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Vol. 116
TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2012
No. 123
Mikes leave paw prints, legacy on University By EMILY HERRINGTON
photo courtesy of LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES
The first Mike the Tiger shares a moment with his trainer in 1936.
A. P. Tureaud, others reflect on race relations By CLAIRE CAILLIER When A. P. Tureaud Jr. came to LSU as the school’s first black undergraduate student, he didn’t anticipate the misery that awaited him. The first day of the fall 1953 semester, Tureaud and his parents were met by LSU’s president, TUREAUD vice president, chancellor and police officers, who told them he had to go back home because they needed more paperwork to allow him to enter campus. The following day, his family returned with the required documents and University officials escorted Tureaud to Tiger Stadium, where his dorm was located. “It was a room for three,” Tureaud said. “But I had no roommates.” Upperclassmen met Tureaud with scissors in the dormitory because it was a tradition to cut underclassmen’s hair, he said. Tureaud thought the ritual was a sign he’d be accepted among his peers. “I thought ‘Wow, this is great, I’m going to have a good time here,’” Tureaud said. After the upperclassmen’s trim, Tureaud went to a black barbershop for a proper haircut and headed back to an empty dormitory. “From that point on, I was shunned and isolated,” Tureaud said. “The idea was if they made me unhappy enough, I would leave.”
The boys in the dormitory put various offensive materials on his door knob and at all hours of the night, his neighbors would play loud music and bang on Tureaud’s walls. No one would sit with him or acknowledge his presence. “I was totally isolated on such a large campus,” he said. “It was a very unfortunate experience for a 17-year-old.” Professors would not answer his questions and some wouldn’t touch his papers, Tureaud said. “One professor in particular said in my presence that she didn’t know how she was going to get through this semester because she
Read more RACE, see page 4
Before the majestic 460-pound feline ruled campus, a papier-mâché tiger represented the flagship University. The University received its first live tiger in 1936, which was the result of a fundraising campaign that collected 25 cents from each student, reaching a grand total of $750. The live mascot was originally named Sheik, which was later changed to Mike to honor his trainer, Chellis “Mike” Chambers. Mike I lived at the Baton Rouge City Park Zoo until his habitat near the stadium was built. Barry Cowan, University archivist, said Mike’s original home was “considerably smaller than what he has now.” According to the book “Mike
photo courtesy of GUMBO
A boy pays a visit to Mike III’s habitat at the Baton Rouge City Park Zoo in 1976.
the Tiger: The Roar of LSU,” Mike’s first home consisted of a tiger house and outdoor 27-by-34foot cage. LSU is the only university in the nation with a live tiger on campus, said Ginger Guttner, public relations director for the School of Veterinary Medicine.
When Mike first arrived at the University, students coordinated a campus strike to welcome their new mascot by ensuring no classes would take place that day. Cowan said students physically blocked the campus entrances
Read more MIKE, see page 15
Alumni describe nightlife around campus By KATE MABRY Through the decades, University students have lived the college life in different ways, including football games, bar-hopping and house parties. While students’ parents or grandparents may not have partied like today’s University students, the older generation still found ways to have a good time. Carolyn Clausing, a retired teacher, attended the University from 1961 to 1962 and lived in Evangeline Hall.
“We didn’t party much, but we went to all the football games,” she said. “In those days, the students got free tickets. It was like a cheap date for students.” Clausing said students would go out to Tiger Town on Highland Road to go to the movie theaters or restaurants. “We didn’t have a whole lot,” she said. “If you were going drinking, you would go to the fraternity house.” Women on campus were not allowed to wear pants to class, and
Clausing said the University was “protective of its girls.” Clausing said the University assumed parental control over students in the absence of parents. “There were only a couple times each semester that we could stay out until 12 [a.m.] and one time at 1 [a.m.],” she said. “If you came in late, they could expel you. You could get in big trouble.” But student life significantly changed in the ’70s.
Read more BARS, see page 15
Former rules restrict student conduct By PAUL BRAUN Make your bed, clean your room and be home by 11 p.m. These seem like the rules of a strict parent. But until the 1970s, the University required students to follow each of those rules and more, with harsh consequences for non-compliance. Until the age of majority was reduced from 21 to 18 in 1971, the University acted “in loco parentis” or “in the place of the parent,” said University archivist Barry Cowan. Part of the University’s strict regulations were derived from the
school’s military past, Cowan said. Since the school’s foundation in 1860 and until 1969, male freshman and sophomore students were required to join ROTC. Officers forced students to keep their uniforms clean and their rooms tidy for daily inspections, Cowan said. Poor marks on room inspections or missing buttons were met with demerits. As students accumulated demerits, they were assigned extra guard duties or more serious punishments, he said. A wide range of well-intentioned rules restricted interaction between male and female students from the time women were first
admitted to the University in 1906. “The University was responsible for students’ well-being and their safety,” Cowan said. “They believed that if they kept girls and boys apart as much as they could and limited their activities together as much as they could, it would be better for everybody.” This segregation was evident within the administration as well, Cowan said. The Dean of Men handled student misconduct for nonROTC-affiliated male students, and the Commandant of Cadets for ROTC students. The Dean of
Read more RULES, see page 4
Violations that would result in automatic expulsion from the University in the early 1960s - Possession of “intoxicating liquor,” including beer or wine - Drunkenness or disorderly conduct - Gambling - Dishonesty in any form - Unchaperoned overnight trips of men and women - Hazing - Possession of firearms, ammunition, explosives, or fireworks - Unauthorized entrance into the womenʼs dormitory - Participation in student riots Source: The 1961 to 1963 “L-Book”