CXVIV Volume 8

The Tulane hullabaloo

THE EYES AND EARS OF THE TULANE COMMUNITY

THRILL, THREAT OR THERAPY?

Inside ketamine use on Tulane’s campus

AIDAN MCCAHILL ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

In the mid 1970s, John C. Lilly, a physician and neuropsychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania, searched for a cure for his migraines. A leading figure in the counterculture movement, Lilly was known for pushing the bounds of neuroscience research. He promoted the use of LSD and other hallucinogenic drugs, developed a saltwater isolation tank to test sensory deprivation and, funded by NASA in the 1960s, began attempting to communicate with dolphins. Then he stumbled upon an interesting new drug.

Q&A: Book Fest founder on power of literacy, open conversations

Synthesized in 1962 as a safer alternative to Phencyclidine, or PCP, ketamine — a dissociative anesthetic — was first tested on prisoners in Jackson, Michigan, before being used to treat wounded soldiers in the Vietnam War. In addition to relieving Lilly’s migraines, “Vitamin K” as he called it, was revelatory in his work on expanding human consciousness; he began to frequently write about it and incorporate it into his research. In the coming decades, ketamine became standard in veterinary clinics and emergency rooms, while recreational use

‘Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play’: Pop culture collides MAX

ebbed and flowed in America, finding niches in underground rave scenes. Today, evidence suggests ketamine is on the path to the mainstream, both clinically and recreationally. Between 2017 and 2022, law enforcement seizures of illegal ketamine increased by 349.1%, according to a recent study done by the New York University School of Global Public Health. A new industry of ketamine clinics is forecasted to reach $6.9 billion in revenue by 2030. Its rise has ignited debates — both nationally and on Tulane’s campus — over its wide range

OPINION | Spring Scholar blindspot creates disconnect

of uses, from treating depression to safer partying.

Names of sources who preferred to remain anonymous have been changed or omitted, fearing personal and professional repercussions.

“I think it’s had a presence at Tulane for a while, but I think in the past two years, it has gotten way more popular,” said Christian, a senior from New Jersey. He attributes the rise in use among Tulane students to studying abroad.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

Athletics

PETER KARASYOV

AD David Harris rings in new era in Tulane

BENNY

MARTHA SANCHEZ MANAGING EDITOR

Authorities arrested and charged a former Tulane University employee last summer after police found a small video camera in a Gibson Hall bathroom, the school confirmed last week.

The case is not the only such incident on Tulane’s campus in the past year. Last month, a student discovered another small video camera in a shower in Butler Hall, a freshman dormitory, Tulane University Police Department said in an email.

Tulane said last week there is no evidence the two cases are connected. Police are still investigating the case of the camera in Butler and no suspect had been arrested as of last Wednesday.

TUPD arrested 36-year-old Wesley Hollingsworth on June 23 after finding a small video camera in the single occupancy, gender-neutral bathroom on the first floor of Gibson, accord-

ing to court records and TUPD.

Hollingsworth is charged with 10 counts of video voyeurism sexual content. Court records show he appeared in court in December and pleaded not guilty.

The university fired Hollingsworth and banned him from campus after his arrest, Tulane spokesperson Mike Strecker said last week.

Hollingsworth worked in Tulane’s Office of Financial Aid as an administrative program coordinator, according to a 2022-2023 staff list. Hollingsworth had worked at Tulane since the spring of 2016, according to the spring 2021 President’s Excellence Awards, which listed Hollingsworth as a five-year employee.

Jeffrey Hufft, an attorney at a Metairie law firm representing Hollingsworth, declined to comment.

Tulane police identified Hollingsworth as a suspect “within hours” of learning about the camera in Gibson, Strecker said.

The New Orleans Police Department said in an email that the camera was first reported June 15, and Hollingsworth was arrested June 23.

TUPD notified Gibson employees of the camera on June 29, an email from Tulane police shows. Gibson is an administrative building that includes the Office of the President, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, the Office of Financial Aid and some classrooms.

By July 3, Tulane police had individually notified everyone who was recorded by the camera, according to an email sent on that date from Dean of Admissions Shawn Abbott, whose office is in Gibson.

It is unclear how many people were caught on camera, or if any were students. Student interns working in admissions over the summer were notified of the incident, an email shows.

Tulane directed employees who needed support after the incident to an employee assistance program, ac-

cording to an email from TUPD. The department also directed impacted students to The Line, a confidential counseling service on campus.

Hollingsworth was released on bond in June, court records show. He is awaiting trial and a hearing in the case is scheduled for March 13.

The cameras in Gibson and Butler were the only two found on campus in the past year, Strecker said.

A student found the camera in Butler in a sixth floor shower, according to a message Tulane police sent to residents of the dormitory. The sixth floor is all-male.

Police said last month they searched all on-campus shower facilities and found no other cameras.

Tulane police did not say whether the camera in Butler was recording and have not released further information because the case is still under criminal investigation.

Q&A: Book Fest founder on power of literacy, open conversations

ELLIE COWEN NEWS EDITOR

From an unassuming office in University Square down Broadway Street, former New Orleans First Lady Cheryl Landrieu and a small team are coordinating the New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University. What started as the New Orleans Children’s Book Festival for families at Milton H. Latter Memorial Library in 2010 has become one of Tulane’s most anticipated literary and cultural events.

This year, the Book Festival will feature over 150 authors and thought-leaders across more than 90 panels. Among the notable speakers are Stacey Abrams, Kurt Andersen and Tulane’s own Walter Issacson and Jesmyn Ward. The event will open Thursday with a discussion curated by The Atlantic Magazine on great novels of the past 100 years. Cheryl Landrieu sat down with The Hullabaloo to share her insight into the history and importance of Book Fest. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: Along with civil rights activist Ruby Bridges, you founded Book Fest in 2010. What inspired you to found the festival and how has it evolved over the years?

A: I’ve often believed, particularly in New Orleans, that literacy is important for the children of our city. Ruby and I both believed that bringing children together around the city to get to know one another, they may be in different

schools and different neighborhoods, was important. For them to get to know each other and to do something that was fun like reading [would] help both the literacy prospects and also help them get to know other children.

So we founded the New Orleans Book Festival. It began in 2010 and it was just for children. We held it for five years at the Latter Library and we had children’s authors and children’s activities. It was a fun day for kids to be able to come together and experience the joy of reading outside of their school. We grew to have adult authors and we moved out to City Park until 2017. Then we started partnering with Walter Isaacson and Tulane in 2019.

Q: Bizneworleans.com reported that attendance to the festival doubled from its first to second year. Why do you think this event garners the attention it does? Why do you think so many people want to get together to talk about books?

A: People say that people don’t read anymore, that they’re busy and they’re too much on their phones but we were pleasantly surprised to find the opposite. The first year we did [the festival] at Tulane, it was after the pandemic and we had two postponements. By the time the attendees got here in 2022, there was so much excitement around meeting authors and communicating with other readers. They kept calling it a renaissance.

The attendance really blossomed and grew. This year, we’re hoping we’re

going to keep growing and we’re using some bigger venues this year on a more regular basis. We’re excited to see what the attendance is going to be this year.

Q: Do you have a projection of how many people are going to be attending?

A: We do not because we’re free and open to the public, which is very important to our mission. It’d be obvious-

ly much easier to sell tickets, we would know exactly who was coming. But we want this to be accessible to everybody in the city. We don’t have a great projection, we’re thinking that we’re going to exceed 2023’s numbers.

COURTESY OF TULANE UNIVERSITY Cheryl Landrieu founded Book Fest with Ruby Bridges in 2010.

The Tulane hullabaloo

‘Nonstop traffic’: Mardi Gras’ economic impact on local businesses

AHANA LOUZADO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Mardi Gras is a crucial time of year for the New Orleans economy. According to a study conducted by Tulane economics professor Toni Weiss, the Mardi Gras celebration brought around $891 million to New Orleans in 2023.

Mardi Gras is “one of the strongest times of the year for us,” Chris Hummel, owner of Mushroom New Orleans, said. The Mushroom is a local record store and smoke shop Tulane students frequent. “We do maybe quadruple the business on a Mardi Gras shift than we would do on a regular shift,” he said.

Empanola, a local empanada shop, also experiences high demand during Mardi Gras. “We hit record-breaking sales during Mardi Gras on the Saturday right before Fat Tuesday,” manager Heather Rabossa said. “I think we hit $6,000 in sales Saturday.”

Hummel said late nights are essential to good business during Mardi Gras.“Normally, we’re open till midnight, but during Mardi Gras,” he said, “we’ll close at four or five in the morning.”

