The Reveille 2-19-24

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Mond ay, Fe b r u a r y 19, 2 02 4

A look into how LSU baseball’s story is told.

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page 2 SIERRA BEAULIEU / LSU Athletics

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TELLING THEIR STORY

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

Dawson Ahrenstorff captures the essence of LSU baseball

BY MACKAY SUIRE @macthetiger Most of Montana was quiet. Its picturesque mountains guarded over the 75-mile Blackfoot River, its rippling waves dancing across rocks and mirroring the terrain around it.

But in Missoula, it was deafening.

The November 2018 gameday was one of the most dramatic matchups of the football season, complete with raging in-state rivalry and passionate fans that broke attendance records year after year.

Cheers from over 25,000 fans boomed between the walls of Washington-Grizzly Stadium, as the Montana State Bobcats and the Montana Grizzlies took the field, awaiting the battle that has long been deemed the Brawl of the Wild.

Dawson Ahrenstorff, a Montana State student and athletics media member, basked in the passion on the sidelines. Armed with nothing but a camera and a sense of admiration, he filmed every bit of the magic that unfolded in front of him.

“That atmosphere was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced,” said Ahrenstorff, who now captures sports history as a creative producer at LSU, an historically energetic athletic powerhouse.

“Every person in that stadium was ready to yell at the top of their lungs.”

The Bobcats were trailing 22-7 at halftime, but with a little bit of luck and a whole lot of heart they managed to force two second-half fumbles, forging the lead and sealing their fate.

Montana State pulled off what had been one of the most climatic and nail-biting endings to a football game in this rivalry in over 118 years. It was its third straight win of the series, and still, every fan knew that this win was different.

It was one that would be talked about for years after its ending, and one that symbolized the pride that people in Montana feel for these programs, and for their state.

This immense amount of pride is exactly what Ahrenstorff aimed to capture.

And so, the documentary “Miracle in Missoula” was born.

What started as a sevenminute project for a film class turned into a 40-minute documentary that encapsulated everything this game meant. Being from Iowa, Ahrenstorff didn’t understand the veneration that this game held until he was in the midst of its glory.

“Montanans are incredibly proud of where they come from, and that needed to be very apparent in the doc to show how sacred and timeless this game is,” he said.

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Editor in Chief CLAIRE SULLIVAN Managing Editor LAUREN MADDEN Digital Editor OLIVIA TOMLINSON News Editor OLIVER BUTCHER Deputy News Editor CROSS HARRIS Sports Editor PETER RAUTERKUS Deputy Sports Editor MACKAY SUIRE Entertainment Editor MATILDA SIPP SIERRA BEAULIEU / LSU Athletics

Dawson Ahrenstorff films players for LSU GOLD series on Skip Bertman Field at Alex Box Stadium. pionship.

“Miracle in Missoula” featured archival clips from previous games, clips from that year’s matchup and the week leading up to it, interviews with coaches and interviews with players that made the big things happen, the ones that gave Montana State their all.

The documentary gives fans who were there and those who weren’t the ability to relive a storybook ending. It also gives those who don’t understand this type of hometown love a reason to want to find some.

“I made the doc because it’s an incredible story,” Ahrenstorff said. “But I really made it for Montanans who showed me the importance of brotherhood and tradition.”

The documentary went on to garner a multitude of accolades, but Ahrenstorff knew it was time to take his talent to new heights.

That’s when he landed at LSU. LSU Athletics had just launched LSU GOLD, an ondemand content streaming service powered by South Stadium Productions, the award-winning content sector of the athletics department.

“LSU Athletics is taking the next step to ensure we continue to lead the nation in innovative, engaging storytelling,” Director of Athletics Scott Woodward said in a press release following the introduction of the platform.

The production team got to work right away, and Ahrenstorff was a part of it all, taking on his role as creative producer.

In just his first year at LSU, he captured a ton of greatness. At the top of that list, however, was Jay Johnson’s second year as LSU baseball’s head coach, the year the Tigers won a national cham-

This is when “The Powerhouse” was born.

“The Powerhouse’’ is a documentary series that features LSU baseball, taking viewers through the ins and outs of the program.

The first season, of course, followed the team through its championship birth. It featured six episodes, each with its own dynamic storytelling.

Similar to what was seen in “Miracle in Missoula,” each episode featured interviews with Johnson and his supporting staff, as well as interviews with players that were continuing to make huge impacts within the program.

Ahrenstorff, along with the rest of the production team, projected the rawness of the players. They captured the entire journey, with stops along the way.

“We featured two student athletes per episode and kind of told their journey of where they came from and what they’re doing now here at LSU,” Ahrenstorff said. “Not everybody can relate to throwing 98 miles an hour every day. So making them human and making them relatable is important, too.”

Ahrenstorff’s passion for telling stories shone through yet again in the docuseries, as he diligently worked to capture the completeness and individuality of each player.

“Dawson excelled in identifying compelling stories for the series and capturing the details that truly conveyed those stories,” said Austin Gremillion, the principle videographer for LSU baseball. “His skill in weaving together various storylines into a cohesive theme, highlighting the team’s success, was instru-

mental.”

Ahrenstorff’s work commonly features clips from archives, a component he’s come to enjoy.

“Something I’m interested in is gathering things for a long time and just taking a whole year to make something,” he said.

The last episode of season one of “The Powerhouse” took fans through the highs and lows of the Tigers’ run in Omaha, Nebraska. It featured clips from the iconic 1996 College World Series, when Warren Morris’ walk-off home run gave LSU the national championship title over Miami.

The clips were used to show the parallels of Tommy White’s performance in LSU’s game against Wake Forest. White’s home run sealed the Tigers’ place in the finals.

The episode ended where it all began, at Alex Box Stadium, where families and fans joined together to celebrate the 2023 National Champions.

