Anthony Jennings watched film of the 2014 Outback Bowl more times than he can count. The rising LSU sophomore quarterback said he was shaky in the huddle last season and didn’t know what to say or do when 10 of his teammates turned to him for answers. Editor’s Note: This is the second in a three-part series detailing concerns surrounding the Stu- dio Arts Building. Although University art stu- dents are concerned about health and safety risks in the Studio Arts Building, Facility Services and the Office of Environmental Health and Safety insist the build- ing is not dangerous. Using home test kits, students have identified lead and asbestos in the building. They are worried about the effects of those sub- stances on their health. Lead paint and asbestos-based materials are com- mon in older buildings on campus. Michael Hooks, assistant director of EHS, said while the lead paint in the Studio Arts Building is in poor condition, it has not deterio- rated to the point of creating dust that people could ingest. “You would have to be doing some kind of active work to make this a problem, like sandblasting, scraping, sanding of the lead- based paint to get enough in the air to create dust that would be of a hazardous nature to building oc- cupants or workers,” Hooks said. “Just some flaky paint here or there, while it’s unfortunate that Reveille e Daily VOLUME 118, ISSUE 106 thedailyreveille @lsureveille thedailyreveille lsureveille.com Wednesday, March 12, 2014 OPINION: Reckless driving a problem in Baton Rouge, p. 12 CRIME: LSUPD arrests another student for payroll fraud, p. 3 CHARLOTTE WILLCOX / The Daily Reveille Mold grows Feb. 27 from a water leak in the hallway ceiling of the Studio Arts Building. STUDIO ARTS BUILDING Facility Services, EHS say building is safe despite old age Olivia McClure Senior Reporter BUILDING SAFETY, see page 6 LAWSUIT, see page 6 LAWSUIT Deanna Narveson Staff Writer Health, safety risks concern students University to appear in court of appeals Next in Line LSU sophomore quarterback Anthony Jennings throws the ball during practice Monday at the Charles McClendon Practice Facility. STORY MIKE GEGENHEIMER Sports Writer CHARLOTTE WILLCOX / The Daily Reveille The University is set to ap- pear in the Louisiana First Cir- cuit Court of Appeals on April 1 to appeal the rulings in the lawsuit filed against the Uni- versity in April 2013, said the University’s attorney Jimmy Faircloth. The Advocate and NOLA. com | The Times-Picayune ini- tially sued the University when it failed to release information about potential candidates for the president search prior to the hiring of LSU President F. King Alexander. Baton Rouge District Judge Janice Clark ruled in favor of the media outlets and said the documents fell into the category of public records. Clark then ruled the Univer- sity was in contempt of court in August after it failed to turn over the candidate information as dic- tated by the ruling in April, im- posing a $500-per-day fine from the day she made her first ruling Jennings begins transition to starting quarterback JENNINGS, see page 6
Transcript
Anthony Jennings watched fi lm of the 2014 Outback Bowl more times than he can count.
The rising LSU sophomore quarterback said he was shaky in the huddle last season and didn’t know what to say or do when 10 of his teammates turned to him for answers.
Editor’s Note: This is the second in a three-part series detailing concerns surrounding the Stu-dio Arts Building.
Although University art stu-dents are concerned about health and safety risks in the Studio
Arts Building , Facility Services and the Offi ce of Environmental Health and Safety insist the build-ing is not dangerous .
Using home test kits , students have identifi ed lead and asbestos in the building. They are worried about the effects of those sub-stances on their health.
Lead paint and asbestos-based materials are com-mon in older buildings on campus. Michael Hooks , assistant director of EHS , said while the lead paint in the Studio Arts Building is in
poor condition , it has not deterio-rated to the point of creating dust that people could ingest.
“You would have to be doing some kind of active work to make this a problem, like sandblasting, scraping, sanding of the lead-based paint to get enough in the air to create dust that would be of a hazardous nature to building oc-cupants or workers,” Hooks said. “Just some fl aky paint here or there, while it’s unfortunate that
Reveille� e Daily
VOLUME 118, ISSUE 106
thedailyreveille @lsureveille thedailyreveille lsureveille.comWednesday, March 12, 2014
OPINION: Reckless driving a problem in Baton Rouge, p. 12
CRIME: LSUPD arrests another student for payroll fraud, p. 3
CHARLOTTE WILLCOX / The Daily Reveille
Mold grows Feb. 27 from a water leak in the hallway ceiling of the Studio Arts Building.
STUDIO ARTS BUILDING
Facility Services, EHS say building is safe despite old age
Olivia McClureSenior Reporter
BUILDING SAFETY, see page 6
LAWSUIT, see page 6
LAWSUIT
Deanna NarvesonStaff Writer
Health, safety risks concern students
University to appear in court of appeals
Next in Line
LSU sophomore quarterback Anthony Jennings throws the ball during practice Monday at the Charles McClendon Practice Facility.
STORY MIKE GEGENHEIMER Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE WILLCOX / The Daily Reveille
The University is set to ap-pear in the Louisiana First Cir-cuit Court of Appeals on April 1 to appeal the rulings in the lawsuit fi led against the Uni-versity in April 2013 , said the University’s attorney Jimmy Faircloth.
The Advocate and NOLA.com | The Times-Picayun e ini-tially sued the University when it failed to release information about potential candidates for the president search prior to the hiring of LSU President F. King Alexander. Baton Rouge District Judge Janice Clark ruled in favor of the media outlets and said the documents fell into the category of public records.
Clark then ruled the Univer-sity was in contempt of court in August after it failed to turn over the candidate information as dic-tated by the ruling in April, im-posing a $500-per-day fi ne from the day she made her fi rst ruling
Jennings begins transition to starting quarterback
JENNINGS, see page 6
� e Daily Reveille
Nation & World Wednesday, March 12, 2014page 2
Kevin Thibodeaux • Editor in ChiefMorgan Searles • Managing Editor
The Daily Reveille holds accuracy and objectivity at the highest priority and wants to reassure the reporting and content of the paper meets these standards. This space is reserved to recog-nize and correct any mistakes which may have been printed in The Daily Reveille. If you would like something corrected or clari� ed please contact the editor at (225) 578-4811 or e-mail [email protected].
The Daily Reveille (USPS 145-800) is written, edited and produced solely by students of Louisiana State University. The Daily Reveille is an independent entity within the Manship School of Mass Com-munication. A single issue of The Daily Reveille is free. To purchase additional copies for 25 cents, please contact the Of� ce of Student Media in B-34 Hodges Hall. The Daily Reveille is published daily dur-ing the fall and spring semesters and semi-weekly during the sum-mer semester, except during holidays and � nal exams. Second-class copies postage paid at Baton Rouge, La., 70803. Annual weekly mailed subscriptions are $125, semester weekly mailed subscrip-tions are $75. Non-mailed student rates are $4 each regular semes-ter, $2 during the summer; one copy per person, additional copies 25 cents each. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Daily Reveille, B-39 Hodges Hall, LSU, Baton Rouge, La.,70803.
� e Daily ReveilleB-16 Hodges Hall • Baton Rouge, La. 70803
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sooner or later, consumers will be able to buy cars that rely on computers — not the owner — to do the driving.
With that in mind, the Califor-nia Department of Motor Vehicles held an initial public hearing Tues-day as it puzzles through how to regulate the public’s use of the tech-nology that is still being tested.
Among the complex questions offi cials wanted to unravel:
How will the state know the cars are safe?
Does a driver even need to be behind the wheel?
Can manufacturers mine data from onboard computers to make product pitches based on where the car goes or set insurance rates on how it is driven?
Once the stuff of science fi c-tion, driverless cars could be com-mercially available by decade’s end. Before then, the DMV wants to decide how to integrate the cars — often called autonomous vehicles — onto public roads.
Three other states have passed driverless car laws, but those rules mostly focus on testing. California’s Legislature passed a
law in 2012 that mandated rules on testing and public operation, and the DMV expects within weeks to fi nalize regulations dictating what companies must do to test the technology on public roads.
Those rules came after Google Inc. already had sent its fl eet of Priuses and Lexuses, fi tted with an array of sensors including radar and lasers, hundreds of thousands
of miles in California. Major auto-makers also have tested their own models.
Now, the DMV is scrambling to regulate the broader use of the cars. With federal government ap-parently years away from devel-oping regulations, California’s rules could effectively become the national standard.
TODAY’S FORECAST
Partly Cloudy/Wind
6856
FridayHIGH LOW
6040
ThursdayHIGH LOW
36LOW62HIGH
sunset: 7:11 p.m.sunrise: 7:18 a.m.
Friday
6040
ThursdayThursday
ANGOLA (AP) — A Caddo Parish man prepared Tuesday to walk free after spending almost 26 years on death row at Louisiana’s maximum security prison at Angola.
Glenn Ford, now 64, has been on death row since Aug. 23, 1988, for the 1983 murder of Isadore Rozeman, 56, a Shreveport jeweler and watchmaker for whom he did occasional yard work, state correc-tions offi cials said Tuesday. Ford has always denied killing Roze-man.
A district judge on Monday approved the state’s motion to va-cate Ford’s conviction and sentence based on new information that cor-roborated his claim that he was not present or involved in Rozeman’s death, Ford’s attorneys said.