“It was nonstop traffic,” Rabossa said. “We had three times the normal staff and some of our owners kept having to come and pitch in for us; the workers couldn’t keep it up ourselves.”

Partying students pose a challenge to many local businesses during Mardi Gras. “The biggest challenge during Mardi Gras is crowd control and dealing with people because a lot of these kids

Ghave been drinking and partying,” Hummel said.

“It’s definitely been a lot of cleaning up after incredibly drunk people,” Rabossa said. “Cleaning throw-up out of the bathroom or dealing with even lower tips than normal.”

“Dealing with inebriated customers” is also a challenge at the Insomnia Cookies on Maple Street, according to employee

Deshaun Douglas.

Increased demand causes some local businesses to get creative. Danielle Sutton, owner of St. James Cheese Company, said that customer traffic during Mardi Gras is “chaotic” and “unpredictable.”

To capitalize on the increased demand, Hummel brings in new products. “We do Mardi Gras print hoodies specifically for Mardi Gras every year, and we usually sell those out,” he said. “We will bring in Mardi Gras beads. Not like the ones you catch off floats — slightly fancier nicer ones that you might buy for $3 or $4.”

“We started doing catering for floats last year where people bring pre-packaged lunch boxes to bring on the floats with them when they’re riding,” Sutton said. “And that’s been successful.” The initiative brought in around $1,500 from a new catering initiative during Mardi Gras in 2023, Sutton said.

According to Sutton, their Uptown shop had a 6% increase in sales during Mardi Gras and the downtown shop had a 24% increase.

Governor signs stricter tough-on-crime bills into law

BRYCE OUFNAC AND LILLIAN FOSTER

ov. Jeff Landry signed 11 bills into law on March 5 and eight additional bills on March 6 following the Louisiana Special Legislative Session on Crime.

“Our criminal justice system has lost its balance,” Landry said on Feb. 18, at the start of the session.

The Louisiana State Legislature convened in Baton Rouge from Feb. 19 to 29 after Landry declared a state of emergency due to a police officer shortage.Legislators discussed over two dozen proposed laws at the special session, including expanding death row execution methods, permitless concealed carry, legal protection for police officers and harsher penalties for certain criminal offenses.

In 2021, Louisiana had one of the highest crime rates in the U.S., making these tough-on-crime policies a pivotal strategy in the new Republican gover- nor’s administration.

“Tough-on-crime laws generally increase incarceration rates,” Stan Oklobdzija, assistant professor of political science at Tulane University, said. “Louisiana is usually either number one or number two when it comes to incarceration rates among U.S. states. None of this incarceration has brought any safety for Louisiana as it remains one of the most dangerous and violent American states.”

House Bill 1, also known as the Truth and Transparency Bill, will allow for

the release of some juvenile criminal records on an online portal. The bill also allows prosecutors to charge 17-year olds as adults for all crimes, including offenses ranging from purse snatching to abortion.

“What is going to happen to the economy because their records are exposed? Are we actually setting ourselves up for more crime?” Gary Hoover, the executive director of the Murphy Institute at Tulane, said. The Murphy Institute helps to tackle issues related to political economy and morality.

“What the legislators are doing is threatening [juveniles]. They’re saying ‘if you engage in this activity, your records are going to be exposed. You’re not going to be able to get a job,’” Hoover said. “That will have some impact on the economy and even more people will be disassociated with high- er education.”

“When minors are incarcerated with adults, they are more likely to have mental health problems, and we also know that when they come out, they’re more likely to engage in recidivism,” Anita Raj, executive director of the Newcomb Institute, said.

Republicans praised the legislation as a step towards justice for families of violent crime.

“The steps we take to restore that balance may be difficult to accept for some. However, when promises are made to a victim’s family and friends, granting them that justice restores the balance,” Landry said.

House Bill 7 increases the sentencing of carjacking offenders to anywhere

from five to 20 years, up from the previous minimum of two to 20 years. Violent carjackings can now be punished by 20 to 30 years of jail time.

“A lot of carjacking is committed by juveniles who have diminished cogni- tive facilities because their brains aren’t fully developed. As such, they are far less likely to consider potential sentences than an adult,” Oklobdzija said.

House Bill 19 allocates over $19 million to the Louisiana State Police, with $1.75 million designated to the Traffic Enforcement Program and to supple- ment New Orleans local law enforcement.

“Utilizing police that are not from the community base, like for example, state police, may not have the kind of positive effects that one might hope,” Raj said. “If the police departments have long-term, trusting relationships with the community, there is a humanization of community members by the police officers, but also of the police officers by community members.”

Portions of the funding go toward pay raises for officers and the establishment of a permanent state police presence in New Orleans, Troop NOLA, intended to aid the understaffed New Orleans Police Department.

The money will allow for the operation of the troop for one fiscal year, until June 2025.

The bill also devotes $3 million to Operation Lone Star, a plan to send the Louisiana National Guard to the Texas border in March.

“[Landry] is playing to the bigotries of a voter base that has increasingly

embraced ethnonationalism as a mainstream party position,” Oklobdzija said. “The fact that it costs LA taxpayers about $3 million will likely not register with Republican voters in Louisiana.”

Tulane spokesperson Mike Strecker said that the Tulane University Police Department has not been negatively affected by the NOPD shortage which triggered the special legislative session.

“The shortage of NOPD officers has not adversely impacted its ability to ensure that the Tulane campus is safe,” Strecker said. “TUPD officers patrol a one-mile perimeter around the uptown and downtown campuses and handle NOPD calls for service.”

Louisiana’s three-month Regular Legislative Session convened on March 11.

ZACH KEMPIN | THE HULLABALOO

JUDE PAPILLION | THE HULLABALOO

Mardi Gras season causes local business’ sales to surge and presents risks of dealing with Mardi Gras partiers.

Inside ketamine use on Tulane’s campus

“During our COVID year, no one was going abroad. But after that, when people started going again and coming back, I saw a huge rise.”

Christian still remembers the first time he tried ketamine at a date party junior year.

“I didn’t even know what it was,” he said. Since then he describes using it once every few weeks. “You take a bump and you feel it instantly … you feel so euphoric.”

Others dispute study abroad’s influence. “Since being back, especially during Mardi Gras, I’ve seen way more ketamine usage than I did in Spain. It seems to be super accessible here now and is getting more and more normalized,” wrote one Tulane junior.

“If you’re in Greek life, it’s very accessible,” Christian said.

Growing influence

Even tamer students, assuming they have internet access, have likely become familiar with the drug. Elon Musk touts its use for depression, “Friends” actor Matthew Perry died of its acute effects and subreddits like r/Ketamemes poke fun at its use. Ketamine even made an appearance in season one of the popular show “White Lotus.”

In its recreational uses, ketamine has a history in nightlife scenes. Ed Gillet, in his book “Party Lines,” detailing the history of UK dance music, suggests ketamine’s possible connection to minimal techno music. A Rolling Stone article describes ketamine’s presence in San Francisco’s queer club environments.

Some even attribute “Ketamine chic,” a fashion movement that debuted at London Fashion Week, to the underground rave scene. And various songs implicitly or explicitly mention the drug.

Tulane, no stranger to party or pop culture, fits the mold.

‘Euphoric, inebriating effects’

“It’s going to induce experiences that to a certain extent, feel like a psychedelic, but it’s not a classical psychedelic,” said Senior Professor of Practice James Cronin, who teaches a graduate course on psychedelics at Tulane.

Drugs like LSD and psilocybin, or magic mushrooms, target the brain’s 5-HT2A receptors, which normally bind to serotonin, the body’s mood-regulating neurotransmitter. When signals from these receptors are enhanced by psychedelics, it can disrupt areas like the thalamus, which processes sensory information before it reaches consciousness.

“Now you’ve got information bounc-

ing around in ways that it shouldn’t,” Cronin said, “that’s a trip … you see sound and you taste colors.”

Though research is ongoing, one theory is that ketamine blocks NMDA receptors on inhibitory interneurons in the brain, responsible for regulating its main excitatory molecule, glutamate.

“You inhibit the inhibitor,” said Cronin. “What happens? You get a big upregulation of glutamate in the cortex.”

When glutamate floods this outer portion of the brain, the main source of consciousness, it disrupts communication with the rest of the brain.

“That disassociation also has euphoric, inebriating effects,” said Cronin.

The surge in glutamate is also believed to have downstream effects that may contribute to neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to form new or reorganized connections between neurons. These connections, or synapses, are thought to be damaged by stress and depression.

