THE DAILY REVEILLEWWW.LSUREVEILLE.COMVolume 114, Issue 49 Tuesday, November 3, 2009

TOUGH TACKLESJunior linebacker Kelvin

Sheppard records 39 tackles in last three games, page 7.

Log on to lsureveille.com to see what alcoholic beverages students

enjoy most.

Question of the Week

Students fi nally have access to the University Student Recreation Complex gymnasium, which has been closed for more than a year.

Michael Giles , UREC opera-tions and project manager , said the gym renovations ran smoothly de-spite a few minor issues.

“We had a few problems, which is normal for a project such as this,” he said. “But we stayed on sched-ule and opened up when we said we would, so I’d say it all went accord-ing to plan.”

The Student Government fall elections begin today, and voting on PAWS ends at 9:59 p.m.

Included on the ballot are can-didates vying for open SG Senate and University Court positions and a referendum to make the SG vice president a salaried position.

The only referendum on the ballot prohibits the vice presi-dent position from accepting paid

employment outside the University during the fall and spring semesters or outside Baton Rouge during any other time and making it eligible to become a paid position. The only other paid position is SG president.

Sen. Chris Sellers, College of Arts and Sciences and co-author of the resolution that put the referen-dum on the ballot, said SG included a $2,500 salary reserve for the vice president when formatting a budget at the beginning of the semester.

If passed, the Senate would have to approve using the funds to pay current SG Vice President Martina Scheuermann. Sellers said

SG Elections todayGym reopens after more than 14 months of renovations

By Xerxes A. WilsonStaff Writer

JASON BORDELON / The Daily Reveille

Students utilize the newly reopened basketball courts Monday at the UniversityStudent Recreation Complex gym. The courts have been closed since Hurricane Gustav.

They shade inspiring halls, populate the Quad and have become as much of a University hallmark as Mike the Tiger — and soon LSU’s famed stately oaks will be found in people’s backyards.

Using Seeds of Life — a busi-ness endeavor by Florida-based gift enterprise The Magnolia Company

— anyone can own an LSU oak grown from acorns collected from on-campus trees.

Small LSU oaks could be avail-able for sale as early as 2010, said Matt Roth , president of The Magno-lia Company, and plans are in devel-opment to sell the seeds themselves.

“When I talk with people at LSU, I see how much pride they have in the campus there and the history of the campus, and I feel

honored that we can serve people in this way,” Roth said.

HISTORICAL ROOTSThe stately oaks originated with

Steele Burden , a landscape archi-tect who came to campus in the late 1920s and began planting the trees in the early ’30s.

Most of the original campus

DEEP ROOTSCompany uses seeds from University’s historical trees to grow and sell oaks

By Ryan BuxtonStaff Writer

ALEX BOND / The Daily Reveille

UREC

ROOTS, see page 15

Referendum for VP salary on ballot

By Steven PowellContributing Writer

VP, see page 15 GYM, see page 15

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

In the Nov. 2 article “The Power of Voodoo,” the Voodoo Festival area for indie bands was incorrectly identifi ed. The area was Le Carnival.

If you would like something corrected or clarifi ed, please con-tact the editor at (225) 578-4811 or e-mail editor@lsureveille.com.

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 Offi ce of Student Media in B-34 Hodges Hall. The Daily Reveille is published daily during the fall and spring semesters and semi-weekly during the summer semester, except during holidays and fi nal exams. Second-class copies postage paid at Baton Rouge, La., 70803. Annual weekly mailed subscriptions are $125, semester weekly mailed subscriptions are $75. Non-mailed student rates are $4 each regu-lar semester, $2 during the summer; one copy per person, addition-al copies 25 cents each. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Daily Reveille, B-39 Hodges Hall, LSU, Baton Rouge, La.,70803.

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THE SAINTS ARE COMING

BENJAMIN OLIVER HICKS / The Daily Reveille

Log on to see students sporting Saints apparel and a recap of last night’s game.

