The Reveille 5-30-22

Vo lum e 132 · N o. 30

E s t. 18 87

Mond ay, M ay 3 0, 2 022

CHYNNA MCCLINTON / The Reveille

LSU President William F. Tate speaks with Senator Stewart Cathey Jr. April 20, during the annual LSU Day at the Capitol at the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge, La.

TENURE THREAT GOP senator concerned about ‘indoctrination’

NEWS

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Residents of Broussard Hall raise concerns of privacy issues with an increased number of men gaining access to and loitering in the women’s halls.

SPORTS

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LSU baseball fails to advance in the SEC Tournament after a sluggish, 7-2 loss in Hoover to Kentucky as the NCAA Tournament looms.

OPINION

Read on

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Why validating the breakaway city of St. George is a troubling move for the East Baton Rouge Community after 2019 vote.

L SU Re ve i l le.co m @l s u r e ve i l le

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TENURE TASK FORCE Panel to discuss future of tenure in Louisiana

Editor-in-Chief PIPER HUTCHINSON News Editor PETER RAUTERKUS Digital Editor GABBY JIMENEZ News Reporter BETHANY BISSELL News Reporter ALLISON ALLSOP Investigative Reporter DOMENIC PURDY Sports Reporter HENRY HUBER Columnist CLAIRE SULLIVAN Columnist CHARLIE STEPHENS Stringer JOHN BUZBEE Stringer MADDIE SCOTT PIPER HUTCHINSON / LSU Manship News Service

Sen. Stewart Cathey, R-Monroe, presents his resolution to the Senate Education Committee on April 28. fessors?” Thomas asked.

Despite Thomas’ objections, 52 Republicans, six Democrats and two independents in the House voted for the resolution.

Voting against it were 20 Demo-

MATTHEW PERSCHALL / The Reveille

Tree branches frame the State Capitol on Feb. 6, at 900 North Third Street in Baton Rouge, La. the committee could only come to two conclusions: to keep tenure or dispense with it.

“If we remove tenure, what will that do for our competitiveness for researchers and for pro-

NEWSROOM (225) 578-4811

BY PIPER HUTCHINSON LSU Manship School News Service BATON ROUGE–The House gave final passage Monday to a resolution to study tenure policies at universities in Louisiana.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 6, sponsored by Sen. Stewart Cathey, R-Monroe, creates the Task Force on Tenure in Postsecondary Education. The task force would report back to lawmakers with suggestions on changing tenure policies in the state.

The resolution passed the House on a 60-30 vote.

The language suggests that Cathey, acting in line with Republican lawmakers in other states, is concerned about possible political indoctrination of college students.

“Postsecondary students should be confident that they are being exposed to a variety of viewpoints, including those that are dissenting,” the resolution reads. The resolution seeks to ensure that “faculty members are not using their courses for the purpose of political, ideological, religious or anti-religious indoctrination.”

Rep. Polly Thomas, R-Metairie, who has a Ph.D. in educational psychology, spoke against the resolution.

Thomas asked legislators to consider the implications of creating the task force. She argued that

B-16 Hodges Hall Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, La. 70803

crats and 10 Republicans.

The Louisiana Senate passed the resolution 30-0 on May 3. The instrument does not need gubernatorial approval.

Bob Mann, a tenured profes-

sor of mass communication at LSU, took to Twitter to criticize the vote.

“Louisiana Legislature takes first step toward abolishing tenure in higher education in Louisiana, as higher education leaders betray their faculty members by supporting or going mute on the resolution,” Mann tweeted.

The resolution also has been condemned by the Association of Louisiana Faculty Senates.

LSU President William Tate IV and University of Louisiana System President James Henderson have both said that they do not think the task force is necessary, but neither opposed the creation of it.

Cathey said that the outcome of the task force is not certain.

“Maybe a recommendation actually strengthens tenure,” Cathey said.

But in April, Cathey tweeted that faculty who break the law should lose their tenure. He followed that up with several broader comments on tenure.

“Would never advocate for tenure for anyone in any profession!”

Cathey tweeted.

“I’ll still never understand why you need a system to create job protection for you!” Cathey said in another tweet in the same thread. “Shouldn’t your work as a professor keep you employed?”

The task force will be made up of the Senate President or his designee, the Speaker of the House or his designee, the chairs of the House and Senate Committees on Education or their designees, three members each of the House and Senate, the commissioner of higher education or a designee,

the president of each university system or a designee, and a faculty member from each university system.

The members must be chosen by July 15 and begin meeting by August 1. The task force must submit its report by March 1, 2023.

Tenure, which provides an indefinite academic appointment to be terminated only under extreme circumstances, is viewed as a key part of academic freedom at American public universities and a shield against political intervention.

Several attempts to limit or abolish tenure have popped up in other Republican-led states, particularly in the Southeast.