ERIC RISBERG / The Associated Press
The California Department of Motor Vehicles held a public hearing Tuesday to solicit ideas on how to integrate driverless cars onto public roads.
Calif. mulls how to regulate driverless carsThe Associated Press
Release ordered for death row inmateThe Associated Press
KEVIN SUTHERLAND / The Associated Press
Oscar Pistorius covers his face Tuesday as he listens to cross questioning about the events surrounding the death of his girl-friend, Reeva Steenkamp, during his trial.
INTERNATIONAL
Pistorius on trial for murderPRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Oscar Pistorius fi red guns in public in the months before he killed his girlfriend — a onetime friend said at the athlete’s murder trial Tuesday.
The account by Darren Fresco portrayed Pistorius as a reckless hothead infatuated with fi rearms and seemingly drifting down a pre-carious path before he fatally shot Reeva Steenkamp through a closed toilet door at his home before dawn on Feb. 14, 2013.
The athlete is on trial for murder in the killing of Steenkamp,
and also faces two fi rearm charges for shooting in public and a third fi rearm charge for illegal posses-sion of ammunition.
Pistorius says he shot Steen-kamp by mistake, thinking she was a dangerous intruder. The pros-ecution says he killed her after an argument.
If convicted on the murder charge, Pistorius could be sent to prison for at least 25 years before the chance of parole, the minimum time someone must serve if given a life sentence in South Africa.
The Associated Press
NATIONAL STATE/LOCAL
Science is expensive, but Uni-versity chemistry professor Les Butler says it doesn’t have to be.
The College of Science recently announced that Butler and his re-search group received a $500,000 award from the W.M. Keck Founda-tion for their proposal to construct an X-ray tomography machine, which scans objects in ultra high resolu-tion by lighting them up against dark backgrounds. The University will match the funds Butler received from the foundation, and researchers across Baton Rouge will be able to use the machine to enhance their own projects.
“We want to make this technol-ogy a lot more available than it cur-rently is,” Butler said.
Butler and his crew subcon-tracted various parts of the ma-chine’s design from a Belgian com-pany. They will construct it with the help of scientists from New York University and the funds they re-ceived from the University and the Keck Foundation. University pro-fessor Kenneth Matthews II said the project will likely cost a few million dollars.
This fi gure might sound large, but Matthews said the cost is rea-sonable, given that its close rela-tive, the Synchrotron, cost more than $25 million to bring to the University. The machine will be a smaller version of the Synchrotron installed in the Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices on campus. The Synchrotron is ca-pable of producing highly detailed three-dimensional examination of large objects.
“The machine basically works like the ones in hospitals, but the images come out a lot more clearly, and it can be used for a wider range of research applications,” Matthews said.
Butler and his colleagues in material sciences study battery fail-ure, 3-D printers and fl ame retarda-tion. He said he anticipates the new machine will allow him to make signifi cant advances with his own research.
Butler and his group have al-ready been approached by many people across campus. Butler said the machine will be built by a team of chemists, medical physicists and computer scientists, and as such, it will be able to meet the demands of a myriad of different projects.
In the past, these devices have been used prominently in biomedi-cal engineering. Scientists used the machine’s high resolution imaging capabilities to study materials that can’t be observed with other kinds of technology. This imaging has led to many important discoveries, including materials that allow for instantaneous drug delivery, which reduces the time it takes for medi-cine to affect the body.
Matthews said making the machine available for all of the
University to use will likely lead to similar innovations.
“These are more effective at screening for breast cancer and os-teoporosis than hospital scanners are, so we expect this to be used for a lot of medical research,” Matthews said.
At least 15 researchers have submitted proposals to Butler and his crew.
“One guy wants to scan arti-facts he found in Central America, and someone else will use it to de-velop more effi cient ways of extract-ing oil from rocks,” Matthews said.
Butler’s proposal also included a request from an ecologist who wants to scan tree bark and a toxi-cologist who will study contami-nants in soil, a growing concern in
the bayous of Louisiana.“I study why batteries fail and
why fl ame retardants fail, and I try to make it so they don’t,” Butler said.
The machine will likely be installed in the Socolofsky Microscopy Center in the Choppin Hall Annex, though the University has yet to confi rm this location. Butler said the project will be com-pleted within three years and will be available to undergraduate research-ers and faculty members alike.
“This will basically be open to anyone who’s interested in using it,” Matthews said.
� e Daily Reveille page 3Wednesday, March 12, 2014
EVENT CALENDAR
MARCH
12
9:00 PM
9:30 PM
10:30 PM
Joshua Paxton - The Little Gem Saloon
LSU Baseball - Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field - LSU
New Orleans Pelicans vs Memphis Grizzlies - New Orleans Arena
Memphis the Musical - Saenger TheatreZZ Ward - House of Blues New OrleansCirque du Soleil: Varekai - Baton Rouge River Center
Hopsin's Knock Madness Tour - House of Blues New OrleansRhett Guillot - Lava CantinaGlen David Andrews - The Little Gem Saloon
Comedy Night - The Station Sports Bar and Grill
Band Karaoke - Boudreaux & Thibodeaux's
Drag Bingo - George's Place
Karaoke - The Spanish Moon
TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2014
For more information on LSU events or to place your own event you can visit
www.lsureveille.com/calendar
8:30 PM
7:00 PM
5:00 PM
6:30 PM
7:30 PM
8:00 PM
EVENTS
$10 Race Night Take advantage of $10 go-kart races all night!
Come be a rockstar at Baton Rouge’s premiere indoor kart facility,
Rockstar Racing!
www.rockstarracing.net
Social Media for the Job SearchWednesday, March 12, 11:30 a.m.,
Bluebonnet Regional Branch Library
Learn how to harness social media tools to help you land your next
job! Founder and managing director of dezinsINTERACTIVE, Orhan
McMillan, will be presenting.
For more info call (225) 381-8434
Telescope Training ClassSaturdays, March 8 & 13, 2:00 p.m., Carver Branch Library
Interested in stargazing? If so come learn how to work the library’s
Dobsonian telescope! It’s available for rent after you take this
training course!
For info call (225) 231-3770
Funding awarded for X-ray projectTECHNOLOGY
Machine available for local researchPanya KrounContributing Writer
University student arrested for payroll fraud
CAMPUS CRIME BRIEFS
LSU Police Department spokesman Capt. Cory Lalonde said LSUPD offi cers arrested Brian Paul Broussard, 22, of 8830 North Sam Houston Parkway, Humble, Texas, on March 6 for payroll fraud.
This is one of several cases of payroll fraud at the University in the past two months.
Employees from the LSU Aca-demic Center for Student Athletes, located in the Cox Communica-tions building, contacted LSUPD on Feb. 28 to identify Broussard, a student worker, who the depart-ment suspected of committing pay-roll fraud, Lalonde said.
Broussard admitted to LSUPD investigators he left the Academic Center for Student Athletes shortly after signing in on several different occasions, Lalonde said.
This incidence of payroll fraud follows a string of arrests for payroll fraud and attempted payroll fraud. The two students previously arrested for attempted payroll fraud were also student workers at the Cox Communications Building.
Broussard was arrested and booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.Man arrested for unlawful entry into Student Union building
Man issued misdemeanor summons for misdemeanor theft
LSUPD offi cers issued a misdemeanor summons for theft March 9 to Alden Warner, 20, of 11917 Cardigan Ave., for misde-meanor theft, Lalonde said.
Offi cers were dispatched to the LSU UREC earlier during the day after receiving a call from a victim who said someone stole $180 from their wallet, Lalonde said.
The victim, who personally knew the suspect, identifi ed War-ner through pulled UREC surveil-lance footage, Lalonde said.
LSUPD offi cers arrested Warner after the victim called Warner and asked him to return to the UREC.
POLL: Would it be easy to commit payroll fraud as an LSU student worker? Vote online at lsureveille.com.
arrested Ahmed Moustafa Ab-del Abdelkhalek, 29, of 740 West Chimes St., for unlawful entry into a place of business, Lalonde said.
LSUPD offi cers received in-formation March 6 regarding a man observed entering the Student
Union after business hours. Sur-veillance footage revealed the man mostly stayed in the second fl oor computer lab, Lalonde said.
LSUPD investigators noticed the suspect return to the Student Union on March 7 well after 2 a.m. Offi cers were dispatched to the Student Union, where they identi-fi ed the suspect to be Abdelkhalek, Lalonde said.
Abdelkhalek admitted to being previously told to leave the build-ing by Student Union employees.
Abdelhalek was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.
courtesy of LSU CENTER FOR ADVANCED MICROSTRUCTURES AND DEVICES
The X-ray tomography machine will scan objects in ultra high resolution by lighting them up against dark backgrounds. It can be used for many different areas of research.
� e Daily Reveillepage 4 Wednesday, March 12, 2014
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Catholic Charities
STATE WEATHER FACULTY
UNIVERSITY
State legislators are attempt-ing to curb Louisiana’s domes-tic violence problem with a new package of legislation to be pre-sented in the current legislative session.