Nation & World THE DAILY REVEILLE

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2009 PAGE 2

TODAY

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EditorManaging Editor, ContentManaging Editor, External MediaManaging Editor, ProductionProduction EditorNews EditorDeputy News EditorSports EditorDeputy Sports EditorOpinion EditorPhoto EditorReveille Radio DirectorAdvertising Sales Manager

North Korea threatens to expand nuclear arsenal

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea issued a veiled threat to in-crease its nuclear arsenal if U.S. offi cials do not quickly agree to the one-on-one talks that the communist regime is demanding. The regime’s impatience came days after its No. 2 nuclear negotiator Ri Gun came away from meetings with Wash-ington envoy Sung Kim without an agreement to hold bilateral talks.

Climate delegates call on US for robust policy at UN climate talks

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — As China’s actions to curb gas emissions garnered praise at U.N. climate talks, the United States came under renewed pressure to come up with a plan to cut pollution blamed for hastening global warming.

Delegates at the weeklong talks in Barcelona pressed Monday for Washington to make specifi c commit-ments on reducing carbon emissions.

Inquiry of bodies found in rapist’s home focuses on 8-9 missing women

CLEVELAND (AP) — Investiga-tors trying to identify the bodies of six women found in the home of a convicted rapist are focus-ing the inquiry on eight or nine missing women, the coroner said Monday.

It could take days or weeks to identify the bodies using den-tal records or DNA mouth-swab samples from relatives. Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller said his offi ce has begun the “arduous” process of collecting materials from dentists and relatives.

EBay removes items posted for sale by anti-abortion activists

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Online auction house eBay has removed items that were posted for sale by anti-abortion activists trying to raise money for defense of a man accused of killing a Kansas abor-tion provider, the company said

Monday.Supporters of Scott Roeder

— one in Kansas City, Mo. and the other in Des Moines, Iowa — posted various items late Sunday in separate eBay auctions includ-ing an Army of God manual, an underground publication for anti-abortion militants that describes ways to shut down clinics.

82 healthy green sea turtles hatch at SeaWorld in San Diego

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The popu-lation of endangered green sea turtles at SeaWorld in San Di-ego grew by 82 in October when a group of eggs hatched on the park’s Shipwreck Beach without human help.

The park announced the news Monday.

Assistant curator of fi shes Tim Downing says they haven’t had such happy turtle news at Sea-World since 2003, when 21 sea turtles were born with the help of park staff.

Medicaid program defi cit pegged at $308M by state health department

(AP) — The state health depart-ment Monday pegged a midyear defi cit in Louisiana’s Medicaid program at $308 million, giving formal notifi cation of the problem to lawmakers.

The shortfall for the $6.5 bil-lion program that cares for the poor, elderly and disabled will have to be closed before the 2009-10 fi scal year ends on June 30.

Health and Hospitals Secre-tary Alan Levine said the depart-ment will shift dollars from public health and mental health programs, along with tapping some federal stimulus funds and using other one-time dollars to help fi ll the gap.

“We are working hard to fi nd new ways to operate more effec-tively and effi ciently during these challenging budget times,” Levine wrote in his letter to the chairman of the House and Senate budget committees.

Gov. Bobby Jindal proclaims Pneumonia Awareness Week in La.

(AP) — Gov. Bobby Jindal has proclaimed this week Pneumonia Awareness Week in Louisiana, to en-courage people to ask their doctors whether they should get the pneu-monia vaccine. State Health Offi cer Jimmy Guidry says pneumonia is a common cause of death even though it can be prevented by vaccine, and is a common complication of both seasonal and swine fl u.

Audit: Louisiana government vehicles not properly monitored

(AP) — The agency that man-ages Louisiana’s vehicles doesn’t ensure the state only buys cars it needs and doesn’t properly moni-tor the ones the state does own, according to an audit released Monday.

The review of the Louisi-ana Property Assistance Agency shows many of the 13,200 vehi-cles aren’t needed.

VOTE JOSHUA G. HOLLINSUniversity Court Justice

TODAY ON PAWS!!!“Judicially Guaranteeing Honesty”

GET YOUR GAME FACE ON!Madden 2010 campus-wide challenge

6:00-9:00p.m., Tuesday, November 3, 2009Live Oak Lounge, LSU Student Union

The winner gets a copy of the game and more!

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Find The Daily Reveille on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lsureveille.