Ahrenstorff earned a nomination for the series from the Suncoast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Though the series didn’t win in its category for “Sports Program – Post-Produced or Edited (Series),” the nomination was a testament to the time and energy that Ahresnstorff and the South Stadium Production team had poured into it.

“The success of ‘The Powerhouse’ can be attributed to the remarkable access and freedom granted by the team staff, allowing us to intimately capture the team’s journey,” Gremillion said.

The first episode of season two of “The Powerhouse” has recently aired, showcasing more of Ahrenstorff’s ability to tell sports stories through film.

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

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

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

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

NEWS Learning ROAD TO RECOVERY atrealLoveloveor

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STUDENT LIFE

The mystery of the Patrick F. Taylor Hall flood and its repairs

Linked Up

BY CONNOR REINWALD @conur16

After suffering flooding that closed the north side of the building for weeks, Patrick F. Taylor Hall, despite its ongoing repairs, has been quickly pieced back together, and a sense of normalcy has returned to the home of LSU’s College of Engineering.

Since then, more has been learned about the cause of the Jan. 17 inundation and how the award-winning building plans complete its recovery.

The cause and its mystery The root of the flooding has been traced to a burst HVAC coil located in a penthouse mechanical suite on the PFT roof. The coil burst from freezing temperatures and began to leak once temperatures normalized.

“There’s a system in place for the HVAC units on the fourth floor that should prevent this from happening in the case of a freeze,” said Assistant Director of Facility Services Geral Sansoni. “But I know Facilities Services is looking into whether all those processes, the computerized processes went through, and I’ve not heard a final re-

BY CONNOR REINWALD @conur16

freezing air coming in, going over the coils and causing damage,” Sansoni said. “That particular unit also had something called a freeze stat on it, which when the temperature drops below a certain point it stops the motor from trying to pull air over the coils.”

What exactly caused the HVAC coil at PFT to freeze is still

Student organization Let’s Link hosted “Love or Linked Up” Thursday in Coates Hall, a game where couples were asked questions about one another, and the audience had to deduce which couple was fake.

Let’s Link aims to “connect different Black students on campus through networking vents,” according to planning and outreach officer Monique Porter, a psychology junior.

Four pairs were selected to participate; three were real couples, and one was fake. they then had to answer questions about their respective partners. To help the audience deduce which pair was the impostor couple, a score of each correct answer was kept. At the end of the game the audience would use that score to vote on which duo’s love they didn’t believe.

The questions came in three rounds, with each round asking tougher questions than the last.

see FACILITIES, page 4

see ROMANCE, page 4

REAGAN COTTEN / The Reveille

Clean up operations take up the common area on Jan. 26, in Patrick F. Taylor Hall. port if they figured out why that didn’t happen this time.”

Unlike most residential air conditioning units that use refrigerants to cool air, LSU houses a central plant with chillers that create chilled water. This chilled water is then flowed through underground pipes, which then go into HVAC units around campus to chill air.

“In our cooling capacity, it is more efficient,” Sansoni said.

During freezes, facility services maintain a freeze protocol where the temperature of the chilled water is slightly elevated by a few degrees, water valves are completely opened up to allow for the flow of water, and outside air dampers are completely closed to reduce outside air intake and instead recirculate air inside the building, which is warmer.

“The goal is to prevent that

POLITICS

What would it have cost to provide summer food benefits?

BY GREG LAROSE Louisiana Illuminator The federal assistance Louisiana turned down to help provide food for low-income families over the summer would have cost the state less than $6 per eligible child to administer, based on cost figures officials provided.

The Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) assistance program is providing $40 in both June and July for children who qualify for free school meals in the 36 states that are taking part.

Louisiana is one of 14 that are not.

Summer EBT is a COVID-19 pandemic initiative that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has decided to make permanent starting this summer. Its funds are placed on debit cards that can be used at grocery stores that accept the assistance.

The USDA calculated that some 594,000 Louisiana children would have received a combined $71 million in food aid had it taken part. The federal agency would have covered half of the state’s $7 million cost to run the program, leaving the Louisiana

Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to cover the remaining $3.5 million.

“The vast majority of the projected cost of running a Summer EBT program would be the cost of card services through our EBT vendor for the addition,” DCFS spokesperson Heidi Kinchen said in an email.

The $3.5 million cost, which breaks down to $5.89 per child enrolled, would have been less than 1% of the $902 million DCFS budget for the current fiscal year.

DCFS Secretary David Matlock cited “self-sufficiency” in a Feb. 10 statement in which he explained why Louisiana would not take part in the Summer EBT program.

“Existing feeding programs remain in effect, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides about $166 million in benefits on average each month to over 880,000 Louisianans, including about 390,000 children,” Matlock said in his statement.

“In addition, DCFS offers employment and training programs to provide off-ramps from poverty and help families become

self-sufficient.”

Louisiana had until Thursday, Feb. 15, to make a final decision on whether it would accept the Summer EBT assistance. In December, Education Superintendent Cade Brumley, whose department helps DCFS determine which children are eligible, passed on the USDA program. A spokesperson said the department “considered it improper to commit Gov. Jeff Landry and a new legislature to millions of dollars in increased spending toward a new government program.”

The Landry administration’s decision to ultimately reject the USDA assistance hasn’t sat well with some officials, especially those who represent low-income areas.

State Sen. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, sent a letter to Matlock and Brumley asking them to reconsider a day before the USDA deadline.

“By rejecting this program, we are essentially turning our backs on these children and jeopardizing their health and well-being by denying them access to the nutrition they need to grow, learn, and succeed,” Fields

wrote.

An appeal from U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, also went unanswered.

The Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus issued a statement condemning the Landry administration for not accepting the as-

sistance.

“This callous refusal to accept federal assistance perpetuates a cycle of poverty and food insecurity that should be unacceptable in a modern and compassionate society,” the statement said.

REAGAN COTTEN / The Reveille

The aisle is filled with condiments on Oct. 10, 2023, in Matherne’s Market in Baton Rouge, La.

