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022, in front of the LSU Life Sciences Building in Baton Rouge, La.

A seemingly endless pathway leads to wards Memorial Tower on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022, at the LSU Parade Ground in Baton Rouge, La.

Photos by Reagan Cotten

Tower Drive continues for what seems like an eternity on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, near the Student Union in Baton Rouge, La.

Tall trees cast shadows over the walkway on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022, at the Student Union in Baton Rouge, La.

The seats stack behind each other along the rising ramp on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, at the LSU Greek Amphitheater in Baton Rouge, La.

For Rent

The Venue is conveniently located just steps from LSU and adjacent to an array of shopping and dining options. We offer fully-furnished 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-bedroom apart ments and a full amenity package that’s designed to support healthy living, socialization, and academic success. Schedule a tour today!

262 W. State Street

Baton Rouge, LA 70802

LIST OF AMENITIES:

COMMUNITY AMENITIES:

Conveniently Located Steps from Louisiana State University

Pet Friendly Community

24-Hour Fitness Center

Study Lounge & Private Study Rooms

Business Center with Free Printing

Game Lounge with Billiards & Video Arcade

Resort-Style Pool

Poolside Terrace with Grills & Hammocks

Complimentary Coffee

Free Tanning

Gated Garage

Amazon Hub

Professional On-Site

24-Hour

Help Wanted

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.

For Rent

Campus Crossings – Brightside provides everything you need for the student lifestyle you want!

We offer spacious Studio, 2-, 3-, and 4-bedroom apartments, indi vidual leases, and a full amenity package that’s designed to support healthy living, socialization, and academic success. We’re also con veniently located on LSU’s shuttle route.

Schedule a tour today to find out why we’re Baton Rouge’s best val ue in Student Living.

Help Wanted

ELAYN HUNT CORRECTIONAL CENTER JOB FAIR 10/05/2022

For Rent

Campus Crossings – Highland of fers fully-furnished 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom apartments. We’re con veniently located just steps from LSU and adjacent to an array of shopping and dining options. We also offer a full amenity package that’s designed to support healthy living, socialization, and academic success. Schedule a tour today!

For Rent

Tiger 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.

AMENITIES:

• LSU bus line

3-10 minute bike ride to cam pus

8-18 minute walk to campus

Stainless steel appliances

Dishwasher

Wood-look plank flooring

Modern fixtures and finishes

Private balcony

Pool

Numerous apartments are re ceiving interior updates

On-site Maintenance

Online services

Multiple laundry centers

Help Wanted

Need energetic, leasing agent for busy apartment office in Baton Rouge! $14-16 per hour plus com missions! Interested? Send resume: Jami.Comeaux@propertyone.com

by Jacqueline E. Mathews

MULKEY’S MANIFESTO

Column: Kim Mulkey’s Silence on Britney Griner Isn’t the Only Skeleton in the Closet

GRANT CHAHERE @ChachereGrant

Kim Mulkey is one of the greatest coaches in the history of LSU athletics, but even skeletons can come out of her.

Mulkey refused to answer a question about Britney Griner’s imprisonment in Russia. Griner has been imprisoned in Russia since February on a drug charge. Mulkey was asked to comment on Griner’s imprisonment. The re porter stated that he hadn’t “seen anything from [her] on that.”

“And you won’t,” Mulkey re plied.

Griner played at Baylor from 2009 to 2013 and was a star player for Mulkey when she was the head coach there. Griner helped lead the Bears to a 40-0 record along with the national championship in 2012. In that same year, Griner was named the national player.

The clip of her declining to comment on Griner’s imprison ment has gone viral all over social media. Many have been outraged over Mulkey’s dismissal of her for mer star player’s imprisonment, even some of her former players.

Queen Egbo, a former Baylor and current Indiana Fever player, took several jabs at her former coach to her dismissal of Griner’s situation.

“A player that built Baylor, two

national titles, & a 40-0 record,” Egbo tweeted. “Yet her former coach refuses to say anything or simply just any kind of support. Keep that in mind when you’re choosing schools.” Egbo played alongside Giner on the 2019 na tional championship squad.

Chloe Jackson, another one of Mulkey’s former players at Bay lor, also took issue with Mulkey’s comments.

