LSU LEGACY Magazine Winter — 2014

LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY

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FALL 2014

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ISSUE 2

FASHION Dabble in the dark

LA COAST What does keeping it cost?

LSU FOOTBALL See the magic behind game day

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Editor in Chief Sydney Blanchard Creative Director Sarah Kershaw Managing Editor Raina LaCaze Multimedia Director Ashley Monaghan Lead Designer Chase Whitney Designers Cassidy Day Anne Lipscomb Writers Logan Anderson Anna Jiang David Judd Aryanna Prasad Lucas Roberts Photographers Allie Appel Michelle Ayoubi Sales Manager Matt Duhe Technology Advisor Alex Cook

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hat is your legacy?

I pose this question to my staff, to my management team and to myself. It is a question with no easy answer, and often it can only be addressed when looking back.

Defining a legacy in the moment is nearly impossible.

In this issue, you will meet two brothers whose paths diverged and later converged to create a unique sound. Their legacy is their music.

Other legacies, like a party-school reputation, have consequences. You will read about LSU students seeking recovery and the organizations that are helping.

You will also find the story of two record-breaking teams, one well-known and one relatively obscure looking to carve out its own niche at LSU. We are all working toward our legacies, and it saddens me that in aiming for mine, this will be my last issue as Editor in Chief.

Saying goodbye is never easy, but I am certain whoever takes my place will continue the legacy of this publication and continue its mission to serve the LSU student body by producing critical, engaging and beautiful content.

It has been my pleasure serving as your LEGACY editor these past two semesters.

Advisor Tim Schreiner Publisher Office of Student Media

legacy magazine lsulegacy lsulegacymag

Mission statement: LEGACY is a quarterly student-produced magazine that explores the diverse community of Louisiana State University through in-depth features, profiles and photography. LEGACY focuses on student entertainment, leisure and academics, and it strives to be informative, provocative and dynamic.

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lsulegacymag.com

Sydney Blanchard Editor In Chief

inside 4

SUBMERGED There’s a darker side to the “drinking town with a college problem.”

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BAND OF BROTHERS Two musician brothers explain why life is better off the beaten path.

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UNDER THE OVERPASS Chelsea’s is a BR stable - but what’s the story?

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BIRD IS THE WORD LSU’s Tigrisomas keep their eyes on the skies.

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FASHION Winter apparel inspired by all things black and gray.

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WEIGHING YOUR OPTIONS We investigate where local women can turn in times of crisis.

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THE COASTAL COST Coastal erosion is shrinking Louisiana’s coastline, but what is being done to stop it?

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SETTING THE TABLE Try these delicious dishes on for size.

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BACKSTAGE We explore what goes into orchestrating LSU gameday.

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BLAME GAME It’s an issue that goes beyond black and white.

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SUBMERGED

There’s a darker side to the “drinking town with a college problem.” words ANNA JIANG

E

arly on a Wednesday evening, Bob Petit Blvd lights up with gaudy fluorescent signs over similar one-story buildings. Cars dot the parking lot. Tigerland is unpopulated at 6:30 p.m., but in a couple of hours, students will flood in for drink specials.

A mile past the familiar neon signs a different group is meeting in the Student Union.

Around 20 students and alumni spread out in a conference room on the fourth floor of the Union and scarf down cake before the meeting starts.

The topic of the night’s Alcoholics Anonymous meeting: Finding balance.

While Alcoholics Anonymous is a recent addition to campus, LSU has a long history of drinking culture.

DRINK DRANK DRUNK LSU is largely known as a party school. Tigerland is only a mile away from campus and holds drink specials and events almost everyday. Not only can students party every night, tailgating for games provides another reason to drink.

Moderation seems to be an foreign concept at LSU. Seventeen years ago, in a small bar off campus, 20-year-old Benjamin Wynne enjoyed a night of drinking with his friends. The night quickly spiraled out of control with binge drinking, and Benjamin died from alcohol poisoning with a blood alcohol content of 0.55g/dL, over seven times the legal limit.

Shortly after, LSU became part of a grant project from the

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illustration ANNE LIPSCOMB

Robert Wood Johnson foundation, a philanthropy focused on promoting health in America, to address high risk drinking and binge drinking. After the grant ran out, the Office of Behavioral Health for Health and Hospitals sponsored a new program. The Louisiana Center for Addressing Substance Abuse in Collegiate Communities (LaCASU) was founded to offer services to students at LSU and other universities in Louisiana.

The core alcohol and drug survey, performed every other spring

by LaCASU, found that LSU had higher averages than the national percentage for driving a car under the influence, performing poorly on an exam due to being hungover, and missing a class due to alcohol and substance use.

Further, LSU has a higher 30-day alcohol use than the national average along with higher instances of binge drinking.

SOPPING UP THE PROBLEM LaCASU provides different resources for students seeking recovery, implementing campus-based AA meetings in fall 2013.

The organization also offers a support group called Students in Recovery as well as a sober tailgate on game days to provide an alcohol-free zone for students on the mend.

LaCASU is not the only organization that provides resources on campus. In July 2004, LSU integrated MyStudentBody as a requirement for incoming freshmen.

