Politics: Jindal’s budget draws criticism from lawmakers, p. 3
Softball: Bulldogs steamroll Tigers, 12-0, p. 7
Reveille The Daily
www.lsureveille.com
Dancing the day away
Baseball: Tigers sweep Fullerton in weekend series, p. 7 Monday, March 14, 2011 • Volume 115, Issue 105
STUDY ABROAD
Program lacks minority students Claire Caillier Contributing Writer
photos by SHAINA HUNTSBERRY / The Daily Reveille
[Left] Plantation Day participants demonstrate how to spin cotton Saturday. [Above] Renaissance Cadienne dance group president Harry Leonard participates in a traditional Cajun dance. The event showcased Cajun heritage and culture.
French culture, traditions abound at BREC’s Magnolia Mound Plantation Day Emily Herrington Contributing Writer
Residents, tourists and visitors of all ages received a blast from the past Saturday as they basked in colonial French culture at BREC’s Magnolia Mound Plantation Day. Magnolia Mound Plantation, located just minutes from the University’s campus off Nicholson Drive, hosted hundreds of guests for a free celebration of the plantation’s French heritage. Plantation Day featured Cajun music, dancing, tours of the building, demonstrations of
colonial skills, jam sessions, traditional games and a French conversation room. The event exhibited what times were like when French immigrant Armand Duplantier owned the plantation in the early 19th century, said Clarence Moritz, Cajun disc jockey and activities coordinator. “We want to take history from then and share it with young people now,” said Danieta Stewart, member of Louisiane Vintage Dancers. The group demonstrated dances from the early 1800s Regency/Empire Era including waltzes, reels and circle dances.
Volunteers donned era costumes from the “Jane Austen period” that included floor-length skirts, long-sleeved blouses and bonnets for women and flowing shirts and slacks for men, most of which were homemade, Stewart said. The Renaissance Cadienne, a folklorictheater troupe based in Lafayette, also offered a dance performance and lessons on Cajun waltzing. President Harry Leonard shared techniques to avoid kicking dance partners and stepping on toes. PLANTATION, see page 15
See a video from Saturday’s Magnolia Mound Plantation Day celebrations at lsureveille.com.
The number of white college students who study abroad is significantly disproportional to the number of minority students, especially African-Americans, according to a new study. Mark Salisbury, director of Institutional Research and Assessment at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., is the head author of a paper published this month that pertains to the growing gap between white and minority students studying abroad. According to Salisbury, the paper is part of ongoing research in the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, a group that checks on higher education promises to students. “Higher education diversity is increasing, but the diversity in study abroad programs is at a dramatically slower rate,” Salisbury said. Harald Leder, LSU director of Academic Programs Abroad, said ABROAD, see page 6
ELECTION WATCH: A series looking at the SG presidential race
Caffarel, Robison vow to ‘protect the voices’ of students
Editor’s note: Ticket series will be printed in alphabetical order according to the presidential candidates’ last names. Andrea Gallo Staff Writer
Candidates of the “NOW” ticket for Student Government president and vice president say they want to “protect the voices” of students on campus and ensure equal opportunities for all students. SG presidential candidate Aaron Caffarel, current speaker pro tempore, and vice presidential candidate Sen. Alli Robison, UCAC, say they’ve tried to place themselves into the shoes of others as members of SG Senate. Both voted in favor of SG’s
recent resolution to form a black caucus and the resolution to add “gender identity and expression” to the nondiscrimination clause of the equal opportunity policy. Caffarel said his experience in SG Senate gives him an “overarching” broad experience both within the legislative branch and with other branches. Caffarel and Robison said though this is only Robison’s second semester of involvement in SG, her involvement in Senate and “passion for serving students” supplement her short experience. Caffarel and Robison said they’ll concede their personal priorities if elected as president and vice president under their ticket. Caffarel, a mellophone player in the University’s Tiger Band, said he would “retire” from the
band if elected because the time constraints are “not conducive” to fulfilling his presidential duties. Robison, an LSU Ambassador, said she would finish the spring semester as an ambassador but take alumna status next fall if elected vice president. Caffarel said the best way for SG to gauge students’ wants is to hold the senators accountable for interacting with students from the colleges they represent. He said senators fill the role of a “trustee or delegate.” “We need to place a priority on the delegate aspect,” he said. Caffarel and Robison outlined changes they would make to current SG President J Hudson and SG Vice President Dani NOW, see page 15
BRIANNA PACIORKA / The Daily Reveille
Student Government presidential candidate Aaron Caffarel, left, and vice presidential candidate Alli Robison discuss their campaign Thursday in Hodges Hall.