Rep. Helena Moreno and Sen. J.P. Morrell are introducing various anti-domestic violence bills that could increase jail time for offenders and allow a victim of domestic abuse to be granted an immediate divorce, as op-posed to waiting 180 days under Louisiana’s current laws.
Louisiana ranks second in the nation for homicides related to domestic abuse, according to the IRIS Domestic Violence Center of Baton Rouge .
Moreno’s and Morrell’s leg-islation was endorsed earlier this month by the Louisiana Coali-tion Against Domestic Violence (LCADV) , a statewide coalition of shelters, non-residential pro-grams and individuals working to combat domestic violence in Louisiana.
Beth Meeks , executive di-rector of the LCADV , spoke out against Louisiana’s domestic vio-lence problem in a news release.
“If a virus was killing peo-ple in Louisiana at a rate twice as high as the rest of the nation, we’d declare a public health emergency,” Meeks said. “Every leader would be working around the clock to stop it. Why don’t we have that sense of urgency about the murders of our mothers and wives?”
LSU Police Department spokesman Capt. Cory Lalonde said domestic violence on cam-pus is an issue his offi ce takes seriously.
“We do deal with it from time to time. More attention is being brought to it,” Lalonde said.
Seirra Fowler , health promo-tion coordinator at the Student Health Center, said the Univer-sity is not alone in the issues it faces concerning domestic abuse.
“I think interpersonal vio-lence is a problem on every col-lege campus,” Fowler said.
Fowler is the co-coordina-tor of the University’s Light-house Program , which pro-vides aid to student victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, relationship violence and stalking.
Lawmakers attempt to curb violenceQuint ForgeyStaff Writer
Stacia Haynie was named the new dean of the College of Humani-ties and Social Sciences on Tuesday, according to a University news re-lease. Haynie is a professor of politi-cal science and has previously served as interim dean of the graduate school and as vice provost for academic affairs .
Haynie succeeds Gaines Fos-ter , who announced last April that he would step down to return to his work as a history professor and researcher.
Haynie’s selection makes her the second internal candidate to be named dean recently, following the selection of Richard White, the new dean of the E. J. Ourso College of Business .
Recent College of Science dean selection Cynthia Peterson received her Bachelor of Science from the University, making Haynie the third University-affi liated dean to be an-nounced in the recent dean searches.
Haynie was chosen over Eric Link from the University of Mem-phis and R. Kyle Longley from Arizona State University .
She will begin her appoint-ment April 1 , pending Board of Supervisors approval.
Students enjoy warmer daysThe brash of cold weather
the University saw throughout the past few months is starting to clear up, with much more moder-ate weather so far this week. The
National Weather Service’s New Orleans/Baton Rouge Weather Forecast Offi ce said the warmer weather is not here to stay, with a cold front coming through Baton Rouge on Wednesday . The pro-jected low is in the high 30s, with potential cold spells possible into
April . In the meantime, students have been taking advantage of the break in cold temperatures.
‘I miss the cold. I don’t
have to worry about overheating when I ride
my bike.’Andrew Corephysics and computer
science freshman
‘I’ve been sitting out in the quad
more.’
Hannah Teerinternational studies
freshman
‘I’ve been studying
for midterms,
so I haven’t been able to enjoy it.’Alexander Nadler
How have you taken advantage of the warmer weather?
Grad programs average among SEC schools
While some University gradu-ate degree programs gained ground in national rankings, they remain middle-of-the-road overall among their Southeastern Conference peers.
U.S. News and World Report released its 2015 rankings of gradu-ate schools Tuesday. The magazine grades schools offering graduate de-grees in law, education, business and other disciplines based on criteria like quality of education, selectiv-ity, graduate success and faculty re-sources.
University graduate programs remained in similar positions nation-ally compared to last year’s rank-ings, with some gaining a few places and others falling.
The Paul M. Hebert Law Cen-ter rose four places from last year to No. 77 among 194 law degree-grant-ing institutions nationwide in the U.S. News rankings. The ranking is the highest the Law Center has ever achieved.
Meanwhile, the University’s Flores MBA Program offered by the E.J. Ourso College of Business dropped four places to No. 65 after making a 20-place jump in last year’s rankings.
In a statement, Flores MBA
Program director Edward Watson attributed the drop in standings to losing the “splash factor” from the opening of the new Business Education Complex , which he said originally led to the school’s higher ranking.
In the same statement, Watson compared the competitive environ-ment between graduate schools to that between SEC football teams, saying the competition can be “determined by inches. ”
Compared to other SEC schools, however, University graduate pro-grams fail to stand out.
No University graduate school ranks higher than sixth in SEC schools, with the engineering college holding that position despite being ranked No. 94 nationally.
The Flores MBA Program and Law Center both rank sev-enth among SEC schools, and both tied in score with the University of Tennessee’s equivalent programs. The University’s education gradu-ate program ranked ninth in the SEC , tied with the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville .
The Daily Reveille page 5Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Thanks
JENNINGS, from page 1
The Marietta, Ga., native was thrust into the spotlight against Iowa and expected to fill in for injured se-nior Zach Mettenberger, who had just spent the last 12 games making LSU fans believe in the pass again.
Jennings responded like a freshman, completing 7-of-19 pass-es for 82 yards and a pick six.
“I don’t think [the Outback Bowl] was one of my best games. If it was, I don’t think I would be starting,” Jennings said.
But after all the hours spent in a dark film room, the Tigers’ sopho-more quarterback knows one thing: that was last season.
“I’m confident because every guy on my team is rallying around me to become a better leader, to become a better quarterback,” Jen-nings said. “When you have better relationships with everyone on the team, it makes you better.”
Jennings’ belief that he was a rallying point for his teammates isn’t far off either. LSU senior of-fensive lineman La’el Collins said Jennings’ inexperience actually drew him closer to the green Tiger.
“When you look at guys like that, you remember when you were in their shoes and you kind of want to just be around those guys and lift them up and keep them confident,” Collins said.
Jennings said his primary focus this offseason has been becoming a better leader on and off the field for the veteran team he’s inherited.
In his mind, any quarterback good enough to be extended a scholarship to a program like LSU can throw the ball, and so far, his
competition has held true to that belief.
LSU early enrollee Brandon Harris took snaps with the third string during the first week of prac-tice, but appears to be the favorite to back up Jennings once the season starts. Sophomore Hayden Rettig is also in the mix.
Harris plays a similar style as Jennings, as both are considered more mobile quarterbacks, but Jen-nings said he feels a bond with his new teammate after being in the same position last season.
“[Harris] can run the ball just like I can, and he can throw the ball with the best of them,” Jen-nings said. “Just what’s different right now is that he doesn’t know as much as I do, but that comes with time.”
Several Tigers, including LSU coach Les Miles, had to correct themselves before accidentally and prematurely anointing Jennings as the heir apparent to Mettenberger’s throne under center, but Miles isn’t ready to officially hand over the crown any time soon.
Miles said making a decision about a starting quarterback this early would be foolish, comparing Jennings’ situation to that of JaMar-cus Russell and Matt Flynn in 2006.
“It’s all in the process,” Miles said. “In the early practices, he should have some advantages in the fact that the offense is kind of repeated for him. We’re just look-ing for him to compete and take the job.”
Assuming he gets the job, Jennings has the daunt-ing task of following up one of the most prolific LSU passing
attacks to ever see the lights of Tiger Stadium.
The LSU offense found new life in 2013 with Mettenberger and former wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry. Together, the trio bucked the run-heavy LSU schemes of the past to put together 2,278 yards and 18 touchdowns through the air before Mettenberger’s injury.
LSU junior offensive lineman
Vadal Alexander said it’s strange not having Mettenberger behind him this spring, but that not every-thing different is bad.
Alexander said he has a per-sonal attachment to Mettenberger because of the relationship they’ve developed over the past few years, but on the field, Alexander’s only preference is the best quarterback.
The biggest change Jennings brings to the position — and biggest
challenge for his blockers — is the ability to extend plays with his legs.
Jennings’ ability to scramble out of the pocket is in stark contrast to Mettenberger’s pocket-passer style. Jennings’ 21-yard carry against Arkansas regis-tered as the only time an LSU quar-terback ran for more than 20 yards on a single play last season.
This forces linemen like Al-exander to prepare for a quar-terback on the move as op-posed to always knowing where Mettenberger would be.
“Zach was a pocket passer, get the ball out, ball is on the money,” Jennings said. “Anthony might see something, see open field and just move around the pocket, and you’ve got to be ready for that.”
But even if the two don’t play the same quarterback style, Jennings said he’s been talk-ing with Mettenberger every week during the offseason to see what he can absorb from his predecessor.
Jennings said the most im-portant piece of advice Metten-berger has given him so far is to act like the quarterback of LSU football.
“[Mettenberger] just said it’s a grind,” Jennings said. “Becom-ing the LSU quarterback is one of the most prestigious positions in all of college football. [I have] to do the right thing even when nobody is looking.”
TAYLOR BALKOM / The Daily Reveille
LSU sophomore quarterback Anthony Jennings (10) throws the ball Monday during spring football practice at the Charles McClendon Practice Facility.
