the daily reveille - march 9, 2012
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News, Sports, Entertainment, OpnionTRANSCRIPT
Rifl es fl ew through the air as members of the United States Air Force Honor Guard performed
a drill routine Thursday on the Pa-
rade Ground amid cheering ROTC De-tachment 310 mem-
bers.This marks the fi rst
time the 16-man honor guard drill team has come to campus, said Joseph Mahler , cadet captain of
the LSU Air Force ROTC . The team is led by 1st Lt.
Alexander Stanton , a Univer-sity alumnus.
Stanton graduated in 2007 and was a member of the University’s Air Force ROTC for four-and-a-half years .
“I wanted to be in the military my whole life,” Stanton said. “My parents told me that if you wanted to be in the military, you should
be an offi cer.”Stanton grew up in
New Orleans and worked his way to offi cership by at-tending college and partici-pating in the Honor Guard. His commander eventually chose him to lead the drill team, he said.
During their presenta-tion, the drill team coordi-nated their rifl e movement with the movement of their bodies as members tossed and caught rifl es one-handed while marching. Each man perfectly timed his tosses with the others to create perfect unison, fl awless ac-tion and constant rhythm.
“The cadence to the drill is just like music,” the announcer said.
In one routine, each man launched a rifl e back over his head and the man behind him caught it. The team also performed a “domino effect” as they spun their rifl es to re-semble a wave.
A sign on the door of the University’s Dairy Store reading “Closed until further notice” spurred mass confusion Thursday after-noon, but it turns out the store will
reopen today .John Russin, AgCenter vice
chancellor for research , said the closure was a “one-day blip.” The Dairy Store will be open and func-tioning normally and will continue to do so.
The store closed Thursday after the sole employee in charge of pro-ducing ice cream left for a new job.
Gary Hay, director of the School of Animal Sciences, said he was worried that he may not be
able to hire a new employee because of budget cuts, thus prompting the store’s indefi nite closure.
Hay told The Daily Reveille earlier Thursday afternoon that if a new employee could not be hired, it would result in the permanent clo-sure of the Dairy Store .
But Russin countered those claims.
“I have no idea why [Hay] said
Reveille� e Daily
Friday, March 9, 2012 • Volume 116, Issue 106www.lsureveille.com
Money: Read tips on how to manage a tight college budget, p. 4
Baseball: Tigers host Notre Dame, Michigan, p. 5
State: Representative proposes drug testing for welfare bene� ts, p. 3
DAIRY STORE, see page 11
AGCENTER
Dairy Store to reopen after mishap
Emily HerringtonStaff Writer
MORRIS, see page 11
PHILANTHROPY
Mellow Mushroom hosts benefit for cyclistsProceeds go to trust fund, medical billsDanielle KelleyStaff Writer
Funk, reggae and hip-hop band Syllable Seven and New Orleans band X Defi nition will dish out ear candy tonight at Mellow Mushroom to help Baton Rouge cyclists and their families.
A drunk driver hit cyclists Danny Morris and Nathan Crowson on Jan. 21 on Perkins Road . Mor-ris suffered numerous injuries to his femur, ankle, pelvis and other body parts. Crowson died at the scene.
After spending more than 20 days in the hospital re-covering from his injuries and a coma, Morris was re-leased in mid-February.
Because Morris has no health insur-
ance, he is having trouble paying hospital fees, according to Kelly Floyd , a friend of Crowson .
All proceeds from tonight’s $5 cover charge for the concert and art show that will also be held at
bodies as members tossed and caught rifl es one-handed while marching. Each man perfectly timed his tosses with the others to create perfect unison, fl awless ac-
“The cadence to the drill is just like music,” the announcer said.
In one routine, each man launched a rifl e back over his head and the man behind him caught it. The team also performed a “domino effect” as they spun their rifl es to re-
Thursday on the Pa-rade Ground amid cheering ROTC De-tachment 310 mem-
bers.This marks the fi rst
time the 16-man honor guard drill team has come to campus, said Joseph Mahler , cadet captain of
the LSU Air Force ROTC . The team is led by 1st Lt.
Alexander Stanton , a Univer-sity alumnus.
Stanton graduated in 2007 and was a member of the University’s Air Force ROTC for four-and-a-half years .
“I wanted to be in the military my whole life,” Stanton said. “My parents told me that if you wanted to be in the military, you should HONOR GUARD, see page 11
Watch a video of the Honor Guard at lsureveille.com/multimedia.
USAF Honor Guard performs drill routine
on Parade Ground
PerfectPrecision
Who: Syllable Seven and X De� nitionWhen: 9:30 p.m. tonightWhere: Mellow MushroomCost: $5
Shannon RobertsContributing Writer
ALYSSA SIRISOPHON / The Daily Reveille
A sign stating the Dairy Store’s inde� nite closure hangs on its doors Thursday. A miscommunication led to the false closure, and the store will reopen today.
Miscommunication led to false closure
lsureveille.com/multimedia.
BENJAMIN OLIVER HICKS / The Daily Reveille
The United States Air Force Honor Guard marches as part of their drill routine Thursday on the Parade Ground.
Matthew Jacobs • Editor-in-ChiefChris Branch • Associate Managing EditorRyan Buxton • Associate Managing Editor
Bryan Stewart • Managing Editor, External MediaAndrea Gallo • News Editor
Morgan Searles • Deputy News Editor & Entertainment EditorKatherine Terrell • Sports Editor
Mark Clements • Deputy Sports EditorKirsten Romaguera • Production Editor
Clayton Crockett • Opinion EditorBrianna Paciorka • Photo EditorTyler Daniel • Multimedia EditorSteven Powell • Radio Director
Annabel Mellon • Advertising Sales Manager
� e Daily Reveille
CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
The Daily Reveille holds accuracy and objectivity at the highest priority and wants to reassure the reporting and content of the paper meets these standards. This space is reserved to recog-nize and correct any mistakes which may have been printed in The Daily Reveille. If you would like something corrected or clari� ed please contact the editor at (225) 578-4811 or e-mail [email protected].
The Daily Reveille (USPS 145-800) is written, edited and produced solely by students of Louisiana State University. The Daily Reveille is an independent entity within the Manship School of Mass Com-munication. A single issue of The Daily Reveille is free. To purchase additional copies for 25 cents, please contact the Of� ce of Student Media in B-34 Hodges Hall. The Daily Reveille is published daily dur-ing the fall and spring semesters and semi-weekly during the sum-mer semester, except during holidays and � nal exams. Second-class copies postage paid at Baton Rouge, La., 70803. Annual weekly mailed subscriptions are $125, semester weekly mailed subscrip-tions are $75. Non-mailed student rates are $4 each regular semes-ter, $2 during the summer; one copy per person, additional copies 25 cents each. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Daily Reveille, B-39 Hodges Hall, LSU, Baton Rouge, La.,70803.
� e Daily ReveilleB-16 Hodges Hall • Baton Rouge, La. 70803
Newsroom (225)578-4810 • Advertising (225)578-6090
INTERNATIONAL NATIONAL STATE/LOCAL
Nation & World Friday, March 9, 2012page 2
U.K. press regulator axed after Murdoch phone-hacking scandal
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s press regulator, much criticized amid a scandal over tabloid phone hack-ing, has confi rmed it is to be abol-ished and replaced with a new body.