Derek Arbour , general studies senior, and his friends plan on mak-ing gifts, such as paintings and cus-tomized T-shirts, for each other this holiday season to save money in the shaky economy.

Although the infamous Black Friday and the holiday shopping sea-son are weeks away, many retailers are already rolling out the bargains.

Retailers waited until the end of November in years past to break out the deals, said James Richard-son , Public Administration Institute director and economist. But retailers already started major sales efforts and marketing techniques this year, which include price cuts and bar-gains.

Some surveys show spending will be down this season, but Rich-

ardson said no one — including re-tailers — knows what to expect.

“Some people may wait and see if prices get even lower closer to shopping season — others will buy now before its ‘too late,’” he said. “It’s a game we’re playing with each other.”

Richardson said the local mar-ket — though still fl at — is better than other cities, but it’s doubtful it will see a growth during the holiday season.

The holiday season marks the busiest time for retailers, which means companies will be fi ghting to fi nd a way to boost sales, Richardson said.

Many businesses start their holiday promotions early — some as early as late October — but Dan Rice , marketing professor, said it’s all part of the strategy.

“The reason you see it starting earlier is because of the traditional Black Friday sales,” he said. “Black Friday puts people into the shopping mentality and gets the season started. After fi nding deals early on, people

are ready to shop to fi nd more, which works in the retailer’s favor.”

Corey Dorsa , accounting ju-nior, said he plans to spend less on holiday shopping than in previous years because his budget has gotten tighter. He said he is forced to work fewer hours at his job compared to last year.

“It’s a direct effect of the econo-my,” he said. “Less people are willing to buy our product, meaning there is less work available for us to do.”

Rice said this year’s shopping season will consist of value-based sales with retailers like Walmart and Target being the go-to outlets.

Some stores — like higher-end retailers — will still have higher pric-es than others, but Rice said he pre-dicts most retailers across the board will cut prices to increase sales.

“If you look at companies that have done proportionately better this year, Walmart gained share because of lower prices,” he said.

On Oct. 21, Walmart announced the start of its holiday marketing strategy, which involves weekly price

cuts through the holiday season.“We will be announcing weekly

price cuts on thousands of items, starting with groceries and moving on to larger purchases, that will last through the shopping season,” said Ashley Hardie , Walmart spokesper-son.

Rice said Walmart’s strategy is aiming to bring customers in and get

them to spend more because of lower prices. But he said Walmart is always associated with lower prices, which questions whether the strategy will work exactly as planned.

The trend for cases of the H1N1 virus is declining nationally, but many health care providers still have not received inoculation shipments a full month after a vaccine was cre-ated.

The Student Health Center is developing a vaccination distribu-tion proposal for the Department of Health and Hospitals, the last step to receiving those vaccinations.

Julie Hupperich , associate di-rector of the Health Center, said she expects the vaccinations soon.

“Basically, we’re under the im-pression we’re closer to getting it if they are asking us about our distribu-tion plan,” Hupperich said.

Frank Welch , medical director for pandemic preparedness in Loui-siana, said state college students can expect to see deliveries as early as next week.

Hupperich said the DHH hasn’t told her how many doses the Health Center will receive or when.

She said the plan she will pres-ent to the DHH within the next few days will be based in part on the number of students and faculty who requested seasonal fl u vaccines.

The Health Center distributed about 2,000 seasonal fl u shots to students during October’s Flu Week, Hupperich said. More shots were also distributed to Veterinary School students, and 25 percent of the shots went to faculty.

She said she expects the Health Center will request about 3,000 H1N1 vaccines.

Hupperich said the initial allot-ment may call for an alphabetical distribution method for the vaccines. She said inoculations would be opened to whoever wants them if the demand is not overwhelming.

Welch said Louisiana has been distributing its limited number of vaccinations mostly to pediatric care givers during the last three weeks be-cause children are a high risk group.

He said the national shipping de-

lay is mostly because of the slow produc-tion of the vaccine.

“They say it’s a slow grower, or that’s the reason they’ve been giving us,” Welch said.

Welch said fl u vaccines are “basically cooked like soup” in industrial vats and are dis-tributed over the course of months.