In recent years, the drug has garnered massive attention as a possible alternative for treating depression in populations resistant selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. SSRIs are the most commonly prescribed antidepressants.

“Ketamine seems to give immediate dramatic relief to depression in this population,” said Cronin, though after returning from a psychedelics conference, maintained researchers “don’t know squat” on how it actually does this.

Despite the uncertainty, its potential as an antidepressant has given rise to what many media outlets call a “Ketamine Boom” in America. Hundreds of clinics have popped up around the country, offering intravenous ketamine infusions in exchange for a few hundred bucks. Silicon Valley has taken notice too. Startups like Mindbloom and Tripsitter now offer subscription services to mail ketamine lozenges.

“The problem is it wears off in two weeks,” Cronin said. Patients are told to come back to sustain its therapeutic effects.

Recently the FDA approved a nasal spray, esketamine — or Spravato — a slightly altered molecule with similar effects. But most clinics administer off-label, or unapproved ketamine, and the burgeoning industry operates largely without regulations.

Therapeutic frontier

Still, the novel treatments offer hope to many.

Cole, a Tulane junior, struggled with depression his entire life.

“I was on Prozac for years,” he said, “it was really difficult.”

When nothing seemed to work, Cole

was eventually prescribed ketamine. At first, a friend would drive him to his psychiatrist’s office twice a week, where he was administered ketamine prepared at a local compounding pharmacy. The effect wasn’t a trip for him, but rather a calm, drawn-out mellow feeling. In the morning his depressive thoughts would be gone.

“When you’re on ketamine, especially in a clinical setting, it’s a place to reflect on everything that might be causing your depression,” he said. “You start to talk to yourself and know yourself better and learn ways of talking yourself off the ledge that you didn’t necessarily know that you could do before.”

Gradually, infusions were tapered off to once a month before Cole stopped them completely, feeling he gained new tools to deal with his depression.

“At this point, I feel like more of a person, whereas I felt hollow before.”

Is it safe(r)?

Outside the sterile confines of a clinical environment, questions of safety become murkier.

Matthew, a senior majoring in finance, recalls taking too much ketamine at a DJ concert over Mardi Gras and feeling “exhausted and out of it.”

Other than that, he believes there are few risks.

As a sophomore, Matthew recalls seeing ketamine use rise in his fraternity, driven by fears of fentanyl-laced coke.

“It just seemed like more of a safer drug than cocaine,” Matthew said, who along with Christian, believes its granular nature makes it easier to tell whether it’s the real thing or not.

Many students also see it as a less addictive alternative to cocaine, with a reduced likelihood of overdosing. It also doesn’t keep you up all night, they say, and there’s little hangover.

A source familiar with drug distribution on campus, offered a more sobering view. “It’s a powder,” he said. “The quality control on certain powders in New Orleans can be poor.”

“Years ago, most recreational ketamine was stolen from local veterinarian offices,” said Joseph Palamar, co-author of the NYU study. According to the DEA New Orleans Division, most illegally obtained ketamine comes from legitimate sources or is smuggled in from Mexico.

“I’m gonna tell you now it’s not from medical facilities,” said the source familiar with Tulane’s supply, “I’ve seen some come from Pakistan or China, but India seems to be the biggest source.”

Oftentimes it’s not actually ketamine, he says, but an analog known as 2-Fluo-

rodeschloroketamine that’s reported to be stronger than ketamine, though its pharmacological effects remain unclear.

First synthesized in 2014, 60 cases of confirmed exposure to this new drug have been reported, according to the World Health Organization.

For most users though, the biggest fear is entering the “K-hole,” an intense, outof-body experience resulting from overconsumption of the drug. This detachment from reality can last for hours.

“I’ve seen kids do lines and just turn into absolute zombies,” said Christian. During his sophomore year, he witnessed one of his closest friends enter the K-hole.

“He couldn’t tell you a thing from what happened that night,” said Christian.

Known short-term side effects of ketamine include elevated blood pressure and vomiting. When used in conjunction with alcohol or other depressants, it can lead to respiratory depression and death.

As someone who went to Loyola University in the 1970s, drug fads are not a novel idea for Cronin. He’s seen the popularity of LSD and even Quaaludes rise and fall with each decade and theorized that the process is likely accelerated today by social media.

“There’s a difference between 1976 and 2024,” he said. “There wasn’t something out there remotely comparable to fentanyl.”

In addition to the risks of fentanyl poisoning, there’s little known about ketamine’s long-term effects on the brain.

John C. Lilly never quite established communication with dolphins, even with the help of ketamine. The project was halted after rumors surfaced of bestiality and dolphins being injected with LSD. He did, reportedly, encounter other-dimensional beings on the drug.

“That evening I took 150 milligrams of ketamine,” Lilly said in one interview. “And suddenly the Earth Coincidence Control Office removed my penis and handed it to me.”

Years of self-administering ketamine landed Lilly in a psychiatric ward.

Around the same time, the Nixon administration’s War on Drugs” largely banned other promising research into psychedelics.

Today, ketamine presents a double-edged sword: Its solutions — for depression — and setbacks — for substance abuse — are mostly uncharted.

And decades after Lilly’s migraines, the drug is still a mystery that Tulane students seem to be exploring.

“The undergraduate population is a longitudinal study,” Cronin said.

REVIEW:

Ariana Grande returns with ‘eternal sunshine’

After a three-year hiatus, Ariana Grande released her seventh album, “eternal sunshine.” Named after the 2007 romance movie “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” Grande’s album beautifully explores heartbreak, growth and self-love.

“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” follows Clementine and Joel — played by Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey, respectively — as they navigate their breakup and undergo sci-fi-themed procedures to make them forget each other. Grande noted in a recent interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music that the connection between the movie and the album title stems both from her struggles leaving a relationship and her admiration for actor Jim Carrey.

Grande recorded “eternal sunshine” over three and a half months. She worked closely with esteemed producer Max Martin, who has produced songs on all of her albums. “eternal sunshine” consists of 13 songs and runs just over 35 minutes. This is her shortest album yet, but arguably her most meaningful.

In December 2022, Grande began filming for the upcoming “Wicked” movie. In her interview with Zach Sang for Amazon Music, she describes the process of transforming herself from “popstar Ari” to “human Ari” for “Wicked.” “I think that time away was really healing,” she said to Lowe. She expressed that the transformation allowed her to write this album in all its bittersweet honesty.

The album begins with the song “intro (end of the world).” She prompts a question, one reflective of the album as a whole: “how do you know that you’re in the right relationship?” This question is answered on the album’s last track, when her Nonna speaks in “ordinary things.”

Despite its title, Grande’s previous album, “thank u, next,” is undeniably more playful than “eternal sunshine.” One of the hits of the previous album, “7 Rings,” is a girl boss mantra; her new album, on the other hand, takes a more delicate view of the independence and confidence these “7 Rings” girl bosses possess.

SOPHIE BORISLOW ASSOCIATE ARCADE EDITOR

Her second track, “bye,” captures this perfectly. While on the Zach Sang Show, Grande said that this was the hardest song for her to write. She intended the song not as a “F-you” anti-boy anthem, but as a song about self-worth and independence. “I wanted it to be rooted in self-awareness and not a [expletive] you,

self-revelation and significant mental transitions when Saturn “hits you over the head.” Grande was 30 at the time she wrote the album.

The fifth track bears the album’s title. At the beginning of the song, listeners can hear Grande’s laugh clipped from a viral video of her and Mac Miller. Fol-

you go, but with love, I’m emigrating from the situation,” Grande said.

The album continues with “don’t wanna break up again,” which feeds into “Saturn Returns Interlude,” a snippet recording of astrological counselor Diana Garland discussing the return of Saturn. The concept is that every 27 to 30 years, the planet cycles through the zodiac and returns to the same position as one’s birth. The return can cause

lowing this laugh, in a barely detectable robotic tone, is the sentence, “You’re supposed to be here with me.” She sighs and begins singing. Grande claims the song “fell into place” while putting the album together.

The middle of the album shifts in tone to an RnB, ‘90s vibe. “supernatural” explores the magical feeling of a new relationship, possibly one with “Wicked” co-star Ethan Slater. “true

story,” is an oxymoron of sorts, as the song condemns the media and their gossip. The unfinished, original version of the song was leaked in June 2023 alongside the viral “fantasize.” In the Sang interview, she discussed “reclaiming” it and reworking it to the one currently on the album. The song sets up the “bad girl” persona she takes on in “the boy is mine.”

