LEGACY Magazine Fall 2012 Issue 2

LEGACY LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY

CHAMPION+ PARENTS Tigers balance school, football and fatherhood

FALL 2012

ISSUE 2

Comics aren’t just What kind of ‘Dear Mom, for superheroes quiz rewards I’m an University students you with BEER? Atheist.’ embrace the art

staff

Letter from the Editor

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Editor-in-Chief Sydni Dunn

Managing Editor Katie Macdonald

Photo Editor Zach Breaux

Art Director Christina Li

Multimedia Director Keyshae Robinson

Designers

Brittany Gay Kelly Kral Kirsten Romaguera

Writers

Sydney Blanchard Elizabeth Clausen Clayton Crockett Austen Krantz Kate Mabry Kaitlyn Mercer Kevin Thibodeaux

Sydni Dunn EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Photographers

Jesse Guillory Benjamin Oliver Hicks Lainey Reed Kristen Soileau

Sales

Annabel Mellon

Technology adviser Alex Cook

Adviser

Bob Ritter

Publisher

Office of Student Media

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ometimes things happen that you can’t control, and there are two ways to handle it. One way is to break down and give up; the other is to make the best of the situation. The theme of this issue is embracing the latter.

LEGACY launched a campaign in August that invited students to help the staff come up with a new name for the magazine. We whittled down the high volume of student submissions, conducted student focus groups to gain feedback on the top picks and selected the new title. The staff feels it is the perfect name for LSU’s student magazine. It’s catchy, it’s memorable, and it’s a reflection of the magazine’s mission. So, where is it?

Though the staff said it would reveal the new title on the cover of this issue, we are ironing out the final details of the name’s registration and will have to push that deadline back.

The student magazine will reveal its new identity as soon as possible. Until then, LEGACY will deliver the same great content, photography and design it always has.

We were excited to announce the new title to our readers, but sometimes you just have to roll with the punches.

Tigers safety Eric Reid and linebacker Lamin Barrow can relate. In the cover story, Champion Parents (pg. 24), these athletes talk about raising a child while balancing school and football. Though it may not be the ideal set-up for a young father, these men discuss how they strive to be the best they can be — as a player and a parent.

It’s about doing all you can, they said, and LEGACY is following suit.

Want more? www.lsulegacymag.com

@LSULEGACY Like us on Facebook 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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ISSUE 2

table of CONTENTS MUSIC + CULTURE 06 | Presidential Playlist 07 | Campus Crusaders 10 | Trivial Pursuit

FEATURES 20 | Comic Relief University students love to doodle, but their future as illustrators is uncertain.

24 | Champion Parents

FOOD

On top of football and school, some Tigers are also raising cubs.

15 | Geaux Nuts for Deaux-Nuts 16 | Slow Food for Thought

29 | Rewarding Research Pennington scientists and student volunteers discuss life under the microscope.

HEALTH + LIVING 42 | Root of the Matter 45 |#RunLA

OPINION 46| “Dear Mom, I’m an Atheist.”

34 | Free Men, Freemasons Freemasons are in Baton Rouge and on campus, but what does that mean?

38 | Keeping Cajun Younger generations breathe new life into traditional Cajun culture.

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Presidential Play list What’s on Taylor Cox’s iPod?

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WORDS BY austen krantz PHOTOS BY jesse guillory

Between school and Student Government responsibilities, Taylor Cox often finds himself listening to music to spur him through days of class and meetings.

“If I’m having a rough day where I’m really busy, I’ll go into my office and close my door and put in my earphones and crank out a bunch of work,” said mass communication senior and SG president Cox. “You can find me most nights at Highland Coffees,” he said. “I’ll be in there studying and listening to music.”

So, what’s on his iPod?

Cox said he’s a real ‘90s kid. He nostalgically enjoys tunes from the late ‘90s and early 2000s, like Death Cab For Cutie or Hellogoodbye. He also listens to Christian music, a carryover from his time singing at his church.

Music affects his feelings, Cox said. He has different music for different tasks.

Nicki Minaj serves as great workout music, for example, while songs on KLOVE Radio get him through long and difficult days. And there’s always some room for Iron and Wine or Mumford and Sons, he added with a laugh.

“My music taste — I would call it odd

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and unusual and eclectic,” he said. “I like music that inspires me, motivates me and kind of pulls at my heartstrings.”

Cox took the office of Student Government president with different aspirations than some of his predecessors. While many seek political office, Cox makes different plans.

“They want to go into politics — [SG] is a passion of theirs,” he said. “It’s a passion of mine, but it’s not for political want or desire. I really have no interest in going into politics one day.”

Cox said he plans to apply to graduate school, but his dream job involves working in outdoor camps. From childhood until recently, he attended multiple summer and leadership camps in places like Ozark, Ark. Cox said he thinks it’s amazing that working at a camp entails planning leadership exercises and activities like rock climbing, hiking and whitewater rafting.

“I would love to be the director of a camp one day for other students and to plan fun activities and different leadership challenges,” he said.

But this isn’t to say Cox isn’t dedicated to his role as SG president.

Cox and Vice President Carrie Hebert helped arrange the first LSU Tiger Nights, which brought rock walls, DJs, photo

booths and campus organizations into one on-campus event. “[Our] mission was more or less to provide students with unique opportunities throughout the year,” Cox said.“To meet their fellow students, to meet campus leaders and really just have more programming and more things to do.”

Want to stream Taylor Cox’s iPod? Listen at

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Music + Culture

Campus Crusaders WORDS BY kate mabry

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PHOTOS BY zach breaux

For those of you in search of your knight in shining armor, you may not have to travel very far. Ordo Procinctus, a medieval fighting group that has been around since 1994, has often gained the attention of curious bystanders while fighting on campus.

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[Top] Keaton Robinson, esquire, helps Sir Eric Wiggins prepare his armor for battle. [Left] The groups “Ordo Procinctus” translates to “order” and “ready for battle.”

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Ordo Procinctus translates to “order” and “ready for battle.”

Eric Wiggins, University alumnus, said the order began as a small group of friends who simply enjoyed fighting. He joined the group in 2002.

When Renaissance Festival in Hammond began in 2001, Wiggins said the group worked out a deal to showcase their fighting skills at the festival each year.

In return, the group was given a small portion of the festival ground where they compete in tournaments once a month.

While training is held near Tureaud Hall every third Sunday of the month, tournaments are conducted on the ground every first Sunday of the month.

Although only two events are held per tournament day, the sport includes five events: long sword, sword and shield, staff, spear or weapon of choice.

During the “weapon of choice” event, competitors are allowed to fight with any weapon — most of which are handmade by the order — with the approval of the weapon master.

MUSIC + CULTURE

[Top] Sir Jason Kelly and Sir Adam Dillon exchange blows during one of their hard fought battles. [Left] Keaton Robinson, esquire, and Christopher Desplas duel fiercefully during one of their matches. [Right] Sir Adam Dillon and Sir Jason Kelly congratulate each other after battle.

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Students and professors test their knowledge at local trivia nights for fun and prizes WORDS BY kevin thibodeaux Name the Three Musketeers. What is the capital of Finland? Approximately when was the Colosseum built?

For local trivia buffs, those are the types of questions that come up each week at any of Baton Rouge’s trivia nights, designed to test teams’ knowledge on a variety of subjects and offering rewards in return for correct answers.

Some trivia competitions — like the “Let’s Get Quizzical” series — take place at different locations throughout Baton Rouge on different nights of the week. The venues keep track of the teams’ standings throughout the semester and award even bigger prizes for those victories.

One of those places is The Chimes, located on Highland Road. Monday night trivia at The Chimes consists of two rounds of 10 questions. Each question

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PHOTOS BY kristen soileau

ranges in point value, and teams are awarded points for a correct answer. The points from each round are totaled and prizes are awarded at the end of each round. Points are tallied throughout the semester and a grand prize of $500 is awarded to the winning team.

Many students make a conscious effort to go to trivia nights every week, increasing their chances of winning the grand prize and also creating an exciting evening.

Clay Tucker, geography senior, said he has been attending Monday night trivia at The Chimes with his team “Woody Allen’s Penis” for more than a year and a half.