Susan Bareis, a health promotion coordinator the the Student Health center, said the program’s goal is to educate and motivate

students to make healthy decisions and to prevent risky behavior in students.

“The University Administration wanted to take a proactive approach to encourage health protective behaviors in the LSU community,” Bareis said.

According to MyStudentBody, studies show that the first few months of college are an important time in the overall academic experience of students; and LSU observes alcohol-related incidents occurring each semester involving first-year students.

MyStudentBody indicates around one in three male students and one in five female students reported having five or more drinks at their last social event.

Allison Smith, the associate director of LaCASU, said it is a Louisiana thing.

“The cultural factor of being in Southern Louisiana is huge.

There is a social and cultural norm that is different here,” she said.

And naturally, culture is a major influence when it comes to drinking.

Brandon*, 21, agrees.

“This is Southern Louisiana. We’re all about football, partying, and good food,” he said. “The good times are always rolling.”

UNDER PRESSURE Bareis said part of the problem is students’ perceptions of each other.

“The college environment is unique in that students depend upon their peers and feel pressure to fit in which may lead to engaging in risk-taking behavior, like drinking alcohol,” she said. “Students have the perception that their peers are engaging in these risky behaviors more often than they actually do.”

According to a 2013 study by American Health College Association, 17 percent of LSU students perceived the typical student on campus used alcohol daily in the last 30 days, when in actuality, only a little over one percent of LSU students reported using alco-

hol daily in the last 30 days.

For many students, it is difficult to internalize the possibility of a drinking problem.

Melanie*, a 22-year-old student, said it can be hard to tell if you have a problem.

“Sometimes its easy to lose track of how much you’re partying at LSU,” she said. “There always something going on, and it’s so accepted to go out on school nights and party all day Saturday.”

And those who can admit they have a problem sometimes struggle to find rehabilitation in a party environment. In fact, LaCASU reports around 5 percent of students said they were unsuccessful in quitting drugs and alcohol, and about 13 percent reported that they may have a drinking or drug problem. Melanie found it difficult to find balance in her social life.

“I don’t particularly like drinking, but I don’t want to be the awkward, lame friend,” she said. “I don’t know if I have a drinking problem, but most of the time I feel like I’m drinking just to fit in.”

Melanie felt alone in her struggles until she found out AA was available on campus.

The AA meeting was discussion-based, and did not include any propaganda or lecturing. Members were able to express not only their problems with alcohol but with their social life, home life, and school life. There was no alienation at AA, and participants were deeply involved in the meeting as the discussion unfolded into finding balance in living. Personal stories stay within the confines of the meeting, so members can feel impervious to judgement.

Smith said AA on campus is a place for students to feel secure and safe.

AA is not for everyone, but it is one of the many helpful resources available on campus.

Smith hopes to see a decrease in alcohol rates in the 2015 survey now that AA meetings are available on campus every Wednesday. *Students interviewed chose to only be referred to by first names.

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words LOGAN ANDERSON

photos ALLIE APPEL

design CHASE WHITNEY

Two musician brothers explain why life is better off the beaten path.

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he duo that comprises Faubourg, Wesley and Jacob Johnson, can be perfectly summed up by the music they create.

Named for an area of New Orleans near Marigny, Faubourg’s hit song “All Tried Up,” is a strong statement to both simple musicality and technical musical production.

The smooth sounds of a skillfully played acoustic guitar serve as the base on which a mountain of soulful vocals, sharp percussion and modern synth techniques are layered.

Despite the complexity of the track, at no point does the music begin sounding overwhelming or overworked – instead, it cre-

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ates a balance of tradition and technology.

The Johnson brothers exhibit the same combination of intelligence and charm in person that they do in their music.

The Alexandria natives have the kind of spirited camaraderie between them that only comes from growing up together. They finish each other’s sentences and playfully tease one another, while laughing at old inside jokes and trying to remember the names of hometown venues. They are both lighthearted and passionate, smiling as they tell stories of their childhood. They could pass for twins. They speak in iden-

tical Southern drawls, with the same easy cadence to their words as one another. They are clearly close and say they have been their entire lives.

“We’ve had some of our moments,” they both say simultaneously, laughing, “but for the most part we’ve always gotten along,” Wesley finishes. “We’re definitely the closest of all our siblings.”

Despite their similarities, though, life pulled the two brothers in very different directions for years.

After majoring in biology at LSU, Wesley went to medical school and began

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studying to become a doctor; meanwhile, the same time: at age 8, Jacob began to Jacob followed his musical dreams to bang on books and suitcases, while Wesley, Boston, attending Berklee College of Music. 11 at the time, started toying around with Both brothers excelled at their respective the guitar. educational pursuits, but one enjoyed his “When they got him his first guitar,” time in school more than the other.

Jacob thumbs toward his brother, “I was “I was miserable,” Wesley says, shaking expecting to get a drum set, but that didn’t his head as he reminisces. “I missed music happen. So for a few years I was just playing so much.” “I didn’t help that,” says Jacob as on the books and a Tonka drum. And I was he begins to smirk at the memory of taunt- killing it!” ing his brother.

Wesley nods in agreement.

“I would call him while I was at Berklee “He was good,” he says, “but drums are and be like ‘Dude, I’m playing with the guy annoying. So we think our parents wanted who played with Herbie Hancock!’” Jacob to make sure it was really something he was says. into before letting him have it.”