“the boy is mine” nods to and takes inspiration from the iconic 1998 Brandy & Monica song. Amid homewrecking allegations, this song seemed like a “bad idea” to Grande, but she knew how much the fans loved “fantasize.” She says in the Lowe interview that “there is a large group of my fans that love a bad girl anthem, and, this is … an elevated version of that.”

The next track, “yes, and?” was her single prior to the album, paying homage to Madonna’s “Vogue.” The 10th track on the album, “we can’t be friends (wait for your love),” resembles Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own,” with a descending chord progression on the chorus that tempts danceable sadness. I won’t be surprised if this song is played in nightclubs.

As the second single, the song was accompanied with an outstandingly produced music video. Starring Grande and Evan Peters, the short-film music video references “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” on many occasions. “The video that we made for ‘we can’t be friends’ is, to me, the album in a video,” Grande said.

“I wish I hated you” has a unique melody and a concise yet complex concept of still having love for someone you are no longer in a relationship with. The album finishes with “ordinary things,” which features a snippet of Grande’s Nonna wisely answering her question: “Never go to bed without kissin’ goodnight … and if you don’t feel comfortable doing it, you’re in the wrong place. Get out.”

These past couple of years have been a lot for Grande to handle, and she graciously opened her heart to her listeners to take us through her journey of loss, growth and self-love.

TAYLOR FISHMAN | LAYOUT EDITOR

Spotlight on Ogden Museum: What is Southern art?

Located downtown within a corridor of museums including The National WWII Museum, the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience and the Contemporary Arts Center, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art stands out as an important destination for New Orleans locals and tourists alike.

The Ogden was founded in 1999 following real estate developer and philanthropist Roger H. Ogden’s donation of over 600 works from his private collection. Since then, the collection has grown to include more than 4,000 paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures and crafts, all associated in some way with the American South.

The museum highlights Southern art, but what does it mean to be “Southern”? There is first a geographic definition: the South, according to the U.S. federal government, includes the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia.

Although the geographical definition is largely useful, the works the Ogden displays feature a thematic unity that crosscuts geographical borders — the South is, after all, a social, economic, political and cultural construct. In the words of curator Bradley Sumrall, all

IAN FAUL ARCADE EDITOR

items in the museum’s collection are “in, of or about the South.”

This second, thematic definition exists because of “that struggle to reconcile the past, often horrific, with the reality of the present and visions for the future,” Sumrall said in a written exchange.

“How do we reconcile the mythology of ‘moonlight and magnolias’ with the brutal reality and lasting legacy of genocide, slavery and secession? How do we dispel the antiquated stereotypes of the past that often define the South to the larger world, showing instead the contemporary reality of the region’s diversity and moments of excellence?” Sumrall said.

Sumrall hit on narrativity as a unifying element of Southern art. The impulse to tell stories may be most clearly exemplified in the robust Southern literary tradition, which includes such celebrated writers as Eudora Welty, William Faulkner, Zora Neale Hurston and Flannery O’Connor.

Storytelling seeps into the region’s music as well. Enslaved people — prohibited from reading or writing in most Southern states — used song to pass information down generationally and to communicate instructions for escape. The work, songs and spirituals sung on plantations served as the foundation for the distinctly Southern genres of gospel,

blues and country.

The notion of place is another characteristic feature in the Southern art canon. This is not to say, however, that Southern art necessarily engages with regionality, or exaggerates local color to bring out its strangeness or otherness. While “regional” is a term outsiders apply to a work of art, the sense of place that permeates much of Southern art is in the raw material. While Southern artists of any worth may make characteristically vivid use of place as a subject and setting, their work transcends the boundaries or vernacular of a region.

It is here that works by self-taught artists, which are prominently featured at the Ogden, become particularly important. Sumrall named Clementine Hunter, Thornton Dial, Reverend Howard Finster, Sister Gertrude Morgan, Minnie Evans, Bill Traylor and Jimmy Lee Sudduth as exemplars of this category. Existing outside of any academic dialogue themselves, these visionary artists exert a strong influence on the trained artists that follow them. “Their work is art drawn from life itself — intuitive, honest and tied to the culture in which it was created,” Sumrall said.

Currently on display are exhibitions entitled “The Contemporary South,” “Southern Abstraction,” “NOCCA Past, Present, and Future: A 50th Anniversary Exhibition” and “Stories

from New Orleans East: The Shape of a New Day,” as well as a sculpture exhibition on nearby Poydras Street. The latter two exhibitions are a testament to the Ogden’s commitment to engage and showcase the diversity of the New Orleans community. The museum offers free admission to college students on the first Friday of each month, so Tulanians are especially encouraged to deepen their engagement with the city within the steel and glass walls of the museum.

The Ogden also includes several event spaces that host participatory tours, guided meditations and concerts. You can find a monthly calendar of events on the museum’s website.

Originally founded upon a private donation, the Ogden exists now to correct a narrative, namely, the one that broadly excludes Southern, often self-taught artists from American art. Southern artists have not simply responded passively to national and global artistic movements; rather, they have excelled in and pioneered various movements.

The collection at the Ogden can provide Tulane University students with not only a greater appreciation of what it means to live, even transiently, in the American South, but with a greater understanding of artistic traditions that exceed geographical lines.

MEREDITH ABDELNOUR | THE HULLABALOO

The Ogden Museum showcases Southern art from its location in the Warehouse District.

‘Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play’: Pop culture collides

MAX HANDLER ARCADE EDITOR

The show “The Simpsons” is a pop culture pièce de résistance. The long-running show’s ability to piece together the flotsam of the cultural zeitgeist so effortlessly has lent it critical acclaim and a spot in the memories of countless watchers. This core facet of “The Simpsons” is what makes its usage in the production “Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play” so brilliant.

“Mr. Burns” premiered on Tuesday as part of Tulane University’s Department of Theatre & Dance’s spring season. The play, written by Anne Washburn, envisions a post-apocalyptic world where survivors recreate an episode of “The Simpsons” amongst the rubble.

This unique premise resonates with the audience as we, too, have experienced conversational games of telephone, struggling to remember the exact details of cultural phenomenons — albeit under rosier circumstances. The exact episode being recalled is “Cape Feare,” one that sees the Simpson family uproot their lives in Springfield to escape the murderous intentions of

Sideshow Bob. Similarly, the characters in “Mr. Burns” must adapt to a new life, one that is bleaker and more barren than before.

With each act, the play’s timeline jumps forward. The first follows the six survivors shortly after an apocalyptic event as they try to find laughter in their grim situation. The second act places these characters seven years in the future, traveling the ruins of the country as a theater group that exclusively performs episodes of “The Simpsons.”

The third and final act takes place 75 years later and features a different cast of characters performing their wildly altered adaptation of “Cape Feare.”

Tension fills the air in each act. Quarrels break out amongst characters, hostile marauders stalk the land and fears of radiation poisoning hang over everyone’s head. The performances of Sydney Schneider, Nya Phillips, Simon Rucker, Katie Spartz, Madi Bell and Ian Faul — who is also a co-editor of The Hullabaloo’s Arcade section — stand out; their inflections and body language perfectly capture this sense of dread.

The set design in “Mr. Burns” also

succeeds in achieving this mood, the third act in particular. The viewer sees a warped reality, one with rotted wood, chipped paint and tattered rags.

Yet, the ethos of the play lies in its source material. Aside from “The Simpsons,” the characters riff off antiquated media such as “Seinfeld,” “The Flintstones” and Britney Spears’s “Toxic.” As such, the play is essentially an amalgamation of culture. The rituals of the dystopian society fuse with the ghosts of pre-apocalyptic traditions, creating

History comes alive at Beauregard-Keyes House and Gardens

CASEY WADE VIEWS EDITOR

On the corner of Ursulines Avenue and Chartres Street stands the Beauregard-Keyes Historic House and Gardens, transporting viewers back to historic New Orleans. The home, originally built in 1826, boasts a rich history and a beautiful setting. The quarter is filled with spaces that can send you back in time, but students rarely take advantage of these opportunities.

The BK House and Gardens have served as a historic site since 1975, highlighting the history of its tenants. The house has served as an Italian family’s wine business, author Frances Parkinson Keyes’ home, confederate leader Beauregard’s residence and even the site of an infamous mob murder. It is open daily for tours.

The house also has temporary collections that acknowledge New Orleans’ troubled past and provide meaningful spaces for discussion. Currently on display is an exhibit entitled “Haiti Louisiana: Tides of Freedom,” which aims “to evoke, raise awareness of, and highlight the many atrocities suffered by people enslaved by the system of colonialism

and how this dehumanizing conquest has impacted civilizations today.” The exhibit tells the underrepresented stories of enslaved people in both Haiti and Louisiana.

