The Reveille 8-28-25 by Reveille

FIGHTING TIGERS

Graphic by Carmen Fajardo

DEATH VALLEY DUEL

LSU or Clemson: Who has the claim to the name?

BY AINSLEY FLOOD & TRE ALLEN Deputy Sports Editor & Staff Writer

Both share the same mascot, football prestige and stadium nickname “Death Valley.”

LSU and Clemson will meet on Aug. 30 in one of the biggest games not just of the week but of the year.

Both teams are loaded with talent on both sides of the ball, including veteran quarterbacks leading the way. For LSU, Garrett Nussmeier is coming off his first season as the starting quarterback, passing for over 4,000 yards with 29 passing touchdowns. As for Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, he’s coming off of leading his team to the first 12-team College Football Playoff.

Yet, this game is bigger than just a win or a loss — it’s about pride.

The debate of the Death Valleys is always a heated one and has been for decades.

Clemson was the first school to hold the title of Death Valley somewhere in the late 1940s, long before LSU.

Where the Death Valley debate began

The story starts in 1945 with another season opener between Clemson and its local rival, Presbyterian College Blue Hose. The Tigers showed no mercy, ending the game 76-0.

In part due to the dry heat of September, PC’s head coach, Lonnie McMillan, called the stadium “college football’s Death Valley.” Clemson’s head coach, Frank Howard, immediately embraced the name, and it soon stuck with the fans.

Further down south, LSU adopted a slightly altered version of the nickname.

Thurman “Crowe” Peele was a NCAA national champion boxer for LSU before he opened a gas and service station on the corner of Highland Road and State Street in the late 1960s.

“The joke was we could never go anywhere with him because he’d always see somebody,” Jason Peele said of his late father. “Mom hated it.”

According to him, his father was a key figure in the Baton Rouge community, always lending a helping hand and liked by everyone.

When it was game day in Tiger Stadium, the crowd could be heard all the way from Peele’s business. When he attended

games, he described the sound as deafening, which inspired his station’s name, “Deaf Valley Shell,” and it caught on within the community.

“Death Valley” didn’t come along until 1959, when LSU defeated Clemson 7-0 in the Sugar Bowl.

Despite the game not being in Tiger Stadium, the win inspired fans to take Clemson’s nickname as their own. That only ignited the debate, as it took another few decades of football for LSU to embrace the title.

Philip Shaheen graduated law school at LSU in 1962 and made it out to New Orleans for the 1959 game.

B-16 Hodges Hall

“I never recall it being referred to as Death Valley while I was there,” Shaheen said. It wasn’t until Bob Brodhead took over as LSU’s athletic director in 1982 and began heavily pushing the moniker that the stadium received national recognition as Death Valley.

The name grew in popularity, and in 2009, the stadium revealed a $3.1 million video display at the north end zone with letters that read “Welcome to Death Valley.”

How stadium size and volume factors in

Some believe the bigger, the better, especially in college football.

Clemson’s stadium holds 81,500, ranking as the 15th largest stadium in the country.

LSU holds 102,321, making it the 5th largest stadium. It’s also one of nine college stadiums that can hold more than 100,000 fans, giving it an advantage like no other.

The “pantheon of concrete” has produced many games that are etched into the LSU history books, none more than the 1988 matchup against Auburn, known as the “Earthquake Game.”

With two minutes remaining and down 6-0, LSU quarterback Tommy Hodson found wide receiver Eddie Fuller for an 11-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone on fourth down. LSU’s field goal won the game 7-6.

The seismograph installed on the floor of Howe-Russell Geoscience Complex, which was around 1,000 feet away from the stadium, registered the ground motion of the fans as an earthquake. That wasn’t the last time LSU fans shook the earth.

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see DEATH VALLEY, page 12

TORI HILL / The Reveille

LSU’s Tiger Stadium stands in the sun on March 13.

KATIE BRADHAM / The Clemson Tiger

Memorial Stadium, also known as Death Valley, is the home of Clemson football.

SPORTS

SUPERHUMAN

BY CHLOE RICHMOND Sports Editor

Odds are, Caden Durham is going to score a lot of touchdowns for LSU this year.

He’s slated as the lead running back for a team that badly wants to run the ball more and lost two running backs to legal troubles during the offseason. After a standout freshman year with 1,000 total yards and eight touchdowns, LSU will lean on him heavily to punch in points.

But his mom, Staneshia Bell, won’t even see all of those scores.

“People don’t know, but at the games I am so nervous,” Bell said. “Some of his touchdowns I don’t even see because I have my head down.”

It isn’t because she hasn’t seen him do great things or overcome hardships before. In fact, the challenge of the upcoming season is just another hurdle for Durham. He grew up a dualsport athlete and is known for putting in the work.

He’s originally from Oklahoma, where Bell settled after becoming an All-American for Oklahoma’s track team, but

he moved to Duncanville prior to his sophomore year of high school.

Bell said the move to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex area was difficult at first. Despite the early woes, Durham eventually eased into it ahead of his sophomore year at Duncanville High School.

The transition came with its challenges, as Duncanville is one of the largest schools in Texas. The 6A school has over 4,500 students enrolled and is no stranger to athletic talent.

“It was a mini college,” Bell said.

When they first moved, Bell thought her son would have to start all over, but like the hard worker he is, he “pushed his way up to the starting position.” He was the backup behind an outgoing senior, but it wasn’t a surprise to see him rise to the occasion, even while balancing being one of the best track athletes in the state.

As a dual-sport athlete, people around the school knew Durham was fast. Durham often joked with Jay Cosme, a teacher and basketball coach at Duncanville, and hounded him to race

him.

Cosme would always turn it down — he didn’t want Durham to have a freak accident in the middle of football season. One day, Durham finally convinced him, and ironically, a Durham slip led to Cosme winning the race.

“We have this inside joke where I tell him I still have four years of eligibility left, so tell coach [Brian Kelly] we can be the best running back duo in the country,” Cosme said with a laugh.

“There’s no way I’m faster than him,” Cosme admits.

Despite not coaching him directly, Cosme said it was easy to see his “infectious personality.” He described it as a switch he flips.

“On the field he’s joking, he’s laughing, he has this energetic personality,” Cosme said. “The moment he steps on that football field, he turns into a superhuman.”

How his work ethic sets him apart

Former Duncanville track and field coach Clayton Brookins has known Durham since he was just nine years old. Brookins consid-

ers Durham to be “an additional son” and had no doubts he’d become a star at Duncanville and at LSU, in whatever sport he wanted.

At Duncanville, Durham’s training in track and field correlated well with what he was trying to achieve on the football field. He was dedicated to the lifting and speed-enhancing workouts.

Many of his football teammates and other incoming Duncanville athletes saw Durham win on both fields — and they still look up to him now. Brookins said many players come through with the desire to work hard in a similar fashion to Durham. He added that Durham equally poured into both sports, which is why he was so successful.

“There’s a reason that track is around the football field,” Brookins said. “You gotta cross the track before you hit the football field, and he is the first guy I talk about as far as doing that. He’s the perfect kid to have the mindset to embrace it and actually put it to work.”

The work ethic he demonstrated as a dual-sport student

athlete was a true testament to his athletic dedication, Brookins said. The motto Brookins always shares with his athletes is “work before play,” and he said Durham is a clear-cut example of what it means to have that balance.

“He knew when it was time to be serious,” Brookins said. “He could flip that switch, and he was a leader. As he went, the team went — he was that guy.”

