The Reveille 6-14-21

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Mond ay, Ju ne 14 , 2 021

Paul Mainieri’s coaching career concludes as Tennessee sweeps LSU out of super regional.

Read on

page 2 WADE PAYNE / Associated Press

NEWS

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A look into each of the government-funded projects the university plans to construct in the near future to improve campus.

SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

p ag e 5

LSU men’s track and field won their first national championship since 2002 on Friday behind strong performances by Terrance Laird and JuVaughn Harrison.

OPINION

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“Representation like this, while a nice sign of solidarity, is often counter to the rest of a company’s actions.”

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

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TENNESSEE TROUBLE

Pitching woes continue, Volunteers end Tigers’ disappointing season man also had not given up more than a single run since his outing against the Aggies in May. As they headed into the bottom of the sixth, Mainieri wanted Coleman on the mound to face the top of Tennessee’s lineup, two being left-handed batters.

The freshman pitcher delivered a clean strike-out followed by two strikes to begin the frame. LSU’s defense seemed to dismantle the moment Volunteer Jake Rucker hit a grounder down the left field line, putting runners on second and third.

A defensive error by infielder Doughty allowed the Volunteers to get another run across the plate, bringing the game 2-2. Rucker gave Tennessee the lead in the next play with Beck following with a weak single to right field to push one more run across the plate. Pitcher Coleman delivered two scoreless innings following the sixth to finish with three allowed runs on three hits, three walks and five strikeouts.

“Ma’Khail gave us five great innings, and Javen Coleman was the right guy for that situation,” Mainieri spoke. “Craziness happened in that inning.”

Tennessee brought in senior Sean Hunley to the mound for the last three innings. The righthander closed out the game with three hits, no walks and four strikeouts. The Tigers had hope in the ninth when two runners appeared on second and third, but Hunley delivered the third out on shortstop Jordan Thompson to finish the game.

The Vols took Game Two, ending LSU’s season and Mainieri’s coaching career.

“I don’t want people to be sad for me, I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” Mainieri said. “Thirtynine years of being able to live out a childhood dream of being a college baseball coach. I got to do what I wanted to do with my life, who could ask for more?”

BY MORGAN ROGERS AND REED DARCEY @__morganrogers & @byreeddarcey Paul Mainieri’s 39-year Hall of Fame coaching career came to a close on Sunday, when Tennessee dominated LSU 15-6, sweeping the Tigers out of super regional action.

LSU ended its disappointing season with a 38-25 record.

“Our kids battled like crazy all year,” Mainieri said. “We were counted out a lot of times during the course of this year, and our guys never gave up. They’re a resilient bunch, and I love them. I’ll always remember them. They’re my last team.”

In Game Two, LSU cycled through seven pitchers, starting with ace Landon Marceaux, who lasted only three innings.

A three-run homer powered a six-run fifth inning for the Volunteers, who never looked back and won big.

“I could tell pretty quickly [Marceaux] just didn’t have his normal stuff,” Mainieri said. “He was out of gas from the start. His velocity was really down.”

On Saturday night, the Tigers were defeated 4-2 after a rough sixth inning in Game One at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

After trailing the Tigers for five innings, the Volunteers answered in the bottom of the sixth with three runs to erase the 2-1 deficit. The first game of the series moved LSU to 38-24 on the year while improving Tennessee’s record 49-16.

“It was a great ball game,” Mainieri said. “Dallas threw an awful lot of sliders, and we just didn’t have an answer for them.

We just had a tough time making contact against him.”

LSU’s lack of offense could be blamed on the performance by one of Tennessee’s leading pitchers: Chad Dallas. The junior limited the purple and gold to a mere

WADE PAYNE / Associated Press

LSU pitcher Ma’Khail Hilliard throws to a Tennessee batter during an NCAA college baseball super regional game June 12, in Knoxville, Tenn. five hits with no walks in the first six innings. Dallas also notched a career-high 12 strikeouts in the game, putting his pitching record at 11-1. He managed to strike out all but two of the Tigers, including LSU’s top batters Tre’ Morgan and Gavin Dugas, who went 0-6.

As for LSU’s performance on the mound, senior Ma’Khail Hilliard gave the Tigers a stellar five innings with 76 pitches, only allowing one run on three hits with zero walks and a total of six strikeouts. He was later relieved by freshman pitcher Javen Coleman (3-2) who was charged with the loss after giving up three runs in a single inning.

“Ma’Khail and Javen were both terrific tonight,” Mainieri said. “There was that one crazy inning where there was only one hard-hit ball, but Tennessee was able to scratch across three runs.”

