The Daily Reveille
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
page 3
Organization seeks to block DOJ voucher lawsuit Gordon Brillon Staff Writer
A group of parents and advocates threw their support behind the state of Louisiana in its fight to maintain a controversial school voucher program Tuesday. The Black Alliance for Educational Options, a nonprofit organization that advocates for high-quality education for black children, and the families of five children enrolled in the program submitted a legal intervention to a federal lawsuit against the voucher program. “We are here to stand with the parents of Louisiana once again to let them know that they are not alone,” said BAEO president Kenneth Campbell. “BAEO will fight to help ensure that our children and the options available to them are protected.” The U.S. Department of
Justice filed suit against the state in August, saying the Louisiana Scholarship Program, which allows students from low-performing schools to attend private school at taxpayer expense, violates desegregation orders in place in certain Louisiana parishes. Students enrolled in the program receive a voucher, valued at around $8,500, allowing them to attend one of a group of participating private or parochial schools. Students must have previously attended a school rated C, D or F. The Justice Department’s petition would prevent the state from issuing vouchers to parishes still subject to Civil Rights-era federal desegregation orders — around half of the parishes in Louisiana. Opponents of the lawsuit said the Justice Department doesn’t understand how the voucher program has affected the racial makeup of Louisiana’s schools.
“These are some of our most vulnerable students that we’re talking about,” said Stephanie Malin, spokeswoman for the Louisiana Federation for Children, a lobbying and advocacy organization that works with BAEO and parents. “Ironically, the Obama administration supports [the Justice Department’s lawsuit]. He’s our first black president. He’s iconic to them.” Ninety-one percent of the 5,000 students enrolled in the voucher program last year were minorities, and 86 percent were African-American, Malin said. Jon Riches, an attorney for the Goldwater Institute, which is providing legal counsel for BAEO and the families, said compliance with desegregation orders is built into the law which created the voucher program. He said the state would likely enforce that part of the law, but the issue had never been pressed before the Justice
Professor addresses Bayou Corne sinkhole issues at Science Café Jonathan Olivier Contributing Writer
The steadily growing sinkhole at Bayou Corne was discussed Tuesday at the monthly LSU Science Café at Chelsea’s Café wth guest speaker Jeffrey Nunn, University Ernest and Alice Neal Professor of Geology. Nunn addressed a mixed crowd of first timers and habitual visitors to the monthly LSU Science Café series, where guest speakers address issues in the science community and audience members ask questions. The main topic of discussion was the evolution of the sinkhole that formed near the community of Bayou Corne at the beginning of August 2012. Bayou Corne lies an hour south of Baton Rouge, where some residents have had to vacate their homes in the region for more than a year now, Nunn said. While most sinkholes get shallower and wider, this particular one is getting deeper and wider, he said, and currently it encompasses 25 acres, is 750 ft. deep and is continuously emitting natural gas from the subsurface to the atmosphere. Nunn said projects to drill deep into the salt dome that lies under the sinkhole are ongoing. People are still working to figure out the source of the leaking gas as well as how to stop it. An audience member asked Nunn about placing blame on a particular department or company, but, Nunn said, the event is so unprecedented and the affected area lies so far underground that it is hard to tell what caused the sinkhole. Work to understand the implications of the sinkhole as well as the source of the gas will be ongoing for many years to come, Nunn said. The LSU Science Café series is held on the last Tuesday of every month at Chelsea’s Café. The talks began in January 2013 and have since been serving as an outlet to
bring scientific research of University faculty members to the general public. “It’s not a lecture ... it’s meant for the average person who just maybe has an interest in what goes on at LSU or what goes on in the scientific world,” said Ashley Berthelot, University Office of Research and Economic Development director of Research Communications. “It’s a two-way conversation instead of just
a one-way lecture.” People of all ages are invited to attend the free science cafés, where mingling is encouraged and all questions are welcome, Berthelot said. The next LSU Science Café will be held on Oct. 29 and will highlight how dance can be used to understand biology. Contact Jonathan Olivier at jolivier@lsureveille.com
Department lawsuit. “It’s a little perverse that the Department of Justice would raise the question,” Riches said. The official intervention came on the same day the Justice Department announced it received documents important to the case from the state. A Justice
Department official said the transfer of the documents could pave a way for an “orderly process for resolving” the dispute.
Contact Gordon Brillon at gbrillon@lsureveille.com
SEPTEMBER
EVENT CALENDAR
25
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 4:00 PM 4:30 PM
Ben Polcer - The Spotted Cat Music Club
5:00 PM
Free Swing Dance Lessons - The Spotted Cat Music Club LEAD HRE Meet & Greet - Coates Hall (Room 281)
6:00 PM
The Chee-Weez - Cajun Harley Davidson The Orleans 6 - The Spotted Cat Music Club
7:00 PM
New Orleans Rhythm Devils - Blue Nile New Orleans Nightengale Review - The Three Muses Corey Mack - Comedian - Belle of Baton Rouge
7:30 PM
Clybourne Park - Claude L. Shaver Theatre
8:00 PM
Alt-J - House of Blues New Orleans Hurray for the Riff Raff - One Eyed Jacks Preservation Hall Jazz Band - Preservation Hall
8:30 PM
Comedy Night - The Station Sports Bar and Grill Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys - Rock 'N' Bowl
9:00 PM
Karoke in Exile - Caf Lafitte in Exile Live Band Karaoke - Boudreaux & Thibodeaux's New Orleans Jazz Vipers - The Maison Chuck Brackman & Barry Foulon - Fritzels Jazz Club Saul Conrad - Mud and Water
9:30 PM
Drag Bingo - George's Place
Chef Throwdown: Burrito - The 459 Commons and The 5
10:00 PM
Walter "Wolfman" Washington - D.B.A. Chris Mule and The Perpetrators - Blue Nile St. Louis Slim - The Spotted Cat Music Club
11:00 PM
Jet Lounge - House of Blues New Orleans
For more information on LSU events or to place your own event you can visit www.lsureveille.com/calendar GERALD HERBERT / The Associated Press
Contractors use a vacuum truck to clean up crude oil that has risen to the surface of an approximate 22-acre sinkhole June 27 in Bayou Corne, La.
EVENTS Hispanic Heritage Chef Throw down: Burrito A recipe throw down as part of Hispanic Heritage Week The chefs from both dining halls will battle it out over the best burrito recipe Come taste each burrito and vote for your favorite!
$10 Race Night CHARLES CHAMPAGNE / The Daily Reveille
Jeffrey Nunn, LSU Ernest and Alice Neal Professor of Geology, speaks to patrons about the sinkhole Tuesday during the LSU Science Café at Chelsea’s Café.
Come in to take advantage of $10 races all night Come be a rockstar with Baton Rouge’s premiere indoor kart facility, Rockstar Racing! www.rockstarracing.net