In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law in April that would make it harder for faculty to retain tenure, allowing the Board of Trustees the opportunity to terminate Faculty every five years.

Last fall, the University System of Georgia implemented dramatic tenure reforms some referred to as “the death of tenure.”

Georgia’s public university system allows college administrators to fire tenured professors with little to no input from faculty members, a direct challenge to traditional tenure policies.

Those reforms were attributed by faculty in Georgia to Tristan Denley, who now works for the Louisiana Board of Regents. Denley has been referred to as the “architect of the death of tenure.”

A spokesperson for the Board of Regents said earlier this year that Denley has no role here in tenure decisions.

Stringer MORGAN ROGERS Stringer COLE HERNANDEZ Head Copy Editor HANNAH MICHEL HANKS Copy Editor MADISON COOPER Copy Editor EMMA DUHE Senior Photographer XANDER GENNARELLI Photographer CHYNNA MCCLINTON

CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS The Reveille holds accuracy and objectivity at the highest priority and wants to reassure its readers the reporting and content of the paper meets these standards. This space is reserved to recognize and correct any mistakes that may have been printed in The Daily Reveille.

If you would like something corrected or clarified, please contact the editor at (225) 578-4811 or email editor@lsu.edu.

ABOUT THE REVEILLE The Reveille is written, edited and produced solely by students of Louisiana State University. The Reveille is an independent entity of the Office of Student Media within the Manship School of Mass Communication.

A single issue of The Reveille is free from multiple sites on campus and about 25 sites off campus. To obtain additional copies, please visit the Office of Student Media in B-39 Hodges Hall or email studentmedia@ lsu.edu. The Reveille is published biweekly during the fall, spring and summer semesters, except during holidays and final exams. The Reveille is funded through LSU students’ payments of the Student Media fee.

NEWS UNINVITED GUESTS Residents of Broussard Hall express concerns about door security

BY BETHANY BISSELL @BissellBethany Last year, women in Broussard Hall would sometimes find an uncomfortable sight when they returned to their rooms from the bathroom: men loitering outside their doors.

“One time, my roommate came into our dorm and she was really upset,” Art sophomore Chosen Watson said. “She walked out of the shower in her towel and into the hall, and there were two guys right outside the bathroom that immediately turned to look at her.”

In some dorms on campus, residents get access to their halls and rooms using their Tiger Card, which only grants them entry to certain areas like gender-specific halls and common rooms.

But at Broussard Hall, students only have to swipe to enter the building from the outside. Residents unlock all the doors inside

MATTHEW PERSCHALL / The Reveille

The Sun shines on Broussard Hall on Nov. 1, 2021, near the Pentagon Community in Baton Rouge, La. using hard keys, which allow students to access more areas than they would in other dorms. Watson said that it was common to see men hanging out in her hall without a resident.

“There was really no reason for

any guy to be on our floor,” Watson said. “Especially because our hall was the smallest.”

Philosophy junior Phoebe Volquardts is a resident assistant in Broussard. She said that she thinks that it’s mostly an is-

sue of the building’s layout. Male residents would use the women’s halls to access theirs because they didn’t know there was a staircase directly to their own halls.

Volquardts said that many of her residents were especially uncomfortable that men were accessing their bathrooms.

“At the beginning of the academic year, we had a lot of issues with guys coming through the girls’ hall to get to their hall, but using our bathrooms on the way there,” she said. “The girls’ bathroom only has one curtain between the girl and the open room.

A guy could unlock our bathroom at any time and barge in on one of my girls changing.”

Volquardts brought this issue to her supervisors at Broussard and she didn’t see men in her hall or bathrooms for a while. But toward the end of the fall semester, she watched a man enter her hall

see BROUSSARD, page 4

page 3 ACADEMICS

Summer classes: pros & cons

BY ALLISON ALLSOP @allisonallsop Each summer, LSU students have the opportunity to continue their education during the summer months, but most choose not to.

Many students will never take a summer course in their time at LSU as it is not written into the traditional path for most degrees.

Even students who could benefit from the summer courses may not take them because they feel the cons outweigh the pros.

“I feel like I would rather pack my fall and spring semesters so that I could have my summer semester for me to breathe, like as a break from school,” Azha ScottLeBlanc, a recent graduate, said

see SUMMER, page 4

COVID-19

Tiger Trails driver reflects on driving during the pandemic

BY ALLISON ALLSOP @allisonallsop During the course of the pandemic, Tiger Trails drivers were the enforcers of a federal mask mandate for public transportation, causing frustration among drivers.

In March of 2020, LSU shut down its campus. Since then, drivers have gone through a multitude of changes including reduced capacity, daily disinfecting, and mask mandates, the latter of which has caused issues with passengers.