Britain’s judge-led media eth-ics inquiry had been expected to call for its abolition.
The inquiry was set up after the revelation that Rupert Mur-doch’s News of the World had reg-ularly listened to the mobile phone voicemails of celebrities, politi-cians and crime victims in its quest for stories.Hair salon offers low-priced styling for disadvantaged Parisian women
PARIS (AP) — The Josephine beauty parlor in northern Paris is celebrating its fi rst birthday Thurs-day and the success of a simple idea: When life is ugly, make women feel beautiful.
Thanks to volunteer workers and private sponsors, it’s just 3 eu-ros ($3.95) for a haircut including color or highlights, less than the cost of a café au lait in a Parisian bistro. But the salon’s real attrac-tion is the boost to morale, confi -dence and even job prospects that it provides.
Proposed bill would regulate exotic animals introduced in Ohio
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio lawmaker is proposing that owners of exotic animals be sub-jected to background checks and required to fence their property — measures supporters say might have saved dozens of lions, tigers, and other wild creatures that were shot by authorities months ago after their suicidal owner let them loose.
Legislation introduced Thurs-day would ban new ownership of exotic animals in the state and im-mediately prohibit people from ac-quiring new or additional danger-ous wildlife.
Ohio has some of the nation’s weakest restrictions on exotic pets.Public online auction to privatize Washington’s liquor industry
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — Wash-ington state opened a public auc-tion online Thursday of its state-run liquor stores, beginning the process of privatizing a booze industry the state has tightly con-trolled since the end of Prohibition.
Within hours, more than 30 bidders had entered the fray. Near-ly a dozen offered to buy rights to all of the stores, though most bid on individual store locations.
The minimum bid: $1,000.
Mardi Gras Museum’s glitz, glamour auctioned off after budget cuts
KENNER, La. (AP) — The glitzy pageantry and history of New Or-leans’ Carnival was sold to the highest bidder Thursday. The bau-bles might have been faux, but sev-eral hundred collectors eagerly bid on exhibits from the city’s once-thriving Mardi Gras Museum.
Designed as a celebration of Mardi Gras when it opened in the suburb of Kenner in 1992, it closed after a souring economy cut into tourism and the city, like many communities around the country, was forced to tighten its budget and cut back on what it funded.
WeatherTODAY
5366
Scattered T-Storms
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SATURDAY
New Orleans bar manager acquitted in Bourbon Street noise case
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Bour-bon Street bar manager hauled into court over the volume of music from the club he runs has been found not guilty by a New Orleans city judge.
Police said amplifi ed music pouring out of the club “Bourbon Live” last November could be heard a block away and drowned out the voices on their radios when they stood outside the club. But defense lawyers for manager Justin Fitzpat-rick complained that police didn’t use noise meters to get an objective measure of the noise.
Osama bin Laden’s widows charged with illegal entry into Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan has charged Osama bin Laden’s three widows with il-legally entering and living in the country, the interior minister said Thursday.
The three women have been in Pakistani detention since May last year, when U.S. commandos raid-ed the house where they, bin Laden and several of their children were staying. The commandos shot and killed bin Laden, and then buried his body at sea.
LEFTERIS PITARAKIS / The Associated Press
A man wearing a mask depicting News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch stages a protest Friday outside the headquarters of News International in London.
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“Bound for Books” examines history as a genre on the LMFAO entertainment blog.
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
AUSTIN BENNETT / The Daily Reveille
Management senior Bradley Campos balances on a slackline Thursday near the Parade Ground. Submit your photo of the day to [email protected].
Beaux Loves to hunt on the morganza
spillway. although he’s a lab, he loves
dachsunds. but,they hate him.
Send us a picture of your pet to [email protected]
Reveille
Submitted by: Morgan Kent
Get the latest on the new iPad and other tech news in “Tech with Taylor” on the LMFAO entertainment blog.
Check out the Tiger Feed sports blog to read about the Auburn point-shaving scandal.
Following Florida’s controver-sial decision to require drug-testing for welfare recipients, the Georgia Senate passed a bill Wednesday to require drug testing prior to receiv-ing welfare benefi ts, and Louisiana may be joining the bandwagon.
State Rep. Sherman Mack, R-Albany, proposed legislation to re-quire 20 percent of adults receiving aid from the Family Independence Temporary Assistance Program to be randomly drug-tested.
The Family Independence Tem-porary Assistance Program is a form of welfare given to families who need help to meet subsistence needs.
Mack said his legislation is nec-essary for transparency.
“Any time you give govern-ment assistance to someone, you are entrusting yourself with funds from taxpayers — the public’s money,” he said.
The tests will detect any type of illegal narcotic, including prescrip-tion drugs, he said.
If a recipient tests positive to the random test, the legislation gives him or her a 90-day grace period to seek treatment. After 90 days, recipi-ents must provide proof of treatment and pass a second drug test — which they must pay for — to receive wel-fare benefi ts again.
If a recipient fails this second drug test, he or she will be terminat-ed from assistance for one year.
“This bill is designed to iden-tify those who may have a drug ad-diction and help them,” Mack said. “Government assistance is meant to give you temporary help so you can get on your feet and move on. It’s designed to have people think, ‘I can fi x my problem, get help for it and take this as a stepping stone to pro-vide for my family,’ but if you chose
not to fi x it, we can’t help you.”After residents have been termi-
nated for a year, they can reapply as long as there is proof they need the assistance.
Mack said recipients often see testing as a way “to pick on one per-son,” but random testing provides an equal chance to be selected.
“Random testing was the only way to implement the plan without seeming like picking on someone,” he said. “Anyone’s number can come up.”
Since the state must fund the
initial set of tests, Mack proposed urinalysis screening, the cheapest and most effi cient form of drug tests.
Last year, a similar bill spon-sored by former state Rep. John La-Bruzzo , R-Metairie, died in the Sen-ate, but Mack said his bill has more potential to pass with the inclusion of the 90-day grace period.
“My bill is different because you have two screenings,” he said.
� e Daily Reveille page 3Friday, March 9, 2012
Monday: $14.99 All You Can Eat Wings and $3 Specialty DrinksTuesday: $3 Margaritas and Mexican Beers....Kids Eat FreeWed: $4.50 34oz Mother Plucker Mugs....Live Trivia at 8pm
Thursday: $12.99 All You Can Eat Boneless Wings... $4.50 34oz MotherPlucker Mugs and $5.50 Patron Margaritas.
Sunday: $3 Specialty Shots, Specialty Drinks and Margaritas.Everyday: $4 Goose, Crown, Jack and Patron. $3 Jager.
Did you attend the Living Expo in the Union March 7th?We want to hear what you thought about it! What was your favorite part about it? Least
favorite? Tell us via email: [email protected] for coming to our event!
KLSU SportscastTuene in to KLSU 91.1 FMtonight at 7:30 pm to hear
live coverage of the lSU softball game
Student Media Board is Hiring!The Daily Reveille Editor
Legacy EditorGumbo Editor
KLSU Station ManagerTiger TV Station Manager
Interested Applicants stop by B39 Hodges Halland fi ll out an application by March 16.
DO YOU HAVE AN OCCURRENCE?Call Becky at the Student
Media Offi ce578-6090, 9AM- 5PM or
E-mail: [email protected]
There are few things that can get dedicated female students out of the house during midterms week, but a party is certainly one of them.
