ENTERTAINMENT: What’s more important than the royal baby? p. 9
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ANGELA MAJOR / The Daily Reveille
Petroleum engineering junior Feiting Long is an international student from Chengdu, China.
Thursday, July 25, 2013 • Volume 117, Issue 149
Sweltering Summer International student talks dealing with southern heat
FACULTY
Professor featured in press book Lawrence Barreca
Tesalon Felicien
Staff Writer
Contributing Writer
The United States’ criminal justice system has received its share of controversy over the years, and one University assistant professor had the opportunity to voice his thoughts in a book on the topic. Bryan McCann, assistant professor of rhetoric and cultural studies, contributed to the new University of Illinois Press book, “Working for Justice: A Handbook of Prison Education and Activism.” McCann worked on the book with fellow members of the Prison Communication, Activism, Research and Education group. “We began meeting, collaborating, holding sessions at conventions, and working on publications together, and it generally just grew into an informal working group of scholars, teachers and activists who believe that our country’s rate and level of incarceration is a human rights catastrophe,” McCann said.
Petroleum engineering junior Feiting Long perspired as if he’d recently emerged from a tunnel connecting the University to his native Chengdu in Western China. Though the Louisiana heat seemed to get the best of him, he said it’s just an annoyance one learns to appreciate when living in the state. “Before I came here, I did a lot of research on LSU and the weather and I knew it’d be very hot,” Long said. “I just found the campus to be a very beautiful and I chose to come here.” As the most populous countries in the world, China and India also rank as the top two in international student populations at the University — the countries sent 392 and 210 students last spring, respectively, according to the International Services office. The next closest was Iran with 94. These students learn to adapt to Louisiana culture and climate during their tenure at the University. HEAT, see page 4
PRISON, see page 4
ADMINISTRATION
Alexander talks University mid-career earnings King highlights strengths of LSU
Taylor Schoen Staff Writer
LSU President F. King Alexander addressed the University’s nation status among other topics Tuesday Morning at the University Executive Education’s Breakfast to Business series. Alexander cited a study that ranked the University 33rd out of more than 160 research schools nationwide for mid-career earnings — the salary a graduate will make between ages 42 to 45. “LSU ranks 33rd and
Alabama ranks 79th in midcareer earnings,” Alexander said. “Florida’s mid-career earnings are less than LSU.” USC Chapel Hill, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State mid-career earner graduates also earn less than LSU graduates, according to Alexander. Alexander went on to point out that the University has a high return on investment due to low tuition and high earnings later on. “This fallacy that [higher] cost has something to do with quality education experience is perhaps the biggest fallacy in American higher education,” Alexander said. However, when asked about
possible methods of fundraising for the University if tuition would increase, Alexander responded it would be balanced. “I think it would balance tuition,” Alexander said. “The question is where is tuition going … on the face of it, we’re about $2,500 below the national average. We’re $2,200 below the southern average. The question is: Where do we fall in this equation today?” Alexander also said higher education has never been needed more than right now, not only for students but also for society as a whole. He discussed the earning BREAKFAST, see page 4
CONNOR TARTER / The Daily Reveille
LSU President F. King Alexander speaks Tuesday at the Breakfast to Business lecture in the Business Education Complex.