David Alfrod, a driver for Tiger Trails, the LSU bus system, since 2019, found these times to be difficult for both the drivers and the students.

“It was a task at first until we

got to the details, until we got to the understanding of what really was going on,” Alfrod said.

While there was some pushback, Alfrod said that most of the problems on the LSU buses were minor.

Alfrod recalled one regular passenger, who always had his mask, but wouldn’t put it on until he was asked.

According to several drivers, there had been a few cases of students refusing to mask that had to be escalated. If a passenger refused to wear a mask, they would be denied the bus services. In the event a student was causing a disruption and refusing to get off the bus, Alfrod says the protocol was to contact the LSU police department in order to remove the students.

JOHN BUZBEE / The Reveille

Tiger Trails bus driver David Alfrod smiles at a stop on May 20. Alfrod drives the Highland-Burbank route.

Brian Favela, the director of LSU Parking & Transportation Services, said that he was unaware of any incidents of LSUPD being called to remove a student.

Favela has held the position since August of 2021.

“I had a very good group of understanding kids,” Alfrod said.

“They followed the rules with me pretty good because I made an announcement on every route I had that ‘I would love for y’all to just understand us. It’s not us making the rules. It’s LSU and the company making the rules, so we have to follow it. And so I’m asking y’all, will y’all help me on this route?’”

Although there may not have been many serious incidents, these times have still been taxing on the drivers.

Alfrod said that it could be hard trying to get passengers to comply with the mandate. “It was some times that I wanted to give up,” Alfrod said.

Alfrod said that things got easier with time, until LSU lifted the campus-wide mask mandate in February. During this time, mask mandates were not required on campus or within buildings, only on the bus system.

LSU hires its bus drivers through a third party, First Transit. Alfrod says the communication among LSU, First Transit, and the drivers was lacking. When this occurred, Alfrod says the interactions among drivers and passengers was much more tense, as students were not aware of the

JOHN BUZBEE / The Reveille

A Tiger Trails bus passes in front of Lockett Hall on May 20. difference between the campus and the buses.

Many students felt frustrated because they didn’t know why they were being denied access to the buses Favela said he received many complaints on the Tiger Trails Accountability form, a system Favela introduced when he joined LSU. After some time, LSU added a notice about the mask mandate to the destination signs outside the buses, which drivers said helped mitigate the issue. The university also began offering masks to students on the bus.

Teye Yevuyibor, a PhD student, spoke of his experiences with the LSU transportation system.

“Occasionally you have some who will not wear the nose masks either because they don’t have the nose masks,” Yevuyibor said.

“And, but now I see that even though that rule has relaxed, the buses have nose masks in the bus

and they can offer you it if you need it.”

Yevuyibor spoke positively about the entire system and praised the drivers for being vigilant in their efforts to protect everyone.

“The bus drivers insist that students must wear the nose masks, and I believe that’s right, because they must protect everybody,” Yevuyibor said. “And it’s mandatory that you should wear your nose masks boarding the bus.”

After a federal judge ruled against the transportation mask mandate in April, LSU lifted the mandate for masking on Tiger Trails.

With everything settling down, at least for now, Alfrod says he intends to stay with LSU until he retires.

“So they really do some great job, great job. And I really praise them for taking care of us,” Yevuyibor said.

Monday, May 30, 2022

page 4 BROUSSARD, from page 3 as she was telling a resident’s parent that she’d addressed the issue.

Psychology sophomore Daliyah Butler said that she loved living in Broussard overall, and she didn’t mind seeing men passing through the halls. But she doesn’t like that they could access the bathrooms.

“It’s unsafe because it’s already bad they have access to our hall,” Butler said. “We used to walk around our hall in our towels.”

Catherine David, assistant director of communications and development at LSU Residential Life, said that she hadn’t heard about the safety concerns at Broussard Hall, but that the department wants to maximize safety for its residents.

“We are constantly evaluating our safety measures and student experience to find the best balance,” David said.

Film and Television sophomore Simone Jackson had a male friend in Broussard who would let himself into her hall to reach her in her dorm. She said it made her feel unsafe when she saw men she

SUMMER, from page 3 about her decision to never take k summer classes.

LeBlanc was able to complete a bachelor’s degree in biology within four years. She used her summers to work full time. LeBlanc says that she would not have been able to work each summer if she had to also take classes.

In order to graduate on time, LeBlanc had to take between 15 hours and 17 hours a semester.

She says she prefers this because the classes occur over the course of the semester, whereas the summer is a much more condensed timeline.

LSU offers summer courses in three modules, two month-long modules and one that spans the entire summer. During the short sessions, students are only permitted to take six credit hours at a time.

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didn’t recognize without a resident in her hall.

“We are supposed to be ensured safety, and I don’t feel safe when college boys have access to my hallways,” Jackson said. “I paid too much money for them to roam the halls free.”