Advocate and NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune, said the cur-rent total of court fees owed by the University is in excess of $50,000, on top of what is owed in attorney fees and the fines for the days leading up to when the president’s search docu-ments were submitted to Clark in
September 2013. LSU lead legal counsel Shel-
by McKenzie said in an email in September that the LSU Board of Supervisors will not pay the fines owed until the case has been through the entire process of appeals.
Former Editor in Chief of The Daily Reveille Andrea Gallo filed a similar but sepa-rate lawsuit against the Univer-sity on April 1, 2013, but a judge
ultimately sided with the Univer-sity in that case, saying the names were not public record.
we have that, it shouldn’t present a hazard to the occupants.”
Lead and asbestos abatement ahead of renovation is not likely, Hooks said, because it is an ex-pensive process during which the facility could not be occupied. It also would not be cost-effective for a building already due for ren-ovation.
Tom Walsh, EHS industrial hygiene health and safety officer, said the OSHA-approved level of lead in the air is 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air. He pointed out that lead is an element of nature found in even the cleanest air out-side.
“I don’t see that lead exposure at this level would be a long-term risk,” Walsh said. “You look at acute and long-term. The acute risk we know is not there. The long-term risk … comes into play with the variations of their life.”
Students also worry about safe-ty hazards like ex-posed wiring and loose wood bricks in the floor. But no one has reported those issues in the past six months, according to a list of work orders provided by Facility Services.
“Anything that’s an immediate danger is handled im-mediately,” said Dave Maharrey, executive associate director of Facility Services. “Some things
that are deficiencies are not neces-sarily danger.”
The building has passed in-spections by the state fire mar-shal’s office, meaning it is official-ly considered safe to occupy. Still, if anyone has concerns, Maharrey said they should notify Facility Services.
Roger Husser, Facility Ser-vices director of planning, design and construction, said while the building may be safe, renovation remains critical.
“The building needs a lot of work,” Husser said. “It’s in poor condition. It’s very difficult for
Facility Services to continue to try to maintain it in its current condition, so we’re desper-ately awaiting the renovation funds from the state.”
A complete renovation would take 18 to 24 months and would be done in two phases so half of the building could be occupied while the other is reno-vated. Husser said the state provided funds to complete renovation plans a couple of years
ago, but they cannot be imple-mented until the state legislature appropriates the $15 million need-ed for renovation in its capital outlay budget.
The building, which was constructed in 1924 and origi-nally housed engineering shops, has never received a complete renovation. The systems in the
building are “old and decrepit,” Husser said.
When the ceramics studio ceiling collapsed in November, Facility Services had to make unplanned repairs. Asbestos must be monitored to make sure it remains in a safe condition. The building’s aging heating ventila-tion and air conditioning equipment requires servicing more often than newer equipment.
“It’s certainly not cost-effective,” Husser said. “Not only would the appropri-ate funding from the state re-sult in a more appropriate space for studio arts, but it would also reduce our annual expenditures
for maintenance.”
The Daily Reveillepage 6 Wednesday, March 12, 2014
BUILDING SAFETY, from page 1
LAWSUIT, from page 1
CHARLOTTE WILLCOX / The Daily Reveille
Walls in the Studio Arts Building have lead paint, but Facility Services and the Office of Environmental Health and Safety say it is safe.
The Advocate and NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune v. LSU: A TiMELiNE
November 2012: LSU Presidential
Search Committee
set
March 18, 2013: LSU Presidential
Search committee recommends F. King Alexander to the Board of
Supervisors
March 21, 2013:
The Advocate submits public records request for candidate information
April 1, 2013: The Advocate files public
lawsuit against the University for refusing to release documents
April 8, 2013:
NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
files similar suit
April 1, 2014: University to appear in Louisiana Court of Appeals First Circuit
for oral argument with the goal of overturning
2013 ruling
April 30, 2013: Judge Janice Clark rules in favor of media outlets, citing
the University’s actions as
illegal
May 1, 2013:
University ordered
to release presidential candidate
information
Aug. 14, 2013:
University found in
contempt of court for not releasing the
records
Sept. 16, 2013:University
attorney Jimmy Faircloth brings records to judge
Sept. 26, 2013: Final
ruling on money owed by the University for contempt and withholding of
the records
SportsWednesday, March 12, 2014 page 7
ANGELA MAJOR / The Daily Reveille
LSU junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III (2) moves past a Georgia defender during the Tigers’ 69-61 loss to the Bulldogs in the PMAC.
LSU’s chances in the SEC tourney could be worse
LSU sand volleyball to host � rst event Brock realizing passion as sand volleyball coach
Postseason hoops are in full swing across the country as the Southeastern Conference Basket-ball tournament tips off today in Atlanta.
With No. 1 Florida and Ken-tucky being the conference’s only real locks to reach the Big Dance, the rest of the league is desperately scrambling to grab one of the last remaining seats.
LSU has a bye and doesn’t play until Thursday , facing Ala-bama at 6 p.m. , but fi nds itself one of many teams that need to win the SEC tournament to get in because there’s no chance it will receive an
at-large NCAA bid.That makes the scenario very
simple for the Tigers — either win four games in as many days or go home empty-handed. Coach John-ny Jones and company are all in with four rolls of the dice, and all they can do now is try not to crap out and let the chips fall where they may.
Considering the enigmatic ups and downs of LSU’s season, the survive-and-advance nature of what LSU players are calling the “third season” may be exactly what brings out the best in the Tigers.
There’s no need to run through all the peaks and valleys — LSU’s regular season has already been vigorously dissected and autop-sied — but the bottom line is LSU is talented but frustratingly inconsistent.
During the course of a full
regular season, that combination landed the Tigers in the middle of the pack in a down conference. But in an all-or-nothing tournament setting, that’s precisely what makes them exceptionally dangerous.
LSU has struggled to string together victories and build on suc-cess — each emotional high has been closely followed by a setback — but no off days means there’s no time to dwell on the past.
That’s not to say LSU won’t go one-and-done by losing to Ala-bama again, but if it has success early, it will be easier to sustain it moving forward.
Without time to install a game plan and over-analyze fi lm, natural instincts take over. Veteran guards Anthony Hickey and Andre String-er both welcomed the change in
BASKETBALL, see page 15
THE SMARTEST MORANJAMES MORANSports Columnist
From being outdoors with sand between his toes, to men-toring student-athletes, Russell Brock , LSU’s fi rst sand volleyball coach, loves everything about his job.
The man picked to lead the Ti-gers in the new program’s inaugu-ral season emits a passion for the
sport that those around him can’t help but notice and spread.
“That’s one of the reasons I knew that he would be the right fi t not only for LSU but for sand volleyball,” said LSU indoor vol-leyball coach Fran Flory . “This is Russell. He fi ts the culture, he fi ts the profi le of a great college coach.”
Brock’s love of sand volley-ball began during his years playing
indoor volleyball for University of Southern California . He and his teammates would regularly go to the beach and play during the off-season, and he became hooked.
Everything about the sport en-thralled him: the atmosphere, the sand and the intimate nature of the sport.
“It was just an enhancement of
BROCK, see page 15
Tyler NunezSports Contributor
The LSU sand volleyball team will get its fi rst chance to show fans what the new pro-gram is all about when it hosts its fi rst ever organized competition, the Purple vs. Gold scrimmage, at 2:30 p.m. today at Mango’s Beach Volleyball Club .
From analyzing pairs and
matchups to adjusting to the gameday atmosphere, LSU coach Russell Brock said he hopes the event will act as a learning experience on virtually every level.
“Wednesday will really be the competition for us to see if we need to make some adjustments,” Brock said. “We’ll have a lot
SAND VOLLEYBALL, see page 11
RICHARD REDMANN / The Daily Reveille
LSU head sand volleyball coach Russell Brock (right) speaks with senior Kaitlin Hatcher on Feb. 7 during practice at Mango’s Beach Volleyball.
Tyler NunezSports Contributor
BEACH BUMS
It wasn’t the prettiest game for the Tigers against in-state opponent Nicholls State on Tuesday night in Alex Box Stadium , but LSU coach Paul Mainieri will take the win.
“I think the best thing we can say about tonight is that it’s over, and we got it in the win column,” Main-ieri said.
LSU (15-2) defeated Nicholls State (8-9) , 5-3 , despite fi nishing on the lower end of the hit column. The Tigers had only fi ve hits in the game, compared to eight by the visitors.
Two of the Tigers’ hits came in the second inning, when freshman second baseman Kramer Robertson and junior left fi elder Jared Foster both drove in one run apiece to help LSU build a 3-1 lead after the second inning.
But that was where the bats fell silent. The Tigers couldn’t get a hold on Nicholls State left-hander Mike Hanchar , and LSU went the next four innings without scoring a run, including a string of seven consecu-tive pop outs.
The Tigers didn’t hit or score again until both senior designated hitter Sean McMullen and sopho-more shortstop Alex Bregman hit RBI singles in the seventh inning for the fi nal runs of the night.
“[Hanchar] was painting the top of the zone, and I guess we kind of got underneath some,” Foster said.