There is also no single H1N1 vaccine because it comes in at least four different varieties for different groups of people, he said.

Louisiana is expected to receive the full allotment of inoculations, about 2.3 million doses in various forms, by the end of January.

Welch said University students will most likely be given intra-nasal

sprays, a form of the vaccine recom-mended for healthy people between the ages of 2 and 49 .

The Health Center will receive between 300 and 400 doses over a

three- to fi ve -week period, Welch said.

Welch and Hupperich said there has been a cyclical pattern for the vi-rus since its emergence, but recently the number of cases has dropped.

Because there is always a chance of re-emergence with pandemic dis-eases, Welch recommended people get both seasonal and H1N1 vaccines before the seasons overlap and make diagnosing the virus more diffi cult.

“If we increase the number of

people who can’t get it and can’t spread it, the virus will have a harder time going around,” Welch said.

THE DAILY REVEILLE PAGE 3TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2009

ECONOMY

MEGAN J. WILLIAMS / The Daily Reveille

Kim and Frank Truesdale, Baton Rouge residents, shop in Perkins Rowe on Monday night. Holiday sales are predicted to slow down this season.

HEALTH

Student Health Center to receive H1N1 vaccinesInoculations may arrive next weekBy Adam DuvernaySenior Staff Writer

Contact Adam Duvernay at aduvernay@lsureveille.com

Holiday sales predicted to slow, retailers using bargains

By Steven PowellContributing Writer

Students say they expect to spend less

Contact Steven Powell at spowell@lsureveille.com

lsureveille.comLog on to see updates to the H1N1 page.

THE DAILY REVEILLEPAGE 4 TuEsdAy, NovEmbEr 3, 2009

The Louisiana Economic Out-look predicts a sunnier job forecast for 2010 and 2011, though the good news didn’t come without caveats.

Among the most discussed find-ings in the report are the “oil patch” areas of Louisiana. Areas where the energy extraction industry, like oil drilling, plays a large role in local economies will continue to suffer setbacks because of proposed en-ergy tax plans by President Barack Obama.

“All they had to do is propose [another tax],” Loren Scott, profes-sor emeritus of economics and one author of the report, said of Obama’s proposed $33 billion tax plan on the oil industry. “As long as that’s hanging out there over the industry, you’re not going to have growth in the oil patch of the state.”

The Louisiana Environmental Action Network said negative reac-tion to environmental regulation is nothing new.

“Scott can declare gloom and doom, but I haven’t seen that in the last 20 years,” said Kathy Wascom, legislative liaison for LEAN. “I’ve seen a lot of innovation.”

Scott said oil companies are fearful of the government repeal-ing tax exemptions and adding any additional taxes. These potential added costs have “chilled” growth in Lafayette and Houma — two energy industry-dependent areas.

Additionally, oil companies will pass these extra costs onto consum-ers in the form of higher gas prices at the pumps, he said.

The proof is already in the pud-ding, Scott said, pointing out “nor-mally Lafayette and Houma would be rocking and rolling” with the cur-rent high oil prices.

Instead, Lafayette and Houma are expected to add jobs at less than 1 percent through 2010 and 2011 if Obama’s tax plans pass Congress, though Houma is expected to fare better because of recent job additions at Edison Chouest shipyards, accord-ing to the LEO.

Wascom countered Scott’s expectations and said new energy regulations, like a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system, could create a fa-vorable business environment.

She said Louisiana first needs to break its over-dependence on just one industry — an industry she said hasn’t yielded the positive benefits some claim it has for the Louisiana economy.

“We have oil. We have gas. We have huge natural resources,” she said. “And yet our state still seems to be of poor state quality, and we still seem to have terrible health and eco-nomic problems.”

Wascom said new regulations could spurn a wave of innovation in the energy industry, as regula-tions will force companies to look for more efficient ways to produce energy.

“It’s underestimating Louisi-ana businesses and the people of

Louisiana to say they can’t innovate and create,” she said. “There’s a lot of potential here.”

Wascom added that the cost of doing nothing could be much worse than anything — calling for Scott to draft an analysis of the cost of pollu-tion rather than the cost of solutions to try and solve it.