Volquardts said that even if the keys only allowed women to enter the women’s halls, it wouldn’t make a difference. Butler said that she would’ve been able to access the men’s halls even without a key.

“You could just yank (the doors) open,” Butler said.

When Volquardts didn’t see enough action from the staff at Broussard to make her residents feel comfortable, she went higher up.

“If LSU has taught me anything, it’s that you must advocate for yourself because no one else will,” she said. “So I brought it directly to the top. From what they described, they’re about to rework more of the system itself so that it’ll only be possible to get into public areas like common areas and your personal floor.”

Although Volquardts heard this from Residential Life, she and

Watson both have struggled to get any more answers. Watson said that she and the other residents struggled to be heard by Residential Life about their security concerns.

“I even spoke to the president of the Broussard student body

and grants do not apply to summer semesters, leaving students responsible for the entirety of the costs.

The Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, which covers much of tuition for many Louisiana residents, poses a problem for students wishing to take summer courses.

TOPS funding is not guaranteed, so it can only be applied to summer semesters when the state has the funds to do so. Additionally, students can only receive eight semesters of coverage of TOPS, meaning that using it for summer courses loses them coverage for a Fall or Spring Semester. Students who wish to use TOPS are also required to be enrolled on a fulltime basis, meaning 6 hours for each short module or twelve for the full summer.

Without the help of TOPS and other financial aid, the cost can be a deterrent. Twelve credit

hours in the summer would cost an in-state student $4,946 and an out-of-state student $9,157, not including room and board, books, fees or other expenses.

Despite this hefty price tag, some students say it is worth it.

Cecil Craig, a recent graduate in anthropology and interdisciplinary studies, said it was nice to be able to focus on just a few classes at a time. As a double major, he felt he was often taking too many classes during the fall and spring semesters.

Craig also enjoyed the lower student to teacher ratio during the summer. This allowed him to create a better connection with the professor, and it allowed the class more freedom.

Craig only took summer courses during his last summer before he graduated so that he could still graduate on time. He says paying out of pocket for the summer seemed like a better op-

THE REVEILLE ARCHIVES

Students move into Broussard Hall on August 20, 2014.

XANDER GENNARELLI / The Reveille

A student studies in LSU Library on May 26.

council about it and she said the same thing,” Watson said. “No one will reach out to us.”

Watson said that she thinks Residential Life has a structural problem, and that she wishes the department would be more transparent and accessible.

Volquardts said that she thinks Residential Life is going to make a positive change soon.

“In my experience it’s just that there are issues, and they are on their way to fixing them but don’t tell anyone that they’re fixing them or how,” she said.

THE REVEILLE ARCHVES

Students walk in the Quad in front of the LSU Library. tion than having to pay for another regular semester out of pocket, as he would’ve run out of TOPS benefits.

Paola Colmenares, a senior graduating next semester with a major in kinesiology and Spanish, has taken summer courses almost every semester she has been at LSU. She says they are a huge advantage that every student should utilize during their time here.

Colmenares echoed Craig’s feelings toward the student-teacher ratio. Colmenares recalled the connection she was able to build with a professor during one of her summer courses. Despite this professor moving to a different university, he is writing a recommendation letter for her.

Colmenares also pointed to the lower cost of summer classes. A full course load of 12 hours during the summer costs $600 less than 12 hours during a regular semester.

Colmenares enrolled in three courses each summer, which al-

lowed her to finish her degrees on a faster timeline. She also said she enjoyed not getting swept up in the usual hustle and bustle on campus.

“Maybe it’ll make you appreciate LSU’s campus more,” Colmenares said. “Cause when I was here by myself without so many of the regular amount of students we have here, it really showed me a deeper appreciation for this campus. You just have more time to relish in it.”

Parking was another plus for Colmenares. She says that during the summer the parking lots are less full. This allowed her to grab a spot much faster without having to worry about being late to class or having to trek across multiple lots.

Due to the lower student volume, students are allowed to park in any unrestricted lot.

“So it was just, all in all, a much more relaxed setting and arguable a more effective one,” Craig said.

SPORTS BLUEGRASS BLUES

LSU baseball leaves SEC Tournament early at the hands of Kentucky

BY PETER RAUTERKUS @peter_rauterkus In a rather flat showing, LSU fell to Kentucky in a rematch from the opening game, ending the Tigers’ SEC Tournament.

LSU’s SEC Tournament run ended early at the hands of a dominant performance by Kentucky, beating the Tigers 7-2. LSU was never able to get anything going, and the Tigers seemed a bit sluggish after wrapping up their previous game just 12 hours prior late Friday night. Though that may have been a reason behind the slow start, Head Coach Jay Johnson did not want that to be the reason behind the loss.

“I just don’t think we played well,” Johnson said. “We’re going to try to suffocate excuses. We don’t want that to be any part of what we’re doing with LSU baseball.”