Monday, February 19, 2024

page 4 POLLUTION

Krewe of Zulu throws coconuts, plushies and petitions

BY DREW COSTLY Verite NEW ORLEANS — Most of the throws that members of the Krewe of Zulu flung from their floats on Mardi Gras were decorative and lighthearted: chunky bead necklaces, giant stuffed animals and of course their coveted coconuts. But there was one that came with a call to action: encouraging parade-goers to help preserve the environmental health of the residents of St. James Parish.

The throw was a cloth bag that read “Say No to Formosa” — referring to the chemical company Formosa Plastics, which is planning to build a massive facility in the parish — along with the web address for RISE St. James, an environmental justice group in St. James Parish that fights to stop more petrochemical plants from being built in the heavily industrialized community.

Inside the bag, there were glass beads and postcards with a QR code that, when scanned with a phone, leads to a petition asking Citibank, a potential funder of the so-called Sunshine Project, to denounce and not invest in the facilities Formosa Plastics Group plans to build in St. James.

FG LA, a subsidiary of Formosa, wants to build a sprawl-

FACILITIES, from page 3 unknown, however, every safety measure put in place shows no sign of failure. The freeze protocol was in effect throughout the entire campus and, aside from PFT, allowed students to start their spring semester without any burst pipes.

Currently the HVAC unit is circulating air, but it does not have the ability to cool air without a coil. Once a new coil arrives the old coil can be removed and replaced.

“Once that coil comes out that’ll give us a better look and help piece maybe some of the rest of the pieces of the puzzle together,” Sansoni said.

The recovery Once water was shut off from the HVAC coil, custodial work-

ing $9.4 billion dollar complex with 10 chemical manufacturing plants in St. James to make chemicals used in a range of products like N95 masks, antifreeze and artificial turf. In 2020, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality approved permits that would allow the facility to emit 13.6 million tons of greenhouse gases and 800 tons of toxic air pollution a year. That’s double the amount of toxic pollution in the air of the parish, which is located in “Cancer Alley,” an industryheavy 85-mile corridor located between New Orleans and Baton Rouge that has among the highest cancer risks and poorest air quality in the United States.

In January, Louisiana’s 1st Circuit Court of Appeal overturned a district court’s 2022 decision invalidating the permits.

That news came as St. James residents were dealing with fresh cancer diagnoses and a recent death amid the revelry of Carnival season, said RISE St. James founder Sharon Lavigne.

“I just found out yesterday one of the members in our community was diagnosed with colon cancer. And two weeks ago, I found out that a young girl in her 30s was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Saturday, we buried a lady with cancer,” Lavigne said. “Formosa would kill us off. We wouldn’t have anybody

left, just the industries, if they allow this plant to come in.”

RISE St. James is asking Citibank not to fund the Formosa Plastics complex because the multinational bank is a frequent financier of these types of projects. Citibank is the second largest funder of fossil fuel projects behind JP Morgan Chase, according to a 2023 report called “Banking on Climate Chaos,” which was produced by a coalition of environmental groups including the Sierra Club and Rainforest Action Network.

The demand from RISE St. James follows an October 2023 meeting between Citibank, environmental justice organizations and indigenous communities, during which the bank was asked not to fund more fossil fuel projects that would exacerbate environmental racism and climate change. But the bank has yet to respond to that request. Verite News contacted Citibank and Formosa Plastics for comment for this story but didn’t receive a response by publication time.

Lavigne said trying to get people to sign the petition during the Zulu parade was perfect timing because, in addition to being a religious holiday, Mardi Gras is about celebrating the communities that helped form Louisiana’s culture. Large parts of that culture, including some

of the customs of Mardi Gras in Louisiana, were created by people of African descent in and around New Orleans — some of the same communities threatened by pollution from petrochemical facilities like the ones Formosa is planning to build. The areas where Formosa is planning to built is majority Black.

In addition to handing out petitions, RISE St. James is calling for local leaders to create a Mardi Gras sustainability committee. On Friday (Feb. 16), they plan to send a letter to New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and presidents from St. James, St.

ers used wet vacuums to remove as much water as possible before LSU’s third-party contractor Lemoine Disaster Mitigation stepped in. LDM called in Stanley Steemer to finish water extraction, then began the dehumidifying process.

College of Engineering Dean Karsten Thompson gave credit to Facility Services for its expertise when it came to handling the situation.

“The fact that the professionals were in here quickly is the key part,” Thompson said. “You don’t want to try to deal with that kind of problem with people that aren’t trained to do it.”

Thompson was also impressed by the Office of University Registrar’s ability to relocate classes just hours after being notified of the flooded classrooms.

This meant classes were able to

continue without a prolonged interruption.

During the dehumidifying process the baseboards were removed from the affected areas and holes were drilled into the walls, allowing air to circulate behind the drywall into insulated areas. Visqueen was also placed along hallways to create a sealed environment that air could be circulated through.

Some carpet was also removed because of its rubber backing. There was no way to verify if there was any water trapped underneath the rubber, so those tiles of carpet were removed. Other parts of carpet without rubber backing were left in place because they could be dried, cleaned and sanitized.

“The third-party disaster contractor is perfectly fine with the drying of the rolled goods. LSU’s

Environmental Health and Safety was also consulted and said, yes, this is the right plan and the right way to go for both of these carpets,” Sansoni said. “So, Facility Services had consultation from two independent parties.”

New carpet for PFT will either match the old carpet or be a fitting replacement. After the carpet is in place, baseboards can be replaced which will cover the holes drilled into the drywall.

Then, any drywall in a state of disrepair can be replaced where needed. Otherwise, the existing drywall can be repainted.

PFT’s flooding created a surprising start to LSU’s spring semester, but it was the work of LSU’s faculty, Facility Services and Registrar’s Office that turned what could have been a major disruption to a manageable inconvenience.

Patrick F. Taylor Hall stands Jan. 19, on LSU’s campus.