The team’s strategy for winning is to accommodate as many area specialties in the group as possible. Tucker’s team members have tried to master the knowledge of art, history and sports, while Tucker said he is the team’s geography guy.

The events are competitive, but Tucker said his team usually places in the

respectable top 15. On nights when some of the more serious competitors, like University professors, choose not to show up, Tucker said “Woody Allen’s Penis” will make a run for the top spot.

But all trivia nights aren’t created equal.

Wednesday night trivia at the Mellow Mushroom consists of eight rounds of three questions each. Teams get to choose whether each question counts as three, two or one point, depending on their confidence level, but can only use these values once per round. At the end of the night, the top three teams are rewarded with gift cards to the restaurant.

Environmental engineering junior Philip Speeg said he likes this trivia because it involves a little bit of strategy and provides an opportunity to socialize with friends.

He said he’s attended trivia nights at the Mellow Mushroom regularly on Wednesday over the summer even though his team

Music + Culture

A Week of Trivia 10 p.m.

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normally did “terribly.”

However, it’s not just students who participate at these events.

University mathematics professor Richard Litherland has attended trivia at The Chimes for a number of years since the event began.

He started participating because he was at The Chimes anyway, he said, and the weekly contest sounded like fun.

Although he teaches math, Litherland said those types of questions don’t come up often in the weekly trivia nights. Instead, he aids his team with his vast knowledge of history.

“It’s a team thing so some people know certain things,” Litherland said.

His team, called “Left end of the bar” — the location the team was sitting in when they began doing trivia — usually does well, Litherland said, ranking in at least the top 10.

It all depends on the week, with some teams excelling some weeks and other days falling short.

But for most teams competing at these weekly trivia nights, it’s more about having fun than the prizes that can be won.

“Me and my teammates, we like to do things on Monday nights,” Tucker said. “It’s a much better alternative than going south of campus [to Tigerland].”

The Chimes (LSU), as part of the Let’s Get Quizzical series

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Port Royal Lounge, as part of the Let’s Get Quizzical series

The Chimes East, as part of the Let’s Get Quizzical series

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WORDS BY sydney blanchard PHOTOS BY lainey reed

With flavors like maple bacon, jalapeno vanilla, s’mores and Bananas Foster, it’s no wonder University alumnus Jeff Herman’s new eaterie has gotten some attention for its brow-raising flavors.

Tiger Deaux-Nuts, located in the White Oak Village shopping center on Jones Creek Road, is a new doughnut shop that caters to Tiger fans with cultured taste buds. Unlike your ordinary doughnut shop, Herman serves up these sweet treats in offbeat flavors.

Herman, a 2011 management and entrepreneurship graduate, started his doughnut business almost on a whim.

“It’s funny how I came up with the idea for this business,” Herman said. “At the time I lived at Tiger Manor, and I was sitting on my couch one Sunday morning after a game … and I was like, ‘I want some doughnuts.’”

The shop opened for business July 14 and already has a cult following, he said.

“I already have regulars!” Herman laughed.

For now, Herman is in the process of making his dream a reality. Operating out of a small kitchen, Herman, with the help of his sister, makes all of the creations himself.

“Everything … is kind of a deconstruction of something,” Herman said. “It’s got to be appealing visually, it’s got to taste good, and it has to provoke you to think.”

Herman has big plans for the future, he said. He’s looking to move from his current location to somewhere near the Perkins Road overpass or on Government Street near Radio Bar to better cater to LSU fans on game days.

As for new flavors, Herman is keeping things pretty quiet. But he did drop some mouth-watering hints.

“I’d like to make a praline icing with pulled pork on top of it,” Herman said.

Herman doesn’t count the calories in his crazy creations, nor does he intend to. (Plus, it’s common knowledge that calories don’t count on game day). He said there’s no better way to start a day of tailgating than with doughnuts.

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~

Vanilla Jalepeno - 3/5 The combination of vanilla and jalapeno is a bit unsettling to the untrained doughnut eater. Be warned.

Apple pie - 2/5 Jeff makes this pie filling himself, but it doesn’t top my grandma’s homemade apple pie.

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Boudin spring rolls from Le Creolé.

SLOW FOOD FOR THOUGHT +

WORDS BY clayton crockett PHOTOS BY kristen soileau

Baton Rouge foodies and farmers embrace a movement advocating locally-grown ingredients

Southern Louisiana has the French to thank for many of its cul- of the restaurant Le Creolé, which is situated on Highland Road tural mores. Prominently among them good food, good friends between Interstate 10 and Airline Highway. and good wine, in whichever order you please.

The delicious results were presented with a river of wine by While it may be hard to complain with a credo like this, executive chef Ryan André, whose restaurant was chosen specifivarious members of the Baton Rouge cally for its support of local farmers and community have found nits to pick: food sources.

Surely, we could be doing more, and Flatbread pizza strewn with lobetter. cally-grown mushrooms, tuna cevi The Baton Rouge chapter che with endive, Louisiana crawfish of Slow Food, an international and cream cheese rangoons, boudin movement to bring the focus of spring rolls — all served with genfood back to the source, is lookerous helpings of good company ing to enter the gastrocentric and alcohol: Is this what Slow Louisiana consciousness.

Food is about?

“It fits right into Loui In Louisiana, it just may siana,” said LSU AgCenter be. But putting a finger on professor Carl Motsenwhat exactly Slow Food bocker, president of the means can be difficult, even Slow Food Baton Rouge by its ardent and mindful board. members.

“We’re creating a Ve t e r i n a r i a n Flatbread pizza strewn with mushrooms (left) and fresh tuna ceviche with connection between farmtur ned-sheep-far mer endive (right) are two dishes created with local ingredients at Le Creolé. ers and consumers,” he Roberta McKowen teesaid. ters on the brink. She At one of Slow Food Baton Rouge’s monthly meet-and- raises and sells her lambs but has a hard time declaring herself greets, Motsenbocker and company demonstrated just what this a “member,” per sé. “Believer” would be a more accurate title, connection means to their community with help from the staff she joked.

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FOOD

“It’s an Epicurean philosophy, an ideal,” she explained, straining to verbalize the role of Slow Food in her gastronomic philosophy. “And it’s not just making money; it’s a great death for my animals.”

Every believer in the church of good, fresh Louisianagrown food has tailored his or her role in the cause.

“They aren’t requiring you to be organic. It’s just an appreciation of good food — you’d think Louisiana would be all over it,” McKowen said.

While Slow Food chapters have sprung up in places like Shreveport and New Orleans, the New Orleans chapter is listed as “looking for new leadership” and members of the Baton Rouge chapter exhibited frustrations with slow progress.

Slow Food is a mindset and an ideal to strive for. It is for this reason that “all chapters have different activities,” as Motsenbocker put it.

“We do our own thing; we’re a very small group,” he explained. “Programs are designed based on the interests of the chapter.”

Motsenbocker hopes to create a ripple in the local culinary community, one that will shed light on restaurants who support local food and, in turn, get people to support those restaurants — and get money back to the local farmers behind the curtain.

“We don’t get many chefs that come to these meetings because they’re working 90-hour weeks,” Motsenbocker said.

Such comments as these exemplify the deep appreciation Slow Food holds for the dirty hands behind the scenes, plowing the soil, feeding the animals and preparing course after course.

“If you want to pay a little bit more to have a direct connection with the farmers, are you willing to do that?” he asked.

On behalf of the cause, Motsenbocker happily said yes, it is worth the added value if it’s good for the local economy.

“People do understand that we should be buying Louisiana crawfish rather than Chinese, for instance,” he said. “We try to support whatever we can in the local food system, and Slow Food is just a piece of the pie.”

This particular night’s gathering hosted many slices of the pie, from enthusiasts to activists, fruit-growers to chicken farmers.

Slow Food sympathizer Chris Frink put it frankly in saying, “It’s the opposite of fast food — you don’t know where that comes from.”

Since starting up four years ago, Frink’s home plays host to laying hens, bees, citrus trees and a large garden.

“Gee, what can we do to feed ourselves if we don’t have any work?” Frink chuckled, but self-sustenance is virtue in the world of Slow Food. “It gets you more aware of what your food is and where it comes from.”

SLOW FOOD

OPTIONS Members of Slow Food Baton Rouge do whatever they can to support restaurants who buy their food locally. Here are their recommendations:

Go-Ya-Ya’s Main Street Market 504 N. Fifth St.

