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The Daily
TUESDAY, JULY 14, 2015
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up on the hilltop LSU Hilltop Arboretum honored with national designation
photos by JAVIER FERNÁNDEZ / The Daily Reveille
The LSU Hilltop Arboretum was recently named by BestCollegesOnline.org as one of the ‘50 Most Amazing University Botanical Gardens and Arboretums in the U.S.’
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BY JUSTIN DICHARIA jdicharia@lsureveille.com In 1929, Emory Smith, a Baton Rouge postal worker, and his wife, Annette, purchased 14 acres of land on a hilltop off Highland Road. Together they would farm and use the land as a country retreat, eventually building a house on the property during World War II. Smith planted under a canopy of trees he called “The Cathedral” on the corner of Hilltop and began a legacy still remembered today. Thirty-four years have passed since Smith donated the property to LSU, a decision inspired by his longtime friendship with LSU School of Landscape Architecture then-Director Robert Reich. Hundreds of thunderstorms and a multitude of hurricanes later, “The Cathedral” no longer has the shade from the canopies of towering trees, but LSU Hilltop Arboretum Executive Director Peggy Coates has made an effort to reform the canopy. Coates, a native of Morgan City, Louisiana, has been the executive director for eight years and has master’s degrees in landscape architecture and urban forestry. Under her direction, with the help of community volunteers, her administrative assistant and a site manager, the arboretum has gained considerable national attention. In early July, BestCollegesOnline. org named the LSU Hilltop Arboretum among the “50 Most Amazing University Botanical Gardens and Arboretums in the U.S.” The scoring system determined rank by looking at Hilltop’s different awards and recognitions, types of species, conservation programs and work with University degree programs.
see ARBORETUM, page 5
Volume 119 · No. 148 GREEK LIFE
Kappa Sigma to close house for renovations
BY JUSTIN DICHARIA jdicharia@lsureveille.com The University’s chapter of Kappa Sigma fraternity announced it will close its on-campus house Aug. 1 to begin $7 million renovations, and the chapter will move into the vacated former Acacia house for the next two years. The fraternity began fundraising for house renovations in early February after an engineering report by Southeast Engineers LLC found the building in violation of building codes and electrical and HVAC deficiencies. LSU Kappa Sigma President Aaron Rogers said the renovations were in the works prior to the engineering report. “It did not put the plan into action as much as it just catalyzed it,” Rogers said. “Everyone understood that the house was not in great shape, but it really showed from a professional point of view the dire status of our house. It’s
see KAPPA SIGMA, page 5
ART
Glassell Gallery hosts magic-themed exhibit at Shaw Center BY ZOE GEAUTHREAUX zgeauthreaux@lsureveille.com Enter a world of local magical realism as the LSU School of Art hosts its 14th Annual Summer Invitational Art Exhibition, “Into the Mystic.” Held in the LSU School of Art Alfred C. Glassell Jr. Exhibition Gallery in the Shaw Center for the Arts, the show features work from local artists who have submitted pieces based on their interpretation of the prompted theme — mystical, magical or mysterious. This theme was inspired by the work of
Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez and classic rock artist Van Morrison’s song “Into the Mystic,” said Malia Krolak, gallery director of the LSU School of Art. Both sources of inspiration contributed to Krolak’s theory on magic within reality. “There’s magic going on all the time if you just watch for it,” Krolak said. “So I wanted to translate that into an art show — about the magic you have in your regular life that you just have to have your eyes open to see.” The show contains work from 52 artists who have responded to the theme. Some of which are University
faculty such as Kelli Scott Kelley — who had recently shown her work in the Shaw Center for a children’s fairy tale she created. Some are faculty emeritus, meaning they have retired, such as A.J. Meek, Edward Pramuk and James Burke. However, for most of the local artists featured, being affiliated with the University was not a prerequisite. This, in contrast to the gallery’s usual educational showings of work from students, professors and visiting artists, is the only time of the year that the gallery
see EXHIBIT, page 5
‘Moon Rabbit (aka Buddha Bunny)’ by artist Therese Knowles sits in the LSU School of Art Alfred C. Glassell Jr. Exhibition Gallery in the Shaw Center for the Arts as part of the ‘Into the Mystic’ art show.
ZOE GEAUTHREAUX /
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