ROMANCE, from page 3

to either write down a fact about themselves or try and guess a fact about their partner, depending on who the question was directed towards.

Let’s Link president and psychology senior Jalyn Underwood said her favorite part of the show =was the comedy that came from couples getting the answers wrong.

Sometimes couples would have different answers and be shocked about their partner’s actual favorite hobby or even middle name. Other times a couple would have a very spe-

cific matching answer, reaffirming how much they knew about each other.

As the contestants were being questioned, the job of the audience was to figure out which couple was actually just friends.

At the end of the show, members of the audience placed their bets on which couple was the impostor. Then the impostor couple came forward for the big reveal.

“I felt like it was a cute idea, a good turnout. It could have been better, but I still feel like it was a good idea, and everybody came to have fun,” Underwood said.

CONNOR REINWALD/ The Reveille

Participants stand together Feb. 15 at Let’s Link’s “Love or Linked Up” event in Coates Hall on LSU’s campus.

The first round asked, “What is your partner’s birthday?” Or “What is your partner’s major?”

The second round featured more specific questions, such as a partner’s favorite holiday or middle name. Finally, round three asked about a partner’s go-to Chick-fil-A meal, shoe size and more.

Each question was asked for each partner. To get a question correct, the partners had to have their answers match. To do this, they stood back-to-back and had

John the Baptist, St. Charles, Jefferson and Ascension parishes asking them to look into practices that will limit pollution and environmental degradation during the region’s busiest time of the year.

One example of this is to replace the use of plastic beads with glass ones, like the ones included in the throws that came from the Zulu float whose riders carried the “Say No to Formosa” bags.

“We are trying to get away from all of this plastic,” Lavigne said, “because the chemicals used to make the plastic are cancer-causing chemicals.”

COURTESY OF RISE ST. JAMES

The cloth bag with a necklace of glass beads and card with a QR code that took parade-goers to a petition urging Citibank not to fund a petrochemical plant Formosa Plastics is planning to build in St. James Parish.

MATTHEW PERSCHALL / The Reveille

ENTERTAINMENT

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THIS WEEK IN BR WEDNESDAY AT 8 P.M.

19

FEBRUARY

TH

21

225 Theatre Collective Monday Night Live Improv The Station

The 225 Theatre Collective will be hosting an improv night with local actors at The Station from 7–10 p.m. Actors will be performing skits that are completely improvised and promised to make you laugh. Tickets are $10.

ST

20

FEBRUARY

Ballroom Dance Club Student Union Vieux Carre Room

FEBRUARY

Want to see your event in the Reveille?

Email information to editor@lsu.edu.

The LSU Ballroom Dance Club invites students to its weekly dance lesson and social dance from 6–8 p.m. in the Vieux Carre Room of the Student Union. The chosen dance of the week is the waltz. Dancers need neither prior experience nor a partner to participate.

TH

TUESDAY AT 6 P.M.

MONDAY AT 7 P.M.

BY MATILDA SIPP @SippTilly

LSU men’s basketball vs. Kentucky Pete Maravich Assembly Center Don’t be the kind of LSU student who only shows face during football season. Head over to the PMAC to watch the men’s basketball team take on the Kentucky Wildcats at 8 p.m.

Local duo promoting creatives in underground music scene

BY CAMILLE MILLIGAN @camillemill333 Around 11 p.m. on the second Friday of each month, ethereal sounds and colors fill an otherwise inconspicuous building on Government Street in Baton Rouge. People with glittering clothes and sparkling accessories file in and watch as two musicians take to the stage and hold nothing back. Neoseoul500 is performing. Another rave has begun.

Baton Rouge natives Jack Xavier, 23, and Sam Ellis, 19, create music and perform together as the duo Neoseoul500.

In January 2023, the two began hosting free, monthly performances in a program they created called “Future Ex Youth” at the promotional arts venue Yes We Cannibal.

Their goal is to create a welcoming, cost-free space for talented individuals to showcase their own music in an industry that can be highly competitive and expensive.

“We are doing something out of love completely,” Xavier said.

“We have not made a dollar off of this and that’s the point. It’s beautiful.”

Neoseoul500 is self produced and recorded by Xavier and El-

lis in their home studios. Xavier, a graphic design major at Baton Rouge Community College, and Ellis, a digital advertising major at LSU, both hold jobs outside of creating music and attending school. Despite their busy lives, the two have curated more than 16 free shows at Yes We Cannibal in the past year.

The duo refer to their microconcerts as raves. At a typical “Future Ex Youth’’ rave, Neoseoul500 performs a set and then turns the mic over to other start-up musicians experimenting with their sound or getting a feel for what it’s like to display their art in front of an audience.

The raves usually have a theme to encourage the audience to dress up and show as much of their own eccentricity and creativity as they want.

“We strive to make a safe space for people to just come be themselves and be authentic,” Ellis said. “You’ll see a lot of different faces, colors, outfits, styles and even ages.”

These shows don’t fit the description of stereotypical raves, and performers often showcase a wide range of music styles from rap to rhythm and blues to psychedelic rock. Xavier and Ellis admit that their own music is highly driven by emotion.

The two draw influence from a wide variety of genres including electronic music, R&B and even classic rock.

As carefree as they seem on stage, the duo wasn’t always so at ease with putting out their content in front of a live audience. Before their first rave, they hosted a small listening party at Yes We Cannibal as a preview for an upcoming album.

Xavier said that because the two had done most of their work for the album behind a computer before this point, the show helped catapult their confidence as performers.

“I felt no fear,” Xavier said.

“Everyone was around to feel it and I just felt like we had arrived. Like this was a thing we could do.”

Following this first listening party, Ellis and Xavier were asked by Yes We Cannibal to perform a free show each month. Yes We Cannibal is a venue dedicated to providing free space for experimentation and development in the arts.

After receiving the opportunity for free space to perform, Neoseoul500 agreed to host the shows, and the program Future Ex Youth was born.