On the flip side, Durham brings the energy. Brookins said he would always “fire the guys up and joke around.” He appreciated this quality of Durham’s because he’d calm the team’s nerves and ease the tension, and he’d also know when to crack a joke and mess around.

What family means to his athletic success

Whether he’s running around the track or rushing the football field, his support system has always been the same: his family. Durham’s a big family guy, and Brookins labeled him “a mama’s boy.”

“He was always a ‘no, sir, yes, sir’ kid,” Brookins said. “In this day and age, that’s kind of rare.

ALEXIS PERSICKE / The Reveille LSU football freshman running back Caden Durham (29) holds onto the ball Sept. 14 during LSU’s 36-33 win over South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, Sc.

BY TRE ALLEN Staff Writer

TOUGH ASK

LSU secondary has to contend with excellent Clemson receivers

Defensive Back University, or “DBU,” has been a staple in LSU football history for decades. While the past few seasons have been forgettable, head coach Brian Kelly and his staff have brought in a handful of transfers and high school talent to revisit the golden age of DBU.

However, they won’t have any time to ease into the season, as they’ll have their hands full against the wide receiver corps for Clemson.

Clemson finished the season unranked in 2023, and one of the reasons was that there wasn’t enough explosiveness in the offense.

The Tigers brought in talented playmakers a season ago, who allowed their quarterback, Cade Klubnik, to truly thrive in the offense.

To start, they brought in two young, talented true freshmen in Bryant Wesco and T.J. Moore, who made an immediate impact.

Wesco is a four-star commit from Midlothian, Texas. He was second on the team in receiving yards with 708 yards and hauled in five touchdowns on the season.

Wesco is a true deep threat and is the type of guy to go up and make a contested catch. Any time Clemson throws the ball down the field for any big plays, there’s a good chance it’s Wesco

win against UCLA at Tiger Stadium.

on the other side of that.

For his first season in collegiate football, he demonstrated smooth route running, strong hands and the ability to make defenders miss after the play.

Moore came with Wesco in that 2024 freshman class and was ranked as the fourth-best receiver in the class according to 247 Sports.

Even as a freshman and playing with other great pass catchers, Moore still found a way to shine and make an impact for Clemson, hauling in 45 receptions, 651 yards and five touchdowns.

He finds a way to get open. He’ll run short and intermediate

routes, find space over the middle of the field and get downfield to make a play one-on-one. It’s clear that he’s a playmaker, and Clemson wants to give him the football in any way possible.

If there was one target that was a clear favorite for Klubnik last season, it was junior receiver Antonio Williams.

Williams led the team in receptions with 75, while the pass catcher with the second most receptions only had 49. He totaled 904 yards with those catches and made 11 of them touchdowns.

Williams is a jack-of-all-trades type of receiver. Clemson lines him up in the slot, on the outside, and will even give him handoffs.

LSU-Clemson reignites friendly divide for this Tiger family

BY GABBY GRAY Staff Writer

From tailgates to touchdowns, college football undeniably has a way of bringing people together, especially when it comes to families.

But what happens when a family is split between two teams? Especially two Tiger teams? Well, as the Tuten family proves, it only brings them closer.

Interviewed five years ago by KLFY in anticipation for the LSU versus Clemson matchup in the 2019 national championship, the Tutens were the local “divided house” in Lafayette, La.

Lainey Tuten is a longtime LSU football fan, and her husband Rye, a Clemson University history graduate. The couple has raised their four kids between the two Tigers with the sport being the heart of the family for years.

“I feel like there’s nothing that compares,” Lainey said about the bond that the sport forms between her and husband. “I love college

football, you know, there’s just not much better.”

Rye expressed the same sentiments behind the game and how it’s brought him closer to his wife, as well as their children. In 2019, the Tutens’ oldest son, Harrison, was starting middle school, and now as a junior in high school, he happens to be the only standing LSU fan in his family alongside his mom.

After moving to Alabama four years ago, the Tutens are closer to South Carolina, where they have attended games at Rye’s alma mater over the years.

“We lived in Lafayette for 18 years and raised our kids going to LSU games,” Lainey told the Reveille. “Slowly, three of them have converted to Clemson fans now that we’re closer to Clemson.”

This means that the family of six has gotten to experience both Memorial and Tiger Stadium together.

“I think that both stadiums will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up,” Rye said. “When

Not only is he incredibly shifty with the ball in his hands, but he’s also athletic enough to make catches in traffic over defenders.

And there’s more: Clemson rarely uses the transfer portal, and this year was no different, as they only brought in four players through the portal. One of the four players happened to be a wide receiver from Southeast Missouri State, Tristan Smith.

When the college football world saw Clemson use a transfer portal spot on a wide receiver, it caught people’s attention.

Smith had a great season at SEMO with 76 receptions, 934 yards and six touchdowns. He will be another experienced target for Klubnik, with tremendous size at 6-foot-5.

Clemson will also return its receiving leader from 2023 in Tyler Brown, who missed the majority of the season last year.

LSU head coach Brian Kelly already knows what challenge is ahead for his defense, especially with playmakers such as Williams and Wesco.

“Playmakers on the outside – Williams and Wesco are outstanding receivers,” Kelly said during Monday’s press conference.

But as for any coach and his team, he has confidence in the guys he’s brought in.

Kelly attacked the transfer portal, bringing in four transfers at the defensive back position:

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

you’re in Tiger Stadium on a Saturday night and the death march plays — it’s go-time and you can feel it in the air. And for Clemson it’s the same feeling, it’s like gladiators going to battle.”

Lainey voiced a slightly more biased opinion to Tiger Stadium’s atmosphere, given she grew up in Oppelousas, Louisiana, and frequently attended LSU games as a child. However, she still credits Clemson’s fanbase as gracious and inviting when it comes to tailgating.

On top of being known for their electric environments, each venue also has a history with the nickname “Death Valley.”

While Clemson claimed the name during the late 1940s, the story goes that LSU adopted it after its 1959 Sugar Bowl victory in Memorial Stadium. Despite the timeline, purple and gold Tiger fans have always been at odds with the purple and orange Tigers as to which stadium is the “real” Death Valley.

Mansoor Delane from Virginia Tech, Tamarcus Cooley from North Carolina State, AJ Haulcy from Houston and Ja’Keem Jackson from Florida.

Expect all of them to see the field this season, but Delane and Cooley particularly seem to have found their roles as starters.

The Tigers are also returning players like Ashton Stamps, who wants to solidify that other outside corner spot, and PJ Woodland, who has been taking strides in the right direction all camp.

Then you have an anomaly in the true freshman corner, DJ Pickett, who stands at 6-foot-5 and can see the field sooner rather than later.

“They have practiced, they have competed in the manner that we’ve thought that they would,” Kelly said. “They attack every practice, they’re our hardest workers. That, in my experience, has proven to be the differentiator between those guys that haven’t played a lot of football and have. They play with a swagger.”

A group filled with talent, experience and competitiveness is why Kelly believes in his secondary to take the challenge head-on against a talented group of wide receivers like Clemson’s.

“This is going to be a great challenge – one that we’re excited about, one that we’re up for, and any goal that you put out there is worthwhile unless it’s a challenge,” Kelly said.

We’ve got to put it all together, and that’s why there’s great anticipation going into Saturday.

I’ve done a pretty good job of becoming a better player, so I’m really excited to try and go out and put that on tape.

WHIT WEEKS Linebacker

” To go out there and get that win – it’ll just boost our confidence even more.