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Ruffino’s

Le Creolé

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18811 Highland Road

Bay Leaf

5160 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd.

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18135 E. Petroleum Drive

Louisiana Lagniappe Restaurant 9990 Perkins Road

$$ $$ less than 10 per entrée $$ 10-15 per entrée

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F E I L E R C I COM University art students love to doodle, but their future as WORDS BY kevin thibodeaux

T

aylor Wells isn’t too old for coloring. In fact, she’s made it her career.

Wells is one of many students embracing alternative forms of art not taught at the University including comics, cartoons and illustrations.

Wells, a painting and drawing senior, is part of a team that creates, draws, colors and compiles a 20-page comic book that has become one of the most popular creator-owned series in the industry, garnering critical acclaim in the process. The comic is even in talks of being made into a television series on Showtime.

“Chew,” created by John Layman, who also writes the plot and word bubbles of the comic, and drawn by Rob Guillory, follows Tony Chu, a cop with the special ability to get psychic impressions from the food he eats. Released every five weeks, Wells has been the color assistant on the comic for more than a year.

“Ultimately, it’s a guy who solves crimes by eating nasty shit,” Wells laughed.

But the process of creating the comic is not what one might expect.

Wells said Guillory, who draws the scenes in pencil first and then pen, will share a page with her through Dropbox, a file hosting service, meaning Wells can do her job from anywhere in the country or even overseas, as she did when she studied abroad in Europe in 2011.

Using Adobe Photoshop, Wells then adds colors to the previously black and white pages. She applies filters to darken the colors to match the look of “Chew.” When she is done, Wells sends the pages back to Guillory, who checks her colors and makes changes if he doesn’t like the ones she picked. Layman then adds word bubbles to the page.

“One thing about comics

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illustrators is uncertain

PHOTOS BY kristen soileau

— especially today, especially mainstream — it’s almost an assembly line in that they have someone who writes it, they have someone who pencils it, someone who inks it, someone who colors it, someone who letters it and sometimes, even more stuff,” Wells said.

Once all 20 pages of the issue pass through this multi-step process, the comic is sent to the publisher. Wells said it normally takes her about three to five hours to finish applying the colors to a page depending on the complexity of the art for “Chew.”

Wells said it was “serendipity” that landed her the job with “Chew.”

As one of the artists she admired, Wells said she sent her work to Guillory to get critiqued. Wells said Guillory was impressed and responded with positive feedback. Later, at Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con, Wells again ran into Guillory, and she showed him more of her work. A few weeks later, finding himself in need of a color assistant, Wells said Guillory called her and offered her the job.

“I try to promote local talent when I can, so I reached out to Taylor, and we’ve

been working together since,” Guillory said in an email. “It’s not glamorous work, but Taylor’s contribution to the production of the book is a huge help in keeping ‘Chew’ on a regular schedule. She’s timely, professional and easy to work with. You can’t really ask for more than that.”

Wells said she’s been interested in comics since she was a young Sailor Moon fan, but it wasn’t until later she realized the

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Taylor wells dRAWS a quick sketch for her comic portfolio depth some comics offered.

“I started looking at comics that were just completely bizarre and out there and started realizing that there was so much more than people realize, and you can do so much more with the medium than people realize,” she said.

But her path to comics wasn’t easy.

Although she started out as a graphic design major at the University, Wells said she knew that wasn’t where she needed to be and switched to painting and drawing.

Wells said the School of Art places more emphasis on the painting aspect of the major and largely ignores drawing.

“I’ve had a lot of trouble fitting in at LSU because I’m a painting and drawing major, and it is so painting-oriented,” Wells said. “Drawing is completely pushed to the wayside, I feel.”

She said although her professors were understanding of her dilemma, they couldn’t help her, and her schoolwork didn’t reflect the kind of work she wanted to do with comics.

Jake Lebas, painting and drawing junior, faced similar problems.

Lebas said he wanted to go to school for illustration, but most state colleges, including LSU, don’t offer the option.

“It’s kind of hard to find your niche and get good at what you want to get good at when you’re doing schoolwork on the side that doesn’t relate,” he said.

Lebas said his dream is to illustrate books, album covers and movie posters.

Hoping to create work he could use in his portfolio, Lebas has concentrated on landing a job that would allow him to illustrate but has had little success so far.

Rod Parker, director of the School of Art, said the decline of illustration began with the rise of Photoshop in the ’80s. This made illustrations much more accessible, easier and cheaper, he said.

“Up until then, if you wanted to create an image, you’d have to draw it,” Parker said, noting LSU and many other art schools offered classes in illustrations at this time.

He said around 2000, schools started dropping their illustration programs.

However, Parker envisions hand-drawn illustrations will make a comeback.

[Left] chickenlegboy, JOSHUA GEORGE. [RIght] Taylor wells’

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Comic Strip By Taylor Wells

taylor wells APPLIES last-minute “Now what will happen is things will go the other way,” Parker said, noting the rise of Etsy and other handmade websites that have popularized crafts “touched by the human hand,” saying this shift foreshadows the resurgence of illustration.

Although the University doesn’t have a major or an individual class for students like Wells and Lebas, it has offered a summer class for those interested in illustration.

Keith “Cartoonman” Douglas was brought in by the University to teach a summer class recently, although he wasn’t asked to teach this past summer. He said it was mostly high school students who attended his class, but he believes there’s a big interest in illustration in the area because the University, or anywhere else around, isn’t teaching this alternative style.

He speculated the reason some colleges don’t offer this degree is because most college art professors think of commercial art and illustrations as a lesser form of art compared with traditional paintings and drawings.

But Douglas said cartooning takes just as much skill as any other form of art. It’s

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not that cartoonists don’t have the ability to paint traditional art, he said, it’s just that some people, like himself, prefer to have more fun with their work.

Joshua George, a 2012 painting and drawing graduate, said he never faced difficulty at the University trying to learn the mechanics of illustration.

George’s problem was learning to understand the business side of the art world, he said.

“It’s not so much that I needed a teacher to teach me about illustration but how do you make the business connections,” George said.

It’s a daunting task George said he still hasn’t mastered.

George has been trying to launch Chickenlegboy, a character he created 13 years ago that’s intended to be a children’s book. He said he believes the character, which is literally a drumstick with a face and appendages, is a truly original creation.

The story revolves around Earl, who tries his hand at sports, at first not achieving success because of his short stature, but finally utilizing his chicken leg head to excel at soccer and football, according to the

FEATURE

Lashes that last up to 6 weeks!

touch-ups to a personal comic. cartoon’s website.

George said so far no publisher has expressed interest in the story.

And finding a way to crack into the illustrative industry may be harder than George thought. He said he is currently learning on his own until he can find someone to help him.

George’s current goal is to find an agent who can make the business connections that he can’t and set George up with illustrating jobs.

For those artists lucky enough to land a job, that first step could make all of the difference.

Wells said being employed by “Chew” puts her in a very good position. The job has introduced her to other comic book artists as well as given her the opportunity to pick up first-hand experience in the comic book industry.

Wells said she ultimately wants to create her own comic and do the pencil and ink work, much like Guillory does on “Chew.” She said her experience with the comic helps, but she is now focused on drafting versions of her own comic for her senior art studio project to show that she can do more than apply color to a comic book.

However, she mentioned she wants to work for “Chew” as long as possible.

Wells said she likes comic books because they can communicate more than other mediums of communication.

“There’s a lot of things you can say with a comic that you can’t necessarily say with just a picture and you can’t say with just words,” Wells said.

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www.WinkYourEyes.com

CHAMPION CHAMPION PARENTS PARENTS WORDS BY austen krantz

[Left] LeiLani smiles on her dad Eric Reid’s shoulders. [Right] LeiLani gives her dad a big kiss.

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+

PHOTOS BY jesse guillory

COVER STORY

A

big purple “1” rests on Tigers’ safety Eric Reid’s white football jersey. It’s only appropriate given the weight on his shoulders.

At 6 feet 2 inches and 212 pounds, the Geismar native is tasked every Saturday with destroying Southeastern Conference offenses with speed and efficiency as one piece of the LSU football team’s stacked defense. On the field in football gear, an intimidating helmet masks his handsome face, and his friendly demeanor turns into pure intimidation for offenses. As he perches at the back of the defense, alert and focused, he reads plays to tear them apart.