One of the other creators who was present at the first lis-

tening party was photographer and videographer Taij Stewart, 23, from St. Gabriel, Louisiana.

After hearing Neoseoul500 for the first time at the preshow, Stewart started recording content and creating promotional videos for the majority of the raves that followed.

He feels like raves are an important opportunity for young creatives in the Baton Rouge art scene to get a feel for what performing live is like.

“It is an amazing training ground for creators that are trying to practice performing if they aren’t used to it,” Stewart said. “The crowd is always welcoming, and the energy is always served.”

Stewart said he has also seen these shows bridge a gap between older creatives and a new generation of talent arriving in the Baton Rouge art scene. He has met unique musicians, artists and photographers who come out to the shows to network.

“The underground scene that doesn’t get booked, they get booked at Future Ex Youth,” Stewart said. “It’s a creative hotspot.”

Xavier and Ellis take pride in the scene they promote. Their intention is first and foremost to

foster creativity and give opportunities to artists much like the one they were given.

Both members of Neosoul500 believe it is most important for musicians to stay genuine to themselves and their ideas.

When they choose who gets to perform at the raves, Xavier and Ellis primarily look for artists who are authentic and have a real passion for what they do.

“A lot of people might look for shortcuts,” Ellis said. “That’s the wrong mindset to have. I feel like if you are trying to do it for the fame or the money you’re in it for the wrong reasons. How are you going to excel without bringing something new to the table?”

The two have sacrificed time, money and energy into creating a unique space for artistry to grow, and they want to continue to do this throughout 2024.

Xavier and Ellis will keep hosting free performances at Yes We Cannibal while creating music of their own. Their only advice to those starting out in the scene is to stay caring and pure.

“Regardless of what other people may think or may do in the scene, just be compassionate and treat them with love,” Ellis said. “In the long run it will benefit you.”

Monday, February 19, 2024

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Monday, February 19, 2024

page 7

PICK A MASCOT, AUBURN! LSU Tigers best Auburn Tigers 198.300 - 197.10 Feb. 16 in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

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Junior all-around KJ Johnson chalks her hands.

Senior all-around Haleigh Bryant anticipates her next move.

Senior all-around Olivia Dunne flies through the air.

ce beam.

Junior all-around Alexis Jeffrey poses on the balan

Junior all-around Aleah Finnegan let’s out a roar.

LSU gymnasts celebrate with teammates.

Junior all-around Aleah Finnegan receives a 10.

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THE Daily Commuter Puzzle by Stella Zawistowski ACROSS 1 Accompaniment for chips 4 Realm 10 Take part in an election 14 Simile part 15 Kigali’s country 16 No good at heart 17 First president 19 Precious stones 20 Locals 21 Vail or Aspen 23 Climbed up 24 B&B 25 Chicago newspaper’s nickname 27 Won’t take no for an answer 31 Certain NCO 34 Muscular 36 Suds-making substance 37 Eye part 39 Conclusion 40 MLB star Trout 41 Sixteen ounces 42 Looking at 45 Headed up 46 Ignited 48 Poetic name for Ireland 50 You’re breathing it 51 Iran’s capital 55 Open grassland 59 Nonsense song syllables 60 Ram feature 61 Frank Lloyd Wright and Zaha Hadid 63 “The Sopranos” star Falco 64 Surgically connect 65 Munch on 66 __ and tear 67 More sarcastic 68 Free of moisture

Created by Stella Zawistowski

7 “__-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” 8 Wedding vows 9 China’s capital during the Ming dynasty 10 Lifestyle without animal products 11 Above 12 The T in PST 13 Anna’s sister in “Frozen” 18 Sword part 22 Know the __ and outs of 26 Dog show specification 27 Low-budget flick 28 Make dirty DOWN 29 Grab 1 Daybreaks 30 Traveled fast 2 Biblical patriarch 31 Tastes of liquid 3 Tortellini or 32 Hold tightly tagliatelle 33 “Gilligan’s Island” 4 People at the actress __ steering wheel Louise 5 Didn’t deflect the 35 United 38 Colander blame 6 Some periodicals, 42 Soap operas, for example for short

2/19/24

Saturday’s Puzzle Solved

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43 Bacon preservative 44 More noble 47 White wine cocktail 49 “A Quiet Passion” actress Jennifer 52 Sprinted 53 Table in a church

2/19/24

54 Not nice at all 55 “We made it!”

56 Teased 57 Opera highlight 58 News anchor Burnett 59 Nickname that drops “-deus” 62 Movie-monster tech

SPORTS SIGNATURE WIN

LSU men’s hoops seals the deal in 64-63 win over South Carolina

BY JASON WILLIS @JasonWillis4 When South Carolina’s Ta’lon Cooper made a 3-pointer to break the tie and put the Gamecocks up 63-60 with 29 seconds left, it could’ve been the dagger.

LSU has come to the doorstep of wins many times this year, only to be denied again and again. In this one, LSU mounted a comeback from down 16 to once again make it a game.

Many times before, though, that meant little, with the other team making one final run to put it away.

On Saturday, it was the Tigers who finally finished strong, resulting in a 64-63 win at No. 11 South Carolina that was beyond overdue.

“We’ve been struggling to get over the hump,” head coach Matt McMahon said. “Our guys, credit to them, just stayed the course.”

After Cooper’s three, LSU star Jordan Wright calmly and quickly scored a layup. One timeout later, Tyrell Ward and Jalen Reed pressured the inbound and got their hands on the ball for a tieup. The jump ball went to LSU. On the ensuing possession, Wright once again was the killer. He deliberately drove to the inside and lifted up for a shot, drawing a foul. He subsequently

MADALYN CUNNINGHAM / The Reveille

LSU men’s basketball graduate student guard Jordan Wright (6) watches his teammates from the sidelines on Feb. 3 during LSU’s 94-74 win against Arkansas in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La. drilled both free throws to put LSU ahead, and South Carolina’s final miss ended the game.