“And I’m over here like studying for my “It’s wonderful how it all came toStep 1 exam and trying to pass my tests!” gether,” says Jacob, as he begins to describe Wesley retorts. their reunion. Wesley decided to take some As they reminisce about their time time off after completing medical school apart, it becomes obvious how happy the before pursuing a residency, in order to pair is to be reunited. follow his musical passions. After touring The youngest of four, the two spent the world playing drums for various bands, most of their time as children together. Jacob landed back in New Orleans. The They even became interested in music at two moved in together and began trying to

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make music together for the first time in years, and began to hone their respective sounds into something that felt right.

“We wanted to work together so badly, but we just couldn’t get it right.”

The duo attempted to record 10 different albums, but claims each time the sound was wrong. “I’m just now getting to the point, production-wise, where I feel like I’ve got everything figured out, and I think that really shows in our music.”

All it takes is one listen to a Faubourg song to know that Jacob is absolutely right; their music is all at once inviting and mysterious, soulful and polished, warm and sharp.

The duo have figured out exactly what to do to create a uniquely Johnson brothers’ sound – and that sound is something worth hearing.

Faubourg is recording new music now and plans to book shows for early winter.

Like them on Facebook for updates.

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UNDER THE

OVERPASS Chelsea’s is a BR staple – but what’s the story? words LUCAS ROBERTS

“W

photo MICHELLE AYOUBI

e’re a restaurant first and a venue second,” Chelsea’s Cafe Owner Dave Remetter says.

Then why does Yelp list Chelsea’s as the highest rated music venue in Baton Rouge?

Driving down Perkins Road long enough will reveal Chelsea’s bright neon sign peaking above the overpass, almost as if its raising a rock salute to the city. The sign acts as a beacon for musicians, poets, Ph.D students, science junkies,or people who just love grilled cheese.

Perhaps Chelsea’s local air paired with its diverse offerings lift its brand into popular appeal.

Remetter said he owes it all to the food.

“That’s our bread and butter,” Remetter said.

“Everyone loves the grilled cheese.”

It might be something more intangible, something that can’t be filled with cheese and grilled.

Chelsea’s had a history for being a haven for local musicians even before it was raising its neon fist above Perkins. The original Chelsea’s stood on West State Street now occupied by the College Row Shopping Center, a place where present-day students gorge on sushi and binge on coffee.

Remetter says he and his staff enjoyed music, so they would turn to friends and bands from the neighboring State Street to help draw a crowd for the young restaurant.

Since its inception in 1987, Chelsea’s changed ownership twice before ending up in the hands of

design CASSIDY DAY

the current owner Dave Remmetter in 1999. In 2006, Remmetter relocated Chelsea’s to its present spot on Perkins.

Within that timespan and beyond Chelsea’s would play host to local favorites like Prom Date and Davey Crocket and the Wild Frontier. Other notable acts extend beyond Baton Rouge: Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors, Black Joe Lewis, and John Scofield.

B.U.G., a Monroe, La. based band, spoke highly of their experience at Chelsea’s. Joe Ford, B.U.G.’s vocalist, said that it was one of the best shows they’ve ever played.

“Whoever was running the soundboard that night was fantastic,” Ford said.

The band even received a recording of their live performance from Chelsea’s afterwards.

“They were really cool and helpful,” Ford said.

Non-music fans can enjoy what Chelsea’s has to offer in the back room. From dissertations, poetry, or monthly lectures from LSU Science Cafe that covers local science issues and topics, Chelsea’s serves up many after dark options to its patrons.

Chelsea’s strives to fulfill Baton Rouge’s cravings: be it food, entertainment, or hobbies with more to come in the future according to the owner. Knowing this, the neon sign that resembles a fist might just be rebellious gesture to a bland night in Baton Rouge.

That goal in itself may be all it took for Baton Rouge residents to make Chelsea’s a local staple.

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BIRD is the

WORD LSU’s Tigrisomas keep their eyes on the skies.

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words LUCAS ROBERTS

I

photos MICHELLE AYOUBI

n 1982, late LSU professor and famed ornithologist Ted Parker, along with his Princeton colleague Scott Robinson, set the record for identifying 331 species of birds in 24 hours. The pair remain famous in the bird watching world, and their record went unchallenged for over three decades. Until now.

At 4 a.m. on a Tuesday morning, a group of graduate students begin their route through Peru equipped with binoculars, a field guide of Peruvian birds, cameras with long-focused lenses, and a collection of audio recordings.

The group seeks to break Parker’s record.

They call themselves the Tigrisomas, LSU’s bird watching team. The name derives from the genus name for the tiger heron, a native bird found around the LSU lakes whose feathers resemble the pattern of a tiger’s coat.

The team comprises of LSU grad students Michael Harvey and Glenn Seeholzer, LSU Museum of Natural Science Research Associate Dan Lane, and research assistant and Peru native Fernando Angula.

Working on little sleep, the Tigrisomas continually cupped their ears in search of familiar bird songs they learned from over 10 years of study in South America. Hearing birds is faster than spotting them.

Harvey and Seeholzer agree that identifying birds by sound comes relatively easy to them – almost like muscle memory.