Hundreds of campus co-eds celebrated a girls’ night out Thurs-day night with author Marian Jordan in the Cotillion Ballroom in the Stu-dent Union.
Jordan has been touring col-lege campuses in recent months to discuss her latest book, “Sex and the City Uncovered: Exposing the Emp-tiness and Healing the Hurt,” which details her journey through her early 20s and the love she found after get-ting to know God.
In her book, Jordan uses scenar-ios from the popular television series “Sex and the City” to describe what she experienced.
Cru, a Christian student orga-nization at the University, brought
Jordan to campus because its staff members believed her story would resonate with many women on cam-pus.
“We meet with women and hear their stories,” said Ali Enos, wom-en’s ministry director for Cru. “A lot of the time, they’re dealing with exactly what the book talks about.”
Attendees were treated to $2,500 worth of door prizes includ-ing spa services, gym memberships and restaurant gift certifi cates.
The organization also offered to donate $500 to the philanthropy of sororities that brought more than 75 members to the event.
When Jordan took the stage, she spoke to students about their relationships and the issues many women face on college campuses today.
Jordan, who is engaged to be married next month, said she spent most of her time as a single woman having girls’ nights with her best
friends, a memory she tried to recre-ate for the students in attendance.
“I feel like I have a responsibil-ity to all of you,” she said. “It’s my job as a big sister to pass on the truth to you.”
Jordan spoke about her college years, when she fell into what she called a downward spiral of alcohol-ism, partying and casual sex, and how it made her feel.
“My pastor says there’s no con-dom for the heart,” Jordan said. “I know that to be true.”
She explained to the crowd how she came to know and love God.
“I was in bondage to addictions, to insecurity and to expectations,” she said. “But meeting Jesus set me free.”
Communication studies sopho-more Kellie Blake and political sci-ence sophomore Quinn Brown said they heard about the event through friends.
“One of my friends is reading
[Jordan’s] book and she loves her,” Blake said.
The girls said they were excited to hear about a girls-only event on campus.
“There really hasn’t been
anything like this on campus that I know of,” Blake said.
CAMPUS LIFE
Author tells female students to abandon addiction, insecurityRachel WarrenStaff Writer
Contact Rachel Warren at [email protected]
ALYSSA SIRISOPHON / The Daily Reveille
Author Marian Jordan provides LSU female students with a testimonial and speaks about her book Thursday at the “Girls’ Night Out” event in the Union Ballroom.
STATE
Contact Kate Mabry at [email protected]
Kate MabryStaff Writer
Rep. to introduce bill requiring drug tests for welfare recipients
‘No. There’s no drug testing for govern-ment loans and grants for school. What’s the
difference?’Stacy Ayo
English junior
‘Yes. If they have enough
money for drugs, why
wouldn’t they have enough to support
their family?’Ashley Ardeneaux
early childhood education junior
DO YOU THINK STATE REP. MACK’S BILL IS FAIR?
� e Daily Reveillepage 4 Friday, March 9, 2012
“A man who stops advertisingto save money,
is like a man who stops the clock to save time.”
-Henry FordWe can help. 225-578-6090
Going to random meetings in order to grab free pizza or asking a freshman for a swipe into The 5 are common tactics of fi nancially struggling college students.
One-third of University stu-dents surveyed said their current fi nancial situation is “always or of-ten” stressful, according to Emily Hester , coordinator of the Student Financial Management Center .
Hester said the most important advice she has for students is to track the previous month’s spend-ing, then create a budget, stick to it and apply the “rinse and repeat” method of updating the budget monthly as needed.
“A budget is a working docu-ment” Hester said. “Use it as a monthly guide.”
Hester’s tips for budgeting money:
1. Tracking your budget is the most important part. If you’re tracking, you’ll realize if you’re spending $100 per month on coffee.
2. Use budgeting apps if you don’t want to keep a written copy of your budget.
3. Look at your online checking account at least three times per week. You’ll see if someone is stealing money from your account or if a restaurant overcharged you.
4. Have � nancial goals and keep them visible. It is easier to say no to unneces-sary things.
5. Think of purchases in terms of wants vs. needs. Do you really need it? Is it worth that amount?
6. Put saved money into a separate account. If you see all the money in one place, it’s more tempting to spend.
7. Set aside a day where you track your spending and your budget. (Example: “Money Mondays”)
8. Save whenever you are in a position to do so.
9. Establish what your spending vices are and work on them.
10. Use coupons and plan travel routes to save gas.
11. If you are shopping, leave your debit card in the car or look around the whole mall before making a purchase.
Coping on a college budgetClaire CaillierContributing Writer
Alumnus o w n e r : H u g h
Raetzsch, class of ’93, managementWhat it is: Lyons is a wholesale grocery distributor that focuses on selling products to convenience stores.How LSU prepared him: Raetzsch majored in management, and a sig-nifi cant part of his job is managing people. He said his curriculum was directly related to his work.Advice for students: “Everything changes, and if you’re not chang-ing with things or making chang-es, eventually things will get past you. With changes come risks, but there’s a lot of risk in not changing. … Don’t be afraid to take chances and make changes.”
Alumna owner: Peggy Swords, class of ’71,
fashion merchandisingWhat it is: Excalibur Exhibits cre-ates custom trade show display de-signs for face-to-face marketingHow LSU prepared her: Swords majored in fashion merchandising, and said the concepts of design and creativity play into her work, as well as fundamentals such as using colors and textures. The marketing component of fashion merchandis-ing prepared Swords for calculat-ing business spending and balance sheets.Advice for students: “It’s never gonna be the perfect time to get started, and you’re never gonna have everything in place and every-thing just so. You have to just start and take that leap of faith.”
Alumnus owner: Brian Hanlon, class of ’84, graphic designWhat it is: MESH is a full-service advertising and marketing agency that specializes in tasks from cre-ative print ads to public relations and social media.How LSU prepared him: Hanlon learned core graphic design skills as a graphic design student. Since
then, technology has changed and he’s adapted his skill set to encom-pass elements of writing and strate-gic planning.Advice for students: “Never be afraid to take that plunge. Go ahead and go out on your own. If you’ve got an idea, or a passion, or a desire to do something, do it. … Take that leap — it’s far more rewarding than you could ever imagine.”
Alumnus own-er: Jady Regard, class of ’92, psy-chology
What it is: Cane River Pecan Company sells gourmet pecans as corporate and professional gifts.How LSU prepared him: Receiv-ing an undergraduate education taught self-discipline, and being in Louisiana has provided valu-able contacts, Regard said. His psychology degree has been use-ful in making sales to different people.Advice for students: “Being an entrepreneur is fun, but it’s not for the faint of heart. You have to be in-credibly disciplined, and you have to have a solid game plan. You have to be dedicated to your niche.”
Alumnus owner: John Munsell, class of ’82, fi nance/marketingWhat it is: Bizzuka designs web-sites to match clients’ marketing efforts. Bizzuka creates custom site designs, but allow clients to control the site content through a Web con-tent management system.How LSU prepared him: Munsell said he calls upon virtually every aspect of his collegiate experiences every day. He constantly uses skills from programming and accounting courses, though he said he wishes he had paid more attention in those classes.Advice for students: “You will make mistakes, but learning from mistakes is the key ingredient to becoming a success. You only fail if you quit, and for the true entre-preneur, quitting is not an option.”