“It’s taught me how to stay poised,” Wright said of how his four years of Southeastern Conference experience prepared him for the moment. “Early in my career, I struggled with that, just getting too involved in the crowd or the emotions of the game. Now I’ve played a lot of big games in my career.”

The win was LSU’s first ranked win of the season and just its third quadrant one win

of the season. The Tigers have been close so many times to completing a comeback and taking down one of the SEC’s many great teams, but on Saturday, they finally got it done.

Tyrell Ward comes up big As remarkably calm and impactful as Wright was in the final moments, it was Ward who led the team in points with 16, two more than Wright’s 14.

Before Wright scored LSU’s final seven points of the game, it was Ward who went on a run of his own. With LSU down eight

page 9 BEACH VOLLEYBALL

Why Ella Larkin left LSU indoor volleyball

with just under four minutes left in the game, Ward decisively drove to the rim and threw down a vicious dunk.

The next time down the court, Ward found himself open as South Carolina switched a screen and used the window of opportunity to hoist a 3-pointer that drew LSU within one.

After Mack put the Gamecocks back up three, Ward saw daylight again on a very similar play. He let another shot from distance go, and it once again fell to tie the game.

What was most remarkable about Ward’s performance was that his impact came with the ball in his hand rather than as a catch-and-shoot threat. As Ward grows as a player, he’ll be trusted more to initiate and finish plays like that.

Ward also defended on two of the game’s most important plays: the inbounds play that gave LSU the ball back for the game-winning free throws and on the final possession, where Ward’s positioning forced Jacobi Wright to take a difficult, offbalance corner 3-pointer that was off the mark.

Ward was named a starter for the game with McMahon making changes to the lineup, benching

During the 2022-23 athletic year, LSU indoor and beach volleyball both made advancements in the NCAA Tournament, and both had a player familiar to each other in its starting lineup.

One year later, and the script has changed. LSU indoor volleyball didn’t receive a bid to the 2023 NCAA Tournament, and it also lacked the previously shared player.

Fans went into the Pete Maravich Assembly Center during the 2023 season looking for the familiar player, assuming she’d be wearing a differentcolored jersey.

She wasn’t wearing a different-colored jersey.

She wasn’t on the court, or on the sidelines, either.

She was gone.

“I did not expect that, I didn’t see it coming,” Tonya Johnson, LSU indoor volleyball head coach, told the Reveille in August.

LSU indoor volleyball’s 2023 season didn’t have its 2022

see WIN, page 10

see SWITCH, page 10

BY CHLOE RICHMOND @chlorichmond

GYMNASTICS

‘This is us’: LSU gymnastics defeats Auburn 198.300-197.10

BY AVA HEBERT @avahebe4 LSU defeated Auburn with a score of 198.300-197.10, showing dominance on all events, even those it has previously struggled with.

Aleah Finnegan scored her first 10 of the season, recording a new season high score on the floor.

The No. 3 ranked Tigers earned their seventh win of the season, keeping their undefeated title at home.

But the Tigers’ were posting high scores even before Finnegan’s 10, especially on their dreaded balance beam routines.

Although the beam is known to be LSU’s weakness, it quickly turned into one of it’s strengths.

“We just got comfortable,” head coach Jay Clark said. “It’s just a natural progression with a team we know is good at everything.”

The Tigers posted a new high score of 49.725 on the beam, further solidifying their No. 3 ranking in the country.

LSU ended with five scores of 9.925 or higher, outscoring Au-

burn by .425 in the third rotation.

Alexis Jeffery, Konnor McClain and Kiya Johnson scored 9.925, 9.975 and 9.950 respectively to lead the Tigers off.

Haleigh Bryant followed with another 9.950 before Finnegan anchored with a 9.925.

Despite it being their team’s lowest average score, the Tigers are still ranked ninth in the nation on the beam, making them a top 10 ranked team on every event for the first time this year.

The Tigers carried all of their momentum into the final rotation, the floor.

Amari Drayton and KJ Johnson put up 9.925s early into the rotation. After Finnegan’s 10, Bryant scored a 9.925. Olivia Dunne anchored for the first time this year, scoring a 9.850.

“Putting Liv out there got us a little more, even if it was just an extra tenth,” Clark said. “Her response to those situations has been spectacular.”

Even before the Tigers’ outstanding second half, their performances on vault and bars were executed with little to no flaws.

The Tigers started the night on vault, where they posted a score of 49.475, gaining an early lead to Auburn’s 49.100.

Finnegan stuck her first pass of the night, scoring a 9.950 to begin the meet. Drayton followed with a 9.90, and Savannah Schoenherr recorded a 9.875.

Bryant anchored with a 9.90 to finalize the first rotation of the night. Auburn failed to post a score higher than 9.850 on the uneven bars.

LSU finalized the first half of the meet on the uneven bars, leading 98.950-98.350.

Tori Tatum competed for the first time since the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad. She posted a 9.80, and sophomore Ashley Cowan followed with the first 9.90 of the rotation.

Schoenherr and Bryant ended the rotation with 9.925s.

“This is about us,” Clark said.

“We’re gonna measure ourselves week after week after week based on what we do.”

Auburn came into the meet ranked at No. 12.

“Auburn is a very good team

and they’re in a much better place than their ranking indicates,” Clark said earlier in the week. “We know that they are an opponent that is going to give us a good test.”

LSU answered with full force,

putting up high numbers on all events.

“I don’t think we have a weak event,” Finnegan said.

LSU will travel to Gainesville for its next meet against Florida on Friday Feb. 23.

FRANCIS DINH / The Reveille

LSU gymnastics junior all-around Aleah Finnegan let’s out a roar Feb. 16 prior to earning her 10 during LSU’s win against Auburn in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

page 10

WIN, from page 9 Mike Williams III and Reed. In addition, point guard Jalen Cook was a surprise inactive for the game, so Ward and Wright both needed to handle a bigger offensive load.