“It’s like recognizing a family member’s face from yards away, except it’s a bird,” Seeholzer says. “Though birds are pretty much family at this point.

Harvey and Seeholzer are not Louisiana natives, but their passion for birds along with stories of Ted Parker drew them to LSU. The pair have long waited

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design CASSIDY DAY

for an opportunity like Big Day Peru to arise.

“It takes a lot of organization and planning to pull off an event like this,” Seeholzer says.

With the help of their advisor, director of the LSU Museum of Natural Science Robb Brumfield, the group managed to raise enough money for the trip through fundraisers and research grants.

Currently, LSU does not sponsor the Tigrisomas, making them an independently funded organization.

The team continued through Peru, enduring harsh weather conditions like heavy rain.

“I just had so much adrenaline and Redbull running through my system then,” Harvey says.

Harvey’s fascination with the birds pushed him to keep going.

Finally, at 9:45 p.m., the team spots their last species, an oilbird, but the record remained uncertain.

“We’re moving so fast that we don’t have time to count,” Seeholzer says. “We couldn’t be sure we were breaking the record.”

After a tally, the Tigrisomas succeeded in breaking the world record by identifying 354 species.

But who keeps the team in check when the sporting activity involves no referees or overseers?

The activity mainly relies on the honor system.

Despite being unregulated, the team collected various sound bites and photos to prove their victory.

However, Brumfield was elated when he heard the news, but he was skeptical.

“The record hadn’t been broken since 1982,” Brumfield said. “For LSU, I think it’s a nice feather in the hat.”

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calcite

photos SARAH KERSHAW concept BROOKE SALTER styling ASHLEY MONAGHAN make-up BROOKE SALTER design SARAH KERSHAW

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bodysuit by ALEX ENGELHARDT

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crystal crown by BROOKE SALTER

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leather gauntlets by BROOKE SALTER FALL 2014

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top by ALEX ENGELHARDT

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special thanks to ALEX ENGELHARDT for lending his wardrobe

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OPINION

WEIGHING YOUR OPTIONS Where can local women turn in times of crisis?

words ANNA JIUNG

I

illustration ANNE LIPSCOMB

f a young woman in Baton Rouge finds herself much darker, sinister picture of the centers. unexpectedly pregnant, she may be up a creek National Abortion and Reproductive without a paddle. By the time the second Rights Action League (NARAL) Pro-Choice line – the one indicating pregnancy – appears America sets the scene on their website: across the screen of a home pregnancy test, “Picture this: You're scared that you might one million thoughts may be racing through be pregnant. You see an ad for a free pregnancy her head. Like most millennials, her first im- test and counseling. You call the number and pulse may be to turn to the Internet for an- make an appointment. You're told that birth swers. This is where many Louisiana women control is the same as abortion and that if you first encounter a phenomenon known as Crisis have an abortion, you will probably get breast Pregnancy Centers. cancer. You're vulnerable, scared, and confused.

Depending on who you ask, there are You have walked into a so-called "crisis pregtwo definitions for what a CPC is. Pro Life nancy center" (CPC), and you have been lied Louisiana’s website describes them as “centers to and manipulated. You deserve the truth: that are willing to provide counseling during comprehensive, unbiased, factual, and media pregnancy to educate you on all the choices cally accurate information. You likely won't get that are before you, including abortion. In ad- these things at a CPC.” dition, many provide post abortion counseling, They go on to detail the ways in which assistance after birth, adoption assistance, and some states support Crisis Pregnancy Cenmany other services.” ters: Louisiana is one of 23 states that have An affiliate website, adifficultchoice.com, laws protecting CPCs; one of nine states that states that CPCs are “local, non-profit orga- have “Choose Life” license plate programs (the nizations designed to help those facing an un- proceeds from those license plates go directly planned pregnancy,” and says that all services to funding CPCs); one of 20 states that refer are free, professional and confidential. women to CPCs; and one of eleven states that The image of CPCs painted by pro-life fund CPCs directly. organizations is a bright one. Their websites If someone Googles “abortion Baton are cheery, featuring young woman looking Rouge,” the first result that comes up is the inquisitive in front of pink backgrounds. They Delta Clinic, the only abortion clinic still opoffer many free services, they have 24-hour ho- erating in Baton Rouge. The rest of the links tlines and they can recommend you to a center on the first page are to either crisis pregnancy close by, where you can speak to someone face- centers in the area or articles about how the to-face about your options (the word options state government has recently made it much is used in abundance). Their message is clear: harder for women to have abortions in Louithey are here to help confused young women. siana. One of those first page articles refers to However, pro-choice organizations paint a the signing of a bill that threatened to close

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down Baton Rouge’s only clinic, as well as most (if not all) of the other abortion clinics in the state.

The law, signed in June, requires all doctors performing abortions have admitting privileges at hospitals within 30 minutes of the clinic. Though veiled as a way to make abortions safer, this law was proposed with the intention of shutting down abortion clinics. Representative Katrina Hamilton, who proposed the law, has been quoted multiple times saying that she “looks forward to the day abortion is not legal in this country.”

Abortion doctors scrambled to apply for admitting privileges in nearby hospitals, but nearly all were denied.