That’s why fans erupt into shrieks and howls as he appears on Tiger Stadium’s screens, and game announcer Dan Borné’s voice blasts over the loudspeakers, “At Free Safety, Eric Reid.”

But there’s a 3-year-old girl whose affection and reverence for Reid surpasses anything demonstrated in Tiger Stadium: His No. 1 — LeiLani Reid, Eric’s daughter.

Her small frame makes up the rest of his shouldered weight.

“You’re heavy, my shoulder hurts,” he joked with the little girl, who smiled as she sat atop his right shoulder.

On a visit to the LSU Football Practice Facility, LeiLani quietly sat in the corner of an end zone before her father emerged from the nearby weight room, immediately encouraging her to hop up and sprint toward him.

“Let’s play football, Daddy,” she shouted up to Reid, tugging on his pants and gazing up at his towering figure. “We need a football.”

TIGER CUBS

But Reid, management junior, isn’t the only Tiger with a cub.

A number of athletes face the challenge of balancing athletics, academics and parenting — and embrace it.

Linebacker Lamin Barrow’s 3-year-old daughter, Laila, arrived when he started attending the University.

“Having her during my freshman year gave me something to strive for,” the sports administration junior said, noting his determination to succeed as a student and an athlete. “If there was any time that I got down and felt like I couldn’t do something, I’d just look at her — look at a picture of her, talk to her — to know what I’m working for.”

Reid agreed, describing the impact of his daughter’s birth.

LeiLani was born during Reid’s sophomore year at Dutchtown High School, where he also played football. And just like that, he said, a young man who needed unflinching confidence on the football field found himself with an unfamiliar challenge.

“Football will be a way that I can take care of her.”

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“It was scary,” Reid remembered. “I didn’t know what it was going to be like.”

Reid started working at Walmart after practices to help support his newborn.

And with the support of his parents and then-girlfriend, he ensured LeiLani could grow up in a loving home. Of course, Reid said he also grew up in the process.

“I had to mature; I had to become an adult very quickly,” he said. “It was hard.

She was a baby, and just like in the movies — they’re up all night.”

Then and now, his daughter provides the main fuel source for his efforts, Reid said.

“Life isn’t about me anymore,” he said. “[My decisions] have to be good ones for her. I try to do that and hopefully if God puts me in the right place, football will be a way that I can take care of her.”

And while it’s an increased responsibility, Barrow said being a father is fulfilling.

Though his daughter lives in New Orleans, he said she attends each home game to see her father play and spends Saturday night and Sunday morning with him before heading back for the week.

“Those kinds of things are the things you look forward to,” Barrow said. “I just get joy out of seeing when she sees me, and the way her face lights up and the way she runs to me. I just know that she knows her daddy, and I know her and I love her.”

But football season brings more schedule challenges for teammates with children, they said. Barrow and Reid, whose children live outside of Baton Rouge, said any time off the field is spent with their daughters.

“It’s definitely hard, sometimes I feel like I’m watching her grow up from a distance,” Reid said. “We use Skype, and I talk to her on the phone daily, but it’s definitely easier out of season … I look forward to Sundays because that’s when I get to go home and see her.”

[Left] LeiLani, Reid’s daughter, is his No. 1 fan. [Right middle] Eric Reid and his daughter LeiLani laugh in their threepoint stance.

[Far right] Eric Reid plays with his daughter LeiLani.

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COVER STORY

LIFE LESSONS While the road of parenthood is long and filled with challenges, student athletes have resources at the University to help them traverse it. One way is in the classroom.

Child and Family Studies professor Loren Marks pushes student athletes who take his courses to be champions on the field and at home as “championship parents.”

Marks, a husband, father of five and former basketball player at Brigham Young University, said he uses his own experience with family and sports to connect with his students.

“In the history of sports, no team or individual has ever won a championship by accident,” he said. “You have to be very focused and intentional in your efforts. Same is true in parenting. In this day and time, you don’t raise a great kid by accident — it takes a lot of work. I try to give them information they can apply in the real world that will help them.”

A large percentage of Marks’ classes tend to be student athletes, he said, including members of the football, baseball, basketball and track and field teams. Marks’ classes emphasize relationships between couples and their children as well as resource management, largely in money and time.

The focus on balancing sports and parenthood was introduced about 11 years ago, he said.

When Marks arrived at the University, he said he received an unexpected call from the Department of Athletics. He said the department recognized that several athletes had children and wanted these students to enroll in classes that would help foster strong family bonds.

“I’ve been impressed with the interest that LSU has shown in trying to help student athletes realize how important family is,” he said. “They called up and asked me, ‘These family classes you’re

teaching, are they centered around real people? Real life?’ And I said, ‘Yes they are.’”

In these classes, Marks encourages his students to develop a family game plan. This involves journaling how to be responsible parents and family members. They discuss their vision for the future in terms of their connection with their children and what they want to give their children in life, Marks said.

Barrow said he enrolled in Marks’ class on family relationships shortly after Laila was born. While he wasn’t interested in the class at the time he enrolled, Marks ultimately became one of Barrow’s most memorable teachers, he said. “[The journals] really helped me to express my feelings, the things I was thinking about with my family,” Barrow said. “It really helped me [move] that forward.”

Barrow said his team has also encouraged him along the way.

FAMILY SUPPORT While football can consume their time, it also provides key support in athletes’ parenting. The sport inherently forms camaraderie, and this proves especially true among players who have known each other for years.

“Guys like Eric Reid, Tharold Simon, Craig Loston — these are guys I’ve come up with, and I’ve watched their children grow, and they’ve watched mine,” Barrow said.

This bond has helped during difficult times in Barrows’ life, he said. For example, he said, two summers ago his daughter became very ill, and he traveled to New Orleans daily after his classes and football obligations to watch over her. In addition to other players with children, coaches like Les Miles, John Chavis and Frank Wilson offered support and words of encouragement.

“To know all of those guys had my back and kept me pushing while she was sick, it brought me closer to this University, it brought me closer to these guys and these guys with these kids,” he said. “These are my brothers, and they feel what I feel.”

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FEATURE

REWARDING RESEARCH Pennington scientists and student volunteers discuss clinical trials — and their incentives

+

WORDS BY kate mabry PHOTOS BY benjamin oliver hicks

& zach breaux

S

tudents driving along Perkins Road may notice a large research center located near Kenilworth Parkway, but many are unaware of what goes on inside.

The Pennington Biomedical Research Center, one of two non-teaching institutions of the LSU System, was established in 1981 as an academically-based nutrition research center. It advocates healthier lifestyles through nutrition research and preventive medicine.

According to Pennington researcher Leanne Redman, research at Pennington is divided into three categories: basic science, clinical science and population science.

While basic science studies are the stereotypical lab experiments that include test tubes and lab goggles, population science studies are large studies on databases.

Redman’s work includes clinical science, or clinical trials.

From analyzing the data to being placed under the microscope, Redman, her graduate assistant and two University students discuss their individual experiences during clinical trials at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

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By participating in a clinical study at Pennington, student volunteers can earn cash rewards.

THE RESEARCHERS At Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge residents volunteer their time — and bodies — to contribute to science. While it may sound like participants are surrendering their lives for the study, Redman said the reality of Pennington’s clinical studies is far from the lab rat stereotypes seen in cartoons.

Some students participate in studies to learn about improving their health, but it’s no surprise that most students sign up to earn money, said Abby Duhe, nutritional sciences graduate student.

Pennington volunteers receive incentives — usually cash — to compensate for their

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time and travel. Some studies, such as the SLEEP HIGH study that monitors the participant’s sugar metabolism while they sleep, will offer as much as $1,000 to participants.

But the process isn’t easy. Volunteers must attend a number of visits and follow the rules of each study.

As a graduate assistant in Pennington’s Reproductive Endocrinology and Women’s Health Lab, Duhe works directly with prospective volunteers. If applicants qualify for the study, Duhe continues “communication to help with their journey.”

Duhe said the clinic is “similar to a typical doctor’s office.” When volunteers arrive for their scheduled visits, their height, weight, waist measurements, blood pressure and blood test results are recorded.