Visiting a historic home might not seem like a typical Tulane University student scene, but historic homes provide an opportunity to connect with the city we get to call home. For instance, the BK House is hosting a concert series this spring called Rhythm and Roses. The concerts happen on Thursday night in the gardens. This series presents a perfect opportunity for students who want to feel connected to the city but may not feel inclined to take a tour. The gardens will boast live music, a bar and a chance to connect with the local New Orleans community.

The lineup includes local artists who encapsulate the spirit of New Orleans. These artists, including Amanda Shaw and Marcia Ball, typically play to larger crowds, but Rhythm and Roses provides an opportunity to experience these artists in a more intimate setting. Annie Irvin, the house director, describes the series as a “very small-scale festival for the Lower Quarter.” Enjoy the spring

weather and spend some time outside of the Tulane bubble.

New Orleans is steeped in rich history and culture, and historic homes serve as tangible reminders of the city’s past. By visiting these homes, students can gain a deeper understanding of the people, events and lifestyles that shaped the city. Visiting historic homes fosters a sense of connection to the local community. The BK House is only one of a number of historic homes in New Orleans.

Some other historic homes to look into include the Hermann-Grima House or the Pitot House. Students can also discover lesser-known stories that highlight the everyday lives of people from different social and economic backgrounds. This connection to local history helps students develop a greater appreciation for their own community and the people who came before them.

Disclaimer: Casey Wade is an unpaid intern at the Beauregard-Keyes House and Gardens.

a bastardized way of life that exists in limbo between imagined fantasy and perceived reality. Schneider summed up the evolution of society’s customs: “Over the course of almost a century, things kind of meshed together.”

This could very well be a view into our distant future.

“Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play” plays in the Lupin Theater from March 12 to 17.

Editor-in-Chief elections for the 2024-2025 school year will be held on Sunday, April 7.

Any currently enrolled, fulltime student at Tulane University who is in good standing, who will be a fulltime student in the year they serve and who is not studying abroad in either the upcoming fall or spring semester may apply to become Editor-inChief.

IAN FAUL | THE HULLABALOO

Mr. Burns showcases beloved Simpson’s characters in a new light.

Like any institution, Greek life is redeemable OPINION

AALIYA WEHELIYE STAFF WRITER

Is Greek life an institution capable of change, despite its exclusionary practices? This question sparks a controversial debate among college students across the country. Many worry about the exclusive nature of Panhellenic culture on campus and what accompanies it. Like many other institutions, social fraternities are rooted in exclusion, especially of minorities, and Greek life hasn’t always been a place of acceptance.

The first fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa, was created at William & Mary College in 1776 when two Latin secret societies rejected a politician named John Heath. Greek life became an exclusive institution when the first social clubs excluded Heath.

Gamma Phi Beta became the first official sorority in 1882, and Kappa Alpha Theta followed soon after. Sororities began in the Midwest as mainly Christian-affiliated secret societies. Fraternities and sororities were not only overtly white-only societies, but also only welcomed WASPs — also known as white, Anglo-Saxon, protestant people. People of color and non-Christians were not welcome in Greek life, so they made their own fraternities.

Tulane is home to three historically Black and two Jewish sororities. African Americans, Jewish people and Asians, as well as many other minority groups, created sororities and fraternities that are still prevalent on college campuses today. But they shouldn’t have had to create separate groups to gain the benefits that come with fraternity participation.

Exclusion always has a rhyme and reason; it is never accidental. In Greek life, students make social and professional connections. Without even joining a pre-professional fraternity, you can gain connections just from being in a social one. Keeping minorities out of these clubs gave non-members a disadvantage in gaining these professional opportunities. While only 8.5% of college men join fraternities, 85% of Fortune 500 executives were a part of Greek life during college.

Social and professional exclusion isn’t a vaguely historical problem either. Only in 2003 did an Alabama sorority admit its first Black woman. These problems have been recognized for a long time, but criticism peaked during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020. Many universities with a very liberal student body, such as Washington University in St. Louis and Northwestern, had members in various chapters drop their sororities and even voted to disband them. This idea is utterly incomprehensible at Southern state schools, such as the University of Alabama, where Greek life dominates campus.

Despite its questionable and exclusionary history, does Greek life do more harm than good?

I say no. While many join social fraternities for fun events, friendships and professional networking, the core of Greek life is charity. When you walk past the Lavin-Bernick Center for Student Life and see a girl getting pied in the face or a fraternity brother advertising an event, it is most likely for charity. Sororities and fraternities raise a shocking amount of money for various philanthropies every year. From preventing child abuse, to raising money for local food banks, to helping children with disabilities, every chapter gives back on a national and local level to people who need it. Since Tri Delta designated St. Jude as their philanthropy in 1999, the sorority has raised over $93 million for cancer research and patient care. These philanthropic efforts have done undeniable good.

These charitable pursuits by no means excuse a history and pattern of not only exclusion but blatant racism and antisemitism. But doesn’t that sound familiar? Every institution in our day-to-day lives was founded on exclusive and prejudiced terms. Schools, universities, workforces, restaurants, Hollywood, the press — the list goes on.

While Greek life has been embarrassingly behind on inclusivity, it is not irredeemable. Schools were segregated until Ruby Bridges, buses until Rosa Parks and marriage until Loving v. Virginia. While this history isn’t a pretty one, progress always

has to start somewhere. While Greek life may seem inherently exclusive due to its troubled past and harsh recruitment tactics, so are most things.

College admissions are unpredictable and have a history of favoring those in privilege. With policies such as affirmative action — when it was in place — and test-optional admissions, we can work to make such an exclusive institution an accessible one.

While I defend fraternities and sororities’ potential for good, they still have a long way to go. Just as colleges implement programs to make low-income and minority students feel more comfortable applying, social fraternities should too. Recruitment is an inherently daunting process, and someone’s wealth, race and religion should not be considered when recruiting potential new members. I am not suggesting that the recruitment process be completely deconstructed, just

that people be recruited for the right reasons.

Much of Greek life has Christian origins, perhaps intimidating non-Christian students. While historically Black and Jewish sororities are great opportunities for Tulane students to join spaces in which they feel welcomed, no student should feel unwelcome in Panhellenic sororities. Further, Greek organizations should implement more scholarships to even the financial playing field for those who can’t pay for something that isn’t a necessity.

Participants in Greek life must acknowledge the exclusive nature of the organizations and work to make them more accepting, inclusive and progressive. Sororities and fraternities do so much good for college campuses and philanthropies on a national level, and they have the potential to do even more.

TAYLOR FISHMAN | THE HULLABALOO

OPINION | Spring Scholar blindspot creates disconnect

have crossed paths with otherwise and immerse ourselves in a foreign culture. However, the program is not without its flaws.

Ispent my first semester of college in London with other incoming freshmen from Tulane University and other universities all around the world — I was a Spring Scholar.

A Spring Scholar is someone who is accepted into Tulane on the condition that they spend their first semester at another university. Tulane provides options for partner schools in London, Rome and Paris, as well as one in Barcelona exclusively for architecture majors. One could also choose to go to their local community college or another university whose transfer credits have been approved by Tulane. Many students choose to go to our neighbor school, Loyola University.

Regardless of what auxiliary school students choose, they spend their first semester outside of the Tulane ecosystem, left wondering what the “real” college experience is like. This is not to say that the time spent elsewhere is without its own unique benefits. My classmates and I got to visit new countries, meet new people that we never would

Tulane fails to make a substantial push in integrating Spring Scholars with the rest of the student body. The association a Spring Scholar can make with Tulane during their semester away are minimal. The only ways to connect to Tulane are to meet other Tulane students in the program or reach out to classmates online.

The extent of administrative contact is one two-day visit from the Spring Scholar Ambassador to help register students for classes and take students out for a group dinner. This is where the Spring Scholar program has an opportunity to improve. While away, I felt no real connection to Tulane other than the knowledge that I would eventually arrive there in January.

In London, my fellow Tulanians and I built our own sense of community without any input from Tulane, leading to a strong bond between us. However, this should not act as a substitute for support from Tulane. It was as though we were not Tulane students during our first semester, and once we arrived

on campus in January, we were expected to know how things worked without any proper instruction. Throughout my fall, it seemed as though Tulane did not have a sense of responsibility to help Spring Scholars feel a sense of community while away.

This is not to say that all or even most of us do not integrate once we arrive on campus, it just requires a lot of extra effort. While nothing can ever truly eliminate that initial discomfort that comes with arriving a semester later than most people, there are certainly steps the school can take to make that gap smaller.