“We don’t really have any econ-omists looking at the cost of pollution on a community,” Wascom said.

The findings in the LEO are based on the assumption the price of oil will increase to at least $85 a barrel during the next two years, a substantial increase over the current price of oil, which is around $70 a barrel — something particularly sa-lient to consumers, who generally bear some of the burden of increased oil prices.

Retail gas prices are nowhere near the peak reached in mid-2008, but the price of gas at the pump has

increased steadily from around $1.70 per gallon to its current average of $2.70 per gallon, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Rya Butterfield, communication studies doctoral student, said she found a place to study within walk-ing distance of campus when she was moving to Louisiana in anticipation of high gas prices and her “limited funds” among other expenses.

“I only use my car three times a week or so,” she said,

Taylor Brantley, biology fresh-man, said he expects the price of gas to increase again, and he is ready to adjust like he did in 2008.

“I definitely didn’t drive a lot or drive very fast — to save gas,” Brantley said.

THE DAILY REVEILLESTATE

Gas prices expected to rise again

Contact Nate Monroe at nmonroe@lsureveille.com

New tax could affect La. oil industry

By Nate MonroeContributing Writer

THE DAILY REVEILLE PAGE 5TuEsdAy, NovEmbEr 3, 2009

Baton Rouge residents and visitors who didn’t get a chance to give their blood this weekend in ex-change for entry into the 13th Gate haunted house still have time to get their thrills for a discount.

The Gate will continue to run through Nov. 13, or Friday the 13th, and The Blood Center will be on site on weekend nights.

Donating blood at a blood bank parked outside the attraction takes $5 off the $20 general admis-sion and allows the donor and three friends to skip the line, which often stretches along the building to the end of the block.

But losing a pint of blood is not an activity usually associated with a haunted house experience.

Dwayne Sanburn, owner of Midnight Productions and the 13th

Gate, said his partnership with the Blood Center stems from his expe-rience as a registered nurse. He said he has paired blood drives with his haunted houses since 1995 as a way of giving back to the community.

There are more than 2,000 for-profit haunted attractions in the U.S., and haunted attractions aver-age about 8,000 guests per fright season, according to estimates by the Haunted House Association.

Cammie Proctor, account rep-resentative for The Blood Center, said the weekend of Oct. 23 was one of the busiest she’s seen at the 13th Gate this year with nearly 100 donors.

But Darren Breaux, Baton Rouge cardiologist, said extreme fright may not be the safest emotion to endure after giving blood.

He said the adrenal glands re-lease adrenaline to create the “flight or fight” reaction when the body is scared or surprised.

“Your heart begins to beat stronger, faster, and your blood pressure goes up,” Breaux said.

He said the reaction to surprise

is similar to the bodily conditions during heavy exercise but isn’t as good for the body. Blood pres-sure increases in both cases, but he said blood vessels dilate during exercise, and frightened responses causes vascular resistance.

He said blood pressure be-comes low after blood donations, when the body loses up to a pint of blood.

The body’s natural compen-satory response is to release more adrenaline, dilate the vascular sys-tem and sometimes increase blood pressure, he said.

He said combining the ef-fects of high blood pressure and

vascular resistance associated with the body’s surprise mechanisms during a haunted house experience puts the body at risk for fainting.

“You’d probably have more than normal amounts of people passing out,” Breaux said.

Sanburn said no one has ever fainted in his haunted houses from giving blood.

“Some people get a little sick from donating blood,” Sanburn said. “But it’s been about one in a thousand.”

He said the probability of passing out depends on the person — size, gender, existing medical problems and whether a person has

eaten all factor into the chance. Breaux said general recom-

mendations after a blood donation include lying down, eating and drinking and refraining from exer-cise, and effects can be felt for up to a few days afterward.

“I would strongly discour-age [visiting a haunted house af-ter blood donation] — it’s taking a risk,” he said. “But I think most people would be OK.”

Contact Sarah Lawson at slawson@lsureveille.com

HEALTH

Patrons of 13th Gate donate blood for entry discountCardiologist: Combo could be riskyBy Sarah LawsonContributing Writer

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THE DAILY REVEILLEPAGE 6 TuEsdAy, NovEmbEr 3, 2009

The Atlanta Falcons kept the New Or-leans Saints on their heels until the fi nal seconds of the teams’ divisional matchup Monday night.