At any time, Pennington has between 25 and 35 ongoing clinical trials, all listed on the center’s website. The researchers at Pennington have expertise in different areas, which allows the center to conduct a number of diverse studies at once, she said.

“Pennington can’t survive without volunteers,” Redman said. “Volunteers are essential to what we do.”

In the selection of volunteers, researchers usually search for a specific kind of volunteer to match the needs of their study.

“Sometimes studies are highly involved, but they have opportunities for major health benefits,” Duhe said. “Students who are health conscious or have family history of a specific condition may get involved in a study geared to provide health information and possible prevention, or students may get involved in weight loss studies with the possible direct benefit of weight loss and improving health.”

Trials are regulated by Pennington’s institutional review board, which assesses the protocols for all trials. During this evaluation, the benefits of the study should outweigh the risks, she said.

Redman said Pennington’s slogan —“Helping people live well beyond the expected” — reflects the purpose of all the center’s studies, which is to improve people’s lives.

Trials are typically funded by pharmaceutical companies, but researchers also compete to earn financial support from the National Institute of Health.

Although Duhe has never volunteered as a participant in a Pennington study, she hopes to sign up for a study one day, particularly one involving health and nutrition.

“I am most interested in studies about how eating different foods can improve your health, or some of the easy studies that can provide some information about your health,” she said.

Through her assistantship at Pennington, Duhe said she has learned how to organize, research and write documents that are necessary in beginning studies. She hopes to create and write her own studies in the future.

THE PARTICIPANTS

Cody and Michael Swing visited Pennington about four times last fall — but neither are employed by the center. The brothers, both University students, were the ones being tested.

FEATURE

Michael Swing, information systems and decision sciences senior, signed up to participate in a study after a friend who worked at the center recommended that he join in.

Last fall, Swing and his brother, kinesiology junior Cody Swing, chose to volunteer at a study at Pennington together.

Prior to the experiment, they were given a regular physical and a blood test to ensure they were a qualified match for the study.

After meeting the criteria, the Swing brothers participated in a supplementary study to test the effects of amino acid pills, nutritional supplements that provide protein to your diet. During the two week study, the Swing brothers attended three visits.

During each morning visit, they took four amino pills. They remained at Pennington for four hours and had their blood drawn each hour. After the four hours were completed, they returned later that day for one more blood sample.

Because any consumption of food could alter the study’s results, the boys were requested to fast before the morning meetings.

Cody said the study was designed to learn the immediate response to taking amino pills within four hours after consumption, but the researchers did not tell them if they were ingesting a placebo, a fake pill, or the real amino acid pills.

As an incentive for their time and travel, the brothers each earned $200.

Michael said they chose to participate in the amino supplement study because of the study’s simplicity.

“Coming in to take a supplement and give blood at different intervals for a few of hours sounded like a steal compared to some of the other experiments going on at that time,” he said. “We both knew we could use the extra cash, and as long as we weren’t taking some exotic pill or injection that might turn us into some mutant or kill us, we thought whatever side effects might come shouldn’t be so bad.”

But one Swing family member didn’t approve of the boy’s participation.

Michael said their mother wasn’t initially supportive of the boys’ curiosity to explore Pennington’s clinical trials, comparing their participation to “whoring [their] bodies to science for a few bucks.”

But after investigating the details of the study, she eventually gave her seal of approval.

“She saw the study we chose and settled with us needing to be cautious,” Michael said.

If eligible for another experiment, Cody said he would volunteer again. But next time, he won’t only participate to earn some cash.

He said he wants to learn more about the process of conducting the experiments.

“I want to get an idea of how the experiments work because I’d really like to work at Pennington one day as a researcher,” he said.

Michael agreed, saying giving back outweighs the monetary value.

“I’d love to take part in another study, particularly any of the fitness or nutritional studies,” he said. “The money is nice, but I like the idea of us contributing to the advancement of science, even if a small part. That makes it worth every minute, in my opinion.”

Cody recommended other students consider participating in studies at Pennington.

“It was a really simple experiment,” he said. “It’s a great way to make quick, easy money.”

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FREE MEN,

FREEM SONS WORDS BY clayton crockett +

MASONS ARE IN BATON ROUGE AND ON CAMPUS — BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? Shorts and a plain T-shirt. Loafers and a baseball cap. A white mustache and a smile.

And a gold ring, ribbed and adorned with a black triangle bearing the number “33.”

This isn’t the kind of ring you can buy — not even the kind of ring you can ask for. But to a trained eye, it’s the only tell that separates the 71-year-old Robert Hutchinson from a crowd.

Hutchinson, along with being an LSU alumnus, is a Freemason of the highest degree — 33 — and his inconspicuous gold ring is only a shard of what he has to show for his lifelong commitment to this enigmatic fraternity. Hutchinson’s family is full of proud Masons, including history senior Spencer May, his grandson.

Freemasonry is a centuries-old fraternity, and the generally accepted number of members worldwide is 6 million, according to lodge websites around the world. Though it is thought to have originated around the 17th century, its origins remain obscure.

But today Freemasonry is like any other fraternity: It has unique induction rituals, standard values of empowerment and integrity, frequent meetings for its members regarding the ongoings

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PHOTOS BY lainey reed

of the order — to which outsiders are not welcome — and groupspecific symbols and handshakes. Any man can be a member if he wishes, so long as he believes in a higher power.

Contrary to the order’s murky reputation, Hutchinson is happy to talk about life as a Mason and everything the fraternity has done for him. He still remembers the day he asked to join back in the 1960s.

“I asked my father-in-law, ‘What do I gotta do to get in this?’”

Hutchinson said. The response he received was simple: “You just took the first step.”

Masons do not solicit membership, he said. If you want in, you have to initiate of your own accord.

And Hutchinson would take countless steps farther along the Masonic hierarchy, eventually holding the position of Worshipful Master in 1970 — a highly respected position only held for a year at a time, essentially amounting to the president of the lodge.

“It begins in the person’s heart,” Hutchinson explained, pointing out that unlike the most popular conceptions of the Freemasons, the concept of personal volition is a keystone in Masonic virtue.

And it’s this sense of empowerment and individuality that led May in his grandfather’s footsteps, making him a 32nd-degree Mason at the age of 21.

FEATURE

Being a Christian is not a requirement of becoming a Freemason, but to become a member you must believe in a higher power.

“The thing about Masons is being your own man,” he said. Freemason in the United States.

“It’s a lot more of an older group,” he chuckled. “The age group “It’s up to you.” from 30 to 55 is really bleak.”

May also remembers the day he began his induction into MaAccording to May and Hutchinson, the degree ceremonies sonry at the earliest age of eligibility, 18. are most comparable to historical reenactments, with each story “I came home from swim practice and saw my grandfather highlighting and demonstrating core Freemason values, such as with two older men. They said, ‘Hey, we’re here to investigate you,’” integrity or equality.

May recounted.

It was from there he began to pursue the first three of 33 degrees, known as Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason. These initial deThey ask me if I’m in a weird religion or anything, if I’m grees, he said, take the longest to acquire.

Generally speaking, degrees are levels of knowlin a cult or worship the devil. I’m just a normal person. edge and commitment to the fraternity, with each one requiring new information from the recipient and a new accompanying ceremony. Each degree will represent a different core virtue of the Masons.

“You learn a lesson through each one about life — being a betDegrees can take anywhere from weeks to years to accomplish, deter man, getting the most out of life,” May said. “For the first one, pending on the dedication of the Mason pursuing them.

“You have to pass into a degree — I wouldn’t call it a ritual, you learn a certain quality or trait. It’s a lot of work because you but it’s one of those things we’re not supposed to talk about,” he have to study, learn and recite stuff.”

Aside from age, the stipulations to become a Freemason are explained, adding a laugh. “It’s a lot like a ceremony, there’s no straightforward. You must be male, May said, and you must believe sacrifices or anything.”

And when he did pass into a degree, May was the youngest in a higher power — and the fraternity is not exclusive to only

“

”

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Christians. From there, one must petition for his membership and have two current Masons endorse him. Then, his membership will be decided by anonymous vote during one of the local, bi-monthly lodge meetings.

Many of these traditions, like the reenactments and ceremonies, hearken back to the creation of the Masons, which is still regarded as the oldest fraternal order in the world. Although the first official lodge was built in England in 1717, references to a fraternal order of masons date back to as early as the 14th century, according to Hutchinson.