The Sunday before this law was set to go into effect, a federal judge ruled that doctors could continue to perform abortions while seeking their admitting privileges, temporarily blocking the law. At the time of the judges ruling, there was only one doctor in Louisiana who had hospital admitting privileges. That doctor has stated that if all other doctors in the state were forced to stop performing the procedure, he would be so fearful for his own safety that he would also stop performing abortions.

While there is only one abortion clinic in the Baton Rouge area, there are five crisis pregnancy centers. Because they are not in any way medical offices, crisis pregnancy centers are not subject to the same laws and restrictions that clinics are. As the state’s five clinics are threatened legally, 32 CPCs are able to exist

without legal restrictions, supported financially by Louisiana’s powerful network of pro-life donors.

The arguments between the pro-choice and pro-life movement over the purpose of CPCs are long, varied and incredibly heated. They can be boiled down to the pro-choice movement believing that the pro-life movement created CPCs in order to lure impressionable pregnant women away from safe, unbiased clinics in order to scare them out of getting abortions, and the pro-life movement believing they are helping women find alternatives to abortions, which they view as murder. Every year, NARAL Pro-choice America gives states grades on how efficiently they’ve protected reproductive rights. During 2013, the state of Louisiana was given an F. During that same span of time, the Americans United for Life declared Louisiana the most pro-life state in the country; Governor Bobby Jindal acknowledged this as an honor.

Both sides believe that they are helping women, and that their opposition is operating with malicious intent.

There is no gray area.

Unfortunately, this means that women searching for information are often caught in the middle of a fight for their attention – a fight that only causes more confusion during an already confusing time.

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lsurevielle.com/application

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Coastal erosion is shrinking Louisiana’s coastline, but what is being done to stop it?

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words ARYANNA PRASAD

P

photos MICHELLE AYOUBI

design CHASE WHITNEY

resent-day south Louisiana looks dif- environmental issue, systems within and ferent than what its greying natives without the state reinforce these structures. remember, but it’s not just Cajun The Army Corps of Engineers built the Americanization or desegregation that has modern levee system after the Great Flood changed its look. of 1927, and the expansion of oil and natOver the course of the past century, a ural gas industries have encroached on the new Louisiana has taken shape, one that fragile deltaic plain. has lost nearly 2,000 square miles in ninety Louisiana’s government has been hisyears. torically laissez-faire toward industrial Without the Mighty Mississippi manipulation of the coast, but recent steps strengthening its delta, Louisiana marshes toward environmental protection include have crumbled under the pressure of hurri- the 2012 Master Plan and the creation of canes, saltwater intrusion, withering barrier the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection islands, nutrient pollution and oil canals.

Authority-East (SLFPA-E).

As a football field of marsh drifts into Ultimately, energy interests override the Gulf of Mexico every hour, Louisianans environment ones, as Governor Jindal are forced to root themselves in a sobering signed a bill to prohibit the non-partisan reality: the boot is losing its sole.

SLFPA-E from suing 97 energy companies “Louisianans have their own very per- for damaging Louisiana’s coast. The coast sonal reasons for interest in coastal and that took 6,000 years to form has been environmental sciences,” said Dr. Richard “brought to the brink of destruction in the Shaw, Associate Dean of the LSU School of course of a single human lifetime,” SLFThe Coast and Environment.

PA-E notes in its lawsuit.

“For centuries, Louisiana’s geography Senate Bill 469 was designed to “stop and abundance of natural resources and frivolous lawsuits,” according to Jindal. In wildlife have bound lives and livelihoods addition to “reducing unnecessary claims inextricably to the coastal environment,” that burden businesses so that we can bring Shaw said. even more jobs to our state,” the bill will The nation’s largest area of coastal “send future recovered dollars from CZMA wetlands is not something Louisianans can litigation to coastal projects, allowing us to afford to lose—yet money and politics play ensure Louisiana coastal lands are preserved a role in sunken livelihoods. and that our communities are protected.”

According to its lawsuit, the non-partisan Levee Board, charged with “operating the flood protection system that guards Though cementing the Mississippi millions of people and billions of dollars’ into place with levees largely created this worth of property in south Louisiana from

Dirty Politics

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destructive floodwaters” filed the myriad of lawsuits on the grounds that “hundreds of thousands of acres of the coastal lands that once protected South Louisiana are now gone as a result of oil and gas industry activities,” supported by United States Geographical Survey data.

Despite flippant comments about Baton Rouge’s expanded waterfront, hope in the capital city is not as sunken as Louisiana’s coastal communities.

The state’s flagship university has an entire school dedicated to preserving and rebuilding the Louisiana coast—and substantial grants to boot.

Gaining Ground Environmentalists grapple with advocating for an environment that companies are using to build unsustainable fortunes.

This is why the School of Coast and Environment urges students to strengthen their understanding of the precarious balances struck between the environment and the economy to preserve a healthy, environmentally sustainable lifestyle into the 21st century, according to Dr. Shaw.

LSU SC&E students are encouraged to see the coast from various angles, an approach that invariably contributes to their comprehensive research and proposed solutions.

The SC&E consists of the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences and the Department of Environmental Sciences.