PAYTON PRICHARD / The Reveille

LSU football sophomore cornerback Ashton Stamps (1) attempts to take down a UCLA player Sept. 21 during LSU’s 34-17

GARRETT NUSSMEIER Quarterback

BRIAN KELLY Head Football Coach

Is Garrett Nussmeier really a potential Heisman winner?

BY ISABELLE CALLAHAN Staff Writer

LSU’s walls are lined with coaches and players and recordbreaking seasons; there isn’t much the Tigers haven’t accomplished. It’s a university where excellence isn’t just a mindset, it’s an expectation that the team can’t be short of.

This season, fifth-year quarterback Garrett Nussmeier returns to the pantheon of college football for his final season. A preseason Heisman campaign has already been mounted to put him in the bright spotlight, with expectations to add another legendary player to the LSU books. To further intensify the campaign, he was given jersey No. 18 this year, making him the first LSU quarterback in 20 years to wear it.

But is the “Nuss Buss” a true potential Heisman winner? After last season’s performance, Nuss meier is not even in the conversa tion, no matter how much people want him to be.

For the loyal Nussmeier lovers, where are these claims coming from? Fans all witnessed the train wreck that ended in an 8-4 perfor mance last season, which led many to question why he was even on the team.

Now, let’s put the numbers be hind the argument. In the long line of great quarterbacks that Nuss meier has to follow, it wouldn’t be entirely fair to compare him to oth er players, as everyone is different and not the same.

This is not to say he can’t throw the ball; he recorded 4,052 passing yards last season. However, what ultimately hurts this LSU offense is he’s not a dual-threat player like we have seen from previous quar terbacks.

Every time the offense got into an uncomfortable situation where he needed to run, it looked like he was petrified. While he wants to be in the Heisman conversation, he is going up against dual-threat guys like LaNorris Sellers, Arch Manning and Cade Klubnik.

In comparison, these three players had at least 103 rushing yards last season.

Sellers had 674 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns, and with a strong coach like Shane Beamer, that conversation about Sellers isn’t dying down; it’s just getting louder.

Can Nussmeier salvage Brian Kelly’s career at LSU?

This will be the fourth season for Kelly, and his time here in the boot has been everything short of remarkable. Coming from Notre Dame, his goal was to win an SEC Championship here at LSU. Well, so is every other coach’s dream.

Since he’s taken over, he’s seen numerous

commits slip through the cracks due to underperformance by LSU. The most notable thing he’s done at LSU during his three years is coaching Heisman winner Jayden Daniels, who had 1,134 rushing yards during his senior season at LSU. Nussmeier is recording negative rushing yards and hasn’t been able to be a dual-threat.

Although he is a good pocket player and can throw the ball, the Heisman conversation seems like an attempt to salvage Kelly’s career here at LSU and give the faithful fans hope that this season won’t bring the disappointment last year did.

I may be completely wrong, and Nussmeier may perform like no one else before, and I will admit that I could potentially be completely mistaken. However, as of right now, the fact still stands. His Heisman campaign needs to quiet down, and the focus should shift to helping him develop before the draft.

Clemson stadium sells alcohol for the first time

BY BRETT KEMPER Staff Writer

With Week 1 of the 2025 college football season just days away, LSU head coach Brian Kelly and his Tigers are making final adjustments before heading into a hostile Memorial Stadium environment, hoping to end a five-year trend of opening week defeats.

To the delight of both kinds of Tiger fans, for the first time in program history, Clemson will allow alcohol sales inside its football stadium.

Fans of the LSU Tigers and others in the SEC have enjoyed alcohol service in their stadiums since early 2019, when the conference lifted its alcohol ban. At Clemson, it just wasn’t a priority for the fans or the school administration, said Jon Allen, Clemson’s senior associate athletic director for facilities, operations and events.

In true fashion, however, the shift in attitude comes just in time for the Clemson Tigers, as No. 9 LSU travels to play No. 4 Clemson for the first time since LSU beat Clemson to win the 2019 national championship.

While the timing may feel poetic, Clemson’s decision wasn’t driven by the matchup. It’s been years in the making.

“This isn’t something where we said, ‘Oh, LSU’s coming to town, we need to figure this out,’” Allen said. “We’ve taken a fairly methodical kind of approach.”

The university planned to launch alcohol sales during basketball season last winter, but delays pushed the timeline back. Instead, Clemson tested alcohol sales during its spring football game in April and later expanded it to baseball, softball and even an appearance by the Savannah Bananas.

But Allen acknowledged the challenge that Clemson’s stadium operations staff will face.

“The first time we’ve ever done a football game — a game of this magnitude — is a tough assignment,” Allen said. “We will sell a lot, no doubt, and we will learn a lot. This will be the

most pressure-tested we’re going to get all season.”

With that in mind, Clemson has spent months preparing for the moment. There will be drink limits per transaction, ID checks at all points of sale, no sales after the third quarter and increased medical and security presence. Still, Allen knows the real challenge may come after the final whistle.

“You’re literally adding another element here,” Allen said. “If we’re not prepared, we’re going to be swimming in aluminum cans.”

Clemson has worked with its janitorial provider and campus recycling team to brace for the influx of recyclable trash, and while that sounds like a logistical nightmare, it turns out it’s also a point of pride.

“There’s actually national recycling competitions between universities,” Allen said. “LSU and Clemson have been neck and neck before — literal recycling national champions. Our campus team is fired up.”

For Clemson, this is more than just a policy update. It’s a cultural shift. While it has embraced the modern wave of in-stadium alcohol sales, Allen emphasized that protecting the program’s family-oriented environment remains a top priority.

“We have a pretty good fan base here at Clemson, and you guys have a good fan base at LSU,” Allen said. “But there is an emphasis on family values and all of that here. While we want it to be rowdy and loud, let’s do it in a sportsmanlike way. I certainly hope [alcohol sales] don’t negatively influence that.”

“I’m hoping the family of four coming with two young kids can still enjoy the game and this doesn’t negatively impact their experience in any way, shape, or form,” Allen said.

So, how will Clemson handle its first beer-fueled football crowd?

“We feel like we’ve got a good plan in place,” Allen said. “We’ve been working hard to get here, and we’re excited to get this one under our belt.”

GENE PUSKAR / AP Photo

April 7, 2014, file photo, aluminum bottles of Bud Light beer are on display at Alcoa headquarters in Pittsburgh.

NEWS

TRAVEL BANS

How have they affected international LSU students?

BY LIV TEES & JASON WILLIS Deputy News Editor & Editor in Chief

Some incoming LSU international students have been barred from entering the country and attending the university because of a travel ban instituted by the Trump administration, internal emails obtained by the Reveille from the university’s International Student Services reveal.

“All my dreams and goals have been shattered,” one student said in an email to ISS after receiving the news of the travel ban.

The travel ban was a proclamation issued on June 4 by President Donald Trump’s office completely or partially prohibiting travel from 19 countries to the U.S.

ISS told the Reveille it didn’t yet have the number of students now unable to attend the university because of the travel ban, as check-in is still ongoing.

The university had 152 students from the banned countries in spring 2025, including 134 from Iran, according to LSU enrollment data.

Students affected by the travel ban

After the ban was issued, ISS advised returning students from affected countries that already had visas to get to the U.S. as quickly as they could before the order went into effect on June 9.

New students and scholars, however, wouldn’t be able to make it into the U.S. in time under their I-20 forms and therefore couldn’t attend LSU. The beginning date that an I-20 allows a student to be in the U.S. — 30 days before their program’s start date — was after June 9.

“Our hearts are heavy as we send this email,” ISS said in its mass email to those students barred from attending school.