But when Saints safety Darren Sharper pulled down an interception near his own goal line with three seconds left, the Saints walked off the Superdome fi eld victorious and still undefeated.

New Orleans’ 35-27 victory extends the team’s record to 7-0, tying the fran-chise’s best start and making the Saints one of two remaining undefeated teams along with the Indianapolis Colts. The win also

extends the Saints’ division lead to three games against Atlanta.

The Saints seemed to have the game locked up with 1:42 remaining when they forced an incomplete pass from Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan on fourth down.

But Falcons backup safety Coy Wire stripped the ball from Saints running back Mike Bell 19 seconds later, and Atlanta was back in business.

Ryan led Atlanta down fi eld for a 40-yard Jason Elam fi eld goal with 28 seconds remaining to cut the Saint lead to 35-27.

Wire recovered the ensuing onside kick for Atlanta, and advanced to ball to the New Orleans 49-yard line with 11 sec-onds remaining for one more Ryan hail mary attempt.

But the attempt landed squarely in

Sports THE DAILY REVEILLE

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2009 PAGE 7

When LSU junior linebacker Kelvin Sheppard and senior de-fensive tackle Al Woods visited Baton Rouge as recruits to a 2005 LSU game against Tennessee in Tiger Stadium , Woods made Sheppard a promise.

“On his offi cial visit, I came to watch the game because I had already committed, and I told him, ‘If you come here, I won’t ever let anyone touch you,’” Woods said. “That’s a promise that I’m living up to four years later. If I can take two hats for him to make the tackle, then that’s fi ne with

me.”Woods and the rest of the

LSU defense haven’t let Shep-pard down, especially in the last three games in which the junior linebacker has amassed a team-high 39 tackles . The 13 tackles in each of those games made Shep-pard the fi rst Tiger to amass three consecutive double-digit tackle games since Bradie James in 2002 .

Yet Sheppard refuses to take credit for any of what he has

done, despite 15 of those tackles being solo.

The Stone Mountain, Ga., na-tive instead credits his defensive line for never letting Tulane’s of-

fensive line block him Saturday night.

“It’s amazing that I can just sit back and play football and run sideline-to-side-line and have guys cheer for me in the meeting when they told me I got 13 tackles,” Sheppard said. “[Junior defensive tackle] Drake Nevis looked at me and said,

‘Man, it’s like me having 13 tack-les,’ and that’s a great thing.”

That unselfi sh attitude of his fellow defensive players has allowed Sheppard to rack up a team-high 70 total tackles this season (32 solo and 38 assisted) and team-high 7.5 tackles for loss.

Woods said Sheppard’s play has been helping the defense gain a swagger.

“What can’t you say about Kelvin,” Woods said. “He’s a

NFL

Saints hold on to late lead, beat Falcons 35-27

WRAPPING IT UPBy Andy Schwehm

Sports Writer

MAGGIE BOWLES / The Daily Reveille

LSU junior linebacker Kelvin Sheppard (11) takes down Florida running back Jeffery Demps (2) Oct. 10 in LSU’s 13-3 loss against Florida in Tiger Stadium.

One of LSU’s goals all season has been to establish a running game to bolster its offense.

That objective will become even more paramount this weekend, as No. 9 LSU prepares to face No. 3 Alabama on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

LSU coach Les Miles said with the Tulane game complete, the Ti-gers have devoted their attention to Alabama, including the Crimson Tide’s No. 2 rushing defense and No. 4 total defense in the country.

“We recog-nize the success that Alabama has had defend-ing thus far, and we are going to attack them with smartness and how it factors into our per-sonnel,” Miles said. “We look forward to that challenge.”

A particularly formidable force in size and skill is Alabama senior defensive lineman Terrance Cody. Cody blocked two fi eld goals in Ala-bama’s latest victory against Tennes-see, including a potential 44-yard game-winner.