Other universities use a “buddy system” where students can volunteer to be paired with a new arrival to help them integrate. There are numerous clubs and groups that exist at Tulane almost entirely virtually, which means there would be no reason that a student across the globe cannot participate just as much as someone currently on campus. It may not be feasible to put a staff member in another country, but sending over our representative more than just once could go a long way. Tulane ambassadors could have met with us, gotten to know our interests and point-

ed us to places where we could find a sense of purpose once we moved in, as opposed to being left to do these things on our own.

The problem really comes down to effort. If Tulane made it seem like they wanted Spring Scholars to actually be part of the school, efforts would go beyond a two-day orientation when Spring Scholars move in. Implementing any of the aforementioned suggestions would help make Spring Scholars not feel like an afterthought, thrown on the other side of the world.

OPINION | Tulane’s new junior residency requirement puts students last

Housing-related shock took on new life last month. In an email, Tulane Housing and Residence Life announced juniors must live on campus in fall 2025. All talk and excitement of moving off campus with friends after sophomore year ended in a single moment. The decision not only restricts student choice but also reduces living preparedness beyond graduation. Imposing an extremely stringent requirement in the name of “university goals” over student interest is deeply revealing — the university is putting students last.

Framed as an “exciting” announcement, administrators portrayed the update as beneficial to students, citing greater campus engagement and an opportunity to “enjoy” easier access to facilities.

Fogelman and Bayou Halls, new additions to “The Village” will add 780 new beds, supposedly capable of housing the junior class. Administrators also briefly cited the goal of working with New Orleans in order to pressure and “sustain the integrity of neighborhood communities.”

Limited exemptions are offered for

students to opt out of housing: students abroad, in recognized Greek life housing, commuters, those over the age of 22, those who are legally married, those who are guardians and those with qualifying disabilities. For the most part, it is difficult for campus juniors to qualify for such exemptions.

Juniors living on campus can enjoy close access to classes and new facilities. But the disadvantages significantly outweigh the benefits.

To add on to the high housing cost, students living on campus are also required to purchase a dining plan. The most popular options, unlimited and TU 15, are both $3,875 per semester and $7,750 annually. A kosher meal plan charges $5,240 per semester and $10,480

annually.

Considering the suite-style housing for upperclassmen averages around $10,000 to $13,000 per year, the expected cost of housing will be $17,000 annually at the minimum. Considering average rental prices in New Orleans are $990 to $1,675 per month, the maximum students could pay is around $13,000 for eight months, and many options are cheaper.

The university should not pass unnecessary and heavy financial burdens onto upperclassmen who would have lived on and engaged with campus for two years already. Barring the ability to save on living costs when possible demonstrates tremendous greed and misguided intention.

Another major flaw in the new housing requirement is its shortcoming in preparing students for living beyond graduation. Previously, Tulane students lived two years on campus and two years off. The first two years on campus builds familiarity and connection with the environment, while the last two years off campus introduce students to living and maintaining a residence independently.

There are no residence halls beyond college — individuals interact and conduct business with landlords, cook or

provide their own meals and practice good residential hygiene. Students learn all of these skills through living off campus and renting a place for themselves and their roommates.

One academic year is simply not enough time to gain the experience and knowledge of how to best live independently. If the entire point of college is to prepare students for their life ahead, and one of Tulane’s goals is to “enrich the capacity of individuals,” then it is incredibly foolish to hinder our ability to gain basic living skills.

College is nothing like high school: students tailor and discover their own educational experiences. Freedom and choice are central to a great collegiate experience and are what separate college from secondary education.

Universities should strive to trust, empower and grant the liberty for students to decide what is best. The decision to restrict student choice should only be for severe circumstances when it is necessary to keep students safe. Money and university goals should not be a priority, students should.

OWEN WU CONTRIBUTING WRITER

TAYLOR FISHMAN | THE HULLABALOO

ZACH KEMPIN | THE HULLABALOO

New dorm construction will add 780 new beds.

OPINION | Travel beats desks: Why journeys outshine internships for students

CALLUM SHARMA CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Summer internships seem to pave the traditional route to success. While internships offer valuable experiences, the benefits of adventure and travel are unparalleled. Travel isn’t about taking a break or escaping responsibilities; it’s about embracing a different kind of learning that can be just as, if not more, enriching than the conventional internship experience.

Real-world skills are best acquired through real-world experiences. By seeing new places, travelers can immerse themselves in diverse cultures, navigate unexpected challenges and develop a global mindset. These experiences cultivate adaptability, problem-solving skills and cultural awareness — competencies that are highly valued in the professional world.

A study published in the Journal of Education and Work underscores this point, revealing that students who engage in international travel as part of their education often show improved self-confidence and adaptability. Those traits are crucial for personal and professional development. Moreover, a Harvard Business Review article highlights that professionals with international experience are often more creative and able to think more complexly and flexibly.

Critics might argue that internships provide practical work experience, a glimpse into a chosen field and networking opportunities. While this is true, the argument for travel as an educational tool lies in its ability to offer a broader perspective: what results are challenges that foster critical thought and adaptation — skills that are transferable to any workplace.

“Everyone talks about internships like they’re the golden ticket,” Riley Standish, a Tulane University freshman said. “But after traveling to several countries last summer, I learned more about myself, problem-solving, and adapting to new situations than I ever did from my previous internships. It’s something you can’t get in an office.”

Beyond personal growth, travel also offers unique insights into global

markets, an understanding of different cultural business practices and the ability to communicate effectively across cultural boundaries. These are invaluable skills in today’s globalized economy.

Furthermore, travel fosters independence and resilience. The challenges of navigating foreign environments, from language barriers to unfamiliar social norms, prepare young adults for the unpredictability of the professional world in ways that controlled office environments may not.

Of course, the key to making travel a truly educational experience lies in one’s approach. It’s not merely about being a tourist; it’s about engaging deeply with the places and people you encounter. Volunteer work, language immersion programs and internships abroad can enrich the travel experience, providing structured opportunities for learning.

It’s also worth noting that travel can be more accessible than some might

think. Scholarships, grants and study abroad programs offer pathways for students who might not otherwise have the financial means to embark on these adventures. Universities and colleges are increasingly recognizing the value of these experiences, offering credit for certain types of travel and study abroad experiences.

While internships undoubtedly offer valuable experiences and insights into specific industries, travel presents an alternative route to developing a wide range of soft and hard skills. It’s about stepping out of comfort zones, encountering the unfamiliar and learning in the most hands-on way possible. As we prepare for a future that values adaptability, cultural awareness and a global perspective, it might be time to consider trading desks for destinations as a viable path to personal and professional growth.

HMANAGING BOARD

Gabi Liebeler Editor-in-ChiEf

Martha Sanchez Managing Editor

Alexia Narun ChiEf Copy Editor

Nathan Rich produCtion ManagEr

Doxey Kamara pErsonnEl dirECtor

Hannah Levitan digital dirECtor

Matthew Schuelke ChiEf BusinEss ManagEr

BOARD

Ellie Cowen

Olivia Warren nEws Editors

Lindsay Ruhl BrEaking nEws Editor

Aidan McCahill assoCiatE nEws Editor

Carly Barovick

Casey Wade ViEws Editors

Ian Faul

Max Handler arCadE Editors

Sophie Borislow assoCiatE arCadE Editor

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Benny Greenspan sports Editors

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n ews b riefs

NOLA airport named best in America

For the third year in a row, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport was designated one of North America’s best.

According to MSY officials, the Airport Service Quality program (ASQ) awarded the airport a top award for Best Airport in North America.

Considering over 30 key performance indicators, the ASQ measures passenger satisfaction and is considered to be the world’s primary airport customer expe-

rience indicator and benchmarking program, MSY officials say.

“The Louis Armstrong International Airport continues to deliver an unmatched experience for its passengers that the entire Gulf Coast Region should be proud of year after year after year,” judge Michael Bagneris, chair of the New Orleans Aviation Board, told WGNO-TV.

‘The Bachelor’ features New Orleans on hometown episode

Kelsey Anderson, one of the final contestants on “The Bachelor,” brought bachelor Joey Graziadei to New Orleans on the March 4 episode.

The episode showed Anderson and Graziadei riding bikes through City Park, eating beignets at Cafe du Monde and dancing with the second-line band,

the Jaywalkers.

Anderson, a native of New Orleans, also made an appearance at the Boot on Feb. 19 for the bar’s weekly Bachelor showing. The Boot was packed with fans while Anderson watched.