The options for those students who were unable to make it to campus were to defer enrollment indefinitely or enroll in LSU Online, ISS said in emails.

It’s unclear at this time when Trump’s travel ban will expire.

Many students reached out to ISS regarding the visa and travel ban challenges, emails showed.

Several of them asked for ISS to advocate for them. These students’ information, including names and nationalities, was redacted by LSU.

“Is there any way you could be our voice and help ensure that the efforts and aspirations of so many dedicated students are not lost?” one student banned from travel said in an email to ISS.

“It feels unjust to categorize [redacted] in this manner, as we have never participated in terrorist activities,” another student said to ISS in an email.

ISS generally responded to these messages by saying it had “shared students’ concerns with LSU administration” and it would “keep students informed of any updates,” according to emails.

In at least one respondent email, ISS said it was “troubled by the additional challenges to prospective students.”

A visa interview pause for international students instituted by the Trump administration in late May also slowed some LSU students, according to ISS emails.

That has since been lifted, though the subsequent backlog and a new social media review process that was the reason for

the pause has caused delays in visa approval, ISS emails showed.

Fear of deportation

One international student whose home country isn’t included in the travel ban said that many international students feel they must always be careful to avoid deportation and prepared for the day they might not return to their apartment.

“I had a career and I put it on hold to become a student again,” the student told the Reveille. “I don’t want to sabotage that in any way, so I just have to be careful.”

Under Trump, the U.S. has revoked around 6,000 student visas with 4,000 of them because of violations against U.S. law. ICE has detained some international students residing in the U.S. legally, most notably Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student who was released in June after three months. It’s created a fear that the same thing could happen to other international students.

The same student said he and his peers often have conversations about what to do if someone disappears one day, and they’ve discussed contingency plans.

“If I don’t return by this time, you need to be careful and ask around,” the student said as an example of the conversations. “I may have been detained by an ICE agent or somebody might have come and just arrested me.”

International students were also sent an email in April from ISS that the Reveille obtained about phone calls from scammers claiming the student will be deported if they don’t pay

Hit-and-runs rising on campus. What LSUPD says

BY TORI BONIN Staff Writer

LSUPD is warning students about the increasing number of hit-and-run vehicle collisions on campus, many of which are happening in residential and commuter lots, and how they can be avoided.

According to LSUPD’s Initial Daily Crime Log, there have been 13 hit-and-runs between vehicles on campus this month alone. Most, LSUPD Chief Marshall Walters says, are minor but must be handled by calling LSUPD to avoid criminal charges.

money, a threat students have paid attention to given the current climate.

“We have heard of students getting phone calls from scammers stating the student will be deported unless they pay money to the scammers,” ISS said in the mass email.

ISS assured students that government agencies don’t contact students by phone unless they were contacted first and advised students not to give out personal or financial information over the phone.

Shortly after, on May 13, the FBI issued an official public service announcement “warning the public about a fraud scheme targeting foreign individuals lawfully residing in the United States on valid student visas.”

Behind the scenery: Meet the team that tends to LSU grounds

BY TORI BONIN Staff Writer

Behind the oak trees, flower petals and rose bushes, students all across LSU campus use the scenery as an escape and a place to connect with each other.

“I like being surrounded by people when I’m doing school or studying, so I can watch people,” Alexandria Bonin, a freshman studying mass communications said. “Those places just tend to have the most going on while also being calm enough for me to focus.”

The LSU Landscape Services department is responsible for

maintaining and enhancing the 1,200 acres of the university’s vast campus. They are responsible for creating the environment that is welcoming and inviting not only to students, but to the 1 million visitors per year that visit the campus.

Kyle Carlock serves as the horticulture, arboriculture and project manager for the university’s Landscape Services department. Carlock has always had a love of plants and making something beautiful out of nothing.

“I’ve been involved with landscape from just a toddler,” Carlock said. “I’ve always enjoyed being outside and getting my hands

dirty and just making something out of nothing. Make it beautiful.”

Once a student himself, Carlock graduated from LSU with a degree in landscape and turf management. He recalls the sense of peace he would find in a nice place to study, specifically Memorial Oak Grove.

“It kind of isolates you from the other campus. It’s a beautiful spot to just sit and relax and take a deep breath,” Carlock said.

The Memorial Oak Grove was established in the 1920s as a living memorial for LSU students and alumni that lost their lives in World War I. Each tree represents a fallen soldier. In recent

years Landscape Services’ Spring Greening initiative revamped the area into the place it is today.

LSU Landscape Services has a team of over 60 people that tend to everything from the oak trees to the flower bushes. Jeffrey Brocato serves as director of Landscape Services and wishes students knew about all the volunteer opportunities that the department has.

“I wish they would know there’s different things they can participate in,” Brocato said.

“We have many different campus cleanup projects that students can also volunteer for. We have a campus walk, a campus light

walk. Students can walk the campus at night, and if they see lights that are out, they can reach out to facility services and let us know what’s going on.”

In April, the LSU Department of Scenery held its annual Spring Greening Day. Students volunteered to help beautify the area around Memorial Tower. In past Spring Greening days they have helped beautify the Greek Amphitheater, Tower Drive and more.

Students wanting to get involved in helping keep LSU’s campus beautiful can contact Landscape Services or LSU’s Campus Sustainability office.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TAAMMY MILLICAN

Volunteers plant bushes on LSU’s Baton Rouge campus during Landscape Service’s spring Greening Initiative.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TAMMY MILLICAN Volunteers plant greenery on LSU’s Baton Rouge campus during Landscape Service’s spring Greening Initiative.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TAMMY MILLICAN

Volunteers plant greenery on LSU’s Baton Rouge campus during Landscape Service’s spring Greening Initiative.

ENTERTAINMENT

Fuel up this season with these favorite vendors in Tiger Stadium

BY CHLOE RICHMOND Sports Editor

The gates of Tiger Stadium open up for LSU football’s first home game on Sept. 6 against Louisiana Tech University, and fans are in for a treat both on and off the field.

This season’s plethora of attendees are hungry for a championship win and yummy food to go along with it. A food tasting on Aug. 22 showcased some of the vendors that will be available, and it didn’t disappoint. Here are a few options to consider on the way to your seats in Tiger Stadium.

The Peach Cobbler Factory

This Fort Lauderdale-based dessert chain is quickly expanding, making its name well-known across the country. For the second year in a row, The Peach Cobbler Factory will be in Tiger Stadium offering its signature peach cobbler and a few other options.

Iris Nettles is the owner of the Baton Rouge, Gonzales and Zachary locations. She also monitors a mobile unit in Denham Springs. She’s looking forward to bringing more than just cobbler to the stadium, including cinnamon rolls and bread puddings.

“They showed support, they showed love,” Nettles said about the fans during her first year in Tiger Stadium. “We hope the second year goes better.”

Leroy’s LipSmack’n Lemonade

Leroy’s LipSmack’n Lemonade is a family-owned business that’s been in Tiger Stadium for seven years. Before 18-year-old Leroy Hayward was the face of a local lemonade business, he was just a 6-year-old with a lemonade stand on National Lemonade Day.

This lemonade is a perfect refreshment option amid all the gameday celebrations. The best part is, a portion of every pur-

chase is donated toward Children’s Hospitals.

“It started for fun to find something to do,” Sherilyn Hayward, Leroy’s mother, said. “Now it’s this great business.”

KOK Wings and Things

If there’s any spot you should consider hitting early, it’s KOK Wings and Things. A 10-piece boneless wing combo was offered last season, and at the food tasting, it’s chicken wings were quick to go.

