ASK THE REVEILLE: Stop by Free Speech Plaza today from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to meet the staff
JAZZ FEST: Check out this weekend’s hits and misses, p. 11
Reveille The Daily
VOLUME 118, ISSUE 130
thedailyreveille
@lsureveille
thedailyreveille
lsureveille.com
Thursday, April 24, 2014
ADMINISTRATION
TOPS flaws debated, attempts at reform fail Report: 11 percent of freshmen lose TOPS
Olivia McClure and James Richards Senior Reporter and Staff Writer
The Taylor Opportunity Program for Students is the most expensive state-funded higher education program, constituting 95 percent of student aid in Louisiana. Some legislators and higher education leaders feel the program has flaws that, in time, may cost the state more than it benefits. Proposed changes to TOPS, however, have a track record of failing. That trend has continued this legislative session, with several TOPS-related bills either dying in committee or being withdrawn. Overwhelming support for TOPS in its current form is perhaps because of the sheer number of people it helps — nearly 90 percent of incoming in-state freshman at the University receive TOPS. Reformatting TOPS may also seem pointless to legislators because of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s stated support for the program as-is. Various bills this session have proposed to increase GPA requirements, cap the maximum
Deanna Narveson Staff Writer
CONNOR TARTER / The Daily Reveille
TOPS, see page 4
The Louisiana Capitol basks in sunlight near the Claiborne Conference Center in downtown Baton Rouge.
The Louisiana Board of Regents approved a report Wednesday on the TOPS scholarship program in the state, measuring retention of student and total amount of money spent from 2004 to 2013. According to the report, 91 percent of students who received TOPS awards accepted them, but 11-12 percent of them lost their eligibility after their freshman year. The data compiled showed 63 percent of students who lost their TOPS status in the time frame lost eligibility because they failed to meet the requirement of 24 credit hours per academic year. The study also showed that students who receive TOPS graduate from college at 150 to 200 percent higher than students who do not DATABASE, see page 19
POLITICS
Graves emphasizes experience Quint Forgey Staff Writer
In a congressional race crowded with Republicans craving to brand themselves as “Washington outsiders,” Garret Graves stands alone as a candidate unabashedly proud of his time on Capitol Hill. Graves, a Republican, began his foray into politics at an early age, securing an internship in Washington, D.C., with former Democratic Sen. John Breaux while studying engineering at Louisiana Tech University. That internship would lead to an extensive career in Congress that entailed advisory work on the House Transportation Committee and the
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. When Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana in 2005, Graves began work with Sen. David Vitter on recovery efforts. Graves said he has worked on issues ranging from foreign affairs to national defense. “In the last five or six years that I worked up there, we delivered some of the biggest victories that, I believe, are in Louisiana’s history,” Graves said. Graves’ most notable position, however, was in Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration, serving as chair of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana, a position he occupied until February
this year. Graves oversaw the restructuring of several state agencies that dealt with various aspects of Louisiana’s coast, integrating various leaders into the streamlined CPRA. In his role, Graves led disaster recovery efforts for Hurricanes Gustav and Ike and handled major negotiations with BP in the wake of 2010’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill. “We created an organizational structure that other states and countries look at as a model, and actually a model of efficiency, as opposed to, I think, normally, people look at Louisiana as a model for bad ideas,” Graves said. GRAVES, see page 19
CHARLOTTE WILLCOX / The Daily Reveille
Former chair of the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Garret Graves is running for the Louisiana 6th District congressional seat.