New dining company Aramark to host monthly student feedback meetings

Tulane University recently partnered with Aramark Collegiate Hospitality, a new dining service company that will replace Sodexo on July 1.

Aramark will begin hosting monthly discussion and feedback-based sessions for students to voice their opinions about Tulane’s dining services.

Aramark hosted its first meeting on Monday, where students provided

feedback and ideas about the future of dining at Tulane. Topics included changing menu items at the Malkin Sacks Commons, discussing potential changes to the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life food court and adding a restaurant on the academic quad.

LINDSAY RUHL | BREAKING NEWS EDITOR

Tulane announces new law school dean

Tulane University named Marcilynn Burke, current dean of law at the University of Oregon, the new dean of the Tulane University School of Law.

Burke will replace Sally Brown Richardson, who has been the law school’s interim dean since May.

Burke is Tulane’s first Black woman to serve as a dean of the law school.

Burke worked at the University of Houston for 14 years, where she served as a law professor and then associate dean of the University of Houston Law Center.

Burke is a former acting assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of the Interior.

LINDSAY RUHL | BREAKING NEWS EDITOR

Loyola Sodexo union wins higher pay, better healthcare

After unionizing in April, Sodexo workers at Loyola University New Orleans have won their union requests. The Loyola Maroon reported that workers will receive an average pay increase of $1.75 per hour with annual raises.

Beginning in September, the workers will also have a new healthcare plan with expanded benefits at a third of the cost. The union win comes on the heels of

Tulane University switching its food service vendor from Sodexo to Aramark Collegiate Hospitality.

Tulane has said all former Tulane Sodexo hourly employees are guaranteed a position with Amarak at their current rate of pay or better — $15 per hour minimum.

ELLIE COWEN | NEWS EDITOR

‘Rats are eating our marijuana,’ NOPD says

The head of the New Orleans Police Department stood before the City Council this week with an unusual warning.

“The rats,” Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said, “are eating our marijuana.”

“They’re all high.”

Rodents have infiltrated the NOPD headquarters, dropped feces on desks, invaded a cockroach-infested evidence room and now, Kirkpatrick said, they’ve

devoured the weed police confiscate from around the city.

News of the rats came as Kirkpatrick pleaded with the Council to relocate the police headquarters to a non-rat-infested high-rise downtown.

The Council could grant the department a 10-year lease if members choose to approve it.

Legendary New Orleans meteorologist announces retirement

Margaret Orr, the New Orleans meteorologist who has guided the city through tornadoes, floods and Hurricane Katrina, will retire at the end of March, WDSU-TV announced this week.

Orr has been a popular face at the station for over four decades.

She went to Louisiana State University and began her career during a sum-

mer spent at TV and radio stations in Texas. She later took a receptionist job at a TV station in Charleston on one condition: that they would let her intern in news after 5 p.m.

Orr will end her career having covered 31 hurricanes in South Louisiana.

New Orleans hosts annual Entrepreneur Week

New Orleans wants to prove it means business.

Millionaires and startup owners convened on Monday for New Orleans Entrepreneur Week — an annual gathering of panels and information sessions that celebrate local business and their founders.

This year’s panels included Arcus Financial Intelligence founder Edrizio de la Cruz, author and Tulane University professor Walter Isaacson, United Airlines finance chief Michael Leskinen,

Kimbal Musk, brother of billionaire Tesla and Space-X founder Elon Musk, and more.

The week concludes Thursday with an idea pitch where startup founders present their businesses to the crowds.

Entrepreneur Week is also hosting sessions with the New Orleans Book Festival this weekend.

NOLA Habitat for Humanity wins climate award

The New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity won the 2024 Best in Climate Resiliency Award at the organization’s global conference.

The award was given for climate-resilient homes that the local Habitat for Humanity built in Jean Lafitte that were used to replace homes destroyed by Hurricane Ida.

Local Habitat for Humanity orga-

nizations competed at the Habitat for Humanity International Affiliate Conference in four categories: durability, sustainability, accessibility and climate resilience.

The Jean Lafitte homes were built with the help of the Auburn University Rural Studio.

OLIVIA WARREN | NEWS EDITOR

ANTE UP

BY JARED GOUDSMIT

22

ACROSS

1 “___ Pig” (children’s TV show)

6 Exchange

10 Shopping spot

14 Constellation with a “belt”

15 A Beatle

resident

24 Ready for publication

26 Pancake mix

30 Previously-aired show

32 Winnie-the-Pooh’s Hundred ___ Wood

33 Health pro on talk TV

35 Looks at lustfully

39 Places to grow beards

41 Elephant ___ (pastry)

42 Hole-digging tool

43 Former capital of Japan that’s an anagram of today’s capital of Japan

CONTACT

44 Historical periods

46 Above

47 Browses, as the Internet

49 Samurai sword

51 Layer of the earth

54 60 secs.

55 “Star Wars” princess

56 *Places for youngsters to splash

63 ___ the habit

64 Line of symmetry

65 Grammy-winning “Royals” singer

66 Elicitor of laughter

67 Guns, as an engine

69 Disney’s ___ Center

69 Former senator Feingold

70 Turning point in WWII

71 Beloved ones

DOWN

1 Fancy-schmancy

2 A Great Lake

3 Bit of medicine

4 Pre-election survey

5 “Do I have a volunteer?”

6 Its capital is Madrid

7 Yearn for

8 Em, to Dorothy

9 Ladies’ man

10 *The United States, culturally

11 Turn away, as one’s gaze

12 Cabaret show

13 Heard in court

21 Many a northern Iraqi

25 Pairs

26 ___ and forth

27 Sore

28 The Stooges, e.g.

20 *Campsite equipment

30 Lion noises

FEBRUARY CROSSWORD KEY

31 Poet Pound

24 Coral formation

36 Volcanic spew

37 Biblical garden

38 “Buona ___” (Italian greeting)

40 2020 Pixar film

45 Tattoo artist’s canvas

48 Bounty

50 On an incline

51 “I have a dream” orator, for short

52 Quintet followed by “... and sometimes Y”

53 Shaving mishaps

54 Young girl

57 Gave the boot

58 Opera star

59 Vatican V.I.P

60 Killer whale

61 Stech

62 “ ___ roll!”

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1-ON-1 WITH NEW AD

David Harris rings in new era for Tulane Athletics

BENNY GREENSPAN AND SCOTT HOUTKIN

It’s a new era for Tulane University athletics.

After Troy Dannen left the Green Wave for the University of Washington at St. Louis, Tulane University wasted no time hiring a replacement to build off of recent success and push the athletic program forward.

This man is David Harris, a Baton Rouge native who has returned to Louisiana after spending much of his career in Iowa, including the past seven years as the athletic director for University of Northern Iowa. His success at Northern Iowa and his roots in the South made him an attractive candidate for the Green Wave.

We had the privilege of sitting down with Harris to discuss his past experiences, early impressions in New Orleans and his goals for the Tulane Athletics program moving forward.

Harris and Tulane were made for each other. On one hand, the Green Wave wanted an experienced, stabilizing force determined to grow their brand as college athletics enters a whole new world surrounding name, image and likeness and constant player movement.

For Harris, the job at Tulane was a chance to challenge himself while being surrounded by family.

“In your career, as you move forward, you look for new opportunities and new challenges and Tulane’s certainly presented that as a school that had a great reputation,” Harris said. “And that I suppose, if you look at it from a FBS standpoint, was a level higher than where I’ve been at an FCS school. And so I felt like I was ready for enough to the challenge.”

When stepping into his office in Uptown, Harris wasted no time making big changes that will forever alter Tulane Athletics. The football team has brought Tulane to the forefront nationally, and the recent head coach vacancy needed to be filled in a timely and intentional manner.

To Harris, Jon Sumrall immediately stood out as a candidate that checked all of the boxes and then some.

When looking for a coach, “you’re looking for someone that can recruit. You’re looking for someone that you believe cares deeply about the student athletes that he or she will be coaching. You look for someone that’s a good bid for your institution, that’s always important. And certainly, you look for someone that can surround himself or herself with a great staff [of] capable people,” Harris said.

We also asked him about how he

plans to make changes to the aspects of the program Dannen paved in his time here, and what he wants to keep the same. Harris mentioned that he is still in “information gathering mode,” and noted the timeliness of the question — he is preparing to ask the staff their opinions on the current operations.

“I’m still in the process of evaluating all aspects of Tulane Athletics,” he said. “I’m meeting with everyone on the staff, one-on-one, and the questions that I asked each of them to come in prepared to answer is, ‘Tell me something we should stop doing, tell me something we should start doing and tell me something that we should continue to do,’” Harris said.