The University and the Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute recently released the second edition of LSU 100 , which recognizes the fastest-grow-ing businesses that are at least 50 percent owned by a University alumnus.
The LSU 100 will be honored at a reception March 23 at the Renaissance Hotel .
The Daily Reveille chatted with a few of the alumni business owners about success stories and advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Alumni business owners recognized
compiled by EMILY HERRINGTON / Staff Writer
Contact Claire Caillier at [email protected]
As the LSU football team continued to get into shape Thurs-day at spring practice, one veteran was stuck watching on the side-line.
After leading the Tiger run-ning backs with 755 yards last sea-son, junior Michael Ford had knee surgery prior to spring training, sophomore running back Kenny Hilliard announced Thursday at a football media session. Ford has been wearing a green, no-contact jersey in practice this week and mostly looked on during handoffs Thursday.
Hilliard didn’t confirm the date or nature of the procedure, or which knee was ailing Ford,
but said he thinks the knee was scoped and he expects his team-mate to return soon.
“He hasn’t been getting a lot of reps,” Hilliard said. “Hope-fully, he should be back in two weeks, he’ll be ready to go.”
Isom completes spring practicesThe tryout that has “Good
Morning America” and Anderson Cooper seeking interviews has come to an end, as former Lady Tigers soccer goalie Mo Isom completed her audition for kicker Thursday.
“I feel like I did well,” Isom said. “I think there are some con-sistency things I can work on just when it comes down to mechanics and kicking motions and getting height on the ball … but overall it was a good tryout.”
Isom said she competed against “six or seven” other football hopefuls over the past two practices and that she has a
meeting with LSU coach Les Miles on Monday to talk about her possible place on the team.
Copeland avenges Hilliard in ‘Big Cat’
Fans were buzzing after vid-eos of Tuesday’s “Big Cat” drill showed early-enrollee linebacker Ronnie Feist pancaking the bruis-ing Hilliard while the surrounding defensive players howled.
But when Miles called for Feist and junior fullback J.C. Co-peland to face each other Thurs-day, the lead blocker stuck up for his runner, immediately driving Feist into the ground.
“He got ‘em back for me,” Hilliard said, laughing. “That’s what he do.”
The team continues spring practices Saturday at 11 a.m.
The matchups had to look in-triguing for fans when they looked at No. 13 LSU’s baseball schedule early this season.
Two of the more iconic north-ern athletic institutions — Michi-gan (6-6) and Notre Dame (5-4) — will be in Southeast-ern Conference country for a sort of mini tourna-ment with LSU (11-2) this week-end.
LSU coach Paul Mainieri hopes name rec-ognition alone brings the fans out in droves.
“I hope it’s going to be a good, electric atmosphere like an SEC weekend,” Mainieri said. “We’ve got two schools whose names ... carry as much weight in college athletics as any schools in
SportsFriday, March 9, 2012 page 5
BASEBALL
LSU looks to push win streak to 10Weather threatens to change scheduleLuke JohnsonSports Writer
Next up for the Tigers:
Who: No. 11 LSU (11-2) vs. Michigan (6-6)When: 7 p.m. todayWhere: Alex Box StadiumListen at home: 98.1
ALySSA SiriSophoN / The Daily Reveille
LSU football coach Les Miles calls out names for the “Big Cat” drill Thursday at the Tigers’ spring practice. Linebacker Ronnie Feist pinned running back Kenny Hilliard during the drill.
Contact Alex Cassara at [email protected]
FooTBALL
Ford watches practice, Isom to meet with Miles next week‘Big Cat’ drill video stirs fans Alex CassaraSports Contributor
WiN STrEAK, see page 7GErALd hErBErT / The Associated Press
LSU center Justin Hamilton [left] and forwards Johnny O’Bryant III [top right] and Storm Warren [bottom right] battle Arkansas players Thursday during the Tigers’ victory in New Orleans.
HOG WILDNEW ORLEANS — With a three-game losing streak in tow and a sloppy first half behind it, the LSU men’s basketball team was staring down another postseason at home.
Then Johnny O’Bryant III took over.The freshman forward posted 12 sec-
ond-half points, dominating a helpless Hogs frontline to propel the eighth-seeded Tigers (18-13) past No. 9-seed Arkansas, 70-54, in the opening round of the South-eastern Conference Tournament on Thurs-day in New Orleans.
“Playing inside-out is what our offense
is based on,” said freshman point guard An-thony Hickey. “Johnny was relentless down low all day. They couldn’t stop him.”
O’Bryant dropped 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to notch his second career double-double and help power LSU to its first SEC Tournament triumph since 2009.
The freshman’s effort led a Tiger take-over in the paint, as LSU out rebounded Arkansas, 41-28, and compiled 19 second-chance points.
“Things start with your energy, and my coaches told me that I needed to hit the glass hard,” O’Bryant said. “I found some
O’Bryant’s big day, shooting kick-starts LSU blowoutChris AbshireSports Writer
BLoWoUT, see page 7
The Daily Reveillepage 6 Friday, March 9, 2012
This weekend is the LSU softball team’s last chance to perfect its play before the South-eastern Conference slate begins Wednesday night.
The Tigers (11-7) kickoff the weekend against Mississippi Valley State (9-9), which started the season with eight consecutive losses.
But the Devilettes rebounded with nine wins in 10 games head-ing into their match-up with LSU tonight.
The Tigers enter the game coming off a 10-2 win Wednes-day against Nicholls State that ended in five innings.
“We’re going to continue the of-fensive attack,” said LSU coach Beth To-rina. “We’re going to try to continue to be aggressive.”
The offense was a problem for LSU last weekend, as the Tigers went 1-3 against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, getting shut out in each loss.
“We’ve just got to learn from our losses,” said senior outfielder Ashley Langoni. “We made some crucial mistakes in the past cou-ple games, and we’re working on them in practice and we’re get-ting better every day.”
Sophomore infielder Alli-son Falcon may help the offense, as she made her return to the lineup against Nicholls State on Wednesday after missing eight games because of an injury.
Falcon went hitless in her re-turn but is still batting .417 on the season.
Langoni also seems to be hitting her stride from the plate.
Over the last three games, she has hit 6-for-9 with a home run, two doubles and three RBIs, and she leads the team in extra-base hits on the season.
“I think that’s what I needed — a little fire underneath me,” she said. “It came out to be a good thing. I’m back to where I need to be.”
While Falcon only saw the field as the designated hitter against Nicholls State, Torina said she may play on the other side of the ball this weekend.
“We keep trying to solidify the de-fense,” Torina said. “Hopefully we get to see Alison Falcon a little bit more on de-fense, too.”
After the Tigers’ tilt with Mississippi Valley State, they take the field again Friday night against Troy (16-2).
The Trojans have won five straight games and have shut
out their last two opponents with a combined score of 14-0.
“We have this tournament this weekend that we need to take care of and play good ball,” said freshman infielder Dylan Supak.
Langoni said the Tigers are looking forward to playing at home after five straight games away from Tiger Park.
