Ask SG President J Hudson about the state of your University on Thursday, see p. 3 for more information
Reveille
Sports: Social media impacts football recruiting, p. 5
The Daily
www.lsureveille.com
Valentine’s Day: See a photo of Louisiana’s oldest couple, p. 3
Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011 • Volume 115, Issue 89
Here comes the sun
BUDGET CUTS
Obama: Preserve education funding Matthew Albright Staff Writer
International studies instructor Peter Sutherland lectures his Migrations, Identities and Diasporas class Monday in the Quad. Below: Bobby Masson, biological sciences senior, throws a Frisbee disc on the Parade Ground.
Mark Duhon (above), marine biology senior, plays soccer on the Parade Ground.
photos by ADAM VACCARELLA / The Daily Reveille
While the weather has been cold in recent weeks, many students and faculty members took the chance Monday to enjoy the warm weather. According to AccuWeather.com, the highs for the rest of the week should stay in the low 70s, while the lows should reach no less than 47.
Pell Grants are among the higher education programs that may face budget cuts as national policymakers begin debate over the federal budget. President Barack Obama’s 2012 budget, proposed Monday, would cut more than $1 trillion from the country’s deficit in the next decade, according to a White House news release. The budget includes several sizable cuts in government spending, centered around Obama’s proposal to freeze federal, non-defense domestic spending for the next five years. In terms of higher education, Obama’s budget would leave funding largely untouched, including the roughly $800 million his administration has added. Obama’s proposal would preserve funding for Pell Grants at its current $5,500 level. Still, the grants, which pay for about 9 million low-income students to attend college, would not go untouched by the budget. To pay for the FUNDING, see page 11
INNOVATION
University scientists develop realistic soft fish lures
Product attracts salt and freshwater fish Meredith Will Contributing Writer
Two University professors worked with Mystic Tackleworks Inc. to produce improved soft fish lures that better attract fish. The lures, called Attraxx, are now on the market in 42 to 43 small locations, like Superior Bait and Tackle in Baton Rouge, according to James Henry, assistant professor of chemical engineering. Henry said the new lures are better than similar ones on the market.
“This is the first one to really taste and smell like [real fish],” he said. Henry and Mystic Tackleworks developed the visible part of the lure. Henry said the design and movement of the physical lure are natural and appear to fish like real bait. He said the appearance of the lure is important because the fish not only need to smell something similar to the real thing, but the movement of the lure needs to be similar to a real fish, as well. “Once they bite it, they can’t let go,” Henry said. The attraction comes from the solution John Caprio, designated professor of biological sciences, developed to draw fish to the lure.
Caprio named the biodegradable solution Sci-X. Henry said the attractants work on all species of fish and in salt and fresh water. The chemicals are also engineered to taste good to the fish so they will chew the lure and try to swallow it. Henry said the lures were a popular catch for fishermen. “We knew we could make a lure to catch fish. The trick is to make a lure that could catch fishermen,” he said. Caprio said the development of the chemicals in the fish lures was an offshoot of his actual research, which is studying how fish taste and LURES, see page 11
CHRISTOPHER LEH / The Daily Reveille
John Caprio, biological sciences professor, explains instruments needed to collect data on the smell and taste senses of catfish. He has created a more realistic fishing lure.