Classes range in focus from the nature

of ecosystems and watersheds to managing environmental law and policy. The school’s mission includes rebuilding barrier islands, restoring water balance in coastal environments and protecting the ecosystem from overfishing and storms.

The school is able to achieve its mission by carrying out grant work. Since 2008, the school has received approximately $69 million in extramural grant research. The school received over $15 million in 2010 alone due to the aftermath of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Grants are awarded to various areas to support SC&E’s own multidimensional approach to coastal research. They allow the school to improve their own educational methods. A $50,000 Keck Foundation grant supports SC&E faculty in developing a curriculum to innovate new solutions to Louisiana’s coastal challenges.

Grants also support SC&E in creative projects to communicate coastal issues to the public. The LSU Coastal Sustainability Studio (CSS), a joint project between the College of Art and Design, the College of Engineering and the School of the Coast and Environment, garnered $200,000 from the Kresge Foundation to address city planning and land use through the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA).

The program has allocated about $100,000 to “contribute to adaptive, resilient and sustainable human communities in the dynamic Louisiana coastal landscape.”

Digging Deep For Answers Johnathan Canales is a part of this interdisciplinary effort to rebuild the coast.

The a third-year architecture graduate

student is working with CSS to design a languages” CSS has created: a map explainCPRA exhibit at The Water Institute in ing coastal process in scientific, geographic, downtown Baton Rouge. Fellows, super- and journalistic terms. vising professors, graduate students and “This story must be told in an importundergraduate students work together to ant and dynamic way that it becomes relatdevelop the exhibit, a process that is ex- able to everybody,” he said. pected to last 18 to 24 months.

CPRA’s efforts are meant to show The exhibit is designed as a “massive people that humans are capable of hurting working model” to illustrate the processes or helping the coast. of Louisiana’s “working coast,” Canales said.

“Human intervention has worked to CSS has an idea of how to best communi- ruin the coast, but it can also aid in its rescate CPRA’s efforts to the public. toration,” Canales said.

When viewers enter the exhibit, they Room 212 in the LSU Design Building see the concept of the “working coast.” This is the CSS workspace as well as a showcase includes natural deltaic processes as well for the work the studio is producing. An as how humans affect these processes, all “asset to any student on campus,” Canales while demonstrating the grave importance encourages students to pop in to see what of these processes in preserving the coast. the group is doing.

Once the viewer understand how the current coastal environment works, the factors contributing to coastal loss—subsidence, sea level rise, oil canals—are explained, LSU students supported by these drawing correlations as to how these occur- grants understand the immediacy subsidrences create land loss. ence calls for—and the importance of finanYet the viewer’s hopes should not be cial support. dashed—CPRA is “trying to provide a “People think the natural environment promise of an optimistic future,” said Cana- is much larger than it is, and they have no les. After educating the viewer on what the clue how quickly it’s disappearing,” said problems are, CPRA provides their meth- Matthew Repp, a senior in Natural Reods and research in building back our coast. source Ecology and Management.

The space is filled with informational kiosks, Repp believes supporting LSU stuone for each CPRA project. dents through grants empowers those who Canales thinks the interdisciplinary know how to solve this issue. “The only way and academic aspect is what makes the pro- people can make a difference is to support gram so innovative. people who have the ability to,” Repp said.

“The university is an ideal workplace “In other words, give scientists the ability for progressive ideas,” he said. to make the changes we know we need to Just as ideal classroom learning meth- make. Funding is the best way.” ods differ between individuals, the general Louisiana’s foot may be half in its public understands environmental issues watery grave, but LSU SC&E research through various presentations. Canales keeps hope for a renewed coast afloat. went on to describe a profound “map of

Building A Solid Future

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SETTING

THE TABLE Try these delicious dishes on for size.

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words ARYANNA PRASAD

photos ALLIE APPEL

D

on’t have the budget to travel around the world? Films and photos are telling, but food may be the best way to get a taste of life outside of the States.

If you want more than what the LSU area has to offer, here are some Baton Rouge restaurants for the cultured palate.

Curry-N-Kabab Baton Rouge has several hot spots for spicy South Asian cuisine with Curry-N-Kabab being the most recent addition.

Owner Shaheed Khan describes it as the Whole Foods of Indian food Curry-N-Kabab is remarkably health-conscious. Khan offers fresh food made in-house, without heavy amounts of flour and sugar.

This is not the only alteration to traditional recipes: chili chicken wings and tropical lassis are twists on classic flavors.

Despite the variety in South Asian cuisine, Indian restaurants in the U.S. often offer North Indian specialties. Curry-N-Kabab makes a conscious effort to include dishes from all over the subcontinent, including biryani, naan and pakoras.

The most popular dishes are the goat curry and the chicken tikka masala, often paired with a basket of garlic naan.

Curry-N-Kabab, located on Coursey Blvd.,has a daily lunch and dinner buffet, delivery service and a 20 percent discount on Sunday’s lunch buffet for students, making this spicy fare accessible to the LSU campus.

Sa Dek Kitchen Amidst the various restaurants and groceries on Florida Blvd., Sa Dek Kitchen stands out. After 15 years, many say it has “the

design CASSIDY DAY

best pho in town.”

The famed pho stews beef bone for a full 24 hours, double the length of a standard 12. The recommended house pho features various beef cuts to start with, although seasoned eaters often order bowls with their preferred piece of meat.