The Tigers finally made it on the board once rain began to sweep over the stadium. Louisiana native Cade Doughty came into the top of the second with

a rip over the right field wall, making the solo homer the only earned run of the game. After Doughty’s 13th dinger of the season, a lightning storm emerged and delayed the game for 50 minutes.

The Volunteers tied the game in the third inning after sophomore Jordan Beck doubled and capitalized on the following two hitters’ grounders. It wasn’t until the fifth inning when LSU was able to regain its lead. Centerfielder Drew Bianco advanced from first after junior Cade Beloso was hit by a pitch. Bianco then managed to steal third and proceed home after Tennessee catcher Connor Pavolony overthrew to third.

The game fell into an uncontrollable spiral in the following inning. Mainieri made his first pitching change of the game by replacing Hilliard with left-hander Javen Coleman, who stopped Oregon dead in its tracks earlier last week with only one allowed run in six innings. The fresh-

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NEWS A view of the future

page 3

Here’s how LSU plans to spend millions in project funds this year

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Camelia Hall, set to open for the Fall 2021 semester.

BY MADELYN CUTRONE @madelyncutrone Between the average of $20 million in government funds designated by the Louisiana legislature and the additional budget allotted by the University, LSU’s campus is constantly under renovation. But where do those millions in funds go every year? Assistant Vice President of Planning, Design and Construction Roger Husser detailed the university’s construction plans for 2021-2022.

Huey P. Long Fieldhouse & Studio Arts: 2021 Capital Outlay Funds – the money contributed to LSU by the state government – will predominantly be spent on two major renovations that have been underway for approximately six months.

“The Huey P. Long fieldhouse will primarily be occupied by the college of Human Sciences and Education, which is who was occupying it before,” Husser said. “It will be a fully renovated academic building with office space, research space and classrooms to better serve the needs of the students, faculty and staff and also potentially a wellness center.”

Husser said students will continue to notice construction in those two areas throughout the next academic year, but they are expected be completed by late 2022.

Stephenson Pet Clinic: The rest of the 2021 Capital Outlay Funds will primarily be spent on a public pet clinic located near the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine on the outskirts of campus. It will be a 40,000 square foot clinic that provides “clinical services, including community practice (primary care), dermatology, integrative medicine, and ophthalmology,” according to school’s website.

In addition to state funds, $4 million in private donations were contributed by Emmet and Toni Stephenson for whom the clinic was named.

Memorial Tower: LSU’s iconic clock tower has been under renovation for a number of years, starting with updates to the exterior of the tower that were completed a year ago. Then, the plaza surrounding the tower was renovated. Following that, development of the museum on the

significant donations.

Greenhouse District: Two new residence halls are being constructed in the Greenhouse District – located north of Hergert and Miller Hall across from the UREC – funded through a publicprivate partnership that will offset the increased enrollment rates that drove many upper-classment out of their dorms last year.

The district will also feature additional parking lots, improved sidewalks, landscaping and on-site

Associate Director of the LSU Department of Residential Life Catherine David said the previous mold and mildew issues discovered in Miller and Herget Hall have been addressed and the university plans to use both dorms in the fall.

“We want students to live in clean, safe, comfortable facilities, and if their experience isn’t exceeding that mark, we need to know about it,” David said. “As we always say, if we don’t know about it, we can’t address it.”

What’s next for major projects on campus?

-Remodels for the Huey P. Long Fieldhouse and Studio Arts buildings

-Various renovations and demolitions in several dorm halls

-Building of Stephenson Pet Clinic, a public pet clinic on the outskirts of campus near the LSU Vet School

-Improvements to roadwork and lighting throughout campus

-Continued renovations to Memorial Tower

-Planning a design for a new LSU Library

-Two new residence halls in the Greenhouse District

-New Interdisciplinary Science Building

inside began.

“The activity over the last several months has been to actually build out the museum artifacts and displays inside the building,” Husser said.

The soft opening of the military museum inside Memorial Tower began on June 1st with plans to host the grand opening on Veterans Day in November. The museum features exhibits from LSU alumni who served in the military, and it is run by the Cadets of the Ole War Skule.

This project was funded with a mix of Capital Outlay funds and

furniture. The new dorms – Camelia and Azalea – will be available for registration in the fall and will likely be designated for freshman use.

Dorm Updates & Demolitions: Due to old age and countless horror stories, abatement and demolition of Kirby Smith Hall will begin during the next academic year, with no plans to occupy it during the fall semester.