“I know there’s a couple people on other teams that say they hate playing at our field be-cause our fans are so overpower-ing,” she said. “It’s a great feeling playing behind them.”
SOFTBALL
Contact Albert Burford at [email protected]
Next up for the Tigers:
Who: LSU (11-7) vs. Mississippi Valley State (9-9) and Troy (16-2)When: Friday at 5 p.m. (MVSU) and 7:30 p.m. (Troy); Saturday at 1:30 p.m. (Troy) and (MVSU) 4 p.m.Where: Tiger ParkListen at home: 91.1 KLSU
The LSU track and field team will continue their championship season today at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Nampa, Idaho.
Coming off the stress of mid-term exams and the Southeastern Conference Championship meet, LSU track coach Dennis Shaver said nerves will not be an issue for his team.
“This is, for all intents and purposes, the second-most im-portant meet to us [behind the NCAA Outdoor Champion-ships],” Shaver said. “I think we need to go into the meet and just do what we did to get there.”
Shaver said the women’s race will be between four teams: LSU, Oregon, Arkansas and Clemson. The Lady Tigers have 12 scoring opportunities in the meet, match-ing tournament favorite and top-ranked Oregon.
Shaver pointed to the 400-meter dash and the 4x400-meter relay as important events
in which the Lady Tigers will need to score points in order to succeed. He estimated that it would take roughly 45 points for a championship.
Shaver singled out junior Charlene Lipsey as the crucial element in the women’s 800-me-ter race, in a field he described as the toughest of the meet. Lipsey claimed her first SEC title earlier this season and has gone unbeat-en in the indoor season.
Junior Kim-berlyn Duncan will try to win her 14th-straight 200-meter-dash title against colle-giate competition and defend her NCAA indoor crown.
Shaver called the men’s team’s race a two-team chase between Florida and Arkansas, with the Tigers in a close battle for third, looking to trump their fourth-place finish from last sea-son.
“We’re fortunate that we’re going to be one of the teams battling for a trophy on both the men’s and women’s side,” Shav-er said.
Senior Kyron Blaise and
junior Damar Forbes will both compete in the triple jump and long jump, providing two oppor-tunities for the Tigers to “double up” on points.
Shaver said the duo will not have to do anything extraordi-nary to place in both events, but added that “doubling up” would aid in the Tigers’ success.
“[Forbes and Blaise] don’t have to do something any more
than what they did to get there,” Shaver said. “They just need to go out and per-form.”
Senior Bar-rett Nugent will look to overcome
a disappointing SEC Champion-ship meet, where he clipped the first hurdle in the 60-meter final and did not finish the race.
Shaver said although there are some men who are not pre-dicted to score, athletes like Blaise and Forbes, along with junior Caleb Williams in the 400-meter dash, will be crucial in the Tigers’ quest for a title.
Contact Chandler Rome at [email protected]
Chandler RomeSports Contributor
TRACK AND FIELD
LSU get final tune-up before SEC slate begins
BENJAMIN OLIVER HICKS / The Daily Reveille
LSU freshman utility player Dylan Supak prepares to swing at a pitch Feb. 26 during the Tigers’ 2-1 victory against Alcorn State at Tiger Park.
Tigers set for championshipsShaver predicts close team race
‘They just need to go out
and perform.’ Dennis ShaverLSU track coach
Albert BurfordSports Contributor
the country.”Unfortunately for the teams,
the atmosphere may literally be electric.
According to AccuWeather’s hourly forecast, the Baton Rouge area has a 40-percent chance of getting hit with a thunderstorm Friday night, a 20-percent chance Saturday night and a 24-percent chance Sunday night .
“It’s a shame,” Mainieri said. “It’s an outdoor sport and you have to constantly watch the weather.”
It’s not the fi rst time the Ti-gers have dealt with adverse weather this spring. A rain delay pushed back the start time of their second game this season against Alcorn State, and they played through light rain against Dart-mouth last weekend.
“Our kids are prepared men-tally to deal with those things,” Mainieri said. “Whether there’s a delay before the game or during the game, or whether you have to play during a drizzle, it’s just the nature of it.”
LSU is currently scheduled to play Michigan at 7 p.m. today and 6:30 p.m. Sat-urday , and Notre Dame at 3 p.m. Sunday and 6:30 p.m. Monday .
Notre Dame and Michigan are scheduled to play each other at noon Saturday and 10 a.m. Sun-day in games that are free to the public, though the schedule is likely to change.
If they play the full four-game slate, the Tigers could push their win streak into double digits this weekend, as they enter tonight’s
game against Michigan riding a six-game streak .
LSU has won in just about every way during the streak. The team pounded out a season-high 19 hits to start the streak in a 17-10 win against Grambling , shut out Tulane, 5-0, behind freshman
pitcher Aaron No-la’s eight shutout innings and won, 5-4, on a bizarre walk-off in the Dartmouth series fi nale .
But the key has been the hit-
ting — particularly in clutch situ-ations.
The Tigers have compiled an astronomical .381 team batting average in the six-game run, while averaging 11.7 runs per game .
Junior fi rst baseman Mason Katz hit all three of LSU’s home runs in the streak, meaning the
Tigers had to get creative to score runs.
Mainieri had his players ag-gressive on the base paths, calling a hit and run or a steal on several occasions.
The aggressiveness led to several at-bats with runners in scoring position, and junior out-fi elder Raph Rhymes made the most out of these opportunities.
The Monroe native knocked in 14 runs while batting a blister-ing .593 in his last six games.
The Tigers plan to use their same group of sophomore pitchers to start the weekend, with Kevin Gausman on Friday, Ryan Eades on Saturday and Kurt McCune on Sunday.
Monday’s starter is yet to be determined.
� e Daily ReveilleFriday, March 9, 2012 page 7
WIN STREAK, from page 5
Contact Luke Johnson at [email protected]
CONNOR TARTER / The Daily Reveille
LSU junior out� elder Raph Rhymes swings for a base hit Saturday during the Tigers’ 16-3 blowout against the Dartmouth Big Green.
‘It’s an outdoor sport and you have to constantly
watch the weather.’ Paul Mainieri
LSU baseball coach
good looks because I got offen-sive boards.”
O’Bryant made it look easy in the second half, but it was far from a cakewalk for LSU early.
Playing in the noon matinee time slot, the Tigers came out fi ring. Unfortunate-ly for LSU, it was mostly to Arkansas defenders, as the Tigers turned over the ball 10 times in as many minutes to open the game.
But the Razor-backs could only muster a three-point lead off the careless passing, as a stingy LSU defense and the Hogs’ cold shooting kept the Tigers within striking dis-tance.
“[Arkansas] came out ready to play, and we were sloppy,” said sophomore guard Ralston Turner. “We had to clean things up.”
LSU scored the fi nal three points of the half and then ex-ploded out of the locker room with seven straight.
The teams traded buckets before Arkansas put together a mini-run that cut LSU’s advan-tage to 44-39 at the 11:40 mark.
But O’Bryant drained two of his game-high 10 free throws and converted two picturesque lay-ins, and Turner added a cru-cial 3-pointer to stake LSU to an insurmountable 55-41 lead by the 7:05 mark.
“Basketball’s a game of runs,” Turner said. “We were de-termined not to let them back in that game.”