But Hanchar (0-1) lost the pitch-ing duel to junior right-hander Brady Domangue (2-0) , who was coming off of a victory against Sacred Heart on March 5 . The junior college trans-fer gave up two runs on fi ve hits in fi ve innings of work for the Tigers.
But the game got off to a rocky
start for Domangue , who acknowl-edged he was battling some nerves. He gave up one run, two hits and committed an error in the fi rst inning before fi nding his rhythm.
“In the beginning, I think I was a little tense, especially facing a team that I know well,” Domangue said. “A bunch of those guys I played [with] growing up, so in the begin-ning I was a little tense. But in the end, I loosened up.”
Domangue pitched four more innings after the shaky start, and he surrendered only one more run dur-ing that span before the bullpen took over for the Tigers, which was per-haps the one area of the game that pleased Mainieri .
“I thought a couple of guys coming out of the bullpen were re-ally key for us,” Mainieri said. “I thought Zac Person looked out-standing tonight. He was really on. I thought Kurt McCune did a nice job. I thought Joe Broussard made some big pitches. He fell behind a couple of counts, but then he threw strikes when he needed to.”
The bullpen took over in the top of the sixth inning, with Person being the fi rst reliever called into action. He pitched the sixth and had two strikeouts with no hits, and Mc-Cune followed him with a hitless in-ning of his own in the seventh.
Broussard closed the night for LSU, retiring all three batters he faced in the ninth to pick up his third save of the season.
Despite a bumpy regular sea-son, the LSU men’s basketball team earned several postseason awards as decided by Southeast-ern Conference coaches.
LSU junior Johnny O’Bryant III headlines a trio of Tigers who earned honors Tuesday, taking home his second-con-secutive First Team All-SEC accolades.
Joining O’Bryant in the post-season accolades is freshman duo Jordan Mickey and Jarell Martin who both earned places on the SEC All-Freshman team.
O’Bryant led LSU in scor-ing and rebounding this sea-son with a career-best scor-ing average of 15.6 points per game and 7.9 rebounds per game — ninth and fourth in the conference, respectively.
O’Bryant joins players like Bob Pettit (1952, 1953, 1954), Pete Maravich (1968, 1969, 1970) and Shaquille O’Neal (1990, 1991, 1992) as the ninth Tiger to earn First-Team hon-ors in consecutive seasons and the fi rst since Glen Davis (2006, 2007).
Mickey also was named to the All-SEC Defensive Team and Second Team All-SEC.
Mickey leads the conference with 96 blocks during his inau-gural season and fi nished second with a 53.3 percent shooting from the fi eld. Mickey was also fi fth in the SEC in average rebounds per game with 7.6.
The last time a pair of LSU players made the All-Freshmen team was 2006 when Tasmin Mitchell and Tyrus Thomas were selected.
� e Daily Reveillepage 8 Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Union Ballroom March 19 10am – 2 pm
BASEBALL MEN’S BASKETBALL
LSU defeats Nicholls, 5-3 Three Tigers earn postseason SEC honors
On Monday morning, a vis-ibly slimmer and smiling Barry Bonds walked out of a dugout and onto a baseball fi eld for the fi rst time in seven years.
The man branded as the face of Major League Baseball’s ste-roid era shook hands, signed au-tographs, imparted hitting tips to several San Francisco Giants players and even answered some questions from the media. All in all, baseball’s largest asterisk, hired as the Giants’ guest hitting instructor, had what seemed like a really good day.
As Giants manager Bruce Bochy told reporters, “We would always have a welcome mat out there for him.”
But a welcome mat is the last thing that needs to be rolled out for baseball’s all-time home runs leader, who still vehemently denies any use of performance enhancing drugs during his ca-reer. Allowing Bonds to parade around spring training being praised by managers and players is yet another sign of weakness and hypocrisy from MLB.
MLB just fi nished its battle to suspend another high-profi le steroid user, Alex Rodriguez, for a season, and yet it sits idly by as the man who tainted baseball’s most prestigious record waltzes back into the game to open arms and autographs.
There’s nothing wrong with
Bonds getting a second chance. Perhaps he’s changed in the last seven years. He defi nitely seemed happier this week than any time during the last few years of his career.
But MLB needs a consistent standard to judge players by. The league can’t vilify active players using steroids with one hand and with the other, stand by as former steroid users re-enter the league.
August will mark the 25th anniversary of MLB banning Pete Rose, the all-time hits lead-er, from baseball for gambling on games while he was a player and a coach for the Cincinnati Reds.
Rose admitted to betting on baseball while playing and coaching, but he denies the more egregious crime of betting against his own teams or throw-ing games to win bets. Similarly, Bonds has never technically been proven guilty of using steroids because he’s never failed a drug test.
MLB will never admit it, but the reason it continues to scape-goat Rose while turning a blind
eye to former steroid users is because it knows steroids made baseball more popular, which made the league a hell of a lot of money. Rose never made the league the kind of money names like Bonds, Sosa and McGwire did.
Instead of welcoming Bonds in and walking the party line, just once I’d like to see a Giants player stand up and refuse to take advice from the face of tainted baseball.
That player would have a welcome mat at my house.
Spencer Hutchinson is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from West Monroe.
� e Daily Reveille page 9Wednesday, March 12, 2014
When LSU and Southern hit the fi eld at 6:30 tonight, polish and focus will be on the agenda.
The stress of midterm exams coupled with a looming series at No. 7 Vanderbilt indicated to LSU coach Paul Mainieri that his team may not come to the park with the right focus for its two mid-week tilts against Nicholls St. and Southern.
His intimations were accurate for Tuesday as the Tiger offense sleepwalked through a 5-3 victory against the Colonels.
Tonight, though, new faces will dot the lineup in an effort to jolt the Tiger offense.
“Hopefully that will inject a little bit of energy into the game,” Mainieri said after Tuesday’s win. “[New] guys get a chance to play. … Hopefully we can come away with the victory and play well.”
Freshman lefty Jared Poche’ will start for the Tigers (15-2), but will only go a maximum of two innings, according to Mainieri. Poche’ is scheduled to start the series fi nale this weekend against Vanderbilt.
After perhaps his most lack-luster outing of the season — a fi ve-inning, fi ve-hit start in a win against Northwestern State last Thursday — Poche’ said tonight serves as a chance to refi ne his arsenal before facing the Commo-dores on Sunday.
“I’m just looking to polish things up,” Poche’ said. “Go out
there, throw strikes, hopefully throw two scoreless innings and just work on my game.”
Poche’ singled out command of his fastball and curveball at Northwestern State as his biggest concern and said it’s the biggest aspect of his game he needs to im-prove upon in his two-inning stint.
“My last outing I was strug-gling a little bit to throw strikes,” Poche’ said. “Command of my pitches wasn’t there, and I need to be able to throw all my pitches for strikes.”
Poche’s weekend rotation spot is cemented, but he scoffed at any notion that he is looking past Southern, heeding Mainieri’s ad-vice to take it one game at a time.
But as a freshman chomping at the bit for his fi rst Southeastern Conference start, Poche’ said it can be diffi cult to keep thoughts of Vanderbilt from creeping in.
“In the back of [our] minds, everyone’s thinking about Vander-bilt,” Poche’ said. “But we can’t sleep on Southern. They’re a good ball club, and if we’re not playing up to our abilities, they can come up and give us a loss.”
It’ll be all hands on deck after Poche’ leaves. Mainieri said the Tiger bullpen will hodgepodge the remainder of the game, giving all bullpen pitchers who didn’t throw in Tuesday’s victory some action before heading to Nashville.
As junior outfielder A.J. Andrews fielded the final out of a March 1 victory against Lamar and the LSU softball team began its postgame routine, something felt off.
The sun was still out and the field was not beaten from a full game because of something Ti-gers fans have been fortunate to experience all too often in 2014 — the mercy rule.
The guidelines for the mercy rule are simple: When one team has a lead of eight or more runs after five innings, the game is called without playing the fi-nal two innings. If a team gains an eight-run lead between the fifth and the bottom of the sev-enth, it also wins through the rule.
With an invigorated offense and a new mentality, LSU has won seven of its 25 games with the mercy rule. Since 2010, no LSU team has managed to win more than nine mercy-rule games in a season.
The explosion originated in the offseason, as the team entered the third year under hitting coach Howard Dobson’s system. Dob-son stressed the importance of learning from failure and taking smart at-bats.
The Tigers’ offensive
attack has been twofold, relying on a combination of speed and power. Andrews, a Preseason All-Southeastern Conference honoree, is the heart of the speed element, leading LSU in batting average, .407, and stolen bases, 21.
Going toward the middle of the lineup, sophomore shortstop Bianka Bell, freshman infielder Sahvanna Jaquish and sopho-more catcher Kellsi Kloss intro-duce the power aspect. The trio has contributed 17 home runs, 31 extra-base hits and 58 RBIs in 2014.
Senior outfielder Jacee Blades said the blending of both attacks is a key reason the Tigers have dominated their opponents so often.
“Some days we’ll have the power hold the team, and some days we’ll rely on our speed to be a spark,” Blades said. “I love that we have both aspects of the game.”
But a mercy rule win requires superb pitching as much as hit-ting, and the Tigers’ three starting pitchers have helped match the offense.