It did not take long for things to go wrong for LSU as Jacob Hasty got off to a nightmare start on the mound. He threw just 30

SAVANNA ORGERON / The Reveille

LSU baseball redshirt junior infielder Gavin Dugas (8) prepares for his at bat March 9, before LSU’s 6-3 win against McNeese at Alex Box Stadium. pitches and only registered one out before giving up two earned runs on two hits and three walks.

That put LSU in another early hole, and one the Tigers were unable to dig themselves out of.

The pitching struggled early, highlighted by Hasty’s troubles in

the first inning. Eric Reyzelman came on to replace him and initially did a good job working out of a bases loaded jam. He would later give up three more runs though, leading to his removal after three innings. Trey Shaffer and Paul Gervase finished off the

page 5 MEN’S TENNIS

Column: Era ends for Men’s Tennis

game for LSU on the mound, and limited the damage only allowing one more run between the two of them.

Hitting-wise, LSU was never able to get any offense going which kept the deficit steep throughout the game. The Tigers did not register a hit until the seventh inning and just seemed lost at the plate. Kentucky’s starting pitcher, Tyler Bosma, was dominant on the mound going six innings allowing just one earned run on one hit and struck out 10 LSU batters. LSU added just one more hit after Bosma was relieved, never truly getting back into the game.

“I’ll credit the pitcher,” Johnson said. “I think a pitcher like that who’s mixing and changing speeds and not really giving you a good pitch to hit, if you try to do too much or you start pressing for the result as opposed to what you need to do to take the quality at bat then you can make those

Believe it or not, LSU once had an incredibly promising men’s tennis program under former head coach Jerry Simmons.

His accolades include nearly 300 wins with the program, a finals appearance and National Coach of the Year award in 1988 and ten straight NCAA Final Sixteen appearances from 1984 to 1993 (five of which they advanced).

Unfortunately, his successor, Jeff Brown, did not have quite as much success, and after a few somewhat successful seasons with the remnants of Simmons’s roster, the program plunged into mediocrity. There were bright spots

see BASEBALL, page 7

see TENNIS, page 7

HENRY HUBER @HenryHuber_

SOFTBALL

LSU softball puts up historically poor showing at regionals

BY MORGAN ROGERS @__morganrogers LSU softball’s season came to an abrupt end last weekend in Tempe, Arizona. The No. 20 LSU team headed back to Baton Rouge on Sunday after two heartbreaking games took them out of the 2022 NCAA tournament.

“Obviously, this year did not go how we had planned,” Head Coach Beth Torina spoke after the game. “I think our team is talented, but we just could not overcome some of the distractions and some of the things that happened throughout. It’s not always about talent. This is not where we want to be, or where we plan to be, and we plan to use our offseason to find ways to improve so that we’re not in this spot again.”

Regionals began with the Tigers facing San Diego State on May 20. LSU was off to a bad start when the Tigers allowed the Aztecs two runs in the first inning.

LSU was unphased though. The Tigers answered with two runs of their own in the second after sophomore Morgan Smith homered following Ali Newland’s single. Both teams continued to go blow for blow until they were 5-5 at the top of the fourth inning.

That’s when things went south for the Tigers.

With Shelbi Sunseri at the pitch, San Diego State took the lead 8-5 by producing another three-run stanza. LSU seemed de-

feated after that point and only logged four more hits the entire game. The Aztecs secured the victory with solo runs in the sixth and seventh inning.

“We played badly. I mean I don’t know what else to say,” Torina said. “We did not execute. I thought our offense did a good job. We swung well. It just didn’t fall for us. Ultimately, we gave their offense too many opportunities. We turned their lineup over and they came to the plate too often.”

Junior Ali Kilponen finished with three strikeouts while allowing five hits and five runs. Sunseri finished with a pair of strikeouts and gave up six hits and five runs in 3.1 innings.

“I am confident that [Kilponen] gave us everything she had.

I’m confident that she gave us her best effort, it just wasn’t her day.”

The Tigers’ luck didn’t seem to swing much the following day after their 10-5 loss to SDSU. The team faced Cal State Fullerton in an elimination game on Saturday. Kilponen pitched the entire game, striking out four batters while giving up four hits, three runs and two walks.

The Purple and Gold started off strong, going 2-0 in the top of the first inning. Third baseman Danieca Coffey and centerfielder Ciara Briggs both singled then moved to second and third respectively after Taylor Pleasants’ bunt. Clark sent both run-

SAVANNA ORGERON / The Reveille

LSU softball redshirt sophomore infielder Taylor Pleasants (17) walks back to the dugout Feb. 11, during the Tigers’ 3-0 win against South Alabama at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge, La. ners home after driving a single to shortstop.