“We’ll put two guys over the nose tackle and that nose tackle

Tigers’ attention focused on Alabama

FOOTBALL

By Rachel WhittakerChief Sports Writer

ALABAMA, see page 10SHEPPARD, see page 11

Junior linebacker Kelvin Sheppard credits teammates for recent success

lsurev

eille.

comLog on to see Les Miles

discuss this week’s

game against

Alabama.

BILL FEIG / The Associated Press

New Orleans Saints running back Pierre Thomas (23) points the ball to Atlanta Falcons cornerback Tye Hill (24) as he scores a touchdown in the Superdome on Nov. 2.

New Orleans one of two undefeated teams in NFLBy Staff Reports

SAINTS, see page 10

THE DAILY REVEILLEPAGE 8 TuEsdAy, NovEmbEr 3, 2009

Most collegiate athletic teams face several questions heading into their seasons. Injuries, departures and new arrivals always fill the minds of story-seeking journalists in the weeks leading up to kickoff, tip-off or first pitch.

The LSU men’s basketball team has certainly fielded its fair share of questions.

Coach Trent Johnson refers to some of his questionable players as “The Unknowns.” More specifi-cally, Johnson talks about these un-knowns at the power forward posi-tion, where the Tigers appear to be dreadfully thin with senior Tasmin Mitchell playing more small for-ward this season.

“Then you have the unknowns, outside of Chris Bass,” Johnson said. “I’m talking about up front on our front line.”

Two guys who will be counted upon to fill minimal, yet vital roles are sophomore Garrett Green and redshirt freshman Dennis Harris.

Green missed all of last sea-son with an injury after playing 25 games his freshman season under former LSU coach John Brady.

Harris, on the other hand, missed his freshman season after being redshirted. Harris has not seen action in a regular season game as a Tiger.

GREEN TRYING TO STAY HEALTHY

Most college basketball play-ers endure countless hours of prac-tices and workouts during their re-spective collegiate careers.

It’s usually nothing special. For Green, getting through one workout has been epic progress.

Green, the talented but oft-in-jured sophomore, missed the entire 2008-2009 season with a myriad of back injuries.

“Garrett Green was able to get through a 45-minute, three-quarter-speed individual workout, which is monumental for him,” Johnson said with a chuckle.

The 6-foot-11 inch, 230-pound forward said he is still not at full

health and continues a vigorous rehab schedule to mend his ailing back.

“I’m not really having pain in my spine where I had surgery, but I am having pain in lower parts with muscles that haven’t been built,” Green said. “They’re just started to get worked out, and they’re sore.”

Johnson declined to assess what Green’s role will be this up-coming season. For any role to be acquired, Green must actually be able to play.

“Well, first of all from Garrett’s standpoint, he’s got to get healthy,” Johnson said. “He’s got to prove he can be out there without having any setbacks. Physically, he’s got to be out there.”

HARRIS WORKING ON MENTAL SIDE OF GAME

Harris has all the physical tools. At 6 feet 10 inches and 190 pounds, the Jonesboro, Ga., native has a skill set Johnson said is similar to former Tiger Chris Johnson’s.

Harris starred at Mundy’s Mill High School in Jonesboro, averag-ing 21.5 points, 12 rebounds and

four blocks per game for the Tigers his senior season.

Johnson decided to redshirt Harris last season to save his eli-gibility for a future that would see Chris Johnson and Quintin Thorn-ton vacant from the roster.

Trent Johnson’s main concern for Harris, besides a skinny frame, is his mental fortitude and memory of the plays.

“For Dennis, he needs to under-stand what we’re doing offensively and defensively,” Johnson said. “There’s a word we use in athlet-ics called trust. It has nothing to do with a guy’s ability to make plays or a guy’s skill set. It has something to do with when we’re running a play, you won’t break down and you’ll know exactly what we’re do-ing. It’s simple: It’s called trust, and it’s called execution.”

Harris is certainly aware of Johnson’s criticisms.

“My role is going to be getting trust from coach Johnson,” Harris said. “I think I have to show Coach that I am a versatile player. I have no doubt in my mind that I can make an impact on this team.”

Harris’ high school coach at Mundy’s Mill, Tu Willingham, dismissed Johnson’s comments as a strategy to keep Harris’ ego in check. Willingham said he talks to Harris every Sunday night and la-beled him “a student of the game.”

