Check Online & Inside For:
a free download of The Benjy Davis Project’s song “Stay With Me” from it’s new album, and see page 6 for a question and answer session with the band.
SPORTS Famed coach Bobby Bowden to visit LSU in March, page 7.
Doppelgänger Fail? Mainieri expresses confusion about being compared to McCain, page 12.
THE DAILY REVEILLE WWW.LSUREVEILLE.COM
VolumeÊ 114,Ê IssueÊ 88
LAW
Former professor to file suit against LSU
Wednesday,Ê FebruaryÊ 10,Ê 2010
CULTURAL CANVASES
By Xerxes A. Wilson Senior Staff Writer
Former University Professor and hurricane expert Ivor van Heerden is planning a lawsuit against the University that alleges he was wrongfully terminated and harassed by University officials. A press release from a civil rights and employment law firm representing van Heerden said the lawsuit will claim van Heerden was wrongfully terminated for his criticisms of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers following levee failures during Hurricane Katrina. Van HeerdenÕ s contract as a research professor was not renewed last year. The suit will claim University officials manipulated policies and procedures governing faculty appointments to terminate van Heerden. The suit also claims University officials took part in a Ò campaign of harassmentÓ against van Heerden. Van Heerden said Tuesday the forms of harassment included removing his right to teach and denying contractual obligations. Van Heerden and his attorneys will discuss the allegations today at a news conference in New Orleans. Ò According to what I was told, the administration was upset because they felt my research on why the levees failed in Hurricane Katrina was hurting the UniversityÕ s ability to secure federal dollars,Ó van Herdeen said. Van Heerden told The Daily Reveille on April 14, 2009, University officials informed him his termination had nothing to do with budget cuts. Van Heerden also said University officials told him he would be fired if he agreed to be the expert witness for a $600 billion lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Artists, students decorate masks to benefit School of Art, celebrate Mardi Gras JAMES WEST / The Daily Reveille
Wilma Roy’s “Magritte de Gras” awaits bidding at the Mardi Gras Mask Sale at the Glassell Gallery on Feb 9. All proceeds benefit the LSU School of Art Galleries.
By Ryan Buxton Senior Staff Writer
As Mardi Gras marches full-force into Louisiana, the LSU School of Art is unmasking local artistsÕ unique takes on one of the hallmarks of the holiday. The School of ArtÕ s Glassell Gallery hosted more than 70 Mardi Gras masks Tuesday, each decorated by an artist from the Baton Rouge community. Every artist received a blank mask and was encouraged to cut loose and let creative instincts take over. The creations went much further than sequins, glitter and purple, green and gold. Sea monsters, stamps and humorously decorated paper bags are just a few of the unique creations the artists paraded onto their masks, said Malia Krolak, gallery coordinator for the School of Art. The masks were auctioned with proceeds
going back to the School of Art. Donation totals will be tallied today or Thursday, Krolak said. Krolak said the artists relished the chance to put their own imaginative perspective on a holiday so ingrained in LouisianaÕ s culture. Ò Traditionally, [Mardi Gras] is your last big party before you Log on to see have to give up chocolate for photos of the Lent,Ó Krolak said. Ò That ties different masks. into the creative community very well. ItÕ s really a time for creative expression and freedom and a little bit of wackiness.Ó Krolak said many of the masks contain signatures that make the masks extensions of the themes in the artistsÕ work. Ò Elise Toups is a local artist who does a lot of portraits, and her mask has eyes on it, so when you put it on, itÕ s like you are an Elise Toups portrait,Ó
lsureveille.com
MASKS, see page 15
NFL
Thousands gather for parade Locals celebrate Super Bowl win with players By Cory Boudreaux Sports Contributor
PATRICK SEMANSKY / The Associated Press
Contact Xerxes A. Wilson at xwilson@lsureveille.com
she said. Meg Holford, assistant gallery coordinator at the School of Art, created a mask using correspondence the gallery received. She removed stamps from the envelopes and collaged them on the mask. Ò I wanted it to be different than the usual glittery, shiny, feathery mask,Ó Holford said. Ò I wanted to connect more to the traditional sort of art Ñ less crafts, more fine art.” Many of the masks donated to the School of Art came from students at the University Laboratory School. Students created masks that ran the gamut from SpongeBob SquarePants to characters from the video game Halo, said Beverly Wilson, chair of the Lab School fine arts department.
Saints quarterback Drew Brees raises a glass of champagne Tuesday in a parade celebrating New Orleans’ Super Bowl win.
NEW ORLEANS — The floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina inundated the streets of New Orleans nearly five years ago, leaving the New Orleans Saints no place to call home for an entire season. The scene was vastly different Tuesday as a deluge of Saints fans lined the streets of downtown New Orleans to welcome home the Saints following the teamÕ s Super Bowl victory against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night.
The city celebrated its first professional sports championship in a fashion familiar to New Orleans Ñ a parade. A number of marching bands accompanied a fleet of a dozen floats, provided by some of the cityÕ s premiere Mardi Gras krewes, that carried more than 250 Saints players, coaches and staff members. The three-mile route stretched from the New Orleans Superdome to the Ernest M. Morial Convention Center. The city, still scarred from Hurricane Katrina, was able to stand proudly for a sports franchise that has become an integral part of the fabric of New Orleans. Bobby Hebert, former Saints quarterback and radio analyst, addressed a raucous crowd in front of Gallier Hall on St. Charles Avenue before PARADE, see page 15