Miles continues evaluating quarterbacks Jefferson and Lee, p. 7
Reveille Reggie Bush forfits Heisman Trophy because of violations, p. 10
The Daily
Students use dogs to bring cheer to patients, p. 4
www.lsureveille.com Huey P. Long Fieldhouse remains in disrepair, needs feasibility plan for renovations Volume 115, Issue 17
Frederick Holl Staff Writer
Students who live or spend time near the west side of campus pass by it every day, unaware of the rapidly fading history within. The Huey P. Long Fieldhouse, constructed in 1932, is one of the oldest buildings on campus. It was the original Student Union and featured a soda fountain, ballroom, barber shop, racquetball courts and
post office, said Danielle Honeycutt, assistant director of The Foundation for Historical Louisiana. The Fieldhouse pool, 180 feet long and 48 feet wide, was the longest pool in the country at the time of its completion. The pool closed in 1999 because of maintenance issues and has been in a state of decline ever since, according to savehpl.org, a website dedicated to preserving the Fieldhouse pool facility.
Weeds, insects and animals have taken over the Fieldhouse, and a tree is growing in the pool. Since the pool’s closure, the Fieldhouse has been repeatedly broken into and vandalized. The locker rooms and racquetball courts are covered in graffiti, ranging from a Pikachu to a pentagram the size of a bedroom. “When I got here in 1995, they had things going on [at the pool] all the time,” said LSU Police
Department Sgt. Antoine Busby, who was a student at the University and has been on the force since 2001. Busby said the pool was open to the public often during his time as a student, and people from around Baton Rouge would swim there. Restoration efforts have been under way for years but had a major setback after Hurricane Katrina, Honeycutt said. DISREPAIR, see page 15
Long Road to Ruin
GRANT GUTIERREZ / The Daily Reveille
The deep end of the Huey P. Long Fieldhouse pool is left to waste as rain and plants take over. See more photos of the pool and the vandalized building at lsureveille.com.
Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010
BUDGET CUTS
Economy, structural issues led to cutbacks Matthew Albright Staff Writer
As students, faculty and staff grapple with budget cuts that are starting to have concrete impacts on the University, some professors and administrators say these cuts have been a long time coming. The most recent string of cuts started in early 2006, according to James Richardson, economics professor. Richardson sits on the Revenue Forecasting Committee, the brain trust that predicts how much cash the state will have on hand. Richardson said three economic trends created a surge in tax revenue for the state. First, the Louisiana tax code was restructured in the early 2000s. “We changed it to a more growth-oriented structure,” Richardson said. Second, the state’s coffers swelled as the state began rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina. Federal recovery funds and private insurance money flowed freely, and homeowners worked — and spent — furiously to rebuild their homes and lives. Third, the oil industry was booming, and the state reaped the benefits. Flush with cash because of these three factors, the state began SPENDING, see page 15
TELEVISION
Professor hired to write for ‘Treme’ Sarah Eddington Staff Writer
A University professor is getting the chance to write for one of TV’s most acclaimed shows, which depicts life in the Big Easy. Screenwriting professor Mari Kornhauser will be the newest addition to the writing staff of “Treme” — HBO’s hit series about life in New Orleans postHurricane Katrina. Kornhauser said she will join the team of writers for the show’s second season in just a few days. “I’m still so mind blown,”
Kornhauser said. “It’s a great gift to not only be able to work with these guys I consider geniuses, but I also get to learn their processes.” Kornhauser said she communicated frequently with Eric Overmyer and David Simon, the show’s co-creators, throughout the show’s first season. “We were acquaintances, and we reconnected in New Orleans when they were filming the show,” she said. “We kept running into each other and eventually started a dialogue. He wanted some honest feedback about the show.” Kornhauser said the idea for
her to write for the show came during a brunch with Overmyer during the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. At the end of the meal, Overmyer asked Kornhauser, who has professional experience in feature filmmaking, what she thought about writing for television. “I asked him, ‘Do you mean for your show?’” Kornhauser said. “When he said yes, I responded ‘Hell yeah. Who wouldn’t?’” Kornhauser said she submitted a writing sample but didn’t TREME, see page 15
photo courtesy of RICK MORELAND
LSU screenwriting professor Mari Kornhauser has been hired to write for the HBO television show “Treme.” Kornhauser is the third local writer hired to script the show.