The Titans answered in the bottom of the inning with three runs off of two hits and an error

by LSU to give them the lead.

“I just feel like that sums up our whole season,” Torina said in frustration. “How do you bounce a ball off a helmet, and it goes into the dugout for two runs? It feels like what we dealt with all year long. Just bad break after bad break, and I know that you create your own luck so that’s on us, but it summed up the whole year in everything that happened to us.”

After a 3-2 opening frame, both teams were quiet for the

remainder of the game. LSU’s defense seemed to lockdown after the error. It only allowed five base runners for the rest of the game.

Yet the Tigers couldn’t seem to overcome the 1-run lead despite having a runner in the scoring position five times.

The game was the final loss for the LSU softball team’s 2022 season. This NCAA tournament was the first in program history that the Tigers went 0-2.

“I am proud of a lot of the things this team accomplished this year, some of them not just between the lines, but proud of the things that this team did in our community,” Torina spoke about her players. “This team was

really special in a lot of ways and I’m proud of our three seniors and what they accomplished in their time. Shelby Wickersham, Jordyn Perkins and Shelbi Sunseri, who just led our team and was a huge part in everything we did for the last five years.”

The big question that remains is what will be next for LSU softball? Not long ago, the Tigers were on top. Fans saw the Purple and Gold make three straight Women’s College World Series then saw their win total plummet within the next four seasons (with the canceled 2020 season as an exception).

The team ended this season 34-23 overall and 13-11 in the conference. The competition will only get more intense once Oklahoma and Texas join the league in the coming years. This season, Texas went 41-18 overall while Oklahoma finished 51-2 overall.

“I think the standard of our program is to fight and I think that’s what we did all weekend.

Every game we were in until the very last out and I think that’s what Tigers are,” Senior Sunseri spoke after the game. “That’s what we do. That’s what LSU does well. I think you’re going to continue to see that in the years to come. You’re going to continue to see them put in the work and fight every day at practice and every game to be the best that they can be, and I think that’s all that you can ask.”

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Monday, May 30, 2022 TENNIS, from page 5 throughout, like an 18-win season in 2015 and nine straight NCAA tournament appearances, but nothing came close to their success in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Brown did just enough to etch out nearly two decades with the program before LSU finally looked elsewhere. They decided to aim big, pursuing and landing one of the best college tennis coaches of all time in Andy Brandi, as well as his son, Chris.

Andy Brandi has the best win percentage in NCAA women’s tennis history, winning 460 of his 503 (91.5%) matches with the Florida Gators between 1985 and 2001. He also won three national championships, fourteen SEC regular season titles, nine SEC tournaments and a large array of Coach of the Year awards.

His son had not been heavily involved with college tennis prior to becoming a Tiger, but he had been an assistant coach at two accomplished tennis programs in Wake Forest and Baylor. He had also spent six years coaching privately, meaning he had plenty of experience developing players’ skillsets.

Acquiring the duo was a good start, but they had a lot of work to do if they wanted to turn this team into a successful program.

For one, their first roster featured just seven players, with six

being the absolute minimum required for a tennis team to function. And two, the roster was not amazing to say the least. They won ten matches in the prior season, and that was with multiple star players such as Justin Butsch and Jordan Daigle graduating afterwards.

But after just two years of adjustment, the Brandi tandem had already started having success in building the program back up and with that, sought-after recruits began turning their heads in LSU’s direction.

LSU improved from a 10-win team in the duo’s first year to a 16-win team in the next and from 2018-2020, the Tigers acquired two blue-chip recruits, two fivestars and two top-25 classes. With all that in mind, it was expected that the team’s trajectory would continue moving upward.

There was just one more problem.

LSU plays in the deepest conference in the country. The SEC features multiple juggernauts, including Florida, Texas A&M and Mississippi State, who each have multiple top-five finishes since the Brandi era began, along with other consistent top-25 teams in Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky and South Carolina.

They don’t rival the ACC in terms of championships in the past decade (not even close), but when you’re a team that’s strug-

gling to crack the top-50, you would take playing three championship contenders over seven top25 teams any day of the week.

Even with all the talent the Tigers brought in, it would take time for their young players to attain the experience required to compete with these teams.

Their first season (2017-18) saw the team finish with just two conference wins. That number increased to three the next season, then four in 2020-21, with the program showing increased flashes of potential as the years went by.

Ronnie Hohmann became a borderline, top-25 player at Court One for the Tigers and though the other highly rated recruits haven’t panned out quite as well (yet), they began to fill the cracks at the other courts. But wins were still hard to come by, and even with upward progression being displayed, there was still a long way to go.

That was likely what they expected and okay initially, considering once Andy Brandi retired, Chris Brandi would be there to take the reins. But Chris Brandi was put on administrative leave in the fall of the 2021-2022 season, and that promising reality was put to rest.