Everbowl

Everbowl was new to Tiger Stadium last season. Stephen Walker, the owner of the Lafayette location and the one on Nicholson, is ready to show more fans what Everbowl offers in the build-yourbowl world.

“It took a little time to build awareness for people to find out that we’re there and what we do, but [last season] was great,” Walker said.

Tre’s Street Kitchen Owner Tremaine Devine and

operations manager Allen Brown bring their respective backgrounds from Chicago and New York to share bold flavors with Tiger fans. They’ll have their birria nachos available this season

They both came from finedining experience and use that background to best serve LSU and other surrounding areas.

“We offer anything, from Caribbean to midwest food,” Brown said. “I love these students and developing new relationships.”

Aramark

Aramark is a staple in the Tiger Stadium food offerings, having served LSU fans since 2017. It has unique offerings like crawfish nachos, foot-long Cajun-style hotdogs and burgers.

Shakebacks

As one of the newest additions to the list, Shakebacks will bring its renditions of popular southern dishes to Tiger Stadium. The Lafayette business offers comfort food from boudin balls to bread pudding.

PUZZLES

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE HAYWARD FAMILY

Leroy’s Lipsmack’n Lemonade in Tiger Stadium.

CHLOE RICHMOND/ The Reveille

Pulled pork nachos from Tre’s Kitchen in Tiger Stadium.

Daily Commuter Puzzle by Stella Zawistowski

10 movies and show recommendations to start your semester

BY SARAH WALTON Staff Writer

With the start of the new school year, it’s a given that students are going to encounter a lot of new experiences and have a little free time before classes ramp up. Here are some recommendations for those looking for movies and shows that give that back to college feeling.

Grown-ish

As the sequel to the beloved show “Black-ish,” “Grownish” follows the older siblings of the Johnson family as Zoey starts college and adult life. The show follows all the drama and tribulations one would expect from living away from home for the first time.

Community

With 6 seasons and a movie, “Community” is one of those iconic 2010 comedies that is hard to not fall in love with. The wild and hilarious show follows a wide cast of characters as they work towards getting their degrees.

Going to college can be an incredibly freeing and wild time. “The Sex Lives of College Girls” follows freshman roommates Whitney, Leighton, Kimberly and Bela as they navigate college life and relationships. Sex Lives of College Girls

Boy Meets World

Growing up can feel so complicated and fly past so quick, and “Boy Meets World,” the nostalgia-laden ‘90s show, exemplifies that perfectly. The show follows Cory Matthews and his friends Topanga, Shawn and Angela as they explore and grow into adults. Seasons 6 and 7 are the collegespecific seasons.

Normal People

Based on the award-winning novel by Sally Rooney, “Normal People” follows Connell and Marianne as they leave their small town in Ireland to go to the University of Dublin. The show and these developing main characters are the epitome of a life-shattering college situationship.

Lady Bird

The breakout film for beloved director Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird” is the perfect coming-of-age movie, especially for girls with a not-so-great relationship with their moms. Starring Irish-American star Saoisre Ronan, “Lady Bird” is the perfect film for anyone missing home or dealing with growing pains.

Gilmore Girls

Fall is coming, and watching the coziest fall show of the early 2000s is the perfect way to get into the fall and school mood.

“Gilmore Girls” follows mom and daughter pair Lorelai and Rory as they grow and change together. Much of Rory’s storyline follows

Scream Queens

Whether or not you’re in a sorority or a fraternity, “Scream Queens” is the perfect campy horror show to watch. Chanel Oberlin is the queen bee of popular sorority Kappa, but when a serial killer arrives on campus, she and the other girls in Kappa must try to survive and uncover the mystery of this devilish killer.

her journey as she prepares for college and ends up attending Yale. Rory, a journalism major, experiences all the life and drama college years bring, while also having a place to return to with her mom. Seasons 4 to 7 take place as Rory goes to school.

Pitch Perfect

Known as one of the most iconic collegiate movies ever made (and filmed right on LSU’s campus) “Pitch Perfect” is a great first-time watch for fans of music and anyone starting college. The movie follows Beca, a freshman at Barden University, as she joins the Barden Bellas and falls into the world of collegiate acapella.

Monsters University

When starting a new phase in life, it’s always good to bring back a little nostalgia into one’s life. For all those who grew up with Pixar, the first week of college might be a great time to go back and watch “Monsters University.” The 2013 prequel to “Monsters Inc.” channels the goofy antics of college life with the narrative of finding who you are in a new environment.

Clemson and LSU student newspapers are collaborating

BY THE REVEILLE & THE TIGER

The Reveille is partnering with Clemson’s student newspaper The Tiger to preview the highly-anticipated top-10 matchup on Saturday in Clemson. We recommend filling the time in between by reading the excellent content our two student newspapers have produced. You can find The Tiger’s special section at thetigercu. com.

When this matchup was announced back in 2018, the matchup sounded like it was made in heaven.

Tigers and Tigers. Louisiana and South Carolina. Cajun and Southern barbecue. It’s two college football fanbases that are colliding for a melting pot of different cultures.

With plenty of differences, there is one thing for sure: each Tiger fan loves their football on Saturday. Every week, tens of thousands of die-hard fans from Baton Rouge and Clemson pour into Tiger Stadium and Memorial Stadium, respectively two of the best places to be when watching a college football game.

Regardless of what you think about either side, this homeand-home battle over the next

two years will help to answer the question about which Tiger team can hold the moniker of being “the real Death Valley.”

The battle over Death Valley between the two schools goes back many years, and we dug deep into history thanks to the help of divided fans, families and spectators.

History, traditions and the crowd will put fans on either side of the coin, but it will be the results on each football field that will dictate what the outside world will think for years to come.

These two teams have only met twice in our lifetimes, but each hold a special place in our hearts for one reason or another. For one, it’s a national championship win with one of the most memorable teams in the modern era. For the other, it was a close postseason win that revolutionized the program to what we see today.

While the times when the Tigers and Tigers meet is scarce, it’s up to the student journalists to present what both schools truly bring to the table, which began the idea to form this head-to-head series over the summer.

In this edition, you’ll see multiple perspectives from the

LSU and Clemson side, celebrating the history of each team, what they bring to the table — or the tailgate — and the expec tation of a top 10 matchup.

This Week One contest will be each Tiger quarterback’s first case for the Heisman Trophy. The preseason odds are tied for LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, so this match will be an early glimpse at who could be in New York City at the end of the year.

It’s a special time to be a college football fan, with a new 12-team playoff for two postseason hopefuls, meaning the fun is only beginning while the summer begins to die down.

No matter which Tiger team you support on Saturday night, we hope you enjoy this special head-tohead edition and the match up between Clemson and LSU at Memorial Stadium on Aug. 30.

Sincerely,

Griffin Barfield, sports editor for The Tiger

Chloe Richmond, sports editor for The Reveille

Clemson-LSU is a clash of two very different tailgating cultures

BY WESTON GRANT

With the season opener less than a week away, Clemson and LSU look to start their season strong with a signature win; however, the game is more than just two powerhouses meeting on the field. It’s a clash of cultures, traditions and fanbases that live and breathe college football.

The similarities are obvious: both schools reside in the southeast, boast a history of dominance, proudly claim their stadium as the “real” Death Valley, call themselves the Tigers and are led by Heisman-hopeful quarterbacks. But step beyond the field and you’ll quickly see the two different flavors of college football.

The setting, the fans and the spirit

Clemson, South Carolina, is the quintessential college town. Tucked into the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and perched beside Lake Hartwell, the town transforms into a sea of orange on game day. The community revolves around the University, and you can feel warmth and hospitality most during a game day.