The steamed rice cake bánh cuon is also a distinguished dish, being the only one quite like it offered in Louisiana. Consisting of steamed rice paper, ground pork, fried potato dumplings and a hearty helping of bean sprouts and shallots, this dish is best served warm with a side of fish sauce and a refreshing limeade.

When gumbo weather hits south Louisiana consider cozying up to a nice, hot bowl of pho.

La Reyna Though geographically closer to home, Central American food is more of a rarity in Southwest Louisiana. This is why Honduran eatery La Reyna reigns supreme as a popular spot for any carne asada craving.

La Reyna’s menu features dishes found throughout Latin America: the paella, tostones, enchiladas and tres leches from different regions are all found in one place. However, there are distinctly Honduran dishes such as baledas, thick tortillas filled with mashed refried beans, are a crowd pleaser and a popular street food in Honduras.

Tex-Mex connoisseurs will recognize enchiladas and tacos, but with a Honduran twist. The Honduran enchilada features sliced egg and avocado; the Honduran tacos are served on a bed of cabbage and tomato sauce.

Unlike the often-piquant taste of Mexican food, Honduran and other Central American specialties are not as spicy. The tostones

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(fried plantain slices) served with crema (sour cream) are an example of robust flavoring without the heat. For the Louisianans who bring Tony’s and hot sauce to the dinner table, rest assured: the Pollo En Mole and Camarones Picante bring the heat (as does the Tabasco bottle flanking the salt and pepper shakers).

La Reyna is an enclave for Latinos to enjoy Spanish conversation and pick up corn flour from the adjunct tienda for homemade tortillas. After 11 years, the establishment remains an inviting place to experience Honduran hospitality.

From biryani to bánh cuon, the world’s culinary wonders can come together all in one zip code. Scattered about the capital city area, excursions to these places are well worth the trip.

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BACKSTAGE BACKSTAGE We explore what goes into orchestrating LSU gameday.

words ARYANNA PRASAD

I

photos MICHELLE AYOUBI

t takes a team of thousands to prepare the largest, most theatrical show in Baton Rouge. Designers spend hours each day working on the set to make sure each piece is in place. Choreographers study the motions of each person on the stage and instruct them where to go each and every moment. Props are set up days ahead of time, and intricate costumes get their final polishes just hours before the lights hit the stage. Tens of thousands gather to watch the culmination of decades of work, by a large and mostly unseen crew.

During the show, everyone executes their tasks flawlessly; all props are replaced immediately if broken, ripped costumes are mended without a lost moment, and injured actors are tended to, creating the perfect scene for those in the audience. It is a show that is better orchestrated than the grandest Broadway production.

design SARAH KERSHAW

It is Saturday night in Death Valley. And, like Broadway shows, while the cast receives all the attention, the crew is largely forgotten.

The Tools of the Trade Greg Stringfellow has served the LSU Equipment staff for more than 30 years.

“Most people, for some reason, think that we just do laundry all day,” he said. “But equipment managing is so much more than that.”

After three decades, Stringfellow has distilled the ins and outs of the job down to a science.

Stringfellow said that for football, the equipment staff is in

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charge of everything, including uniforms, padding, helmets, and shoes. He ticked off his department’s responsibilities on his fingers as he listed them.

“Everything that you see someone step out on that field in, we’re in charge of it.”

Stringfellow’s small staff assists him in the day-to-day duties of managing the team. During football practice, his staff is on the field, doing whatever coach Les Miles needs them to do.

According to Stringfellow, they maintain the facility, the practice facility and the locker room on a daily basis. And Stringfellow does not shy away from the less glamorous parts of the job.

“We do do laundry,” he admits. “And that is a big part of what we do.”

Beyond laundry, Stringfellow’s team decides what equipment the team will use.

That translates to hours of research on a myriad of things including the most efficient fabrics, the safest and most technologically sound helmets, and the newest, most advanced shoe technology.

When game day arrives, Stringfellow and his team are prepared. As soon as the team gets back, he said, they begin working on the pads, cleaning helmets and noting what needs to be replaced.

“We’re always getting ready for game day,” he said.

The Thursday before each game, the equipment team begins packing a large 18-wheeler with the multitude of things that the team will require, including alternate outfits for every coach on staff, “just in case.” This process happens regardless of whether the team is playing across the street or across the country.

Stringfellow also knows that, despite what may happen on the field, the show must always go on, and tries his best to ensure that all actors can continue to play their part despite injuries.

“If someone gets hurt, we’re there with wraps and tapes to see if there’s any way we can get them back out there and keep them playing,” he said.

Also like a stage manager, Stringfellow prefers to remain out of the spotlight, letting his work speak for him. When asked about the sideline stitching that took place

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during last year’s Iron Bowl, he rolled his eyes and sighed.

“We all have sewing machines,” he said, “but there’s never a need to do that kind of thing on the field. That guy was just showing off for the cameras. We don’t need to do things like that.”

Getting ready for the closeup A football game is just as carefully choreographed as the most lavish dance numbers in any over-thetop musical. At every moment, each player on the field has been given detailed instructions on exactly how to move, based on dozens of external factors. This choreography is crafted by the coaches, with the majority of the vision by Doug Aucoin, the video coordinator for the LSU football team.