Senior pitcher Ashley Czecher’s first three wins were with the mercy rule, and freshman pitcher Kelsee Selman pitched her first career no-hitter Feb. 28 in a six-inning, mercy-rule vic-tory against Jackson State.
Selman said the added runs gave her confidence to make it through the outing without missing a beat.
The coaching staff has also
instilled a mantra to never take the foot off the gas pedal. When the team has gotten large leads in the first few innings, the staff reiterates the need for more runs and to never lay off the opponent.
“The worst thing you can give a team is hope,” Dobson said. “If you’re hitting the ball well and you’re scoring runs, and all of a sudden you relax a little bit, that’s when they come up to bite you from behind. We want to make sure we keep pushing, keep going to the next step.”
When the Tigers go deeper into SEC play, the domination of opponents is likely to drop. Last season, of the Tigers’ nine mercy-rule wins, only two came in their 23 SEC games.
But Kloss sees a team with a cutthroat mentality that will be essential in the gauntlet of the SEC.
“Even if we don’t reach that goal of getting it done in five in-nings, if you aim high you’re go-ing to end up somewhere pretty close,” Kloss said. “That’s what we’re shooting for.”
The Daily Reveillepage 10 Wednesday, March 12, 2014
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Tigers fueled by offensive dominanceTommy RomanachSports Contributor
LSU gaining mercy-rule victories
ANGELA MAJOR / The Daily Reveille
The LSU football team ran its infamous “Big Cat” drill Tuesday in its first spring practice in full pads.
ANGELA MAJOR / The Daily Reveille
The drill pits one offensive player against one defender, both chosen by LSU coach Les Miles.
ANGELA MAJOR / The Daily Reveille
Junior linebacker Kwon Alexander (4) lost his matchup Tuesday against sophomore fullback Melvin Jones, drawing one of the biggest reactions from the Tiger players.
ANGELA MAJOR / The Daily Reveille
The short, explosive drill’s objective is to overpower the opponent. The drill ignites a natural rivalry between the Tigers’ offense and defense.
more information to continue to develop and see the teams and organize the pairs. It will be a big step in the process for sure.”
Brock said the scrimmage will feature the Tigers competing against each other in single-game matches as they experiment with different pairs.
LSU indoor volleyball coach Fran Flory said the Tigers’ pri-mary goal will be to find which players display the best chem-istry and compatibility on the sand.
“We’re going to move part-ners around,” Flory said. “Sand is a little different. You have to find people who play to-gether well. ... That’s the key, that we start establishing and seeing how people respond in competition.”
The Tigers will also get their first look at the gameday setup and home advantage Man-go’s will offer throughout the season.
“We’ve never hosted a real match, so even just the sound and where the banners are go-ing ... is going to be a part of that equation as well,” Brock said. “It will be good to be playing as all that hubbub is going on around us.”
LSU’s roster saw a signifi-cant boost in size Friday as most members of the indoor volley-ball team joined the original four squad members, increas-ing the number of athletes to 15.
While this merger came less than two weeks before LSU’s
first match, both Brock and Flory said the merge has been relative-ly painless and they were happy about progress shown by the ath-letes new to the outdoor version of the sport.
“The improvement that we see in our indoor players after two practices basically is amaz-ing,” Flory said. “These kids are going to get better fast. We’re probably not going to start very high. We’re going to start as a very average team. ... By the end of it, I think this is going to be a very good team.”
Flory and Brock agreed LSU and its staff have a lot of work to do before the Tigers’ first regular season competition at 4:30 p.m. on March 18 at Mango’s.
Today’s exhibition will un-doubtedly prove to be the first of many learning experiences for LSU’s newest program in what the Tigers hope to be the beginning of an era.
“This is new territory for ev-eryone,” Flory said. “Our event staff, our administration, every-body is trying to learn how to do this. We’ll make some mis-takes, but I think they’re going to set a higher standard for what we expect.”
The Daily Reveille page 11Wednesday, March 12, 2014
sand volleyball, from page 7
RICHaRd RedMann / The Daily Reveille
[Top left] LSU senior Meghan Mannari (right) sets the ball for freshman Emma Hiller (left) on Feb. 7 during practice at Mango’s Beach Volleyball. [Top right] LSU senior Kaitlin Hatcher attempts to bump the ball during practice. [Bottom] LSU sophomore Victoria Boraski dives for the ball on Feb. 7 during sand volleyball practice.
Baton Rouge, let’s have a chat. This has been a long time coming. Now, I know you are the jewel of the state in a post-Katrina Louisiana, that your econ-omy is booming like never before and that you are home to the state’s flagship university, which is fantastic. It is mar-velous, really. However, you are home to quite possibly the worst drivers in the entirety of the United States.
Now, I am not talking about genu-ine accidents, where forces beyond our control, like overly slick roads or a patch of ice, lands your car in a ditch. I am talking about the asinine, avoidable wrecks brought about by pure human error. Things like texting and driving, running a red light, failing to yield and the like all lead to needless accidents, injuries and often fatalities.
The day of the Spanish Town pa-rade comes to mind. As I was driv-ing past the Governor’s Mansion near the Laurel Street exit, traffic was at a virtual standstill. As the mass of cars rolled forward, a gap appeared between a small sedan and a Ram pickup truck. Out of nowhere, the sedan floored it and plowed into the back of the Ram, damaging itself and leaving the truck unscathed.
In about three seconds and thirty feet of space, someone managed to damage their car and bring an entire lane of traffic to a grinding halt.
Seriously, as I am writing this, there are reported to have been three accidents since 9 a.m., one of which was a hit-and-run. I am not sure if it is the weather, the excitement over base-ball season or if people are still hung over from Mardi Gras, but driving around Baton Rouge is like watching a horror movie in real life, and the killer is sitting behind the wheel of a Honda Civic.
Also, just yesterday, as I was driv-ing home from taking a midterm, I passed by the School of the Coast and Environment to see scores of police and
cars surrounding what appeared to be an auto accident. What was strange about this particular wreck was that it was a lone SUV in the middle of Nicholson Extension, flipped completely upside down. My first and only thought was “How in the world did you do that?”
As it turns out, a car failing to yield was hit on the driver’s side as it was pulling out onto Nicholson Extension, and the SUV rolled completely over af-ter the impact. Thankfully, none of the occupants were hurt, but at the same time, it must be said that it appears to have been completely avoidable. I am still wondering how the SUV managed to flip.
If drivers were to merely pay more attention to what they are doing and to what is happening around them, there would most assuredly be a marked de-cline in wrecks in Baton Rouge. Even if it’s not across the board, a mild in-crease in situational awareness on the part of some drivers can render the wild driving of other Baton Rouge residents moot.
If you have ever gotten a ticket
for texting and driving or having your seat belt unfastened, it’s for very good reason; it’s incredibly stupid and irre-sponsible. The same goes for drinking and driving, which is about the ultimate expression of willingness to have one-self removed from the gene pool à la natural selection.
Baton Rouge traffic is a monster all on its own. Genuine accidents aside, there is no need for us to make it worse by blindly ramming into each other like freshmen on their first outing to Mike’s.
Ryan McGehee is a 21-year-old political science, history and international studies senior from Zachary, La.
The Daily Reveille
Opinionpage 12 Wednesday, March 12, 2014
The Daily ReveilleThe Daily Reveille (USPS 145-800) is written, edited and produced solely by students of Louisiana State University. The Daily Reveille is an independent entity within the Manship School of Mass Communication. Signed opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, paper or University. Letters submitted for publication should be sent via e-mail to [email protected] or delivered to B-26 Hodges Hall. They must be 400 words or less. Letters must have a contact phone number so the opinion editor can verify the author. The phone number won’t be printed. The Daily Reveille reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for space consider-ation without changing the original intent. The Daily Reveille also reserves the right to reject any letter without noti-fication of the author. Writers must include their full names and phone numbers. The Daily Reveille’s editor-in-chief, hired every semester by the Louisiana State University Media Board, has final authority on all editorial decisions.
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WEB COMMENTS
“The author and the 2 previous comments completely missed the point. Tradition Matters, in my inter-pretation, is respecting the tradi-tion of playing the songs without bastardizing them, or we may have to stop playing them again. It is not about creating a new tradition of proper behavior in the student sec-tion. That said, I was a student when Tiger Rag was played before they stopped and if you put them both on a scale, it is much less graphic than Neck and simply potty humor. And, James, go do a little research on marching down victory hill and even the name victory hill for that matter. Less than 20 years old my friend. Hardly on par with the H gold posts or the 5 yard markings!!”
– Bayou Boy
The Daily Reveille wants to hear your reactions to our content. Visit lsureveille.com, our Facebook page and our Twitter account to
let us know what you think.
