OPINION: Rihanna, Frank Ocean teasing fans with unreleased albums, page 4 Tigers not looking past talented Bulldogs, page 5 TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2016
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Volume 121 · No. 9
thedailyreveille
ADMINISTRATION
POLITICS
BY ROSE VELAZQUEZ @Rosee_Vee
BY SARAH GAMARD @SarahGamard
LSU President F. King Alexander released an LSU Budget Hub update Monday afternoon detailing the minimum effects of the $131 million reduction in State General Funds which Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne asked higher education leaders to brace themselves for last week. In a Friday broadcast email, Alexander said a reduction of that magnitude would result in a $65 million cut to the LSU System’s statewide operations, which he clarified in his Monday Budget Hub update would mean a 32 percent decrease in the system’s State General Funds. “We have made sacrifices, such as fewer academic programs, loss of faculty and staff and reductions in support services that would have helped more students be successful — all to address continued budget shortfalls,” Alexander said in Monday’s update. According to a document attached to Alexander’s Monday update detailing the estimated impacts, a $65 million cut to the LSU System would cause a minimum reduction of approximately $19.9 million for the University. The document also details several key, minimum effects of these reductions on the University, including a $690 increase in fees per student, the elimination of 275 courses and a decrease of approximately $9.5 million in external research productivity caused by eliminating faculty positions. Increases in student fees would also be necessary during subsequent years to compensate for reduced student enrollment caused by negative publicity, according to the document. The University would also be forced to enact an enrollment cap and raise entrance requirements to maintain academic quality. “This will limit access to the flagship and reduce the number of graduates in STEM fields, business, education, agriculture,
To mitigate Louisiana’s budget shortfall, Gov. John Bel Edwards has proposed a plan that, if approved, would make the state’s sales tax rate the highest in the country, but potentially reduce cuts to higher education. Louisiana currently has the third-highest sales tax rate in the country, according to The Tax Foundation. Edwards proposed adding one cent to the sales tax starting April 1, increasing the combined local and state sales tax rate from an average of 9.1 percent to 10.1 percent, according to a report by NOLA.com, making it the highest in the nation. If Louisiana was still under former Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration, Public Administration Institute director and professor Jared Llorens said he “would be concerned.” But he said he is confident Edwards will raise revenue rather than rely on budget cuts. However, sales taxes disproportionately affect those on the lower end, like college students, he said. The sales tax proposal also includes raising the state cigarette tax by 22 cents. General business sophomore Samantha Schloegel, a smoker, said the sales tax on cigarettes may help her quit the habit. Schloegel said she knows budget cuts have already reduced classes. She said her roommate recently transferred from LSU to the University of New Orleans because of the lack of language courses. Llorens said the state budget is comparable to a student’s personal budget: every student has a certain level of expenses each year for tuition, housing and food. If a student does not have the money to meet those expenses, the same way the state currently cannot meet its own expenses, he said there are two common tactics. The first is to get a job and
Proposal raises sales tax, reduces cuts
Officials outline cuts’ potential effects
see KING, page 2
photos by NICHOLAS MARTINO / The Daily Reveille
mixing mediums
Student Union Art Gallery holds ceramics exhibit with LSU and University of Arkansas students BY NATHAN VELASQUEZ
A “Lark,” by definition, is something taken up in the spirit of fun, enjoyment and mischief. When looking at the ceramics on display at the LaRK exhibit in the LSU Student Union, it is clear the exhibition title matches the works. The exhibit, which will be open for the next month, displays a collaboration between LSU and University of Arkansas students, Bri Ozanne, a ceramics graduate student, is the organizer of LaRK. She said the exhibit’s venue will not just benefit the students, but the artists as well. “We get to work with people from another school that are doing the exact kind of thing that we are doing over here, and that kind of experience is always beneficial to an artist,” Ozanne said.
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@NathanV_TDR
Arkansas third year graduate student Chris Drobnock said he has always been fascinated with the process one goes through when working with ceramics. “At first, I liked ceramics just because of what it was like manipulating the material and the direct response you get when working with it, but that grew over time, and it has brought me here,” he said. While the LaRK exhibit is ceramics-centered, it won’t be the only art on display. The students used a variety of mediums to prepare for this exhibit. “We are encouraged to work in whatever area interests us, so a lot of the work you will see is mixed media,” Drobnock said. “But ceramics is usually the main way that we show our work.” Drobnock will not only be showing small recreations of objects or “salt and pepper shaker” art. He said he prefers to create life size constructions, which will be showcased in the
see LARK, page 2
see EDUCATION, page 2