Over the past year and a half, Evangeline Hall and Highland Hall have been completely updated and are ready for use next semester.

Roadwork: Although LSU usually takes advantage of decreased traffic rates to fix campus roads during the summer semesters, there aren’t many improvements planned for 2021.

Funds are being directed elsewhere, Husser explained.

“Personally, I recognize we have lots of opportunity to improve our roads and streets, we’re making funding requests to do that, but unfortunately we don’t have any big projects planned,” Husser said.

Lighting: Lighting issues on campus have

been a topic of much debate over the past several years. Student Government hosts an annual light walk to highlight areas of campus that are in need of lighting attention, and the lists are passed to administration. Those improvements are being prioritized this summer and throughout the coming academic year.

“We retrieved information from LSU police on hotspot areas they think we should address, we collected light level data campus wide with a light meter, and we got information from other places and we overlaid all of those inputs, including the input from the Light Walk, that will guide all of the improvements we plan to take over the next 12 months,” Husser said.

The LSU Library: Every year a number of small improvements are made to LSU’s library, but the condition of the building is still derided by students. Although there are no major plans for renovation this summer, a new library is in the works, according to Husser.

“We’re hopeful to get some of the seed funding from the legislature this session that would allow us to start planning and designing a new library, but it would take five or six years to ultimately replace LSU Library, if we receive funding timely,” Husser said.

New Interdisciplinary Science Building: Another major planned project is the New Interdisciplinary Science Building. Planning is underway with expectation of state capital outlay funds and private funds to support this project that will provide new, state of the art science teaching labs, new active learning classrooms and new science research space, according to Husser.

SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

‘IT FEELS AWESOME’ LSU wins men’s NCAA track and field championships team title

ASSOCIATED PRESS EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Oregon freshman Cole Hocker won the 1,500 on Friday at the NCAA track and field championships, and LSU took the men’s team title.

Hocker bested collegiate record holder and defending champion Yared Nuguse of Notre Dame with a finish in 3 minutes, 35.35 seconds at his home stadium at Oregon’s Hayward Field.

“Coming onto the last 150, I heard all the fans in Hayward just erupt and it gave me so much adrenaline,” Hocker said.

The showdown between Hocker and Nuguse was one of the most anticipated races of the meet. Hocker then finished fourth in the 5,000.

LSU won its first title since 2002. Oregon was second.

“Well, it feels awesome, I’m just so proud of all the men on the team and the sacrifices they made all year, even socially,” LSU coach Dennis Shaver said.

The top-ranked Tigers were boosted by sprinter Terrance Laird, who ran the 100 in 10.02.

Micah Williams of Oregon posted the top time in the heats, running in similar cool conditions, but finished third behind Houston’s Shaun Maswanganyi.

Florida’s Joseph Fahnbulleh won the 200 in 19.91. Randolph Ross of North Carolina A&T won the 400 in 43.85 and USC’s Isaiah Jewett claimed the 800 in 1:44.68.

Oregon’s Cooper Teare won the 5,000 in 13:12.27, setting a school record for the Ducks while also beating the qualify-

page 4

POLITICS

Endorsement bill heads to governor’s desk ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHRIS PIETSCH/THE REGISTER-GUARD VIA AP

LSU athletes and coach Dennis Shaver, center, celebrate after LSU won the men’s team title at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship in Eugene, Ore., Friday, .June 11, 2021. ing time for the Olympics.

“I think this was a big confidence booster,” Teare said. “I think the 5K is one of the deepest events this year. Not many guys have the Olympic standard, and having that in my back pocket increases my chances.”

Earlier this week, LSU’s Ju-

Vaughn Harrison won the long jump with a leap of 27 feet, 1¾ inches. On Friday, he took high jump at 7- 7 3/4.

Harrison won both events in pulling off a rare double at the NCAA Indoor championships.

He hopes to qualify for the Olympic team this summer.

LSU won the 400 relay in 38.48 seconds. The Tigers did not qualify for the men’s 1,600 relay, which was the final event of the day Friday.

The NCAA Championships continue Saturday at Hayward Field, also the site of the U.S. Olympic Trials.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana is poised to join more than a dozen other states allowing college athletes to earn cash from endorsements and sponsorship deals under an effort gaining steam across the country because of the NCAA’s inaction on a national policy.

The Senate voted 35-0 Tuesday for House changes to Sen. Pat Connick’s bill to let the student athletes profit off the use of their name, image and likeness, the final vote needed to send the measure to Gov. John Bel Edwards’ desk. The Democratic governor hasn’t taken a public position on the bill but made no attempt to stop passage.