In response to James Moran’s column, “Opinion: Tradition Matters campaign
misguided,” one reader had this to say: Driving Me MadReckless driving a problem in Baton Rouge
In response to Deanna Narveson’s article, “Truck stop tiger raises legal controversy in
Grosse Tete” one reader had this to say:
“I can not believe people really believe Tony belongs in his roadside diesel fumed and loud cage. Since you think its so wonderful there I say set up a tent and sleep outside next to Tony for one week and then talk about how wonderful a place it is. When was the last time Tony had a hands on vet exam or had his teeth looked at? The sanctuaries out there like the one in Minnesota allow no visitors or cars to view the cats. They have privacy and the best vet care out there. Enrichment and diets tailored for each cat’s individ-ual needs. Go look at the wonderful environment they provide for these former pets to live out their lives in peace, quiet and off display. Top vet care, enrichment and space to roam. As close to natural as can be for those exploited big cats. That is what someone who truely loves Tony would want for him.”
While some accidents occur for reasons outside of the driver’s control, reckless driving has led to numerous avoidable traffic accidents in the Baton Rouge area.
We all remember high school as a time when teachers preached about the importance of attending college. However, this is not the ideal route for all, and luckily, vo-cational and technical (vo-tech) training may now be getting the attention it deserves in Louisiana classrooms.
It seems this form of educa-tion is on the rise after sitting on the back burner for years. On Fri-day, a proposal was made to the state education board to revamp vo-tech programs and implement the “career diploma,” which promises high-paying jobs to those who graduate high school.
The graduates won’t need college to get a decent job.
President Barack Obama commended Germany at his 2013 State of the Union address on “graduating their high school students with the equivalent of a technical degree from one of our community colleges.” Germany has got the right idea, and Loui-siana is poised to lead America in following.
In America, this huge push for a traditional college
education has left our industries, especially in Louisiana, with a limited selection of potential em-ployees for technical jobs. Most of our grandparents had that use-ful know-how that came from everyday living — something many of us Millennials passed up on our way to a four-year path to success.
Our focuses have changed with the times for the good and the bad. Sure, there are smartphones in smart cars, but
they are being used by some dumb operators with useless col-lege degrees. A number of engi-neers are graduating without hav-ing ever held a wrench or turned a valve with hopes of a career in the industry.
According to the State Edu-cation Department, 28 percent of Louisiana’s high school gradu-ates earn a degree in college. However, the state’s most cru-cial industries have jobs they can’t fill. These jobs in power
and agriculture require advanced technical training and not a college degree.
“Twenty percent of refin-ery employees have retired and some young applicants for those jobs are rejected because they can’t pass those aptitude tests,” said ExxonMobil’s Baton Rouge Plant Manager Mark Northcutt in January at the annual meeting of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.
Northcutt proceeded to emphasize the need for better job training as education at the meeting.
It’s sad that it took begging high-roller employers to con-vince policymakers to get this ball rolling. There are students sitting disengaged on the fringes of classrooms that would and could utilize the co-tech pro-grams, if they were available.
There is a reason college graduates have hard times find-ing jobs in the state of Louisiana. It’s a book sense versus common sense predicament. Naturally, those with science, technology, engineering and mathematics de-grees have an advantage. In the future, these high school gradu-ates with a career diploma will have a strong advantage too in earning a high paying job in the industry.
If companies that see the
growing number of technically educated individuals move into the state, this could become a benefit for the economy. This would create more jobs, which would begin a cycle that could repeat itself into a booming economy.
The new career diploma edu-cation path is crucial and could yield positive outcomes. High schools can begin the program this fall. If successful, all Louisi-ana public schools must partici-pate after two years. Of course, students will not be able to gradu-ate with the career diploma until 2018.
This is the opportunity that Louisiana and the country needs in order to provide the proper tools and assets to students that will make up the backbone of future blue collar America.
Justin Stafford is a 20-year-old mass communication junior from Walker, La.
Louisiana continues to complicate the funding for HIV/AIDS patients, and in a country where health care coverage is a much-talked about topic, this issue remains on the back burner.
The battle to keep low-income Louisiana HIV/AIDS patients cov-ered took a turn Monday when three insurance companies agreed to continue accepting third-party payments until Nov. 15.
This agreement came as U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson con-sidered placing a long-term in-junction preventing the compa-nies from refusing to accept the payments.
This battle is not over yet, though.
Back in February, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana an-nounced that the insurance com-pany intended to stop accepting third-party payments for individual policies.
Fellow Obamacare-selling companies Louisiana Health Co-operative and Vantage Health Plan joined the cause soon after.
This announcement came as
a shock to low-income HIV/AIDS patients of Louisiana, who depend on a federal program to finance their insurance policies.
In response, Lambda Legal, a national organization that advo-cates for the rights of HIV/AIDS victims, gay men, lesbians and transgender people, filed a lawsuit alleging that the companies were discriminating against people with the disease and violating the Af-fordable Care Act by not accepting the federal program’s payments.
Now, I am the type of person who judges Americans for suing one another for mundane reasons, but in this instance, I agree with the plaintiffs. Someone had to speak out for the many people who would have been left uncovered and un-treated had this restriction been al-lowed.
Refusing to take the money from the program is not only com-pletely uncalled for, but it also makes no sense.
Louisiana had the third high-est poverty rate in 2012.
Baton Rouge has had the high-est number of AIDS cases per capi-ta in the U.S. for the past two years.
These two facts alone lead me to think that, whoever is calling the shots for these insurance compa-nies is in serious need of a reality check.
The Ryan White HIV/AIDS
Program was set up to help low income patients finance their insur-ance policies, so they can be prop-erly treated for the disease.
If the government sets aside money for the treatment of HIV/AIDS, why would companies reject it?
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana stated that the rejec-tion came from an effort to pre-vent fraud, after a directive from the Center for Medicare and
Medicaid Services “strongly ad-vised” companies against accept-ing third party payments. How-ever, the organization claimed last month that the Ryan White foun-dation was not included in that recommendation.
From a business perspective, it makes sense to want to prevent fraud, but since there is no evidence of fraud from the Ryan White Pro-gram, why not accept their money?
Now that the court case has
been settled, HIV/AIDS patients can take a deep breath, but there is still another factor to consider.
According to the 2014 Baton Rouge Annual Operating Budget, the Ryan White program will have 7.43 percent less money to help Baton Rouge residents suffering from the disease.
I think the money is going in the wrong direction.
Some could argue it’s not the city’s job to handle the care of an easily preventable disease, but giv-en that Louisiana houses the Amer-ican capital of AIDS, it should now be more of a priority to keep peo-ple healthy than to prove a point.
Changes in the health care system will always be subject of debate, and how people will be af-fected by these changes should be the first topic of discussion.
Jose Bastidas is a 20-year-old mass communication junior from The Woodlands, Texas.
WANTED: SWIM INSTRUCTORS: Crawfi sh Aquatics; Louisiana Total Swim
Program, Part Time Afternoons-April. Full Time Summer. If you are highly
motivated, great character, hard work-ing, we can teach the rest. Send resume to:swimminglessons@crawfi shaquatics.
com________________________
ROLY POLYNow hiring friendly faces part time all shifts. Please apply at 4500 NIcholson
Drive Ste. E. in Southgate.________________________
COLD STONE CREAMERY seeks part or full time cake decorator for fun environ-ment. Needs to be energetic and reliable with prior experience. Competitive pay.
Call Bob 609-412-5736 or 985-276-3558________________________
COURIER NEEDED Downtown law fi rm - Preferably M-F from 1-5; responsible stu-dent with neat appearance, must have car/good driving record/ins., computer skills;
Part time afternoon counter clerk needed!! Welsh’s dry cleaners at the corner of per-kins and college dr. great for students!!
fl exible schedules!! apply in person 928-5067
________________________
Assistant Managers and Team Members Wanted. Smoothie King and Jimmy John’s.
Greater Baton Rouge area. Must have resume’. Email to [email protected]
________________________
Students needed to work with individuals with Developmental Disabilities. Great job for COMM D, PSYCH, Social Work and KINES majors. Several shifts available. Apply in person at St. John the Baptist
Human Services 622 Shadows Lane St A. Baton Rouge, LA 70806. 225-216-1199
________________________
Recent graduate needed for Human Ser-vices position. Applicants must be highly
organized, effi cient, able to multitask, possess excellent clerical skills, and must
be professional. This position requires excellent written and oral communication skills. Applicants must be team-oriented,
and must possess a pleasant, outgoing and engaging personality. Degree in Human
Services related fi eld required and experi-ence working with people with develop-mental disabilities is preferred. Salary
SELA Aquatics is now hiring lifeguards, swim coaches, swim instructors, managers for several BR and NOLA country clubs
for Summer 2014. Apply atwww.selaaquatics.com.
________________________
Children’s store needs helpers. No nights or Sundays. 291-4850
________________________
Part-Time position with Nabisco 25-30 hours in retail for Baton Rouge area.
Please use the link below to apply http://global.mondelezinternational.com/Careers/Find_a_Job_With_Us/USJobs/CareerApplication.aspx?isrc=https%3A%2F%2Fmondelez.taleo.net%2Fcareersection%2Fmndlz_ca-
reersite_hourly%2Fmoresearch.ftl%3Flang%3Den
________________________
DEREK CHANG’S KOTO:NOW HIRING SERVERS
NO EXP NECESSARYAPPLY IN PERSON MON-FRI 2:30PM-
4:30PM2562 CITIPLACE CT
________________________
The Camelot Club looking for experi-enced serves in both dining and banquet
service. Dependable servers that have reliable transportation. Part time, day
and night availability.Apply in person from 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Monday-Friday ONLY451 Florida St., 21st Floor
Baton Rouge, La 70801________________________
Patrician Management is seeking an Asst. Property Manager with experience along with a P/T weekend leasing agent. Leasing agent is great job for student;
must be available every weekend in exchange for an apartment in a great location. Customer service experience
preferred. Drug test/criminal back-ground checks required. Email resumes for both positions to [email protected]
or fax to 225-924-9893.________________________
New Year, New Fun Job! Great Starting Pay!