Games in small-town Clemson feel like one giant family reunion. The orange and purple aren’t just colors — they’re a way of life. The atmosphere is welcoming, people are easygoing and the experience reflects that close-knit charm.

Travel 700 miles southwest, and the atmosphere couldn’t be more different.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a state capital infused with Cajun and college football. Game days feel more like a festival, with the city carrying the energy influenced by nearby New Orleans — often resembling a Mardi Gras-style celebration.

LSU fans lean into their reputation among the rowdiest in college sports. Tiger Stadium is known for its deafening crowds and ability to intimidate opposing players and crowds like no other. LSU fans are

unapologetically proud and determined to make Death Valley one of the best environments in the sport.

If Clemson is a family, LSU is a party. Both are equally passionate, just expressed in their own ways.

Traditions, food and game day tastes

The same contrast shows up in

each school’s traditions and game day taste.

Clemson revolves around ritual. Fans begin their days tailgating hours before kickoff, filling themselves up with southern staples like pulled pork barbecue, fried chicken and pimento cheese before heading into the stadium.

Still, before the game begins, head coach Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers touch Howard’s Rock and charge down the hill in one of

football’s most iconic entrances — deemed “the most exciting 25 seconds of college football.”

The crowd’s roar and the band’s playing of Tiger Rag give Clemson an unmatched electricity and a tradition that’s hard to beat.

LSU, meanwhile, elevates its Saturdays to an all-out cultural event.

The Tigers are famous for their night games, where “It’s Saturday Night in Death Valley” has become a powerful tradition embodying the passion of over 100,000 people. The atmosphere is relentless, and intimidation is undeniable.

In Louisiana, football and food are inseparable. Baton Rouge tailgates are iconic, known for their jambalaya, crawfish and gumbo simmering in pots and ability to feed anyone and everyone.

The music, dancing and food make LSU seem as much like a Cajun festival as a sporting event in an environment you won’t get anywhere else in the country.

Two Death Valleys, two different worlds

The Clemson and LSU opener won’t just set the tone for the season, but will also shine a light on what makes college football special.

From small-town traditions to culture-filled celebrations, both schools bring a unique feel. No matter which Tiger ends up on top, fans will be reminded that the culture around the game is just as unforgettable as the action on the field.

Clemson Tiger Senior Reporter

MATTHEW PERSCHALL / The Reveille

Students tailgate on the Parade Ground Nov. 18, 2023, prior to an LSU football game in Baton Rouge, La.

PREDICTIONS

The Reveille

It’ll be close for much of the game, but Clemson seems more fit to finish under pressure.

LSU 22-28 Clemson

Chloe Richmond, Sports Editor

Five years is a long time to go without winning your season-opener, and I think the curse could be broken this year – barely.

LSU 30-27 Clemson

Ainsley Flood, Deputy Sports Editor

I believe the Tigers leave Clemson with a statement win, surviving a fourthquarter showdown behind a huge defensive stand

LSU 31-28 Clemson

Brett Kemper, Sports Reporter

The Tiger

I think retention is key, I think home field advantage is key. Give me Clemson.

Clemson 27-23 LSU

Griffin Barfield, Sports Editor

If LSU’s offensive line holds up, it’ll be more than ready for this cat fight against Clemson.

LSU 29-28 Clemson

Gabby Gray, Sports Reporter

I give Clemson 85 and LSU 2.

I am so stoked for this game, but I think Clemson is going to win.

Clemson 27-23 LSU

Amberly Miller, Business Manager

The game is won in the trenches, and I believe that the Clemson pass rush will be too much for the LSU offensive line.

LSU 27-34 Clemson

Tre Allen, Senior Sports Reporter

Clemson 85-2 LSU

Thomas Merzak, TimeOut Editor

I think both teams are going to be a little rusty coming out, but I have Clemson coming out on top.

Clemson 31-23 LSU

Brian Warner, Podcast Editor

It’s also hard to think of a more confident quarterback than Garrett Nussmeier.

LSU 35-28 Clemson

Ross Abboud, Sports Reporter

Clemson has some game wreckers up front with their front seven. “

Clemson 34-31 LSU

Toby Corriston, Assistant Sports Editor

I think Clemson’s going to win 42-24. “

Clemson 42-24 LSU

Kat Pugh, Editor in Chief

DEATH

VALLEY, from page 2

In 2022, LSU pulled off a touchdown and two-point conversion while trailing in overtime, and both moments registered on the school’s seismograph.

In 2007, LSU defeated the Gators 28-24, and when fullback Jacob Hester crossed the goal line to take the lead, Tiger Stadium erupted, causing the crowd noise to reach 130 decibels.

Clemson’s no stranger to earthquakes, though. It has proved that its stadium can be just as loud despite its size.

In that same season, Memorial Stadium also recorded a ground-rattling game when they took on Boston College. The seismograph read 133 decibels, making it one of the loudest college football games ever.

What fans have to say

One football fan had the chance to see both teams on their home turf.

Logan Caymol originally committed to Tennessee but changed her mind when Clemson announced the creation of its softball program in 2017.

She’s now a student at LSU Law.

The Clemson orange runs deep in her family. Her grandfather, Billy Ammons, played quarterback from 1966 to 1968.

“Both are super exciting and electric fan bases; however, I definitely am biased towards Clemson given the fact that my grandfather played quarterback there, both my parents and brother graduated from there along with me and that my first Clemson game was at only three months old,” Caymol said.

Having experienced both stadiums and environments, she noticed some key differences between them.

“Regarding stadiums, I did feel like LSU was considerably bigger, but not as loud in the ear,” Caymol said. “Clemson is smaller and more compact, so when the whole crowd is roaring, it feels like your eardrums are going to burst.”

While she admits that Tiger Stadium is considerably bigger, for her, the true Death Valley lies in Clemson.

“When they run down the hill, especially for night games, I truly think it’s the most excit-

ing 25 seconds in college football,” Caymol said. “LSU’s fans are very passionate, and they definitely stay that way through all four quarters, but there’s something about Clemson that gives you an unexplainable rush. Watching Dabo and the team run down the hill and seeing the balloons everywhere and hearing the C-L-E-M-S-O-N chant from everyone in there makes it super hard to beat.”

The history, stadium and crowd have all played a part in the debate throughout the years, but winning could be the deciding factor.

Fortunately for both teams, they’ve protected their home turf extremely well. Since 2015, Clemson has a home record of 63-5, while LSU’s is 55-10.

“You want great habits when they’re needed, when you’re on the road and you’re playing at ‘Death Valley Junior.’ Not the Death Valley,” LSU head coach Brian Kelly said.

Since the two teams have never faced on Clemson’s home turf before, this game will be imperative to the question: “Who deserves the title of Death Valley?”

TIGER

FAMILY, from page 4

“Obviously I’m going to say that the one in Clemson, South Carolina, is the real Death Valley. And I think Lainey would probably say the one in Baton Rouge is the real Death Valley,” Rye said.

Regardless of the debate between the couple, their family will find themselves at Clemson’s Death Valley for the season opener this year.

“I really feel like this season Clemson is going to come out swinging,” Rye said. “Our offensive line is probably the best offensive line we’ve had in the last four or five years.”

Rye positively credited head coach Dabo Swinney’s work to rebuild his program for this season, as well as the new addition of de -

fensive coordinator Tom Allen.

Allen, who previously coached for the Indiana Hoosiers and most recently Penn State, joined Clemson’s coaching staff in January.