“A lot of our degree work hinges on Solomon, biblical days,” he said. “And we like to think that’s when we started, but we know that isn’t true.”

Along with being the largest and oldest fraternity in the world, Freemasonry is also said to be one of the largest charity organizations in the world, a point of pride for Hutchinson.

Among Freemasonry’s appendant bodies — much like separate

The symbol on this pin is the most universally identifiable symbol of Freemasonry.

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branches of the central organization — Hutchinson mentioned the crippled children’s hospitals funded by the Shriners, the York Rite’s eye clinics and the Scottish Rite’s work helping those with speech and hearing impairments.

“After [hurricanes] Katrina and Gustav, Masons across the country sent money to their lodges in Louisiana,” he continued.

But only mentioning bodies like the Scottish Rite or the Shriners will raise evermore questions about the Masons’ arcane structures and jargon, the explanations of which could take days — or a lifetime. In short, after achieving third-degree status, a Mason may begin to take part in these independently operated groups, known as appendant bodies, from the York Rite to the Eastern Star and eventually to the Shriners.

As seen by the numerous orders, degrees and appendant bodies listed above, the Masons are certainly not without their curiosities and quirks. Particular symbols and icons include the plumb, an instrument used to test perpendiculars in masonry; the square

Want to know what goes on during a Freemason meeting?

Check out lsulegacymag.com

and compass, separated by the letter “G,” which can be seen on cars around Baton Rouge; and the gavel.

Votes are taken with small black cubes and white spheres, general meetings are closed to the public and their contents cannot be discussed with nonmembers.

With such a developed and private culture, it cannot be said the reputation of skepticism and distrust is surprising — however unmerited. The Masons have had to face detractors for generations, particularly during the time of President Andrew Jackson in early America, said history professor Paul Hoffman.

“It was a widespread view that secret societies were not democratic — as in, in a democratic republic, you shouldn’t have those things,” said Hoffman, describing an “anti-masonic agitation” that arose during Jackson’s campaign.

While the Freemasons may have held the brunt of this agitation, the movement was geared toward any so-called secret societies, such as the Royal Society of Good Fellows or other workingmen’s groups.

“The critique of Masonry is primarily from political groups on the right, and, particularly in Europe, it’s from the Catholic Church,” Hoffman said. “Masons tended to be freethinkers, more likely to be critical of existing political and religious hierarchy.”

Hoffman agreed Masons likely received an unfair amount of the brunt, but the rituals and secrets will inherently cause people who are not members to grow skeptical.

“The symbols we use in the fraternity date back to the men who built the castles of England,” Hutchinson said. “We don’t hide it.

We’ve had different grips and words we use to identify each other, and that dates back to the Middle Ages.”

But Hutchinson doesn’t believe the Freemasons’ exclusivity is an exception among other fraternities or business organizations.

“Too much is made of the fraternity being a secret organization.

It’s hogwash,” he said. “We are an organization with secrets, not a secret organization.”

Though he struggled at times to weigh his words, May also found the public perception of the Masons to be quite detached from reality.

“Whenever someone knows I’m in it, if it does come up, they always ask me about it,” he said. “I say, ‘Um, I can’t really talk about it.’ I tell them what I can. You know, we’re just a bunch of guys who meet up and talk about stuff. They ask me if I’m in a weird religion or anything, if I’m in a cult or worship the devil. I’m just a

The plumb, the symbol of integrity and beauty, is an emblem worn by the Junior Warden of a lodge. There are 250 lodges in Louisiana. normal person.”

Though he stressed he couldn’t talk specifics, May said in each meeting they discuss business, people joining the lodge, degrees and anything else that happens to come up. Topics are not limited to the Masons.

“We try to supply our members with any information we think might help them,” said Hutchinson, as he explained the range of different talks or speeches they host at the lodge meetings.

But there are some exceptions, such as religion.

“We are not a religious organization — we can’t even talk about religion in the lodge,” Hutchinson said. “When I want to deal with the Almighty, I deal with it personally or with my pastor. I don’t deal with it in the lodge.”

This circles back to the Masonic ideal of “being your own man,” as May put it. Both May and Hutchinson stressed the importance of freedom within the fraternity. There are no strictly laid-out rules of conduct or morality, per sé, but May specified the calling of every Mason toward self-improvement — albeit while struggling for the safest phrasing.

“We do not infringe on a person’s personal rights, liberties,” Hutchinson said. “We demand high moral standards, but I look for that in anybody.”

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Louis Michot from Lost Bayou Ramblers drums on his knee, holding his son Louis (Little Louie) and playing along with his son Julien on the accordion.

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g n i p e e K s s n u j a C

FEATURE

Younger generations breathe new life into traditional Cajun culture

WORDS BY elizabeth clausen

W

+

hen Cajun Dance instructor Roland Doucet started out as a radio DJ in the mid-80s, it seemed like Cajun music was a dying art.

One day in 1988, he was approached by record producer Floyd Soileau, whose prediction for the genre’s future was bleak.

“He told me early in my career that this music was dying, it was just a matter of time,” Doucet said. “He told me he hadn’t signed any new people in 15 years.”

But Soileau’s prediction turned out to be wrong.

Recent years have ushered in a proliferation of contemporary Cajun artists — including Hunter Hayes, Kevin Naquin, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys and Wayne Toups — who have helped introduce a new generation to swamp pop and zydeco. And there are plenty of local establishments where the young and old alike gather on Saturday nights to kick up la poussiere at a fais do-do.

A Vinton native, Doucet was first introduced to Cajun music and culture by his parents.

“My father played fiddle for 45 years,” he said. “My mom went to the dances and of course couldn’t dance with my dad because he was playing. So as me and my brothers reached her height — with me, I was 13 — she taught us how to dance so she’d have a ready-made dance partner.”

But Doucet didn’t always know he wanted to be a dancer. When he was 13 years old, he aspired to be a musician like his dad, and he asked his father what instrument he ought to play.

“He said to me, ‘Why do you think you ought to play an instrument?’” Doucet said. “And I said, ‘Well, everyone in the family seems to play music, so I figured I need to learn.’ And he said, ‘Son, if you’ve got rhythm in your feet, don’t develop it in your hands. Would you rather hold that cold instrument on the bandstand or that warm woman on the floor? And I said, ‘I think I just made up my mind.’”

In the end, the dance lessons from his

PHOTOS BY benjamin oliver hicks mother paid off.

Doucet is now entering his 29th year as a Cajun dance instructor for LSU Leisure classes, where he teaches his students how to waltz, twostep and jitterbug.

He started teaching the leisure classes because of his passion for dance and his desire to feed the Cajun music scene in the Baton Rouge area. He described the relationship between Cajun musicians and Cajun dancers as symbiotic; without one, the other can’t stay alive.

“I felt like I could contribute [by teaching dance] since people would stay dancing here locally,” he said. “Because that way, the bands would keep playing. We have more people that’s recording now than we ever did … There’s no doubt it’s on an upswing.”

Political science senior John Nickel signed up for Doucet’s beginner dance class as a way to get in touch with his Cajun heritage.

“I’ve been around Cajun culture all my life.

Growing up in Crowley, I went to Rice Festival and the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival every year and always listened to the music,” Nickel said. “Always thought it was the dorkiest thing growing up. But as I got older, I saw how the culture of Louisiana is so different, and how much everyday life — like going to get crawfish or going to listen to Cajun music — that’s not necessarily what everybody did growing up.”

Nickel said his appreciation for Louisiana culture deepened after taking a cross-country road trips with a close friend. Driving across the South was like an epiphany for Nickel, who said the experience taught him just how remarkable and distinctive Cajun culture is.

“There’s so many different ways to explore it,” he said, with a rare level of genuine enthusiasm and earnestness. “It’s not like you have to learn about your heritage by taking a course; you can go to the Shrimp and Petroleum Festival or go to Mardi Gras and chase chickens … You’re drinking, you’re having a good time, but you’re learning.”

LSU alumni Lindsay Gallmann and Matt Hayes dance to Lost Bayou Ramblers performing at Live After Five on Oct. 12 in downtown Baton Rouge.