Flexible Schedules, Scholarships and In-ternships available. Customer sales/service.
Full training provided. All ages 17+ Apply Today! 225-803-8982
service. PT/FT available with very FLEX-IBLE schedules. NO EXPERIENCE NEC-
ESSARY, will train- gain VALUABLE experience for your resume! Apply ASAP
for best chances!225-921-9673
earnparttime.com________________________
Math Tutors NeededMake a difference by tutoring students in grades 1-12 at Mathnasium. We offer
fl exible work schedules, a great work envi-ronment, and $12/hour after training. Must be very strong in high-school math. Hiring now for both area locations. Call 744-0005 or email [email protected] for
more information.________________________
John`s Pro Window Cleaning is looking for 2 part-time window cleaners (20-30 hours per week). Must have reliable transporta-tion and be prepared to work as early as 6
am. No experience necessary.
Must be completely honest, in good physi-cal health and completely self-motivated
(references required). Great working conditions, fl exible hours and great pay. Start at 10.00 an hour with signifi cant
monthly raises (17.00 an hour within fi rst 7 months). Great opportunity for college
students.To apply call Judy at 225-927-6748 be-
tween the hours of 9-5 ONLY.DO NOT call cell number mentioned in
message.________________________
Albasha Restaurant is now hiring for part time hostess and waitstaff. Please come in to apply. We are located at 2561 Citiplace
Court Baton Rouge, LA 70808.________________________
Our hotel sets the standard in business travel, day after day. We are looking for energetic individuals who are passionate about customer service to join our team.We are seeking out dedicated individuals
for the following positions:FRONT DESK AGENT must exceed our guest’s expectations and ensure revenue
optimization through check in/out while as-suring to the attentive coordination of hotel
services for our guests.NIGHT AUDITOR perform the duties of
a Front Desk Agent and complete, balance and fi le night audit reports on the various
areas of the hotel to provide accurate, timely information in accordance with
cash handling, credit card processing and accounting policies and procedures.
BARTENDER will be responsible for delivering excellent guest experience in our bar area by missing drinks for both guests and servers. Other responsibilities include the complete set up and break down of the
bar area. HOUSEKEEPING staff are expected to ex-ceed our guest’s expectations by maintain-ing the highest standard of cleanliness of the guest rooms. Clean and prepare guest rooms and public areas by meeting our
established standards.LAUNDRY ATTENDANT & DRIVER process the hotel’s laundry by folding,
stacking and storing linen in compliance with hotel standards. Class D driver’s license is needed for driver applicants.
If you want to join our dynamic team you will enjoy competitive salary, benefi ts, paid
a great vibe,” Brock said. “It was the same sport, but it was even bet-ter, if that were possible.”
After fi nishing his collegiate career, Brock said he had oppor-tunities to continue playing indoor volleyball competitively, but he decided to focus almost exclusive-ly on developing his game as an outdoor player.
But he never fully abandoned indoor volleyball. As he fi nished up his career as a Trojan , he began coaching a juniors’ club boys’ team along with one of the coaches who recruited him to USC.
Brock said he never seriously considered coaching prior to this gig.
“Any time you’re an athlete, you respect the profession,” Brock said. “I didn’t want to be a coach. I wanted to be a professional athlete. That would probably be the dream job.”
If that didn’t work out, he thought he might pursue a career
in physical therapy or medicine, which he studied in college. But one thing led to the next, and all of a sudden he was back in his home-town of Baytown, Texas , coaching the Baytown Christian Academy girls’ volleyball team and serving as the school’s athletic director.
After an 11-year stint at Bay-town , Brock returned to collegiate indoor volleyball as a volunteer and assistant coach at Rice Univer-sity , where he spent eight years.
But even in that time, his itch for the outdoor game never subsided.
When collegiate sand vol-leyball began to take shape as an NCAA sanctioned sport, Brock immediately began working on his personal development as a sand coach to ensure he was fully pre-pared for the opportunity he had no doubt he would receive.
“If this was something I’d be interested in doing, I was going to make sure that when the opportuni-ty did arrive that I’d be prepared,” Brock said. “More than hunting for
a job, I just tried to turn the focus around and prepare myself.”
Upon becoming LSU’s choice to be the Tigers’ fi rst sand volley-ball coach, Brock hit the ground running in areas such as recruiting and building relationships with his athletes, Flory said.
He quickly learned the strengths, weaknesses and person-alities of every player, taking a more focused approach to coach-ing them each individually.
“You can tell he really cares about us all individually and how we’re progressing with our own skills,” said LSU freshman Emma Hiller . “You can tell he really wants all of us to get better individually and as a team as well.”
His love for the sport and laid back nature give him the ability to motivate his athletes, even on cold and wet days when practicing con-ditions aren’t exactly ideal for an outdoor sport.
That’s not to say he doesn’t push his players. He does on a daily basis, but it’s a good kind of
push, according to LSU senior Kai-tlin Hatcher . One that makes them want to impress him.
“He’s just a cool coach,” Hatcher said. “I can’t put it any simpler than that.”
Brock may have made a splash in his short time in Baton Rouge , but he knows his job has only just begun. He was not just chosen to coach LSU’s sand volleyball team. He was chosen to take a program in its infancy and mold it into a thriving competitor that meets the standards of LSU athletics.
Flory seems to think he’s just the guy for the job.
“He kind of has a little bit of everything,” Flory said. “To have somebody with that many attri-butes that will directly relate to success in this program ... there are not many of them out there. We’re very fortunate to have him and thankful that he said yes.”
� e Daily Reveille page 15Wednesday, March 12, 2014
THE Daily Commuter Puzzle by Jacqueline E. Mathews
FOR RELEASE MARCH 12, 2014
ACROSS1 Monotonous
speaker5 At no time
10 Wartyamphibian
14 Floored15 Banish16 Take apart17 Wagers18 Unintentional20 Bit of soot21 Spruce or oak22 Misshapen
folklore fellow23 Poem about
rustic life25 Deli loaf26 Awning28 Willow variety31 Leg-to-foot
connection32 “Jack __ could
eat no fat...”34 “Early to __,
early to rise...”36 In a __; miffed37 Beg38 Relocate39 Spiritual wrong40 Farm that
processes milk41 Early bedtime42 Pompous one44 Not attractive45 Dads46 Pod with a
chocolate flavor47 Colorado resort50 __ in; yielded51 Many a time54 Faux diamond57 Skater Lipinski58 Pigeon coop59 Burr or Spelling60 Songbird61 Listen62 Say “Hello” to63 Likelihood
DOWN1 “Ali __ and the
Forty Thieves”2 Is indebted to3 Having second
thoughts about4 McMahon and
Begley
5 Almost6 Surpass others7 Immoral habit8 Actor Wallach9 __ as a beet
37 Go by38 Short note40 Ladd or Keaton41 Feeling put out43 Key44 “__ I met you
somewherebefore?”
46 Narrow boat
47 Part of the foot48 Oxford or pump49 Pocket bread50 Clinton’s VP52 Dancer Astaire53 Light browns55 Droop56 Paving goo57 Deuce
Tuesday’s Puzzle Solved
(c) 2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLCAll Rights Reserved.
www.ebrpl.com
style, and agreed it could be exact-ly what their team needs to get hot.
“It helps me a lot because I spend a lot of time thinking back on games and what I did wrong and what I could have done better,” Stringer said.
“You’re not worried about nothing and all you can do is go out there and play,” Hickey said.
That’s not pure conjecture. LSU had a strong showing in the Old Spice Classic in Florida earlier this season. It’s not a perfect com-parison, especially since there are no do-or-die games in November, but the experience gained was in-valuable for such a young team.
Senior forward Johnny O’Bryant III and freshman for-ward Jarell Martin said it reminded them of their days playing Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball, where it’s common to play mul-tiple tournament games a day for multiple days at a time.
Whatever approach or mindset players want to take into Atlanta , winning four games will still be a tall order. But given recent history, it’s not impossible.
Georgia and Mississippi State accomplished the feat in 2008 and 2009 , respectively. At 4-12 in the SEC, that Georgia team was one of the biggest longshots to grab an au-tomatic bid in recent memory.
Florida enters the tournament as an overwhelming favorite, but the regular season champion has only won the SEC tournament once in the past six seasons. The fact that LSU wouldn’t have to face the top-seeded Gators until the fi nals doesn’t hurt the Tigers’ chances either.
According to Bovada, a gam-bling website , LSU is sitting at 25-to-1 odds to win the SEC tourna-ment. It’s a major roll of the dice, but it’s not an awful investment.
James Moran is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Beacon, N.Y.