“We know what he did at Penn State,” Rye commented. “They had stellar defenses there.”

On that note, the Tutens provided the Reveille with score predictions for this weekend’s game.

“I think it’s going to be something like 30-14 or 30-17, Clemson winning,” Rye said.

Lainey, of course, is rooting for the Bayou Bengals this year and predicts that LSU will win in a close 24-21 matchup.

No matter what Tiger comes out on top, this family will walk home with a win either way as they celebrate their special bond with one another.

ROAD TO LSU, from page 3

I was always impressed by his upbringing from his mom and dad.”

Before Durham arrived at LSU, he led Duncanville football to back-to-back state championships in his junior and senior years. In his final game for Duncanville, he led the way with over 200 yards in just the first half and finished with three touchdowns to win the state title.

But that huge performance had a motivating factor behind it. Durham shared a special bond with his grandmother, and ahead of that state championship game, he got a call that almost kept him off the field. His grandmother was sick, and Durham’s mom said it took a huge toll on him.

“His grandma told him, ‘Hey, go out there and do what you do,’” Bell said.

His grandma ended up passing away in February 2024, but Durham keeps her and his oth-

er late grandma close with him at LSU. He writes both of their names on his wrist wrap as motivation because he wants to make them proud, Bell said.

Durham’s family-first mentality goes beyond that, though. He lives with his older brother and spoils his 12-year-old sister, the baby of the family.

“They FaceTime each other every single day,” Bell said with a laugh. “Not a day goes by that we don’t or they don’t talk on the phone.”

All eyes are on Durham for his sophomore season, including his family’s. His mom knows he’s got a lot to prove,and a lot is expected of him. No matter what, though, she said “it’s a dream come true” for her boy to be competing with the Tigers.

“Watching him from a young boy to now, I’m just thrilled,” Bell said. “I can’t believe it. His dedication, his passion for the sports; he’s grown up a lot since he’s been at LSU.”

ALEXIS PERSICKE / The Reveille

LSU football freshman running back Caden Durham (29) runs through defenders Sept. 14th during LSU’s 36-33 win over South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, Sc.

The Reveille file photo

A look at the new LSU Tiger Stadium scoreboard on Oct. 12 on North Stadium Road in Baton Rouge, La.

Junior cornerback

Freshman

Landon

TIGERS GEAUX

GEAUX TIGERS

Quarterback

Ju’Juan Johnson

LSU football prepares for the season with annual camp on Friday, August 15 at the LSU Indoor Practice Facility.

Garrett Nussmeier (13) passes the ball to running back

(8).

Freshman safety CJ

Jimcoily (31) catches the ball.

LSU football quarterbacks get coached at practice.

Ashton Stamps (1) cathes the ball.

Craig (81) and 5th-year-senior Bauer Sharp (10) run drills.

5th-year-senior Gabe Leonards (49) runs drills.

OPINION

Someone has to say it — tailgating is embarrassing and trashy

TANTAWI’S TALKS

MOHAMMAD TANTAWI Columnist

Many see football season as a joyous occasion, late nights and unforgettable memories.

Apologies in advance for any enthusiasm I drain, but someone has to say it — chronic tailgating, game attending and Tigerland roaming is the epitome of cringey behavior.

For all of the skin-crawling, lame sights I’ll witness in my life, none will make me cringe like watching LSU game day festivities unravel into a trashy party of drunk jaywalkers roaming from Tiger Stadium to Tigerland.

Ingrained in the entire philosophy of game day is a trashy representation of football player worship, alcohol fixation and an absence of common sensibilities.

If you don’t believe me, let’s pose a few scenarios.

First, imagine tailgating with no alcohol. We’d lose 90% of people. With the campus churches’ free hot dogs and Coke being so highly coveted, it’d start looking like a religious rave. The allure is

An LSU fan cheers during ESPN College GameDay on Nov. 9 in the Quad on LSU Campus in Baton Rouge, La.

not genuine support for football players dedicating their lives to a craft millions enjoy — it’s relishing in another socially acceptable environment to over consume alcohol. While players stay in shape, we taint ourselves watching them battle for our entertainment.

Second, imagine The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) and The Interfraternity Council (IFC)

tailgating together. Maybe in heaven, when we’re all equal, but for now, the primarly white fraternities remain the cooler entity on the parade grounds while the IFC are exiled backstage behind the union.

Third, imagine being a football program that is accustomed to winning, relishing and supporting its current roster by wearing

their merch to games. Couldn’t be us because Joe “Burreaux” is like the toxic boyfriend we can’t let go of.

Now, I’ve had my fair share of good experiences at tailgates, but the innate flaws are undeniable and as people get increasingly intoxicated, it reminds me of the times I’ve walked into a packed bar sober toward the end of the night. Everyone looks crazy except I’m the lunatic who denies having a “good time.”

I understand the word fan is short for fanatic and tailgating itself is an event of fanaticism, but the flaws connected to how LSU does it must be addressed.

Unfortunately, the longer I observed game day festivities, I realized it was less about the football team and more about an excuse to trash our campus and indulge in alcohol. Tailgating resembles Mardi Gras, where the greatest aspects of our society involve trashing our community, while poorer, blue collar workers (mostly minorities) come to clean up behind us.

You wouldn’t let a stranger clean your home, yet we allow non-college students to come behind us and pick up after ourselves. An embarrassing testa-

ment to the privilege that is a part of being a college student.

Students come to escape poverty and yet, we make our campus resemble the exact situations many are studying to avoid.

Ask yourself why the parade grounds are for primarily white Greek Life while behind our Student Union lies the African-American Greek Life.

Ask yourself why celebration is tied to trashing a campus that you pay tens of thousands of dollars to. The institution of higher learning that is so respected and revered becomes a laughing stock with beer and White Claw cans scattered across the grass.

Ask yourself how long will a Joe Burrow jersey continue to be a trend? Why does it continue to be? Spoiler: it’s the inability of fans to let go of the past, because the present is not trendy and closer to mediocre (face it, we’re a baseball school).

There is no shame in tailgating, but take a moment this season to see what else could be changed so our aims of an all inclusive community can one day be achieved.

Mohammad Tantawi is a 24-yearold mass communication senior from Smyrna, Tenn.

Parking nightmare could be fixed by admitting fewer students

SAVOY’S SCOOP

CADE SAVOY Columnist

Monday, Aug. 25, 2025: A day that will live in infamy.

8 a.m.: I wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for my first day of classes. “Geaux Tigers,” I think to myself.

8:30 a.m.: As I scarf down a granola bar, I mentally prepare myself for 50 minutes of POLI 4080: American Political Thought. I’m tired, but at least I’m thinking. “Good start,” I tell myself.

8:45 a.m.: I realize that since I couldn’t get a parking pass, I have to leave my apartment 15 minutes earlier than I normally would to get to class on time. Walking is less efficient than driving, but at least I’ll get my steps in.

9 a.m.: I’m walking along the Burbank biking lane, and it occurs to me that it’s hot. I see a kid

EDITORIAL BOARD

Jason Willis Editor in Chief

Olivia Tomlinson

Managing Editor

Courtney Bell News Editor

Chloe Richmond

Sports Editor

Garrett McEntee Opinion Editor

on a scooter waiting at the median. “Could be worse,” I think.

9:15 a.m.: I pass Williams Hall. Only five minutes to go. I consider investing in a scooter.

9:20 a.m.: As I wipe the sweat off my back in the Coates bathroom, I thank God for the foresight to wear black. As I reflect on my preceding half-hour sojourn, I conclude: this is getting ridiculous.