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Andre Michot (left) plays the accordion and Louis Michot (right) plays the fiddle with their band, Lost Bayou Ramblers, at Live After Five on Oct. 12 in downtown Baton Rouge.

Another way University students are getting in touch with their Cajun heritage is through learning the language of their ancestors — Cajun French.

Amanda LaFleur, who lobbied LSU to teach a course in Louisiana French as an undergrad in the late 1970s, currently teaches Cajun French at the University.

LaFleur serves on the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL) Executive Council and aims to instill a sense of appreciation for Cajun French in each of her students.

In their second year, LaFleur’s students have to interview someone in their community and collect a story, recipe or a personal narrative in Cajun French.

“What I always find interesting … has to be the sense of satisfaction I see when the students have done their projects,” LaFleur said. “I think it’s those human connections that they make that mean the most.”

For some, the human connection is in the form of family.

Louis Michot, the founder of the Grammy-nominated Lost Bayou Ramblers, grew up surrounded by Cajun culture and music — his father and uncles played traditional Cajun music as Les Frères Michot.

“I was raised in a Cajun French band,” he said. “When I was real young, starting when I was maybe five years old, we’d go to a lot of their gigs, and I joined the band at 16. I didn’t even play the stand up bass when I started playing; they basically threw me on

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stage. I was a guitar player, and they needed a bass player. So I learned.”

But it wasn’t until he grew older that he was inspired to learn Cajun French and get in touch with his heritage, he said.

“When I finished high school, I traveled to Ireland with my best friend. I loved Irish music, and I was really just fascinated with Ireland,” he said. “When I was there, I could see what I’d just left and how much I actually had back home. I could see much more clearly how important and how beautiful Louisiana was. I got back and realized I wanted to learn French, and I wanted to learn the fiddle.”

So Michot traveled north to study French at Université Sainte-Anne in Nova Scotia, Canada. Learning on the fiddle he had inherited from his grandfather, he taught himself how to play while hitchhiking through Canada for three months.

“I just played on the streets, and I learned how to speak French,” he said. “The language holds so much of the history — there’s much more depth when you can understand the culture in its own language.

And so learning French and then learning Cajun French on top of that was just like putting it all together.”

For Michot, “putting it all together” meant starting a Cajun band of his own with his brother in 1999.

The Lost Bayou Ramblers — who have toured across the U.S., Europe, and Canada — began as a traditional Cajun band for a

decade and have grown stylistically since then, incorporating rock and other musical influences to create their own distinct sound.

Michot said his goal is not only to preserve traditional Cajun culture but also to add to Cajun culture by making new music inspired by the songs he grew up playing.

“My culture inspires me … I guess I feel like I’ve been handed the music; it’s just something that came to me as a blessing.

And I want to give back to that,” he said.

“We’ve really been inspired to write original tunes for our new generation ... [Cajun culture] is definitely something that I something that I want to keep relevant, that I want to make more relevant for younger generations.”

Like Doucet, LaFleur and Nickel, Michot said Cajun culture is alive and well today.

“Sooner or later, people realize how important these things are,” he said. “I think it starts with people realizing that it’s a part of them … Cajun culture keeps relevant because it keeps reinventing itself; it seems like it’s always about to die, but it keeps staying alive. I think that the young generation is a big part of the resurgence of Cajun culture, and I think with every generation, there’s going to be a lot of people that realize that it’s theirs, they own it, and it’s up to them to continue it.”

 Gala Productions  Department Name

Modern Event Design

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Root of the matter Black female students weigh the pros and cons of natural and relaxed hairstyles +

Graphic design junior Morgan Bissant wears her natural afro.

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WORDS BY keyshae robinson PHOTOS BY jesse guillory

If you think the topic of hair is trivial, think again.

In the black female community, there is a debate regarding two popular hairstyles that has attracted national attention — chemically-straightened, or relaxed hair, and the natural look.

But the controversy isn’t just cosmetic; it stems from cultural and health-related issues.

Chemical relaxers are facing immense criticism and many African-American women are making the decision to leave the chemicals behind for a more natural look. And that decision is not always easy.

Business junior Dasha Jones said black women received a much-needed wake up call when actor Chris Rock produced the 2009 controversial documentary “Good Hair.”

While it wasn’t the first work to spotlight the topic, “Good Hair” helped reveal facts about black hair maintenance, such as chemical products and hair pieces. Some applauded the film, but it also drew criticism from those who felt exposed.

“He was basically saying what many people were already thinking,” Jones said. “So of course people get offended when they are faced with an ugly truth that they are not exactly ready to accept yet.”

“Good Hair” comically addresses topics like weaves, but it also tackles serious issues, like the dangers of chemical relaxers to hair.

A relaxer — completely different from the commonly misused word “perm” — is a cream-based product that uses chemicals to break down the curl patterns of hair.

The active ingredient in a hair relaxer is sodium hydroxide, a chemical commonly found in drain cleaners. If not applied correctly, a relaxer can severely damage the hair, burn the scalp and, in extreme cases, cause hair loss.

And despite the dangers associated with chemical relaxers, the majority of black women still get them.

Mass communication junior Jelisa Burney said some women just prefer straight hair.

“I love my relaxed hair, and I see no problem with it,” Burney said. “I just like the way it looks, and it is easier to take care of.”

But sports administration junior Alexis Guess said she’s embraced the natural look.

“If God intended for me to have straight hair, I would have it,” Guess said. “After acknowledging that, it made the decision for me to go natural an easy one.”

HEALTH + LIVING

Political science and sociology junior Kerry Jones sports a relaxed hair style.

Going natural is when a woman stops applying chemical relaxers to the hair to allow the natural hair texture to grow out. The amount of women who are deciding to leave the “creamy crack,” the product’s nickname, behind is quickly rising.

“There has definitely been an increase of girls with natural hair on campus,” Jones said. “I love that women are finally comfortable with the hair that they were born with.”

But the process to go natural is a long one. If a woman decides to go natural, she usually gets the “big chop,” a term for when she cuts the hair to expose only the new growth. For many women, making the decision to go through with the big chop can be emotionally challenging.

“I was a bit hesitant when I did my big chop,” said Guess, who has been natural for two years. “Short hair is looked down upon usually, so before I went through with it I tried transitioning instead.”

Transitioning is a method many women take to avoid going through with the big chop. To transition means to gradually grow the natural hair out while only trimming the relaxed hair.

But it’s not easy, Jones said.

“Transitioning is tricky because you are dealing with two hair textures: the relaxed hair and the natural hair,” said Jones, who has been natural for 3 years. “The hair will be extremely fragile at the place where both of those textures meet, so take extra caution when transitioning.”

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Jewelry, Candles, Incense, Gifts & Books that nurture the soul

1938-A Perkins Rd. Baton Rouge, LA 225-344-4448 www.coyotemoonbr.com

Each year, LSU welcomes the Each year, LSU welcomes the holiday season with the Candlelight holiday season with the Candlelight Celebration. This multicultural event Celebration.

This multicultural event features performances from LSU students features performances from LSU students and includes traditions from Kwanzaa, and includes traditions from Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Christmas.

Hanukkah, and Christmas.

Tuesday, Tuesday, November2727 November

Claude L. Shaver Theatre Claude L. Shaver Theatre Music & Dramatic Building Music & Dramatic ArtsArts Building 5:005:00 p.m.p.m.

VolunteerLSULSU collecting Volunteer willwill bebe collecting donationsof of gently used donations newnew or or gently used children’ s coats “WBRZ’ s Pat’ children’ s coats forfor “WBRZ’ s Pat’ s s CoatsforforKids”.

Kids”.

Deposit donations Coats Deposit donations in in boxesaround around Christmas thetheboxes thethe Christmas Memorial Tower. treetreeat at thethe Memorial Tower. more information, ForFormore information, visitvisit www.volunteer.lsu.edu. www.volunteer.lsu.edu. w w w. l s u legacymag.com 44

Candlelight Candlelight Celebration Celebration is free is free andand openopen to the public. to the public.

DINING DINING

www.lsu.edu/candlelight www.lsu.edu/candlelight

HEALTH + LIVING

#RunLA WORDS BY kaitlyn mercer Brandon Williams is claiming his journey — on foot and online.

