OPINION: Abstinence-only sex ed hurts more than it helps, p. 8
BASEBALL: Freshman sparks Tigers’ offense in shutout of Tulane, p. 5
Reveille The Daily
VOLUME 118, ISSUE 129
@lsureveille
thedailyreveille
lsureveille.com
SPRING STING
Wednesday, April 23, 2014 CONNOR TARTER / The Daily Reveille
thedailyreveille
FACILITY SERVICES
Low funding creates maintenance backlog Olivia McClure and James Richards Senior Reporter and Staff Writer
Deferred maintenance at the University has spiraled out of control in the past six years, putting about $450 million worth of building and infrastructure repairs on the back burner. In difficult budget times, the chances of the state funding those repairs are slim, meaning old, inefficient equipment and buildings will continue to languish. Nearly every building on campus needs some kind of updating, according to Roger Husser, Facility Services director of planning, design and construction. When the University cannot afford such updates, they are placed on the state’s deferred maintenance log. Not much can be done unless the state legislature provides one-time funds to address deferred maintenance. The last time it did so was in 2008. Director of External Affairs Jason Droddy said in an email that
New season brings diverse caterpillars to campus LYLE MANION · Contributing Writer Students aren’t the only ones squirming during finals season as caterpillars become more and more abundant on campus. Caterpillars are invertebrates that roam campus in late spring because of changes in temperature, said Timothy Schowalter, professor and department head of entomology. These changes affect tannins — defensive chemicals — in trees’ foliage, making them CATERPILLARS, see page 11
MAINTENANCE, see page 11
STUDENT ORGANIZATION
Kitchens on the Geaux hosts Potato Drop for food banks Whitney Lynn Contributing Writer
This wasn’t your everyday food drive to collect canned goods. Kitchens on the Geaux hosted its second annual Potato Drop on Tuesday morning to bag potatoes for local food banks and homeless shelters and to raise awareness about the hunger problem in the area. Almost 75 volunteers spent four hours placing the vegetables into bags for the hungry. Sarah Corie, sociology freshman and programs director for Kitchens on the Geaux, said the bags of potatoes will be distributed by the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank to the community and 11 other parishes. Garber Farms in Iota donated more than 28,000 pounds of sweet
potatoes to the event because they were deemed cosmetically imperfect either due to their size or appearance and were not suitable for sale in grocery stores. “It’s so crazy that they don’t sell these potatoes for cosmetic reasons,” dietetics freshman Claire Gilbert said. International studies freshman Catherine Roppolo said the Potato Drop was a unique way to help the community. Corie said the Potato Drop reduces waste as well as serving the city. The unmarketable produce would be left to rot, but because Kitchens on the Geaux accepts them, the sweet potatoes will be consumed by those in need, said mechanical engineering senior and president of Kitchens on the Geaux Scott Burke. “If you mash up an ugly
potato and you mash up a pretty potato, they actually taste the same,” Burke said. Burke became one of the initial founders of Kitchens on the Geaux after he witnessed the dining halls throwing away uneaten food his freshman year. He inquired if the uneaten food could serve a better purpose and was told it was policy to throw the food away. Burke approached Jacob Brumfield and Mary Wallace of Campus Life to find a solution to the food problem. Kitchens on the Geaux now collects leftover food from Lod Cook Alumni Center and various restaurants near campus to give to other sources. ANGELA MAJOR / The Daily Reveille
Contact Whitney Lynn at wlynn@lsureveille.com
Sports administration junior Matt Chatelain, a volunteer with the Baton Rouge Food Bank, loads potatoes into a box Tuesday during Kitchen on the Geaux’s Potato Drop.