“And I will say it again,” Jack son tweeted. “SILENCE SPEAKS VOLUMES, smh. This isn’t the first time Jackson has come after Mulkey on Twitter. Jackson also criticized Mulkey’s silence on the murder of George Floyd by Min neapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

Nikki Collen, who took over for Mulkey as the head coach at Baylor, has been very vocal in her support of Griner. Collen has shared messages on Twitter and has spoken in support of Brit ney Griner. At her press confer ence on Monday, the same day as Mulkey’s, Collen spent five min utes discussing Griner’s imprison ment in Russia.

page 9SPORTS “Those that have been around me know I get pretty emotional,” she said. “I think BG, first of all, is human first. I think this is a hu man rights issue. No one’s saying she didn’t make a mistake. None

LSU prepares for first road test against Auburn University

BY PETER RAUTERKUS @peter_rauterkus

After a 38-0 beatdown of New Mexico, LSU returns to SEC play this week, with its first road game this Saturday. The Tigers are trav eling to Auburn on Saturday, a team coming off a win in its SEC opener with Missouri last week end.

Head Coach Brian Kelly gave updates on the matchup, injuries and team development when talk ing to the media this week. Here are some notable updates with the Auburn game on the horizon.

Injury update

LSU was without multiple play ers in the win over New Mexico, which was a talking point coming into this week. The first concern immediately following the game was for LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, who left the game in the third quarter. After the game, Kelly said Daniels was already cleared, and he confirmed that this week. “Jaden, no residual ef

fects from Saturday. He’ll be able to practice,” Kelly said.

Most notably, safety Joe Fou cha, a graduate transfer from Arkansas, makes his return this week coming off a four-game aca demic suspension. His presence will be important this week, with starting safety Major Burns out for three to six weeks after suffering a neck injury, Kelly reported on Saturday.

LSU’s other starting safety, Jay Ward, also missed Saturday’s game, but Kelly said they expect Ward to play this weekend.

“Jay Ward is feeling really good,” Kelly said. “I think he’s a go for Tuesday. We’ll prob ably limit his workload on Tues day, but he should be able to go [against Auburn].”On the defen sive line, BJ Ojulari also sat out on Saturday, but Kelly confirmed after the game that it was out of precaution. Maason Smith was the other starting defensive lineman who was absent, but he’s out for the remainder of the season af

ter tearing his ACL in the season opener.

Matchup with Auburn LSU is playing its first true road game against Auburn this weekend, and Kelly mentioned how important it’ll be for the team to avoid distractions.

“We’ll have to do a great job of not being distracted to be focused on making sure that our guys are locked in on what’s important,” Kelly said.

Kelly, himself, has only coached in two SEC road venues during his career, including a

loss with Notre Dame in Athens against Georgia and a loss with Central Michigan against Ken tucky.

Regarding Auburn, the orange and blue Tigers are riding positive momentum after a 17-14 win over

MADALYN CUNNINGHAM/ The Reveille

LSU football players stand together awaiting their next play on Sept. 24, during the LSU vs New Mexico game in Tiger Stadium.

CHYNNA MCCLINTON / The Reveille

LSU women’s basketball head coach Kim Mulkey squats in front of the “March Madness” sign March 19, during LSU’s 83-77 win against Jackson State in the first round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on North Stadium Drive in Baton Rouge, La.

MULKEY, from page 9 take. None of us are perfect. But I guess I would wanna know if I did something and was stuck in a foreign country, what it was, what it wasn’t. I think we all know that 10 years is a long time. I see her as a mother, as a sister, as a spouse, as a daughter, as an unbe lievable ambassador for the game of basketball.”

Although she had given a brief statement of thoughts and prayers to Griner and her family when asked about it on the podcast Ti ger Rag Radio, Mulkey has been silent on the issue. Why has she been so numb to discuss the im prisonment of the greatest player she has ever coached? It’s not a great look especially considering the fact that other coaches includ ing Collen and South Carolina Head Coach Dawn Staley have voiced their support for Griner, a player that did not play for either coaches.

Mulkey is seen as a God-like figure in sports. However, she has

AUBURN, from page 9

Missouri. Auburn’s strength is in the run game with the running back tandem of Tank Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter. Kelly talked about keeping them in check being key for the defense.

