SPORTS: Women’s golf coach’s career at LSU dates back to the ’80s, p. 5
CULTURE CLUB: Cyrus criticized for the wrong reasons, p. 7
Reveille The Daily
www.lsureveille.com
Daily Reveille Special Report
Thursday, August 29, 2013 • Volume 118, Issue 4
Search ends in tragedy for missing student Zach Carline Contributing Writer
Chris Broussard began his night out like any other. After joining his Theta Chi fraternity brothers at Rotolo’s and ending the night at Bogie’s Bar, the 22-year-old sociology senior sent his mother a text that he was on his way home. But he never made it. Chris was found dead in his 2004 Nissan Frontier truck off Highway 30 Wednesday evening in St. Gabriel. The truck, not visible from the road, was hidden in Bayou Manchac’s tall grass, mangled and overturned. When a police chopper
spotted the vehicle around 6:40 p.m. Wednesday, emergency responders and Chris’ family and friends gathered at the scene to identify his body. Chris was carrying identification on his person at the time of the incident. Saint Gabriel Police Chief Kevin Ambeau said the truck was traveling at approximately 50 mph when it hit a guardrail and became airborne before landing upside down on the opposite embankment. The last time Chris was seen, he was leaving Bogie’s around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. He then texted his BROUSSARD, see page 15
CONNOR TARTER / The Daily Reveille
Chris Broussard’s 2004 Nissan king-cab pickup truck is towed away Wednesday evening near Geismar, La.
Eyes on the
Prize
courtesy of DZMITRY VINCHEUSKI
Director of Information Science at Cornell Lab of Ornithology Steve Kelling (left) and LSU ornithology Ph.D. student Paul van Els (right) scout for wildlife in Peru as part of the Birding Rally Challenge, a competition where teams identify as many birds as possible.
University students DONATION win bird-watching competition in Peru Jonathan Olivier Contributing Writer
While many University students were enjoying time by the pool under the summer sun in June, one group of four raced through the back roads of the Amazon rain forest in Peru to win a birding competition against some of the most highly skilled birders in the world. The University birding team, the Tigrisomas, were invited to compete in the Birding Rally Challenge, a bird-watching competition that puts the world’s greatest groups of birders together to see who can spot and identify the most species of birds throughout the jungles of Peru in an eight-day period. The Tigrisomas came out on top against five other teams, which traveled from Spain, Britain, Brazil and South Africa in the second installment of the rally, the first of which took place in November 2012. University Museum of Natural Science research associate Dan Lane and ornithology Ph.D. students Glenn Seeholzer, John Mittermeier and Paul van Els made up the winning team. “This is one of the most organized and really unique competitions of its kind,” Seeholzer said. “The whole idea is to BIRDING, see page 15
Chevron pledges $2M for renovations
Jonathan Olivier Contributing Writer
The University’s College of Engineering is one step closer to reaching a $50 million donation goal to renovate Patrick F. Taylor Hall and begin an engineering building project, thanks to a $2 million donation announced by Chevron on Wednesday. The University’s “Breaking New Ground” campaign supports the engineering expansion and began with a $50 million state donation and a $15 million private donation by Phyllis M. Taylor earlier in 2013. With these donations, the combined state and private funds now total near $80 million. As donations increase, the state is now planning the process to select an architect, and a request for proposals was advertised Wednesday, said College of Engineering Dean Richard Koubek in an email. Construction and renovations are expected to begin in fall 2014. ENGINEERING, see page 4