Turner’s 10 points made him one of fi ve LSU players who fi nished in double fi gures. Sophomore guard Andre Stringer fi nished with 11 points, senior forward Storm Warren contrib-uted 14 and junior center Justin Hamilton was an effi cient 5-of-6 shooting for 10 points.
LSU shot 50 percent for the game from the fi eld and beyond the 3-point line, including a 15-for-27 second-half shooting ef-fort.
“The ball just went down for us,” said LSU coach Trent John-son. “The players executed to get the right shots for us, and we shot it with confi dence.”
As LSU found an offensive
rhythm, the Tigers stifl ed an ar-ray of Arkansas offensive looks. The Razorbacks rarely threatened LSU’s disciplined defense, which tallied six blocks, forced 12 Ra-zorback turnovers and limited Arkansas to 36 percent shooting.
“They got physical and took the fi ght to us,” said Arkansas
senior forward Mi-chael Sanchez. “We couldn’t respond. Give LSU credit, be-cause they played fearless defense.”
The Razorbacks’ backcourt duo of BJ Young and Julysses Nobles spurred their sputtering offense, combining for 22
points but shooting just 1-of-8 behind the 3-point arc.
For LSU, the reward for its fi rst win in more than two weeks is a rematch against the top-ranked Kentucky juggernaut to-day.
The Wildcats (30-1) are the tournament’s top seed, coming off an undefeated and largely un-tested SEC regular season.
“It should be a great atmo-sphere [Friday],” Hamilton said. “It’s a lot of fun to play the best.”
Except it wasn’t much fun for LSU the fi rst time around.
After LSU played the Wild-cats to a virtual draw through 16 minutes on Jan. 28, Kentucky manhandled the Tigers the rest of the way, cruising to a 74-50 vic-tory in the PMAC.
“I’m optimistic,” Turner said. “We play to win, and we’re confi dent. There’s things to learn from the fi rst time we played them.”
Although LSU will need to go through Big Blue for any hopes at an NCAA Tournament automatic bid, the fi rst-round win against the Razorbacks could be enough to earn the Tigers a Na-tional Invitation Tournament bid.
“We’re not ready to be done yet,” Warren said. “The only way to guarantee that we keep playing is to beat the best.”
BLOWOUT, from page 5
Contact Chris Abshire at [email protected]
Next up for the Tigers:
SEC Tournament: LSU vs. KentuckyWhen: Noon todayWhere: New Orleans ArenaWatch or listen at home: SECN or 100.7
The Daily Reveille
Opinionpage 8 Friday, March 9, 2012
The Daily ReveilleThe Daily Reveille (USPS 145-800) is written, edited and produced solely by students of Louisiana State University. The Daily Reveille is an independent entity within the Manship School of Mass Communication. Signed opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, paper or University. Letters submitted for publication should be sent via e-mail to [email protected] or delivered to B-26 Hodges Hall. They must be 400 words or less. Letters must have a contact phone number so the opinion editor can verify the author. The phone number won’t be printed. The Daily Reveille reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for space consider-ation without changing the original intent. The Daily Reveille also reserves the right to reject any letter without noti-fication of the author. Writers must include their full names and phone numbers. The Daily Reveille’s editor-in-chief, hired every semester by the Louisiana State University Media Board, has final authority on all editorial decisions.
Editorial Policies & Procedures Quote of the Day“Ask Osama bin Laden and the 22 of 30 top al-Qaida leaders who’ve been taken off the field whether I engage
in appeasement.”
Barack ObamaU.S. President
August 4, 1961 — Present
Editorial BoardMatthew Jacobs
Chris BranchRyan Buxton
Bryan StewartAndrea Gallo
Clayton Crockett
Editor-in-Chief
Associate Managing Editor
Associate Managing Editor
Managing Editor, External Media
News Editor
Opinion Editor
Oh, Second Amendment, wilt thy tyrant Barack Hussein Obama retract thee?
No, he won’t.But there are apparently
thousands of Americans with baseless fears that he will.
With President Obama’s im-pending reelection, some gun owners are thinking, “Buy! Buy! Buy!”
This isn’t the first time it’s happened. The same trend oc-curred in 2008, according to Joe Craig, sales manager at Reyner-son’s Gunsmith Service in Baton Rouge.
There has been a recent spike in handgun and ammunition sales, he said.
Guns are selling faster than Air Jordans on Black Friday.
That’s right, gun owners are once again afraid a Democrat will take away their gun rights or in-crease restrictions.
This fear probably stems partly from the manifesto posted on the National Rifle Association website by NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre.
LaPierre seems to have some sort of delusional conspiracy the-ory that results in blatant attempts to instill fear that Obama will de-stroy the Second Amendment by 2016.
How does he know this? As-sumptions, mostly.
He asserts that Obama’s long-term conspiracy is to neu-tralize gun owners as a politi-cal force, get reelected and then “prosecute a full-scale, sustained, all-out campaign to excise the Second Amendment from our
Bill of Rights.” With the debacle in Iran and
the war in Afghanistan, I’m sure taking away gun rights is exactly what Obama is thinking about.
LaPierre claims the Obama administration is “working be-hind the scenes with tyrannical governments and global anti-gun groups at the United Nations, seeking to commit the United States to international gun-ban treaties.”
No, he’s not. This is far too crazy a theory to pass as true without evidence, of which there is none.
He also asserts Obama’s website posted a list of gun-con-trol objectives that were quickly taken down. Doubt it. Nowhere else online other than the NRA’s website is there any evidence backing his statement.
So prove that, too, LaPierre. Don’t just say it.
He continues to repeat the same propaganda time and again until he even says his evidence is circumstantial.
Know what circumstantial means? It doesn’t mean factual.
Don’t listen to LaPierre’s false rant. He misinforms more than Fox News on a bad day, and it’s hard to believe he actually subscribes to the words he writes.
I highly doubt Obama is con-sidering any bills restricting fire-arms in any way.
If he didn’t attempt to impose a restriction on firearms after the Tucson shooting last year when Jared Loughner used a 33-round magazine to kill six people, I doubt Obama’s going to do any-thing in the future.
Also, Obama has only dealt with one gun-related law so far in his tenure — it allows loaded weapons in national parks. Looks like he’s actually giving people
more rights. But the omniscient LaPierre
says this was only a ploy to ap-pease gun owners.
And finally, what rational person would attempt to take away firearms when in 2007, Reuters published an article that estimated U.S. citizens owned 270 of the 875 million firearms in the world? Any attempt to take away this right would start anoth-er bloody civil war, and I highly doubt any politician is willing to take that risk.
Guns have always been a part of our nation, and they al-ways will be.
I’ve owned firearms for a long time. And I’m not afraid restrictions will be made against them.
Buying more weapons out of irrational fear honestly sounds like it could end in violence some-where along the line. No one is going to mess with this law.
So don’t listen to LaPierre. I support the NRA, but not the lu-natic who runs it. And don’t buy guns simply because you think Obama will magically sneak into your home and take them. Think rationally.
Hopefully LaPierre’s ridicu-lous manifesto was simply a ploy
to influence more donations to the NRA.
And at least the increase in gun sales is good for the econo-my.
Chris Grillot is a 20-year-old English and mass communication major from New Orleans. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_CGrillot.