“Auburn has some talented football players offensively,” Kelly said. ‘Both backs are outstand ing. You know Bigsby obviously, is a three year starter, over 2000

been seen as a controversial fig ure in sports in recent years.

Griner and Mulkey had a fall ing out as soon as Griner graduat ed and started playing profession ally. Griner accused Mulkey of forcing her to hide her sexuality.

“It was a recruiting thing,” Gri ner said during an interview with ESPN back in 2014. “The coaches thought that if it seemed like they condoned it, people wouldn’t let their kids come play for Baylor.”

This isn’t the first time that there has been a belief that Mulkey has been accused of being uncomfortable around coaching members of the LGBTQ commu nity. In the summer of 2012, Cyd Zeigler, the founder of Outsports, asked Mulkey if she has had a gay player on her team.

Mulkey’s response: “Don’t ask me that. I don’t think it’s any body’s business. Whoever you are, I don’t care to know that.”

Former ESPN reporter Kate Fagan, who wrote the story about Griner having to hide her sexu ality at Baylor, said that Mulkey

career rushing yards, 19 touch downs. I think that’s kind of, for us when we’re watching film, the running backs are outstanding players.”

Robby Ashford made his first start for Auburn last weekend, and Kelly mentioned the impor tance of slowing him down in the run game.

“Ashford, at quarterback, start ed last week against Missouri. He too is a great runner, that’s going

tried to get her fired after she published the story.

“I did a story in which Brittney Griner told me that when she was at Baylor that she was not allowed to be openly gay, and this wasn’t a shocking story considering it is actually written in the handbook of Baylor University that you are not allowed to be openly gay at Baylor University,” Fagan said on the podcast, The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz. “But after we put out that story, Kim Mulkey be lieved that I had forced Brittney Griner to say this, and she told the higher-ups at ESPN that I needed to be fired for this.”

After losing to the University of Connecticut in the Elite Eight in the Women’s NCAA tournament in March 2021, Mulkey suggested that they would get rid of COV ID-19 testing because she thought that it could ruin a student-ath lete’s chances of playing in the Final Four. However, this was during the pandemic and people were still getting sick and dying at high numbers.

to be our biggest concern to keep him in wraps in terms of running the football,” Kelly said.

Improvement of the team Another talking point coming into this week was LSU’s momen tum coming off three consecutive wins. Since the Florida State loss, LSU has made improvements and gained momentum over the last three games. Kelly voiced his sat isfaction in how the team has re sponded throughout the season to

“After the games today and to morrow, there’s four teams left, I think, on the men’s side and the women’s side,” Mulkey said after Baylor’s loss to UCONN. “They need to dump the COVID testing. Wouldn’t it be a shame to keep COVID testing, and then you got kids that test positive or some thing, and they don’t get to play in the Final Four? So you just need to forget the COVID tests and get the four teams playing in each Final Four and go battle it out.”

Mulkey tested positive for CO VID-19 two months prior to her press conference after having a holiday gathering with friends and family. Baylor had one game scratched and two others were postponed. When Mulkey re turned to coach her team, she told reporters that the NCAA would continue the season because of the “almighty dollar,” not caring about players and coaches’ safety.

“The season will continue on. It’s called the almighty dol lar,” Mulkey said in January 2021. “The NCAA has to have the al

adversity, and the overall nature of being in a new system and cul ture.

“I’ve been really proud of the way they have embraced change and done the things that we’ve asked them to do to become more consistent on a day to day basis,” Kelly said.

Kelly didn’t downplay the sig nificance of the winning streak, but also acknowledged the level of competition. LSU did pick up

mighty dollar from the men’s tournament. The almighty dollar is more important than the health and welfare of me, the players, or anybody else.”

Having openly gay athletes doesn’t hurt recruiting. Coaches not supporting their players does.

When you have former play ers that you coached coming af ter you after you refuse to com ment or even give your thoughts and prayers to one of the greatest players you’ve coached being de tained in a country that is at odds with the United States, recruits see that.

When you tell players you can’t be gay because you believe it will hurt your own self-image, recruits see that. When you are silent on the murder of George Floyd as well as other racial injus tices, recruits see that.

