Discovery: University professor unlocks secret behind Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds,’ p. 4
Softball: Spring season set to kick off Feb. 10 in Baton Rouge, p. 9
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CRIME
Food: Read a review of Zolia Italian Bistro, p. 13 Thursday, January 19, 2012 • Volume 116, Issue 73
NOPD looks into apparent LSU fan abuse, issues wanted poster The Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — One day after saying they could investigate a video showing apparent abuse of an unconscious LSU fan only if the man filed a complaint, New Orleans police sent out a wanted poster. It asks the public to identify a white man described as a person of interest in a sexual battery late Jan. 9 — the night Alabama beat LSU, 210, in the BCS Championship football game in the Superdome. However, Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas says police are still investigating whether there was a sexual assault. “It could well be considered a sexual assault. That’s
one of the things we’re looking into. That’s one of the reasons we’d like to talk to the people involved,” he said Wednesday. The video has gone viral on the Internet. It ends with a man in a red Alabama jacket simulating a sex act on a man who is wearing an LSUpurple T-shirt and who had passed out on a restaurant counter. On Tuesday, police spokeswoman Remi Braden said police could not investigate unless the apparent victim, shown slumped forward on a restaurant counter, filed a complaint. She did not immediately return an e-mail asking why police changed their minds. The poster of the “person of
interest” was sent as an attachment crimes unit was made aware of the to an e-mail headlined “After Fur- video Tuesday. “The video disther Review and Investigation, the played the above male subject comNOPD is now asking mitting a sexual battery the Public for their As- Timeline of events: upon another male subsistance in Identifying ject,” it states. It asks Jan. 9: BCS Championship, the Person of Interest anyone with informathe video is recorded. in this Video.” tion to notify Detective The poster says Jan 15: YouTube video Corey M. Lymous at the incident occurred racks up 10,000 hits 504-658-5523 or to call around 11:45 p.m. Jan. before being removed. Crimestoppers: 5049 at the Krystal Burger 822-1111 or 877-903restaurant on Bourbon Jan. 18: NOPD issues 7867. Street. It includes three wanted poster. The first several still shots taken from minutes of the video the video and describes the wanted shows Alabama fans posing with man as about 5-foot-7 to 5-11 tall, the man, joking, putting empty food white and medium build. containers and an empty cup on his The poster says NOPD’s sex head and back. Then one man pokes
his middle fingers at the man’s nose and ear. The video’s last minute or so shows the same man, wearing shorts, a red jacket and backward baseball cap, exposing his genitals and climbing from a chair onto the counter, where he falls onto his side before crouching over the other man’s head and simulating a sex act. The University of Alabama released a two-sentence statement saying it would check into the video and “appropriately deal with any student who might have been involved.” Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at news@lsureveille.com
ACADEMICS
Faculty Senate set to vote on +/- grades Rachel Warren Staff Writer
photo courtesy of LSU DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY
LSU astronomy professor Bradley Schaefer and graduate student Ashley Pagnotta discovered the origin of supernovas, garnering national media attention.
reaching for the stars
LSU student, professor solve supernova mystery Lauren Duhon Staff Writer
The national media has spotlighted the work of a University professor and graduate student who have discovered the origin of supernovas. But despite all the buzz about the discovery — which astronomy professor Bradley Schaefer said answers “one of the top nine questions in modern astronomy” — Schaefer and graduate student Ashley Pagnotta are still joking around. “Brad is used to all of this attention, but it
is weird for me,” Pagnotta said as she laughed with her colleague. The discovery has attracted national and international coverage from news outlets like MSNBC, the Los Angeles Times and Space Daily, among others. Supernovas are stellar explosions from white dwarf stars, which are small stars composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. The impetus behind supernovas is a 400-yearold mystery. SUPERNOVA, see page 8
Students could soon see an extra mark after their letter grades if the Faculty Senate approves a resolution to institute a plus-and-minus grading system at the University. The resolution, which the senate is expected to vote on today, intends to replace the University’s five-letter grading system with one that would allow faculty to assign pluses or minuses to grades that could respectively raise or lower a student’s GPA by a few tenths of a point. According to the resolution, the +/- system wouldn’t be mandatory, and faculty members would have the choice to use it or continue using the traditional letter grades. Faculty Senate President Kevin Cope said each resolution is reviewed at least twice before it is approved or denied, and today’s meeting marks the resolution’s second review. He said the plan could require further review, which would push the final decision back a few months. Decisions on most resolutions take only two reviews. Contact Rachel Warren at rwarren@lsureveille.com