Don’t listen to the NRA vice president — guns are stayingTHE C-SECTIONChris GrillotColumnist
Contact Chris Grillot at [email protected]
WEB COMMENTSAs usual, the Opinion section of our website, lsureveille.com, has been absolutely buzzing with reader comments. Check it out today, and let your voice be heard.
In response to Marie-Therese Yo-kum’s column, “Responsible stu-dents will make LSU safer,” read-ers had this to say:
“I agree with Ms. Yokum. In order to get a concealed carry permit in Louisiana, one must take a course on proper use of
the weapon, including safety, ba-sic mechanics, shooting, etc. One also must be 21 years old, not a felon, etc. The people who would be armed if allowed by law to car-ry on campus would be those who take initiative, who are willing and ready to protect themselves and others.”- Anonymous
“If you would feel uncomfort-able with eligible people having a concealed handgun on campus, consider this: In my state, approxi-mately 3 percent of the population
who are eligible have a CHL per-mit. That is 3 out of every 100 people. Now ask yourself, the last time you were at the mall passing hundreds and hundreds of people, did you ever let the thought enter your mind, “I wonder who in here is carrying a gun?” No, you prob-ably did not because out of sight is out of mind. Concealed carry on campus is the same. It is by licensed eligible permit holders, not 19 year old party animals.”- Anonymous
In response to Parker Cramer’s
column, “Allowing weapons on campus is a crazy idea,” readers had this to say:
“You intimate that the pres-ence of guns is a bad idea sim-ply because of accidents, yet at schools where CCP’s are allowed, there has yet to be one accidental shooting by a carrier on campus. Similarly, you claim this campus full of mentally ill individuals will likely have a school shoot-ing should these anxious, drunk, depressed individuals be allowed to bring a gun on campus. But
what’s stopping them now? Fear or law? If they want to hurt them-selves or someone else, can you prove a ban on weapons will pre-vent them from committing acts of violence? Or can you show that on other college campuses, like the ones in Colorado, Utah, and Virginia that allow CC on campus have a higher incidence of gun re-lated crime?”- Anonymous
Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at [email protected]
Join the gun-control discussion at
blogs.lsureveille.com.
cartoon courtesy of KING FEATURES SYNDICATE
The Daily Reveille
OpinionFriday, March 9, 2011 page 9
Another round of primaries and caucuses is behind us with Su-per Tuesday and its 10 participating states in the rearview mirror. Now we can begin to reflect on what we learned from the biggest day on the Republican primary calendar.
So, what did we learn?Former Massachusetts Gov.
Mitt Romney still outspent his com-petitors five-to-one in most cases, yet he continued to barely win. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum rolled with the Romney punches and went toe-to-toe with the favorite in another colossal battle.
And former House Speaker Newt Gingrich eked out one measly victory in his home state of Georgia, while Texas Rep. Ron Paul failed to capture any states and remained win-less in the GOP contest.
To sum it up best, we are no closer to a resolution in the ongo-ing primary than we were before Super Tuesday. The only snippet of good news is that Gingrich may well be closer to his political de-mise and backing out of the race all together. As for Ron Paul, he’s just
hanging out.A question remains, though:
Which candidate can beat President Barack Obama in a general election come November?
Dare I say, not one of them.While it’s true that polling num-
bers mean little at this point, it can’t be ignored that not one of the Repub-lican contenders is polling well in a hypothetical general election against Obama.
No matter what poll you look at, the same numbers are evident. Rom-ney can’t beat him, Santorum can’t beat him, Gingrich can’t beat him, and neither can Paul. Again, polling numbers mean very little right now, but somebody has to have a shot, right?
Recent polls from Rasmus-sen Tracking, NBC News/Wall St. Journal, Politico and CNN all have Obama polling better at this point.
According to Real Clear Poli-tics, Romney facing Obama shows an average spread of 5.2 in Obama’s favor. Santorum loses as well by an average of 7.2 percent to Obama. A Gingrich faceoff lends a whopping 12.9 percent deficit to Obama, and Paul loses by an average of 7.5 per-cent.
Although the race is still up for grabs, it’s obvious this is a two-candidate race between Romney
and Santorum.The problem with Romney is
his ineptitude in connecting with lower-income, evangelical and younger voters. His favorability rat-ings among independent voters re-mains low, and that’s a segment of the electorate that will play a crucial role come November.
Santorum’s social views are far too extreme for mainstream Ameri-ca, and he’s proven to be an awful debater in the spotlight. Santorum’s best opportunity in the Arizona de-bate last month had him coming off as the angry man — and pouty, to say the least.
Romney hasn’t separated him-self and has been far from brilliant in any debates thus far, as he’s flip-flopped on issues across the board. Because of this, it’s tough to say if he’d have any chance at all in a de-bate against Obama.
Even Republican commentator and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin can see that.
“I also believe that [Romney] is the one that President Obama would love to debate and run against in No-vember,” Palin told Fox’s Greta Van Susteren.
Republicans can do better, no doubt, but this crop of contenders has much on which to improve before they can win over voters standing
in the middle. They must hone their message and end the mud-wrestling match that has turned off so many. The real focus needs to be on defeat-ing Obama.
Romney holds the advantage against all of his competitors at this point, but in a general election, it’s Obama who holds all the cards.
He’s a master in debating, a skilled campaigner, a record-break-ing fundraiser. Not to mention he’s the incumbent. Since the end of World War II, only three incumbent presidents have lost a re-election bid: Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and
George H.W. Bush.For now, President Obama and
his campaign staff can sit back and enjoy the show while the disconnect-ed GOP candidates continue to bash each other — all the while providing fodder for Obama’s re-election bid in November.
Matthew Westfall is a 23-year-old mass communication senior from Winchester, Va. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_mwestfall.
The question remains: Who can beat President Obama?FOR THINKERS ONLYMatthew westfallColumnist
Contact Matthew Westfall at [email protected]
CHARLES DHARAPAK / The Associated Press
President Barack Obama reacts to Super Tuesday after a reporter asked if he had anything to say to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
We regularly hear that approxi-mately 50 percent of American mar-riages end in divorce. That’s a grim statistic.
But we rarely hear about how many people are getting married despite the divorce rate. Knowing that half of marriages end in divorce doesn’t give me any idea how many people are currently married.
New statistics based on the most recent Census shows that marriage rates are dropping. And they’re drop-ping at such a rate that the institution of marriage could be going the way of the dodo bird.
The Pew Research Center re-cently released an analysis of data from the 2010 Census showing only 51 percent of Americans aged 18 and older were married.
That’s only half of legal adults — not the number I was expecting, considering my Facebook feed is showered in engagement parties and marriage invitations.
The Pew Center also noted that while marriage rates have dropped since 1960, the age range showing the greatest drop in matrimony is in people 18 to 29 years old. Only 20 percent of people in that age group are married in the U.S. today, com-pared with 59 percent in 1960.
In 40 years, marriage in college-age students has dropped 39 percent and the average age of first-time
newlyweds has risen to 27 years old for women and 29 for men.
So much for women coming to college to get a “MRS” degree.
While dating and relationships are still part of the college culture, these statistics show that marriage is no longer the first thing on all wom-en’s minds anymore.
Beliefs about marriage and fam-ily have changed along with wom-en’s ability to support themselves and their children.