If the above timeline resonates with you, you’re not alone. LSU is out of parking passes, and as of last week, the waiting list to obtain one is at least 900 students long.

Of course, students who purchase a $50 “Park & Geaux” pass can park in the Tger Park East lot and take a shuttle to campus. But as Brandon Reynolds, a graduate student in the Department of Communication Studies, told me in an interview this week, “I was late for my meeting because my bus ran 15 minutes behind. This is unacceptable.”

For incoming freshmen and

students new to campus, the parking crisis may seem like an aberration. But it isn’t. LSU not having enough parking space to accommodate its students is a symptom of a broader problem: we’re admitting too many students.

In 2024, LSU admitted 7,912 first-year students, the most in the school’s history. At the time, then-President William F. Tate IV said the university would need to undergo significant infrastructure developments to sustain its growing student body. The sweat stains on my shirt reveal that it hasn’t.

But it’s not just parking. Oncampus housing is over capacity, causing LSU to temporarily relocate over 170 students to the Lod Cook Hotel and Ion Apartments. Class sizes remain high, which, as one Reveille columnist commented in 2017, is “detrimental to LSU students.” And last year, the waiting list for an advising appointment in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences was

so long that I had to wait until July to find an open slot.

One solution is that LSU could deliver on Tate’s promise and bolster its infrastructure. Clearly, that’s not going well. Therefore, an easier and more sustainable solution is that LSU should admit fewer students.

Most obviously, placing stricter limits on the number of students it admits would prevent LSU from having to constantly invest in new infrastructure projects. One reason a large student body might seem attractive to university administration is because it allows them to make more money in tuition — a financial boon that outweighs the cost of expanding capacity.

That view is misguided. For one, as a public institution, LSU should care more about the quality of the product its students receive than reaping surplus profits. We don’t pay thousands of dollars in tuition to wait in queues for parking passes and advising appointments or to fade

into the background of auditorium-sized lecture halls. We deserve better.

But also, prioritizing stretching campus capacity beyond its limits over improving existing educational infrastructure undermines the university’s longterm goals. The growth of LSU’s student body is driven by outof-state students. These students are attracted to LSU because of the many resources it has historically offered the student body. Allowing those resources to crumble under the weight of progressively larger freshmen classes minimizes the incentive for out-of-state students to come to Baton Rouge in the first place.

We’re fours days into the semester, and I’m already tired of walking to class. Louisiana’s flagship university is in critical condition, and limiting admits is its only lifeline.

Cade Savoy is a 20-year-old political science and philosophy major from Breaux Bridge, La.

Editorial Policies and Procedures Quote of the Week

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.

“The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

PAYTON PRICHARD / The Reveille

LET’S SETTLE IT

Which Death Valley is better? Two writers from rival schools argue

BY BRETT KEMPER

Staff Writer

The hype for this Saturday’s LSU-Clemson matchup is sky-high. Playoff stakes, pride, bragging rights, all of it’s on the line. But there’s one debate that towers above them all: which school really owns the name “Death Valley?”

Clemson insists that Memorial Stadium, named in honor of alumni who served in World War II, wasn’t a strong enough identity, so they slapped “Death Valley” on top of it in the 1940s and have been holding on tight ever since.

Cute branding, but let’s be honest: there’s only one stadium that actually lives up to the name, and in the words of Dan Borné, “It is a pantheon of concrete and steel.”

First, size matters.

Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge seats 102,321 fans. Memorial Stadium? 81,500. That’s a 20,821-person gap, essentially equivalent to the entire capacity of an SEC stadium. In Death Valley, volume counts. Tiger Stadium doesn’t just get loud; it swallows visiting teams whole.

Second, history.

Clemson points to Presbyterian coach Lonnie McMillan, who referred to their place as “Death Valley” in the 1940s. A nice piece of trivia, but LSU was already known as “Deaf Valley” by the 1950s, because the stadium was so deafening that opponents couldn’t hear themselves think.

The nickname naturally evolved into “Death Valley” after a legendary Sugar Bowl win in 1959 over none other than Clemson. Following the 7-0 victory, LSU became nationally recognized as the real Death Valley.

And then comes the deal breaker for Clemson: two very important numbers, 4225.

That was the final score of the 2019 national championship in New Orleans, when Joe Burrow and LSU didn’t just beat Clemson, they sent them packing back to “Dead Valley.”

If Death Valley means the place where opponents’ dreams go to die, that night made it clear whose valley actually owns the title.

Clemson brags about Howard’s Rock and “the most exciting 25 seconds in college football,” which, when you break it down, consists of running down a hill.

The only hill at LSU is Victory Hill, which leads straight into the heart of Death Valley.

Ask a casual college football fan where “Death Valley” is, and they’ll say Baton Rouge. They’ll picture Mike the Tiger, the Golden Band from Tigerland and a Saturday night roar that rattles TV speakers across America.

So yes, Clemson coined the phrase, but LSU embodies it — bigger, louder and, when it mattered most, better.

The real Death Valley isn’t in the hills of South Carolina. It’s in the walls of Tiger Stadium, where noise becomes legend, where opponents’ seasons go to die.

The real Death Valley lies in the heart of the bayou, on the banks of the Mississippi and at the bottom of Victory Hill.

BY GRIFFIN BARFIELD

Tiger Sports Editor

There are too many traditions and history behind Clemson’s Memorial Stadium not to allow it to hold the true title of Death Valley.

It’s got history behind it. Former Presbyterian head coach Lonnie McMillian coined the title after losing so many times to the team in the 1940s, and many teams have continued the tradition since.

Clemson had the moniker first, with LSU later establishing its stadium with the same name in the 1950s.

Compared to LSU’s Tiger Stadium, Clemson has a little bit more of an edge. The Tigers have won 76.1% of games at its Death Valley, while LSU has only won 72.7% of games in Tiger Stadium. Yes, both teams have won a majority of their games, but the Bayou Bengals maintain lower stats overall while playing many more night games, which attests to their quality.

The traditions of the game mean more in Tigertown. While the excitement behind a hype video and running out in between the band is amusing, Clemson takes it to another level.

Clemson’s hype videos have an alumnus, like Brian Dawkins or Ben Boulware, getting you fired up with highlight mon-

tages finished with Frank Howard’s iconic quote of “If you’re not going to give 110%, then keep your filthy hands off my rock.” It’s the suspense of the buses meeting right under the jumbotron and waiting to see an energetic Dabo Swinney run down the hill into the stadium with the team following behind.

Let’s also not forget that Clemson’s Memorial Stadium is the only one of two with an actual grass hill inside. You can’t be called Death Valley without having a real hill in your stadium.

It’s called “the most exciting 25 seconds in college football” for a reason. Touching Howard’s Rock before racing down the hill while chants of each letter in Clemson echo across the Upstate. If you’re a student or home fan, it’s something you look forward to every game.

For visiting fans, it’s a moment in college football that you will never forget.

While LSU’s Tiger Stadium holds over 100,000 fans per game, a packed Memorial Stadium can be just as loud. Games like Clemson’s win over Notre Dame in 2015 and Louisville in 2016 saw Tiger fans make an impact with penalties and showing out in the craziest of conditions. It has created an iconic history that fans will never forget, some even remembering exactly where they were when the games occurred.

Death Valley has tradition. It coveted the name first. It has some of the most iconic rituals that college football is known for. Why wouldn’t Clemson’s Memorial Stadium be the real Death Valley?

You tell me on Aug. 30.

Reveille