It’s unfortunate because 2022 was when they showed the most promise.

They had made multiple acquisitions that impacted the team,

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adding graduate transfers Vlad Lobak and Gabriel Diaz Freire, and junior Kent Hunter out of Cal. Those three manned Courts 2-4 and provided the team with much more production at those courts, with Diaz Freire and Hunter being especially consistent.

The team had many firsts of the Brandi era, including wins against Ole Miss and Mississippi State, and advancements in both the SEC and NCAA tournaments.

Couple that with strong performances against No. 10 South Carolina (twice), No. 9 Kentucky and even No. 2 Florida in the SEC tournament, and it’s difficult to make a case against their progression.

Hohmann also continued his improvement, defeating four top20 opponents and advancing to the Round of 16 in the NCAA singles tournament.

Andy Brandi would retire after LSU’s elimination from the NCAA tournament, officially closing their book with half the pages left blank. Though they have multiple key contributors that won’t be a part of the team next season, most of the roster will remain intact barring the departure of the Brandis doesn’t result in players transferring.

It is impossible to predict the future of the program, but the next season or two could display further progress if they maintain their roster. After that, it’s up in the air.

BASEBALL, from page 5 guys ultra successful.”

This ends a relatively disappointing tournament for LSU in Hoover. The Tigers finish the week with one win and losses to both the highest and lowest seeded teams in the tournament. How much this means for LSU heading into the NCAA Tournament is a debate many will have over the next week. Having a good showing in Hoover would certainly be a momentum builder, but it doesn’t mean everything.

Just take Mississippi State for example. The Bulldogs were runruled twice at the SEC Tournament last year, but they still managed to go all the way and win the College World Series. Though a national championship seems like only a dream for LSU, this tournament should not have too much of an effect over its postseason momentum. The Tigers will likely get two of their best hitters back next week in Jacob Berry and Cade Doughty, which should make a world of difference.

LSU now looks ahead to NCAA Regionals which will start next week on June 3. The bracket will be announced on Monday, May 30 to determine whether or not LSU will be a region host and who the Tigers will play. The selection show is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT and will be streaming live on ESPN2.

OPINION

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St. George will hurt Baton Rouge and should be invalidated CHARLIE’S ANGLES CHARLIE STEPHENS

@charliestephns

In October of 2019, voters in the southeastern portion of East Baton Rouge Parish—which includes Baton Rouge—voted to create a separate city named St. George after a petition drive put the proposition on the ballot.

Over 14,000 signatures were verified by the parish Registrar of Voters which is roughly 1,500 more than the 12,996 needed to meet the 25% threshold to put the proposition on the ballot.

To collect these signatures, the organizers of St. George mobilized a subtle campaign of fearmotivated politics of another era against Baton Rouge, its schools, its people and most importantly its future.

St. George organizers failed to garner enough signatures to make it to the ballot on their first attempt and in refining the petition

CONNOR TARTER / The Reveille Archives

Signs encouraging citizens to sign a petition instituting the area of St. George as a city are arranged outside of Megan’s Dress 2 the 9’s June 18, 2014. for a round two made the city even whiter.

The proposed city is over 70% white and only 15% African American in a parish that is nearly evenly split.

To stop the creation of the St. George, the mayor and other plaintiffs must prove that the proposed city would harm the city-parish

government.

St. George organizers have not shared any specific plans to govern their new city with Sherriff Sid Gautreaux or Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome according to their testimony in court proceedings.

Gautreaux testified “We’re not going to be the St. George Police

Department,” after explaining that the proposed city would have to pay his office to receive services from deputies.

“What is your plan to stand up a city of 86,000 people?” Broome asked, “We need a plan to see that.”

This refusal to even attempt good governance for the residents of the proposed city is deeply unsettling and it is also telling about the lack of thoughtful intent in the conquest for St. George.

The movement for the city started with disgruntled parents seeking a new school district in the southeastern portion of the parish in 2012.

And its organizational aims expanded to accomplish their original aim of establishing a breakaway school district costing the 90% nonwhite East Baton Rouge Parish School System critical funding streams.

The proposed city of St. George is largely white.

The funniest part is that the creation of St. George does not

guarantee a separate school district which would require a 2/3 vote of the Legislature and an affirmative statewide vote of the people.

Not only does the city not guarantee a school district, but it’s also not even required to create a school district.

The East Baton Rouge Parish School System holds the infamy of having one of the longest-standing desegregation orders in the country with it only being lifted in 2003.

The St. George organizers are a decade into their mean-spirited conquest against Baton Rouge for a city that wouldn’t exist without it.

As for Broome’s attempt to beat back the new city; Donald Hodge, St. George opponent and attorney says “There’s more than hope. I think there’s a whole legal basis for the court to find that the city is not viable.”