“If Louisiana is left behind, we’ll be at a competitive disadvantage,” said Rep. John Stefanski, the Crowley Republican who handled the bill in the House.

The NCAA’s attempts to reform its bylaws and permit college athletes to capitalize on their names, images and likenesses have stalled. Federal legislation on the issue is pending in Congress.

Frustrated with inaction, state started passing their own laws. That effort has snowballed across the country as states worry that they need to allow their universities’ athletes to make the same profitable deals or risk those athletes being poached by other schools in recruiting.

The first name, image and likeness laws are slated to be-

see BILL, page 5

POLITICS

Louisiana lawmakers OK sports betting rules, send to Edwards ASSOCATED PRESS BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Months after most Louisiana voters agreed to legalize sports betting, lawmakers Thursday gave final passage to rules that will allow wagering through sports book sites, mobile apps and kiosk locations in parishes where voters supported the activity.

A 33-3 Senate vote sent the regulatory bill by Republican Senate President Page Cortez to the governor’s desk. The House earlier had voted 78-15 for the legislation. Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards is expected to sign the measure into law, paving the way for betting on sports events to begin as early as the fall.

Voters in 55 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes agreed to allow sports betting on live-action games, but lawmakers had to set the rules and the tax rates before the gambling can begin. The tax bill received final legislative passage earlier in the session.

Lawmakers are creating 20 licenses for sports book operators, with Louisiana’s casinos and racetracks given first chance to get those licenses. If those casinos and racetracks don’t seek all 20 licenses by Jan. 1, fantasy sports betting operators and video poker establishments in the parishes where sports wagering is legal will be eligible to apply.

Any operator that gets a license to conduct sports betting

onsite also can do the wagering through a website and mobile app. The Louisiana Lottery Corporation will operate its own sports book through an online site, mobile app and kiosk locations set up in bars and restaurants that serve alcohol.

Those interested in placing bets will have to be 21 or older and set up an account with a sports betting operator in the state. No bets can be placed on high school or youth sports events. Athletes, coaches and referees can’t bet on a sports event in which they are involved. People who live in parishes that did not approve sports betting can place wagers if they head to a parish where sports betting was legalized.

The state will tax the net gaming proceeds of the sports betting operators, with a 10% tax collected on wagering at onsite locations and a 15% tax on wagering through mobile apps and electronic devices. Sports betting operators also will be charged application and licensing fees. Edwards has already signed the tax and fee measure into law.

When sports betting starts generating money for the state, 25% of the revenue up to $20 million will go to early learning programs for children. Other dollars will go to the horse racing industry, local government, other programs and the general state treasury.

The bill is filed as Senate Bill 247.

THE REVEILLE ARCHIVES

The Louisiana State Capitol stands tall on North Third Street on March 19, 2017, in downtown Baton

Monday, June 14, 2021 BILL, from page 4 gin in July, but Louisiana’s law wouldn’t start that quickly. The bill requires each university system governing board to adopt implementation policies before the endorsement and sponsorship deals could begin.

Under Connick’s bill, compensation would be allowed only in deals struck with outside, third-party groups unaffiliated with the school. Deals could not involve tobacco, alcohol, illegal substances, banned athletic substances or gambling.

Athletes would have to disclose the contracts to their colleges, and the schools could block certain deals.

ABBY KIBLER/ The Reveille

LSU gymnastics freshman allaround Olivia Dunne performs her uneven bars routine

page 5 BATON ROUGE COMMUNITY

Weston-Broome declares June ‘Pride Month’ in Baton Rouge

BY ASHLEY LATCHA @ashleylatcha With June being the presumed and reserved month for LGBTQ+ celebrations, many cities and companies have already started their Pride Month festivities. Logos and merchandise from around the globe have changed to accommodate the spectrum of bright colors that represent the LGBTQ+ community in solidarity.

On Wednesday, June 9, East Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston-Broome officially declared June as “Pride Month” in Baton Rouge. The proclamation was read to the record of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council during the assembly by Councilmember Aaron Moak of Baton Rouge’s fourth District.

Aaron Moak, who was in charge of this initiative, is the first openly LGBTQ+ elected official in Louisiana.

“Congratulations to all of you,” said Mayor Pro Tem Lamont Cole, “Councilmember Moak, let me say congratulations to you...I think I speak for all of us when I say this: we all support you

greatly, appreciate working with you, and look forward to working with you in the future.”