“Kim Mulkey is my dark horse for person in sports that you nev er want to cross,” Fagan said. “She might not even be the dark horse. She might just be the No. 1 person in sports that is terrifying.

an impressive win over Missis sippi State during that span, but Kelly still described the streak as “modest.”

“We’ve been able to make the progress necessary to to have a modest winning streak, and this is modest, we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us this month will tell us a lot, right, we’ve got an SEC slate in front of us over the next four weeks, which will challenge us to a new level.”

Broken promises leave Lousianians pessimistic for future

CHARLIE’S ANGLES CHARLIE STEPHENS @charliestephns

There isn’t a week that goes by where someone doesn’t ask me why I’m still in Louisiana and what my plans to leave are.

There’s a consensus among even lifelong residents of this state that it doesn’t have a long-term fu ture.

It’s a pervasive line of thinking on an issue where perception is everything.

Louisiana and its leaders have become a broken record through out my life, promising to move us away from the bottom of the bad lists and to the top of the good ones.

The problem is that when it’s time for decisions to be made and money to be spent to advance the state, there are more often excuses and broken promises than action that the people of Louisiana can be proud of.

We can take the missed oppor

tunities here at LSU as an example of the broader problems through out Louisiana, with one of our most glaring missed opportunities being National Cancer Institute designation.

President William Tate IV an nounced in February the univer sity’s goal of achieving NCI Desig nation as part of his “scholarship first” agenda.

But the problem is that the uni versity first set its sights on that goal in 1995 after it was awarded a planning grant from the feder al government with a runway of three years for realization, accord ing to a contemporaneous report from The Advocate.

The state failed to garner the designation due to insufficient in vestment. It’s a classic example of the state’s budgetary priorities be ing out of line with its stated pri orities.

The basic story of overprom ising and willfully under-deliver ing is one that’s repeated across Louisiana. Each time, our leaders promise things will be different. And each time, nothing changes.

Those of us that have lived in Louisiana all our lives find it hard to take promises of transforma tional change seriously given the widespread ineptitude from our

leaders that has brought us to where we are as a state.

I want Louisiana to succeed because the people of this state don’t deserve the misery that has

been brought onto them by their leaders, but I’m cautious to give too much credit to those who say the right things, because our past shows that talk often doesn’t trans late into action.

For our state to succeed, we need to hold our leaders account able for our current situation and stop accepting blind promises of a better tomorrow. Politicians con tinue their failures because they know that too many of us lack the follow-through to ensure that they’re working toward truly bet tering Louisiana.

Our three-year-plan to gain NCI designation turned into a 30-year-plan. That’s a shame. And it’s a story repeated time and time again here in Louisiana.

Stories like that are what in grains pessimism about the future in Louisiana residents. We need leaders to consistently show us results to the contrary to change that.

Charlie Stephens is a 21-year-old political communication senior from Baton Rouge.

LSU’s on-campus markets are outrageously overpriced

GABI’S GEMS

GABI CONNOR @gabiiconnor

There are few people un aware of the college student ste reotype: tired, unhealthy, over worked and, most of all, broke.

Jokes are made all of the time about the lack of financial stability students have, but little is ever done to combat the debt that many students continue to take on. An example of this is present on our university’s own campus: sky-high prices at the 459 Market, the 5 Market and On the Geaux in the Student Union.

These markets are the only places on campus a student can go to for any type of grocer ies. They’re the only location on campus to buy medicine, hygiene products and snacks, among other things.

There isn’t a Walmart within a walkable distance of campus, and Matherne’s, the only other grocery store close to campus, is a long hike for students, espe cially those on the east-side of campus. Without another eas

ily accessible place to shop, oncampus residents are left only with the university’s markets.

In Theory, there’s nothing wrong with this. But the univer sity takes advantage of its cap tive audience, doubling, tripling or even quadrupling the price

of products being sold at these markets.

A bag of Jack Links Beef Jerky is being sold for $11.25 at the 459 Market. That same bag is sold at Walmart for $4.98. Reese’s Dipped Pretzels at the Market? They cost $7.89. The

ones at Walmart? $2.54.

