Major or Minor
Martin: Current allegations will have no impact on head coach Les Miles, page 5.
CRIME Woman who stabbed herself arrested, page 3.
THE DAILY REVEILLE WWW.LSUREVEILLE.COM
Volume 114, Issue 69
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Dealing with Disabilities
30 diabetic students have been treated at SHC this past year By Kyle Bove Senior Staff Writer
While some students are busy checking Facebook profiles during class, chemical engineering sophomore Claire Ganey checks something much more important — her blood sugar. Ganey discovered she had Type 1 diabetes during a Thanksgiving break from school when she was 8 years old. “It’s like the invisible disease,” she said. “You don’t look sick, but in reality you are. It’s one of those things you have to learn to live with the rest of your life.” Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, according to the
American Diabetes Association. Those who have the disease can’t produce insulin — a hormone needed to convert sugar, starch and other substances into energy necessary for daily life. Ganey said she takes two insulin shots a day to keep her blood sugar down, along with separate insulin shots after each time she eats. “It’s all about management and control,” Ganey said. Treats like raisins, juice boxes and sugary candy are permanent staples in her purse for times when her blood sugar is too low. “I kind of look like a mom with all the snacks — or Willy Wonka with all the candy,” she said. Ganey said she felt self-conscious about giving herself insulin shots in her arm, leg or stomach and pricking her finger to check her blood sugar in public when she was younger, DIABETES, see page 15
graphic by CAITLYN CONDON / The Daily Reveille
966 students registered at Office of Disabitity Services By Mary Walker Baus Staff Writer
MEGAN J. WILLIAMS / The Daily Reveille
Claire Ganey, chemical engineering sophomore, sits in a classroom in Hodges Hall to take her blood sugar Wednesday afternoon. Ganey discovered she had Type 1 diabetes when she was 8 years old.
Kacee Jones spent her elementary, middle school and high school years thinking she was “stupid” and destined to fail her schoolwork. “I would stay up until 2 a.m. learning vocabulary words and still fail them the next day,” she said. “It’s traumatizing when you’re young.” The English senior said she didn’t understand how studying more than other students could result in worse grades. But finally in her junior year of high school, Louisiana Rehabilitation Services in the Department of Social Services diagnosed her with dyslexia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. “I was on the verge of dropping out of school,” Jones said. “My parents got the school and the state to find my learning disability. Things changed from there. I realized I wasn’t stupid. [In college,] I’ve been able to
keep a GPA over a 3.0.” Jones said her dyslexia affects her reading, writing and speaking skills. “I think in motion,” she said. “Abstract words [like wind, love and fear] are difficult. I have to put something into wind, like a leaf blowing, to make it happen and give it motion.” The National Center for Learning Disabilities defines learning disabilities as “a group of disorders that can impact many areas of learning, including reading, writing, spelling, math, listening and oral expression.” Benjamin Cornwell, Disability Services associate director, said students registered with the Office of Disability Services with learning disabilities are classified by DSMIV-TR, a manual used to diagnose mental disorders. “There are a lot of different definitions of learning disabilities,” Cornwell said. “Someone may have high IQ but have a slow processing speed or a low reading comprehension rate.” Cornwell said the ODS requires a psycho-education evaluation to determine what DISABILITIES, see page 15
CAMPUS
Enchanted Forest finds roots deep in University history No plans to renovate exist By Lindsey Meaux Contributing Writer
From celebrated beginnings in the University’s original vision and an elusive home of the Baton Rouge hippie movement to its present wonder, the Enchanted Forest
is deeply rooted in the University’s history. The Enchanted Forest, the lowlying expanse of greenery between the Greek Theater, Pentagon dorms and the Kirby Smith parking lot, is often used by commuters for its makeshift dirt pathway. Mississippi River floods created the decline of the Enchanted Forest, said Associate Director of Landscape Architecture Van Cox. Early University landscape archi-
tects contrived the presence of the shady live oaks and cypress trees in the forest, or Sunken Garden as it was once known. A rectangular reflecting pool spanned the length of the forest in its early days, Cox said. The “lagoons,” or reflecting pools, were designed by James F. Broussard and were completed in 1932 under the Works Progress Administration, according to Sept. 30, 1954, reports by The Daily Reveille.
The project transformed a formerly snake-, frog- and mosquito-infested “quagmire” into reflecting pools. A statue of Hernando de Soto, a Spanish explorer who was the first to cross the Mississippi River, stood at the head of the reflecting pool to symbolize the “spirt of progress in education,” according to The Daily Reveille reports. Construction on the Greek Theater finished in 1929, according to the University’s Building
Information Guide. The Sunken Garden was constructed with the theater overlooking it, and the pair provided a picturesque scene for pageants, rallies, convocation ceremonies and religious services. Additionally, ROTC cadets threw officers into the reflecting pools after the final parade of each year, according to the Building Information Guide. FOREST, see page 19