LSU struggles with physicality but overcomes in the end Despite being the No. 11 team in the country, South Carolina is the No. 225 offense in the country by points scored. The thing it has going for it, though, is a physical identity with big men who can score in the post.

Monday, February 19, 2024 LSU hasn’t defended many post-centric teams this year, but it’s clear that the Tiger big men are better equipped for ballscreen defense than holding up against a strong post-up.

South Carolina’s starting big men B.J. Mack and Collin Murray-Boyles were the leaders for an otherwise struggling Gamecock offense. They finished with 18 and 13 points, respectively, but were less effective down the stretch.

The Gamecocks also came up with nine offensive rebounds that they cashed in for 11 sec-

ond-chance points, out-muscling LSU on multiple occasions.

On the other end, South Carolina made it difficult for LSU defensively. The Gamecocks are the top defense in the SEC this season by points allowed, despite only being No. 7 in field goal percentage allowed.

Why? The Gamecocks limit 3-point opportunities and force you to score inside. Coming into Saturday’s game, teams have taken only 442 3-pointers against South Carolina, which is the least in the SEC and the 24th-

fewest in the nation.

South Carolina’s defenders habitually went over screens on the perimeter, sticking to the ball handler and forcing them to score downhill. LSU got very few easy opportunities, which was doubly problematic for the Tigers given that they’ve had troubles with finishing at the rim this year.

Despite that, LSU ultimately made enough of those difficult shots to put itself in a position to win.

What’s next?

LSU will host Kentucky, cur-

SWITCH, from page 9 AVCA South All-Region selection and starting libero, Ella Larkin.

Larkin was expected to be a leader in 2023 after anchoring the backrow defense in 2022.

During the 2022 season, she picked up 4.34 digs per set to lead the Southeastern Conference. Her 516 total digs also led the conference.

Despite the high praise and accomplishments on the court, the dual-sport athlete couldn’t get her heart to stay in one place. While she was competing with the indoor team, her heart wandered elsewhere.

“My heart is in the sand and I [wasn’t] giving it all,” Larkin said. “I want to give it all out in the sand.”

Larkin carried the weight of playing indoor and beach volleyball for LSU, but she decided after the 2022 indoor season that it would be her last. Her fall 2023 semester was spent training in the sand rather than playing on the court.

“When I played indoor last fall, I just kept thinking, ‘I really miss being out on the beach and being out in the sand,’” Larkin said.

Shortly after Larkin verbally committed to LSU beach volley-

MATTHEW PERSCHALL / The Reveille

LSU beach volleyball sophomore Ella Larkin (3) hits the ball on March 5 during LSU’s 5-0 win against North Alabama at the Beach Volleyball Stadium on Cypress Drive in Baton Rouge, La. ball in high school, she signed to the indoor team as well. Having grown up a multi-sport athlete in Maize, Kansas, the juggling of commitments seemed plausible. What she didn’t take into account was how beach volleyball would pull on her heartstrings.

“Going to practice every single day, I was like, ‘I think beach is where I want to be at, beach is where I want to give all my time to,’” Larkin said. “That

led to talking to Tonya [Johnson] and the coaches.”

The conversation between Larkin and Johnson was the end of Larkin’s time as an indoor player, but she’ll continue to feel the indoor program’s support. While she’s out in the sand, Johnson and the indoor team will be cheering her on from afar.

“I know that she has a passion for playing on the beach, and she’s a heck of a beach

player,” Johnson told the Reveille in August. “I think she’s going to do really well out there, so we’re excited for her and we wish her the best of luck.”

Once she ended her time with the indoor team, Larkin’s next step was fully committing to the beach team. Even with conflicting agendas of wanting one of his star players to himself, Head Coach Russell Brock and the beach program never weighed in on Larkin’s decision.

rently ranked No. 22 in the AP poll, at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

The Wildcats have seen a quick descent in the rankings, as they’ve lost four of their last seven and have the potential to lose again, facing Auburn on Saturday.

Kentucky scores it better than almost anyone, coming in at No. 3 in the nation in points per game, but its defense has been its Achilles’ heel. The defense lags far behind at No. 317 in points allowed.

It’s unclear whether Cook will return for that game.

“We supported her along the way [and] knew that it was something that she was considering,” Brock said. “We root for the indoor team. If she’s playing, we’re going to go and cheer on. If she’s not playing, then we’re still going to hope the indoor team does well, but we’re going to be excited to have her with us.”

During this process, Larkin dealt with longing for the sand and contemplating future goals.

This left her with the question of, how do you make a choice?

“Ultimately, that’s the decision of the player,” Brock said.

“I’m sure it was a very difficult process for her and her family to decide, ‘Do I want to pour fully into this sport or do I want to keep going half in and half out with two sports?’”

With the glass looking half empty and her heart feeling half in, Larkin knew splitting time with both programs wasn’t worth it anymore. After two years of doing so, the indoor and beach volleyball star has reserved her shine for the sand and hopes to see it positively affect her performance this upcoming season.

“I’m excited to play against really good teams and show everybody how good LSU is this year,” Larkin said.

LAYNE DAVIS / The Reveille

LSU beach volleyball sophomore Ella Larkin (3) hits the ball during LSU’s 3-2 loss against Stanford April 15 at the LSU Beach Volleyball Stadium in Baton Rouge.

ERIN BARKER / The Reveille

LSU volleyball sophomore libero Ella Larkin (3) hits the ball on Oct. 30 during LSU’s 3-2 loss to Mississippi State at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La.

OPINION

page 11

The Grammys need an update, has failed at celebrating artists PELLITTIERI’S PERSPECTIVE MATTHEW PELLITTIERI @m_pellittieri Every year, the Grammys are a pop cultural nightmare.