Moak recognized a list of working community members and organizations that have supported the LGBTQ+ community including: Carlos Perez and Caleb Keller of Baton Rouge Pride, Corey Wise and Quentin Little of Splash Nightclub, Guy Schieder of George’s Place, and Baton Rouge Pride Chair Chris Bradford.

“I’d like to thank Councilmember Moak for his continued support of Baton Rouge Pride and the LGBTQIA+ community by helping to secure the 2021 Pride Month Proclamation’’, said Bradford. “The strength that he exemplified today by standing in front of the entire Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council, and telling his story was both extremely brave and heartwarming. We are looking forward to his continued support and future work with the Baton Rouge LGBTQIA+ community.”

The full metropolitan council meeting is available on the Baton Rouge Pride website as well as the official East Baton Rouge

website.

All upcoming Pride Month events and festivities are also located and updated on the Baton Rouge Pride website as well.

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These include Pride Drag Brunch and Girls Night Pride at Splash Nightclub and a Queer Conversations meeting about Transgressions on June 23.

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OPINION

page 6

Pride isn’t just an aesthetic for businesses to capitalize on

THE REVEILLE ARCHIVES

A pride flag hangs off a balcony in New Orleans, Louisiana.

DOM’S UNCANNY DISCOURSE DOMENIC PURDY

@tigerdom16

Pride month is a beautiful thing.

It’s a celebration of visibility and representation for members of the LGBTQ+ community. During June, members of the community and their allies seek to educate and advocate for a world where “love wins.”

In an attempt to capitalize on Pride month, however, companies use the aesthetic of the LGBTQ+ community as a mere publicity stunt. In quite a few cases, the groups that change their logos to rainbows during June either have a history of suppressing LGBTQ+ voices the rest of the year or represent groups instrumental to the oppression of the community in the fight for equality.

Once May ticks over into June, entertainment companies like Disney flood their social media feeds with posts overwhelmingly in support of the LGBTQ+ community. Representation like

this, while a nice sign of solidarity, is often counter to the rest of a company’s actions.

Let’s start with Disney.

The company tweeted an image of their popular characters walking in front of a rainbow flag in solidarity of the LGBTQ+ community on June 1. It’s incredible to see Mickey, Donald and Goofy proclaim “there’s room for everyone under the rainbow,” but Disney’s past actions make the gesture seem like nothing more than a marketing aesthetic.

After Disney bought 20th Century Fox and shuttered their animation department, Blue Sky, they cancelled what was to be the first LGBTQ+ led animated feature, “Nimona.” The film was ten months away from being complete.

Disney, the supposed ally of the LGBTQ+ community, also moved “Love, Victor,” a teenage romantic comedy series about a gay man’s self-discovery of his sexuality, from Disney+ to Hulu.

The show was moved because it “would not fit in with the familyfriendly content on Disney+.”

If everyone can fit under the rainbow like Disney proclaimed

at the start of June, then why were these projects shifted or cancelled to align with a “familyfriendly” brand, when stories of straight self-discovery have been the company’s bread and butter for years?

While Disney, an entertainment company, capitalizing on a trend with their adoption of pride imagery is just bad optics given their past, other organizations using pride’s aesthetic during June is much more troubling.

Take Raytheon Technologies, for example.

A major defense contractor for the United States government, the brand recently changed their logo to a rainbow version of its previously red branding. While the company was deemed the safest work environment for LGBTQ+ employees, their presence in pride’s festivities is problematic, nonetheless.

Raytheon isn’t the only company dealing in weapons that rebranded themselves during June.

Taser and body cam producer Axon also changed their logo to a vibrant rainbow during pride month.

For companies like Raytheon

and Axon who sell weapons to various military and police forces, pride isn’t exactly the most appropriate rebranding.

The history of pride is one of riots and a fight against police for basic rights. Generally agreed upon by historians as the first modern pride was actually the Stonewall riot in 1969 when gay rights activists responded to a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village.

A notorious and historic antagonistic force to the LGBTQ+ community, police have been banned from many recent pride events, including events in New York. After years of antagonism by police with weapons provided by companies like Raytheon and Axon, it’s understandable why it’s not the most appropriate sign of solidarity for a weapon’s manufacturer to support a community they played a part in oppressing.

Pride has been criticized in the past few years for becoming too cooperate, with companies like Target using pride merchandise to sell more t-shirts. But for all its missteps with the occasional military contractor expressing

Editorial Policies and Procedures EDITORIAL BOARD Reed Darcey Nick Frewin

Editor in Chief News Editor

Domenic Purdy

Opinion Columnist

Claire Sullivan

Opinion 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 opinion@lsureveille.com 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.

inappropriate solidarity, pride still provides a spotlight for LGBTQ+ voices.