The business administration alumnus is the founder of Claim Your Journey, a community that encourages Louisianians of all skill levels to improve their health through running.

The organization, which launched in January 2011, functions primarily through its website and through social media, such as #RunLA on Twitter.

“There’s a problem of obesity in Louisiana, and we’re trying to address that and motivate people to participate in a healthier, active lifestyle,” he said.

The group discusses the realities of running, upcoming events, new running products and all aspects of an active lifestyle. It also sponsors local running clubs and events in the Greater Baton Rouge area, such as Sunday Runday.

Claim Your Journey has steadily increased its local following and now includes about 5,000 members and a staff of nearly 30 people.

Williams, who speaks of his online community as his own family, said increasing local involvement is his greatest success. He said the membership gives the movement “legs.”

So, you want to run a marathon?

Here a few tips:

Alumnus creates 5,000-member online running community +

PHOTO BY lainey reed

“No pun intended,” he laughed.

Carley Wahlborg, Run Louisiana intern and public relations junior, said Claim Your Journey is a “progressive way” to promote fitness and self-discipline close to home.

Wahlborg said she wanted to be a part of the Run Louisiana family after discovering the company’s Facebook page. She is now “incorporating running into [her] own life and finding ways to spread that to others.”

Wahlborg said she is particularly interested in reaching out to the collegiate community.

But Run Louisiana is more than a running movement, she said. It’s “a big family tree.”

“The state comes together through Claim Your Journey,” she said. “When they say the Run[LA] family, that’s truly what it is.”

Williams agreed, saying the events organized through Claim Your Journey provide a more relaxed atmosphere for everyone. It’s a way to enjoy the activity and stay healthy, he said.

“We want to stress the importance of activity in everyday life, but we like to have a little fun with it,” Williams said.

1) Get a pair of tennis shoes. A pair of shoes will make or break you, according to Williams. Go to a specialty running shoe store, like Varsity Sports or Fleet Feet, and have them fit your feet. It’s imperative you have proper support for your body.

2) Choose your route. What do you want to do? If you’re a casual runner, pace yourself and start small.

Try running a ¼ mile and slowly increase the length. Running takes time to build as a skill. Be patient and careful.

3) Find a running buddy.

Or join one of the many local running clubs. Having someone to rely on will keep you on task.

4) Sign up for a race, once you’re ready. Visit CYJ and other running news sources to find a run that suits you. Runnersworld.com and runningtimes.com are two other places to look.

5) Match your diet to your new fitness plan. Nutrition is key when exerting your body. Drink plenty of water and include fresh ingredients, like vegetables and fruits, in your diet.

Don’t forget protein like chicken and beef, and avoid saturated fats and oils.

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Dear Mom, I’m an Atheist +

WORDS BY elizabeth clausen PHOTOS BY zach breaux

College is a critical time for religious faith. Away from parental supervision and surrounded by new influences, many students struggle to the tune of R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion.” For others, it’s the opposite.

Sarah Farley, associate director of the Baptist Collegiate Ministry, said ministering to students has shown her how formative the college years are.

“You make huge decisions: about career, friends, how you’re going to relate to your family from now on, relationship decisions and religious decisions,” she said.

But college is not just a place where faith goes to die. Young adults not attending college were more likely to stop attending church services than those enrolled, according to the Social Science Research Council.

Louisiana is predominantly Catholic, and LSU is no exception. The largest religious student organization on campus is Christ the King, averaging about 550 attendees per mass on the weekends.

Jordan Frantz, sacristan at Christ the King Church and Catholic Center, said the secular University presents a challenge for faith but cannot be blamed when students stray.

“If someone comes in and they were nonchalant in high school ... they’ll probably be less active when they come into college,” he said.

There are currently 28 registered religious or spiritual student organizations on campus, encompassing a wide spectrum of belief and nonbelief.

Here are two students who have respectively lost and found their faith at LSU.

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Dear Mom, I’ll say it proudly: I’m an atheist. I was raised Catholic, and I attended Catholic school through high school, but even as a young boy, I was never eager to go to church … I did not feel that I was getting anything out of it, but it appeared that many other people did and were filled with a sense of reverence and duty toward God. They often used flowery and formal language, imbuing the rather mundane happenings of a church service with cosmic significance.

Another thing that really irked me was the sheer number of untestable claims that my religion made. We were taught very specific things about the nature of God and the angels, although it was admitted that we could not see them or even really understand them. I took note of this practice of always nudging religious claims just outside the realm of testability, and I grew suspicious.

At the time, I concluded that I must be missing something. Perhaps I wasn’t getting anything out of it because I wasn’t putting anything into it? During eighth grade, I started to participate in more of my school’s youth group events. Even after doing enough service to receive recognition at the end of the year, I still did not feel like I was developing a relationship with God. I reached out with prayer and works, but he never reached out to me.

Around the time when I started high school, I began to notice that the degree to which a person was religious had virtually no bearing on whether or not he or she acted like a good person. While my teachers over the years had essentially equated “Christian” with “good person,” in practice, I saw that those whom I knew were very religious weren’t better in any observable way than those who weren’t religious.

During my freshman year of high school, we studied the Old Testament and often came upon passages that were scientifically inaccurate. We were urged not to take them literally. At any rate, these caveats often sounded a little too contrived, and they eventually prompted me to denounce both my faith and the book it was based upon.

After this point, I no longer felt genuine about participating in prayers or in church services. I felt as if I were lying to everyone, but I dared not tell anyone for fear of rejection and persecution. Maintaining this façade became more and more difficult over time.

I never felt more alone than I did in a church.

Today, I still do not believe in a god, but I no longer feel alone. I’ve met a number of good people at LSU that sympathize with my views, and I recognize that we’re part of a larger community of nonbelievers. I recognize that faith is an intensely personal part of one’s life, so I do not seek to “de-convert” others. However, I am determined to let everyone know that they have other options, and that there are people like them out there who have made the same choice.

—Taylor Simon Philosophy and Economics Junior

OPINION

Dear Mom, I’m a Jesus Freak Dear Mom, Surprise, Mom! I’m a Jesus freak!

I suppose the best way to explain why I am no longer an atheist is to explain why I had been an atheist in the first place. As a child in a culturally “Christian” setting, I developed a wrong view of who God is, as well as a grudge toward God that was centered on the problem of evil. I thought that God was like a puppet master and the world was his game board, where he could move people and events around like the figures in Candyland. As a result, when I got older and noticed the world’s flaws, I blamed God. It all seemed arbitrary to me; there couldn’t be meaning behind what I perceived as the mishaps of God’s big game.

What made this problem even more confusing to me was that, being forced to go to church, I witnessed people praising this God for his moral perfection weekly. I figured that this God must not be real. I thought his followers were brainwashed because it seemed like their morally-perfect God — who was supposedly in control of everything — was not there. What they told me to believe and what I saw around me did not match up, so I rejected the idea that God could be real.

Another thing that discouraged me from belief in God throughout the years was my conception of what it looks like for a person to believe in God. If God did exist, why should I care? I thought that Christians should be perfect because they acted like they were, having this absurd tendency to try to impose their rules on non-Christians. It makes no sense if someone says, “You should not ___ because I’m a Christian!”

What I didn’t understand was that the world, although in complete control of a God who is indeed morally perfect, is not the way that God wants it to be. This is possible because God granted humans free will. God wanted us to have a choice to love him and do the right thing. What kind of love would a forced love be, and how good, really, is someone who doesn’t choose to be good? … God is not a puppet master, and we are not his game.

We are the love of his life, so much so that he allows us to make the choice to love him back. All it really took for me to make sense of the reality of God was to figure out who he really is and see how much more consistent he is than the false God that I had learned about growing up.

Christians are not here to be the world’s police but to show people God’s love. Many Christians seem to miss that point and turn into hateful, blasphemous things because they forget what Jesus came to do in the first place. Jesus took the punishment for every wrong thing that people do so that if they would only live in the resulting forgiveness they could be friends of God. From my recent experience, there is no greater bliss.

— Sydney Smith Philosophy Senior

*The opinions expressed in these letters are solely those of Taylor Simon and Sydney Smith.

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CENTER FOR FRESHMAN YEAR WHERE EXCELLENCE BEGINS SCHEDULE YOUR ACADEMIC ADVISING APPOINTMENT

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