At this point, you have to step back and ask yourself if this is something that the uni versity should allow to happen.

On-campus residents, especial ly those without a car, are left with little choice; if they need a

certain type of food or hygiene product, they have to fork over three times as much money than they would if they were at another store.

Alexis LaBarrere, a freshman majoring in biology, feels the difference in price.

“They’re pretty expensive compared to the other ones,” she said. “It feels like they mark it up a lot just because they can, because of their convenience.”

Is it really all that is needed for an outrageous markup of prices? Convenience?

When asked if she went to the markets for food or other products, she replied, “Occa sionally. I can’t really afford to go on a consistent basis.”

Most college students are broke. There’s no denying the truth in that stereotype. Almost all students are working some type of job so that they can af ford tuition, fees, books and personal needs.

We already give the univer sity enough money. Do they re ally need to charge us double for a can of soup?

Gabi Connor is an 18-year-old English freshman from LaPlace.

EDITORIAL BOARD

Josh Archote Editor-in-Chief

Managing EditorHannah Michel Hanks

Bella Dardano News Editor

Deputy News EditorDomenic Purdy

Claire Sullivan Opinion Editor

Editorial Policies and Procedures

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 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.

Quote of the Week

“Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.”

Elbert Hubbard American writer 1856

CHLOE KALMBACH / The Reveille

LSU Political Science freshman Talonah Sterling and Biology Freshman Lilly Cambas converse together on Aug. 29, in the Quad, Baton Rouge, La.

FRANCIS DINH / The Reveille

page 11OPINION Snacks line food shelves at On the Geaux Sept. 12 in the LSU Student Union.

College is the time to become comfortable with solitude

TAYLOR’S TALKS

TAYLOR HAMILTON @taylorhami04

In high school, everyone makes you feel like you have to spend every second of the day with your friends and that you can never be found by yourself.

But, in college, being alone is a common occurrence. Whether you are in the library, the dining hall or the gym, you can almost always find people by themselves.

Being alone is not something to fear, especially for freshmen such as myself. Many of us have been thrown into a different en vironment and are adjusting to rigorous college classes, so being alone shouldn’t be unusual. We hardly know anyone, and we’re still getting used to a new envi ronment with thousands of other people around us.

Being alone can often be wrongfully interpreted as loneli ness or anti-socialness. But this is wrong. Being by yourself doesn’t mean that you have zero friends or that you’re standoff-ish. Col lege is hectic, and it’s not fea sible to plan to have a friend at every meal, workout or activity. But even if you sit by yourself by choice, that doesn’t make you a

loner.

“What Time Alone Offers,” a study by researchers in the United Kingdom, highlights how solitude can nurture positivity, motivation and self-connection.

By giving yourself the time to be alone, you can get to know yourself better. Whether you find a new hobby or discover your own positive and negative behav iors, being by yourself can help you find out who you truly are and what your aspirations are. Through those experiences, you can understand how you may re act to certain scenarios and inter act with others.

Solitude can also be extremely relaxing. Watching Netflix, listen ing to soothing music or reading a book allows you to have a mo ment to cherish to yourself. Be ing alone can let you be your true self rather than fabricating who you are for someone else just to be liked.

College is a time where stu dents meet many new people. Anyone can make fleeting, su perficial relationships that will be unfulfilling. But good quality friends take time.

At my former K-12 school, it took me until middle school to create a solid friend group be cause I was surrounded by fake people. Being with someone who

makes you miserable is much worse than being alone and en joying your life, whether while eating, studying or watching a football game.

Knowing who you are and lov ing yourself are essential factors in claiming your own power. Re member that being alone shows your inner confidence, because

not everyone has the guts to be alone.

Confidently walking into the 459 Dining Hall, getting food and sitting down by yourself can change your outlook on eat ing solo. If you act like no one is watching you, then you can truly begin to enjoy yourself.

Although putting yourself out

there and meeting new people is always an excellent idea, some times playing music in your ear buds and walking through the day by yourself can be extremely rewarding.

Taylor Hamilton is an 18-yearold mass communication fresh man from Tallahassee, Florida.

FRANCIS DINH / The Reveille

A student works alone on Sept. 12 in the LSU Student Union.