Charlie Stephens is a 21-year-old political communication junior from Baton Rouge.

Chuck E. Cheese trauma is necessary for brain development LONG SHOT SCOTT MADDIE SCOTT @madscottyy It’s summer. I’m 10 years old, and I hop out of my mom’s new 2012 Honda Odyssey and onto the sweltering asphalt of the Chuck. E Cheese parking lot. In my sweaty palm, I clutch a coupon for 10 free tokens and my mom’s $4.99 allyou-can-eat salad bar coupon.

As we approach the building, she swings the front door open.

I am hit with a wave of cold airconditioned air and the aroma of cheese pizza. My ears are awakened with children screaming like they’re in the pits of hell, but they’re not in hell. They’re in Chuck E. Cheese.

As I approach the pit of body odor and buzzing arcade games, children dart about like sharks in the ocean. My heart beats out of my chest, my feet planted on the black, confetti patterned carpet littered with pizza crumbs and childhood trauma.

I hear yelling from above my head. As I look up, I see a giant, plastic, tube structure. The colorful tubes worm their way across the ceiling like an anaconda con-

stricting my breathing. I realize I am holding my breath.

A segment of the tube rattles in anger. I see a small, dark silhouette crawling inside through the plastic walls. The silhouette drop kicks another silhouette and the predator scurries away. Did I just witness manslaughter?

The structure was so large and mazelike that it was physical evidence proving the backrooms theory, an urban legend describing an endless maze of rooms that victims get lost in for eternity.

I find a small stage and a dusty, purple curtain. Six-foot animatronics robotically creak and squeak as they string their fingers across fake guitar strings, grip wooden drum sticks and click pretend ivories of a keyboard.

One animatronic opens and closes its jaw, singing into a microphone, except its jaw is broken. Its mouth just gapes open into the microphone as if it were sucking the souls of surrounding adolescents.

A kid standing next to me told me the Chuck E. animatronic ate his little brother. My mom finds me and hands me a small plastic cup of tokens to feed the arcade games. I am no longer at the bottom of the food chain. I have

power.

I pass the skee-ball game as children climb up onto the lane, simply placing their plastic balls into the highest-winning spot while the employees aren’t looking. Then I pass the sketchbook booth, but all I see is a child sitting there picking his nose. I accidentally make eye contact. My pace quickens.

My favorite game is the jump rope game, where one jumps along to a fake jump rope on top of a weight-detecting platform. I place my token cup behind me, and my focus deafens my surroundings.

As I’m jumping, I hear yelling directly behind me. I swivel my head. My older brother is yelling at a child with a sinister grin. The child is wearing a flaming monster-truck muscle shirt and camouflaged cargo shorts.

His sticky fingers are holding a handful of tokens from my token cup. He bends back down, placing my tokens back in the cup as my brother fusses at him. He was caught token-handed. His face of defeat fueled my ego. I was now alpha of this pizza jungle.

Despite the trauma, I now realize the wisdom and knowledge I had been bestowed. Chuck E.

CARTOON BY MADDIE SCOTT

Cheese enhanced my childhood cognitive development and sharpened my awareness.

Not only that, I was taught finance through token and ticket currencies: one hundred tickets bought you a dejected slinky.

Three hundred tickets bought you bacteria-infested cotton candy. Six hundred tickets bought you a line of cocaine and a lifelong gambling addiction.

Chuck E. himself blessed me with womanhood when I got my first period in the Chuck E. Cheese

Editorial Policies and Procedures EDITORIAL BOARD Piper Hutchinson Peter Rauterkus Claire Sullivan Charlie Stephens

Editor in Chief News Editor Columnist Columnist

The Reveille (USPS 145-800) is written, edited and produced solely by students of Louisiana State University.

The Reveille is an independent entity of the Office of Student Media within the Manship School of Mass Communication. Signed opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, The Reveille or the university. Letters submitted for publication should be sent via e-mail to editor@lsu.edu or delivered to B-39 Hodges Hall. They must be 400 words or less. Letters must provide a contact phone number for verification purposes, which will not be printed. The Reveille reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for space consideration while preserving the original intent. The Reveille also reserves the right to reject any letter without notification of the author. Writers must include their full names and phone numbers. The Reveille’s editor in chief, hired every semester by the LSU Student Media Board, has final authority on all editorial decisions.

bathroom. Or the pizza just caused internal bleeding. They gave me a free pizza as a congratulation.

I hopped back into my mom’s 2012 Honda Odyssey. No longer did I hold crumpled-up coupons.

I yielded a small bag of madein-China treasures, sweat on my brow and leftover rat pizza from the place where a kid can be a kid.

Maddie Scott is a 19-year-old journalism and history sophomore from Covington.

Quote of the Week “Thirst was made for water; inquiry for truth.”

C.S. Lewis British writer 1898 — 1963