Despite still being in “information gathering mode,” Harris is leading the charge in upcoming Tulane Athletics plans that will improve the program. That process begins with the construction and renovation of athletic facilities, including a new indoor practice facility for football and a Sports Performance Center that all athletic teams will benefit from.

“We’re still in the planning process of what we’ll call a Sports Performance Center that’ll be located here within our facilities that will do a number of things, including providing additional needed space for football … additional weight rooms, training rooms, equipment area, as well as a connection with the football stadium to be able to give us some new premium seating opportunities,” Harris said.

With both the planning of new facilities and the growing momentum of all athletic programs from football to sailing, there is certainly a growing excitement surrounding all things Tulane Athletics, which starts from the athletic director himself.

“I’m excited about all of it,” he said. “One of the reasons that I was attracted to this opportunity is because you look at sailing winning a national championship, you look at the success of women’s golf, the success of baseball, the success of football, women’s basketball going on to win it last year and all the success across the board. And when you come into a position as an athletics director, that’s the kind of thing that you’d like to see that there’s a department-wide movement and department-wide momentum moving in a positive direction.”

ANDREW BALESTRERY | THE HULLABALOO

David Harris speaks to reporters in his first press conference at Tulane.

FROM THE BASEMENT:

Court storming brews conflict between fans, players, media

BENNY GREENSPAN SPORTS EDITOR

One of my favorite memories at Tulane University happened just over a year ago, when the Tulane football team hosted the University of Central Florida for the American Athletic Conference Championship game. My friends and I showed up to Yulman Stadium 90 minutes before kickoff, not just for a chance to watch our school play in a big football game, but to embrace the atmosphere of what we knew was a historical event at our university. When Michael Pratt scored the game-stealing touchdown for the Green Wave late in the fourth quarter, we didn’t get up to leave the stadium, but pushed to the front of the stands alongside the rest of the student section. We all knew what was about to happen, something I certainly never thought was possible at this school. As Pratt took a knee, the crowd wasted no time running onto the field, embracing each other and celebrating alongside the players, who brought home Tulane’s first-ever conference championship trophy.

Fast forward to just over a month ago, when I joined both fans and players in celebrating Green Wave basketball’s first win over a top 10 opponent in over 40 years. While not as monumental as getting on the football field, it was certainly a moment I know that I, and the players, will never forget.

Storming the court or field following a big win, whether in a conference championship game or upset, is one of the greatest traditions not only in college sports, but sports in general. It encapsulates why people love sports: the passion of the fans, the community formed watching your favorite team and the overall pride you feel for your school after a great win.

That being said, whenever you give a bunch of energized college students — who may or may not have had a few drinks — the ability to run around a football field or basketball court, incidents are bound to occur.

The most recent case was at Wake Forest University, when a student ran into Duke University star player Kyle Filipowski while storming the court, result-

ing in Filipowski hobbling his way out of the arena. This incident was not an outlier: just a month earlier, University of Iowa star Caitlin Clark collided with a court-storming fan. Even during that historic Tulane win over University of Memphis, a fan pushed Memphis’s David Jones once on the court.

These incidents have led many sports media members to criticize the court storming tradition, claiming it as both unnecessary and dangerous to the game. Never afraid to spew out hot takes when given the chance, basketball analyst Jay Bilas suggested on ESPN that detaining unruly fans on the court can halt the practice: “One time, all you have to do is once they’re on the court, don’t let them off. Just say, ‘You’re all detained’ and give them all citations or arrest them if you want to. And then court stormings will stop the next day.”

It goes without saying that nobody wants to watch anybody get hurt, let alone a team’s star player, because a drunk college student got a little too aggressive. However, what most ESPN debates leave out is the room for a middle path in solving the problem. After all, it would be ridiculous if thousands of college students collectively got arrested for stepping onto a football field in celebration of a great win.

Change for this problem has to start with security. While many security guards form a perimeter near the student section to oversee the students getting on the court, they must do the same near the opposing team. Security guards know when to expect court or field stormings. When an underdog at home is up big against a top team late into the game, staff expect fans to get onto the court. When a rivalry game approaches an end, it is expected for the home crowd to get onto the field. After all, this tradition has existed in college sports for over 40 years, when even the Stanford University band got onto the field — and that was before the game even ended.

When I walked into Yulman Stadium for the conference championship game, I was really there for one reason, to take part in history by getting onto the Tulane football field alongside my friends and the rest of the student body. With better anticipation and increased safety, more fans can have the opportunity to take part in a tradition they will never forget, and maybe not end the night in handcuffs.

Winners, losers from start of NFL free agency

HARRY DIAMOND STAFF WRITER

As players and fans settle down from the initial frenzy of the 2024 NFL free agency period, teams across the league have made significant moves to improve their rosters, while others have lost significant pieces. From blockbuster signings and big extensions, each franchise aims to address its needs and set the stage for success in the upcoming season.

So far, the 2024 NFL free agency winners have been teams that have made significant moves to acquire big names early on. Conversely, the losers are those who have yet to make substantial upgrades and have lost vital talent without adequate replacements. As the offseason progresses, it remains to be seen how these moves will impact each team’s success in the upcoming season or what moves have yet to be made. Let’s look at the winners and losers of free agency thus far.

WINNERS

Atlanta Falcons

Before free agency, Falcons fans have had a steady stream of optimism. Having already vital generational pieces like Bijan Robinson and Kyle Pitts makes the Falcons team one move away from being an immediate contender in the NFC South. The signing of Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins puts the Falcons in a perfect situation to succeed this following year.

NATHAN

Winners, losers from start of NFL free agency

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

Cousins, known for getting significant extensions and guaranteed money, has done it again with the Falcons securing a $100 million guaranteed deal. While the players in Atlanta are coming into their prime, plugging in Cousins to this young offense will immediately affect Atlanta. The Falcons also acquired Chicago Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney for $39 million, adding another weapon opposite Drake London and giving Cousins more players to work with in the offense.

Philadelphia Eagles

After a disappointing finish to last year’s season and the retirement of Eagles legend Jason Kelce, fans itched for improvements to the roster and more help for star quarterback Jalen Hurts. That is precisely what the front office did: it spent a lot of resources to pick up new, solidified great players in the NFL.

The team’s most significant move comes from landing one of the best

running backs in the league, Saquon Barkley, from the New York Giants. A fan favorite and two-time Pro Bowl player, Barkley has been outstanding for the Giants but will now play for their rivals, the Eagles, for a threeyear deal worth $37.7 million. The standout player for the Detroit Lions defensive backs, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, will also return to the Eagles to join the already-stacked secondary, making them one of the fiercest defenses in the league.

LOSERS

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings started free agency on the wrong foot. Unwilling to give Cousins the guaranteed money, they parted ways, and the Vikings have gone on to make questionable decisions to replace his absence. To fill the void and provide maybe a bridge quarterback before the draft, the Vikings signed Sam Darnold, the former third pick overall who has not lived up to his NFL expectations.

The Vikings also lost their most

elite pass rusher, Danielle Hunter. Hunter’s long career with the Vikings ended after the Houston Texans signed him, and his presence at the line is something any team would be remiss not to have. The Vikings also signed linebackers like Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkle to help buff up the defense. However, the Vikings free agency’s success will be determined by how they can find help for arguably the best wide receiver in the league, Justin Jefferson. How the Vikings plan on maintaining Jefferson after losing Cousins has yet to be seen.

Dallas Cowboys

While it might be surprising to see “America’s Team” on the loser’s list, the Cowboys have had a rough start to free agency. On the first day, three players from the team left, running back Tony Pollard, defensive lineman Dorance Armstrong and center Tyler Biadasz, all signed deals with a new team. The only player the Cowboys have re-signed is their long-snapper Trent Seig. These departures and lack of sign-

ings represent a problem for the Cowboy’s free agency. The Cowboys have yet to make a significant move, and if they continue to move slowly, other teams will slowly take their talent. This comes to the chagrin of Cowboys superfan Skip Bayless, who was under the impression that the Cowboys were going “all in” on this season.

Only time will tell how these moves genuinely pay off in the long run of NFL free agency. However, the early winners and losers have begun to emerge along with each team’s strategic challenges. The Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles have made bold moves to improve their rosters, securing key players. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys are still navigating the moves they want to make because of significant departures and the need to fill crucial gaps in their lineups. As the offseason progresses, the true impact of these moves will become more evident, revealing the winners and losers of free agency heading into next season.