The public witnesses a threehour pleasure fest for the rich and famous broken up by halfbaked jokes from Trevor Noah and punctuated by hundreds of thousands of angry tweets from toxic fans debasing themselves at the feet of their poor defenseless parasocial buddies.

There’s the celebrity drama we really shouldn’t even care about. There’re the highly produced live performances that only the elite few have the opportunity to see in person.

There’s the controversy over which genres get recognized during the actual broadcast.

And then there’s the everpresent discourse about representation.

This year, some fans argued that SZA’s “SOS” should’ve won album of the year over its ul-

JUNIO CORTEZ, FILE / AP photo

Grammy Awards are displayed at the Grammy Museum Experience at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Oct. 10, 2017. timate winner, Taylor Swift’s “Midnights.” They drew parallels to last year’s awards, when Harry Styles’ “Harry’s House” beat Beyoncé’s “Renaissance.”

The argument goes that the Recording Academy is hesitant to give the award to a Black woman artist—to recognize their influence, perspective and talent.

That very well may be true, but society shouldn’t seek to include a marginalized demo-

graphic in such a system of domination, but rather abolish the whole system. The deeper problem is with the whole idea of giving out a single award at all.

The Grammys contribute to the treatment of music as a mere thing to be bought and sold rather than an art form. The music industry is treated like an open marketplace where artists have to pour their blood, sweat and

tears into a distilled cultural product that’ll beat out their rivals and catch the finite attention of the fickle masses.

Success is the goal, rather than the reward.

But this is just the expected result of a competition like the Grammys. It’s fundamentally about the domination of others: a personal victory of the winner over the losers and, by extension, a cultural supremacy of the genre and background of the winner and their work over that of the other nominees.

So, as an alternative to the competition, how about a genuine celebration of music? How about a system that awards participation in and contribution to music, not one that encourages the triumph of the winner over their fellow deserving artists?

Think something in line with the spirit of the Kennedy Center Honors, which annually recognizes lifetime achievement in the performing arts.

Instead of having a whole bunch of categories with five or eight nominees and one winner, there should just be a massive

list of significant and talented artists, songs and albums that left their mark on the year’s music. The listed honorees can receive a plaque (or even just the current Grammy statuette).

Then there could be a different kind of TV broadcast to replace what we’re all used to.

There would be a massive concert where 40 to 50 of the years’ best and biggest artists perform one song each in some major football stadium that seats 100,000 people.

There would be a diverse array of performers, representing different genres, backgrounds, identities and generations. It should be broadcast across the networks and live streamed on YouTube. The seats would be filled with fans, not just the industry elite.

This would be a chance to not only celebrate the connection between music, artists and fans but to display that bond on national television.

Matthew Pellittieri is a 19-yearold history and political science sophomore from Ponchatoula.

The current Republican party is nothing but partisan chaos NATE’S TAKES NATHANIEL DELA PEÑA @NateDerDoner Our democratic political system isn’t on the brink of collapse, but a group of people is hell-bent on making that a reality.

Chaos rules the Grand Old Party. Over the last few weeks, it’s hatched stunts intended to improve its standing among its base.

Instead of using its political capital to help Democrats pass important legislation regarding border security and aid to Ukraine, Republicans in the House impeached Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of the Department of Homeland Security. The impeachment effort is likely to die in the Senate.

In Texas, Republican Governor Greg Abbott rashly ignored his state’s obligation to follow federal law and installed a border fence over the objections of the Biden administration.

These Republican stunts have backfired though. In dramatic fashion last week, Speaker Mike Johnson’s push to impeach Mayorkas at

first failed due to three defections from his party and a last-minute arrival from Democratic Texas Rep. Al Green to force a tied vote.

Concerning Abbott, the Supreme Court vacated the order from the Fifth Circuit that allowed Texas to prohibit Border Patrol agents from cutting down Texas’s makeshift razorwire fences along the Mexican border.

But instead of pulling their feet off the pedal, Republicans are willing to drive themselves into the brick wall of reality. They’ve deluded themselves into believing that their resistance will contribute to Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election this November.

The Republicans finally succeeded in impeaching Mayorkas for his leadership in handling the border crisis and “refusal” to enforce the law.

Not long after the Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Biden administration, Abbott and many Republican governors across the country openly revolted against the Supreme Court ruling, vowing to keep Border Patrol agents from doing their jobs.

If Republican stances on domestic issues weren’t revolting enough, Trump has endorsed the crippling of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Trump is concerned that allies in NATO aren’t spending the recommended 2% of their Gross Domestic Product annually for their defense, and he questioned the need for the United States to defend NATO allies that don’t abide by the 2% principle.

The Republican Party is endorsing a world of anarchy. Instead of finding a solution to the border crisis, they want to hinder the Biden administration’s ability to deal with the influx of migrants. They have an infantile obsession with building a physical barrier to prevent border crossings yet fail to fund and create immigration courts that can deal with the piles of asylum cases that have only gotten worse this year.

Instead of helping take care of people in need, they send buses of migrants to liberal cities struggling to house them. While the bipartisan border deal was incredibly flawed, Trump’s intervention in scuttling the deal removes any pos-

sibility of meaningful immigration reform happening this year.

And on the issue of NATO, they want to destroy the valuable relationships America has with trusted allies for a narrow-minded, small victory in getting our allies to pay at least 2% of the GDP for their annual defense budgets.

After almost a decade of Trumpism in American politics, stunts like these have become the norm. Bipartisanship and the spirit of compromise have made way for populism and partisan gridlock.

Instead of supporting our closest allies with similar aspirations

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Editor in Chief

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Opinion Editor

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

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

for a democratic system, tyrants and authoritarian regimes are encouraged by America’s waning influence on the global stage.

In the lead-up to the presidential election, neither main presidential candidate will restore America to its former glory. But the fact remains that there’s one candidate who wants to preserve our democratic ideals and another (with his lackeys) who will fight for power no matter what.

Nathaniel Dela Peña is a 21-yearold political science and history senior from Alexandria.

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