“We shoot the games differently than what you’re used to seeing on TV,” Aucoin said.

Aucoin sets up a wide shot on the sideline that captures all 22 players, he said. That way, the coaches can see what every player on the field is doing at any moment. In the endzone, he sets up a tighter shot so coaches can get a better glimpse of positions.

Aucoin and his staff film every LSU football game and practice for use in strategic game planning.

This means that each time LSU football players step on the field, Aucoin and

his team are there, capturing every snap, every tackle, every throw and every fumble. The video department edits the footage and presents it to the coaches as soon as the players step off the field.

“During games, we’ll have the whole game put together by the time the team gets back on the bus, so that they can instantly begin reviewing,” he said.

After editing football videos for 28 years, Aucoin said he still enjoys his job now as much as he did when he first began.

“I still tell my wife that I’m going to have to figure out what I’m going to do when I grow up,” he said. “I’m having too much fun.”

Greener Pastures The field in Tiger Stadium is known nationwide for its quality. Though often admired for the famous, intricately painted eye in the center, months of preparation go into perfecting the ground itself.

Once the season begins, the ritual of creating and recreating the set each week is set into motion.

Amanda Adams, manager of Internal Projects and Facility Operations for the Tigers, said the field is mowed every day and monitored for moisture content and fertility.

Preparing for game days is a different story.

Each Wednesday, the first coat of paint for logos is applied. On Thursday, the lines, numbers and hashes

are painted. By Friday, the logos receive their second coat and touch-ups are made.

At the beginning of each week, the process repeats itself. After each game, Adams’ team works to improve.

“We notice could have worked better and always keep an eye on how we can strive to be the best,” she said.

Like the equipment and video departments, much of the work Adams and her team do goes unseen. Not only are they responsible for maintaining the field, but also for the mechanics of the items that help them do so, including lawn mowers and the maintenance of all golf carts utilized by the athletic staff.

The grounds crew prunes and pulls any and all weeds on the field, while the custodial staff makes sure that the venue is in its best shape before the audience arrives.

It is the true foundation of LSU football; no extravagant show can be staged without an equally extravagant set on which to play, and a lot of work goes into ensuring that field is up to the highest standard. Adams acknowledges that it is the collaboration of all these different efforts that ensure the Saturday night spectacles are always executed smoothly.

“It is the hard work of all our of staff together as a team that makes us able to accomplish what we accomplish.”

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OPINION

BLAME GAME It’s an issue that goes beyond black and white.

words DAVID JUDD

I

illustration ANNE LIPSCOMB

f you watched news coverage of the protests in Ferguson, Mo. after a white police officer shot a young, unarmed African American, then you probably took sides: either with the people of Ferguson or with the police.

After the shooting, the ensuing firefight of stories, op-eds, editorials and public statements divided audiences into two camps: the “white” group, who saw that Michael Brown’s alleged violence against the cop precipitated his own demise, and the “black” group, who condemned the killing as an indication of their second-class citizenship.

Regardless of your position on this issue, it is undeniable that this dichotomy of the “white” group versus the “black” group distorts the important questions that the incident in Ferguson brings up such as racism, police militarization, pluralism, etc.

Furthermore, it dangerously furthers the racial divide between ethnic communities in our country, rather than mediating those differences to form a peaceful coexistence that all citizens can enjoy, whatever their skin color.

This phenomenon of racializing deracialization—that is to say, reading race into a discourse about transcending race—is backward progress that only seems helpful because race factors into the equation.

But it hinders racial progress by pitting ethnic communities against each other.

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Take, for example, a typical response from the “white” camp.

Juan Williams, in an editorial in the Wall Street Journal says, “If we are to stop angry clashes between police and poor black men, it is time to admit that thuggish behavior creates legitimate fear in every community.”

He then goes on to cite high school drop-out rates, unemployment and out-ofwedlock births as causes of this behavior.

Without proper acknowledgment this rhetoric becomes ammunition for certain readers to shoot the burden of guilt at the black community, absolving themselves of sin.

I’m not suggesting Williams should censor these types of comments; on the contrary, these are important elements of the racial problems that deserve to be discussed.

But there must be an acknowledgment of the different sources of these problems: a disproportionate educational system, a shortage of proper role models or leaders for young black men and women, and an imbalanced penal system, among others.

More importantly, however, is what does not need to be in these articles and people’s opinions across the country.

There should not be a sweeping accusation of guilt for such a deep, complex topic as race aimed against a single ethnic community as if it were a monolithic consciousness without diversity of opinion. Not only are these accusations patently false and untrue to the intricacies of the problem, but they also stoke the fires of hate and intolerance among communities by throwing guilt around like a hot potato.

If our generation is serious about equality, about judging people not by the color of their skin, then we must be willing to see justice or injustice, freedom or oppression, not black or white, male or female.

Certainly in situations like Ferguson race can still matter as a potential target for discrimination, without determining anything about an individual. White cops are not necessarily evil by virtue of their whiteness, but, if they are evil, it is because of their brutality—a quality certainly not dependent upon race.

And by the same logic, young black men are not guilty by virtue of their blackness. If we want true progress, then character must always trump race.

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