Despite media hype and the ti-rades of traditionalists, a family is no longer two married adults with two kids and a dog in a house with a white picket fence. When’s the last time you saw a white picket fence?
Families are changing. They come in different shapes and sizes and don’t include only genetic rela-tions anymore.
Everyone has a biological fam-ily, like them or not, but that doesn’t mean they are our family of choice or the family we claim.
Take genetics out of the family equation and you strike a blow to the belief that a child will only have a family with married parents.
We won’t easily stop shotgun weddings for the unmarried and pregnant, but those numbers are dropping.
Some people no longer believe that marriage is the ultimate life goal and are instead choosing careers ahead of marriage.
Women are choosing careers over marriage because their voca-tional options now allow them to take care of themselves without
having to get married — a rare oc-currence in the 1960s.
While unequal pay and other sexist discriminations still exist, women can support themselves and their kids without the necessity of a man’s income.
Another factor is the increas-ing numbers of people in long-term relationships who simply don’t see a gain from getting married. They live together, share bills and responsibili-ties and have children together, but they don’t need the government’s or church’s validation of their relation-ship.
Only half of straight people are getting married, and half of those who get married get divorced.
As the bigots trying to stop same-sex marriage are throwing around sanctity and history, maybe they should wake up to the change before us.
At this rate, the institution of marriage is headed toward critical endangerment. The reasons for get-ting married — financial support, societal validation and family af-firmations — are slowly becoming obsolete.
One day, marriage could be something we only read about in the history books.
Kristi Carnahan is a 25-year-old anthropology senior from West Monroe. Follow her on Twitter @TDR_KCarnahan.
Could marriage be going extinct?
Contact Kristi Carnahan at [email protected]
Apple announced a new version of the iPad this week. What’s your favorite Apple product?
What’s Buzz? the
26%Macbook
iPhone52%
15%iPad
iPod
6%
Apple TV1%
Total Votes: 87
POSITIVELY CARNALKristi CarnahanColumnist
that before talking to us first,” Rus-sin said.
Russin said the sign on the door was placed prematurely, and the is-sue has been resolved. Budget cuts are an obstacle universities must overcome, but they were not respon-sible for the store’s one-day closure, Russin said.
“Every unit on every campus has been stretched thin with the budget, but we all cobble together to keep the programs together,” he said.
Hay said AgCenter administra-tors were supportive in working to keep the store open after losing the employee.
“The loss of employee caught
all of us by surprise, but we have resolved all issues with regard to filling the position,” he wrote in an e-mail.
The Daily Reveille reported in April 2011 that state budget cuts resulted in the loss of two positions at the Dairy Store but allowed it to operate more efficiently.
Russin said the AgCenter ad-ministration has developed a means of solving the current staffing prob-lems and will begin the search for a new creamery manager.
The store currently employs part-time employees and has ice cream already stock-piled and avail-able for purchase.
Russin said several weeks’ worth of ice cream has already been produced.
He said a new creamery man-ager can’t be hired immediately, but the administration has configured a way to rearrange the staff.
The employee’s departure is not an immediate issue, Russin said.
Meaghan Jeansonne, political science freshman, said she frequent-ly stops at the Dairy Store for an after-class treat and was concerned when it was believed the store would be closed for a longer period of time.
“It’s kind of a big staple here,” Jeansonne said. “They make a big deal out of it at orientation.”
Mellow Mushroom will go toward helping Morris.
“Anything we can do to help, even a little bit, is what we are go-ing to do,” Floyd said.
Floyd approached her boy-friend Bobby Fields, lead singer of Syllable Seven, to hold a benefit show for the cyclists’ families.
“When Bobby said they were playing at Mellow Mushroom, I asked if they would be up to mak-ing it a benefit show,” she said.
Fields, who has never met Morris and had met Crowson only a few times, agreed to make the al-ready booked show a charity event.
“It was something we had been talking about anyway about Nathan. She took that really hard,” Fields said. “Since then, she spoke of do-ing something to help. We already had the show booked at Mellow, and she kept mentioning benefit. … From there the idea turned into a lot more, and we just ran with it.”
A donation bucket will also be passed around during the con-cert. The donations will be split be-tween Morris’ hospital costs and a trust fund for Crowson’s 5-year-old daughter Katherine Coburn.
“[Crowson] was just a really kind, gentle, wonderful person. He was a great artist,” Floyd said. “His death was so senseless, and it could have been so preventable. It was
just so shocking.”Crowson’s friends and fam-
ily have set up a website, cres-centandfox.com, to sell his artwork to help his daughter, according to Floyd.
Fields said Syllable Seven hopes to help the cyclists and pre-vent tragedies like theirs from hap-pening again.
“[We hope] to raise a large enough sum of money to be of some assistance, but also a situation like this has the ability to bring a lot of people together with one common goal,” Fields said.
The Daily Reveille page 11Friday, March 9, 2012
Contact Emily Herrington at [email protected]
Contact Danielle Kelley at [email protected]
Contact Shannon Roberts at [email protected]
DAIRY STORE, from page 1MORRIS, from page 1
HONOR GUARD, from page 1
“The cleanliness of their perfor-mance ... is representative as a whole of what we do in the Air Force,” Mahler said. “It takes a lot of calls, practice and trust in one another.”
Each drill team has a trademark maneuver. The members of the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard have one that risks danger — spinning their rifles at a speed of 40 mph just inches from their bodies.
It’s a large coordinated effort in all ways, Mahler said.
During the presentation, four of the most precise, focused men came forward to perform a routine surrounding Stanton, in which they tossed rifles and pointed them inches from his face. Stanton stood in the center as the men tossed rifles above his head.
The last sequence the drill team performed featured Stanton march-ing down a narrow aisle between two lines of men spinning their weapons. Stanton marched back and forth through the line, demonstrating the “teamwork, precision and unwaver-ing trust” of the team as a whole.
“It’s amazing,” Stanton said. “I love leading air men. That’s what I really wanted to do.”
Every drill the Honor Guard performed illustrated ideals of the Air Force as a whole, including the continuing pursuit of freedom, secu-rity and sacrifice, the announcer said. Each action required the unwavering focus of each man on the team.
Stanton said the drill team prac-tices six hours a day and travels around the world performing their routines. The Honor Guard’s team has been to Canada and Puerto Rico, among other regions. They will trav-el to perform in Norway in May of this year.
� e Daily Reveillepage 10 Friday, March 9, 2012
EARN EXTRA MONEY Stu-dents needed ASAP. Earn up to $150 per day being a Mystery
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PAID DESIGN INTERNS NEEDED
Fast growing local company needs graphic design interns. Must
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WALK TO CAMPUS 1Br, 2Br, and Townhomes. Starting as low as $325.00. www.lsuwestchimes-
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SHANE NO ONE IS TALK-ING TO YOU sdavi21@lsu.
edu
NEED MORE FRIENDS? Did you move far from home? Do your current friends suck? Do you just wish you knew
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No guarantee on the amount of spots available.
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interested.
CELL PHONES STORE Clearance-Supplies limited! Prices slashed on all I phones, Blackberrys and Droids! All Inventory Must Go! tmicell.com/?aid=27909
CUSTOM WEBSITE DE-SIGN by LSU Student
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� e Daily Reveillepage 12 Friday, March 9, 2012
apply today for fall 2012
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university crescent
less pay. more play.