More artistic branches of companies like Disney and Warner Brothers are able to spotlight their LGBTQ+ creators. Take Marvel and DC Comics, who both recently released massive anthology books celebrating their stable of LGBTQ+ creators and characters.

Sure, it’s all still cooperate, but seeing heroes who identify a certain way goes a long way in inspiring the next generation of LGBTQ+ youth to be comfortable in their own skin.

Representation matters and that’s what pride should be about.

It’s not about silencing LGBTQ+ voices, invalidating them with a company that makes the tasers that police have used to oppress members of the community and its definitely not about passing anti-transgender legislation on the first day of June like Governor DeSantis did in Florida.

It’s about love.

Domenic Purdy is a 20-yearold journalism junior from Prairieville.

Quote of the Week “If you saw a heat wave, would you wave back?”

Steven Wright Stand-up comedian 1955 — present

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Louisiana’s bill to ban trans athletes discriminatory SULLY’S SCOOP CLAIRE SULLIVAN

@sulliclaire

On Thursday, May 27, cheers erupted in the Louisiana senate chamber as legislators passed a bill banning trans girls and women from participating in women’s athletics.

Sen. Beth Mizell of Franklinton passed her bill with a vote of 29-6 in the Senate and 78-17 in the House, gaining the support of not just her GOP colleagues, but also some Democrats. Gov. John Bel Edwards has signaled that he would oppose such legislation, calling the bill “unnecessary and discriminatory and very hurtful for those individuals” and saying that “there’s not a compelling reason to do it.”

The law had a veto-proof majority of support, though it is unclear if legislators would override what is a likely veto from Edwards.

Mizell called the bill a proactive measure, likely because she could not name a single instance in Louisiana of trans athletes competing being an issue. This legislation is an imagined grievance born of prejudice; a solution in search of a problem.

The statistics that describe life for many transgender youth are deeply troubling, and our legislators work to worsen that pain.

Research from the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, found that, compared to their cisgender peers, transgender youth were four-and-a-half times more likely to report feeling unsafe at

school, almost five times more likely to be “threatened or injured with a weapon at school” and five times more likely to have attempted suicide in the past year.

It is disgraceful that these legislators so callously ignore the damage this legislation could inflict on trans youth. This bill sends the message that trans girls and women are “others” and worsens the social conditions with which trans people are already forced to grapple.

Sports provide an opportunity for character-building, physical and mental health benefits, friendship and fun – something every child should be allowed to participate in. Removing this outlet for trans girls is destructive and discriminatory. It takes a special kind of cruelty for lawmakers not only to pass such a law, but celebrate it.

This legislation also seems to forget that trans people are underrepresented in athletics and have been able to compete in various athletic organizations for years.

Trans athletes have been allowed to openly participate in the Olympics since 2003, but no trans person has ever competed.

The NCAA “firmly and unequivocally supports the opportunity for transgender student-athletes to compete in college sports” and have allowed trans athletes to play for almost a decade. There have been no issues of fairness found in either of these organizations, and conservative fearmongering that trans women will dominate over cisgender women is a baseless excuse for

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

LGBTQ+ activists march in front of the White House. discrimination that ignores the fact that trans women have been allowed to compete at elite levels for years without a problem.

But supporters of this bill are likely not interested in these facts. The alienation of trans people isn’t simply a side effect of this legislation, but its unspoken objective. Throughout the legislative session, lawmakers have raised numerous anti-trans bills, including a bill that would

restrict access to medical care for trans youth, which thankfully died in committee after 400 cards were submitted in opposition.

This state faces enormous problems that have only been exacerbated by the tragedy of the last year. Instead of using their time to address pressing social and economic issues, lawmakers spun a non-existent problem out of far-right talking points to attack trans people. Clearly, many

Louisiana legislators are more concerned with scoring conservative culture war points than serving their constituents.

We do not have to allow intolerance in Louisiana, nor in the hearts of those that are supposed to represent the people of this state.

Claire Sullivan is an 18-year-old coastal environmental science sophomore from Southbury, CT.

COURTESY OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

In this June 30, 2019, file photo parade-goers carrying rainbow flags walk down a street during the LBGTQ Pride march in New York, to celebrate five decades of LGBTQ pride, marking the 50th anniversary of the police raid that sparked the modern-day gay rights movement.