“You can go to Kansas, you can go to North Carolina and the coaches are going to be critical of all their players,” Willingham said. “I would just say that was an aver-age, par-for-the-course comment.”

Willingham went further and said Johnson’s assessment of Har-ris couldn’t have been further from the truth.

“That is totally uncharacter-istic of him [Harris],” Willingham said. “He is one of the most focused and dedicated players I’ve ever coached.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Green, Harris hope to quash lingering questionsPlayers improve physically, mentallyBy Chris BranchSports Contributor

GRANT GUTIERREZ / The Daily Reveille

LSU freshman forward Dennis Harris (purple) defends as sophomore forward Garrett Green (gold) goes for a shot Wednesday night in the PMAC.

Contact Chris Branch at cbranch@lsureveille.com

THE DAILY REVEILLE PAGE 9TuEsdAy, NovEmbEr 3, 2009

Baseball is one of our oldest traditions, but perhaps it’s time for “America’s pastime” to fully em-brace the 21st century.

Baseball has implemented a form of replay that has helped al-leviate some of the errors made by umpires, but for the game to truly be as mistake-free as possible, it’s time for them to adopt a more mod-ern replay policy.

The current policy, adopted in 2007, only allows for replays in very specific instances.

If an umpire has a question of whether a potential home run ball landed in fair or foul territory, an instant replay could be used to de-termine a correct ruling.

It can also be used to ensure a ball actually left the playing field and did not just hit the top of the outfield wall.

The final instance in which instant replay could be used is to determine if a fan or spectator in-terfered with a ball.

We’ve seen instances when replay was necessary just in these playoffs alone.

Saturday night in Game 3 of the World Series, we saw a ball hit by Yankees third baseman Alex Ro-driguez hit a camera in the outfield

stands and get ruled a double.Luckily for the Bronx Bomb-

ers, this was a case where replay could be used, and the call was eventually overturned and correctly ruled a home run.

Teams are not always for-tunate, as both the Yankees and the Angels had close plays

called inaccurately against them.In Game 4 of the American

League Championship Series, third base umpire Tim McClelland made two truly horrible calls that could have been overturned if more types of plays were reviewable.

The poorer of the two calls happened at the top of the fifth in-ning when McClelland missed an obvious double play.

Angels catcher Mike Napoli caught Yankees catcher Jorge Pos-ada in a run down between home plate and third base and chased Posada back to the bag where Yan-kees second baseman Robinson Canó had already advanced.

Napoli tagged Canó first and

then Posada in what should have been a simple call resulting in two outs for the Yankees.

McClelland missed Canó’s foot not being on the bag when he was tagged and ruled him safe any-way.

The other play involved New York outfielder Nick Swisher who attempted to tag up on a fly ball out and advance for a run.

McClelland ruled Swisher had left third base too early and called him out — another call television replay showed McClelland got wrong.

“I’m just out there trying to do my job and do it the best I can,” McClelland said in a postgame press conference.

Sorry, Tim, but your best wasn’t good enough.

But a new instant replay with the power to overturn calls would have been good enough.

Baseball needs to adopt a more comprehensive replay policy to cover things like this.

It’s working out well for other sports.

I’ve seen plenty of instances in football when calls are confirmed or overturned that sway the momen-tum of a game. Tennis has a replay system that judges whether balls are in or out of bounds. Hockey and basketball have forms of a replay, and even the Professional Bull Rid-ers Association has replay rules.

Many of the arguments against replay are foolish at best.

Some argue human error is a part of baseball and has always been a part of baseball, so the sys-tem should remain the same.

This argument makes no sense. Tradition for the sake of tradition is asinine. If something can be im-proved, there’s no reason not to make improvements.

Those, including Commission-er Bud Selig, who argue pace may be affected and games will run long are just as bad.

Sure, it’ll take a little longer for games to play out if replay is imple-mented, but games are already two and a half to three hours, so what’s another 10 minutes to make sure the umpires are getting it right.

Baseball needs to change the system.

Things like fair and foul balls and outs on the base paths should

be included under the replay rules.They shouldn’t have to be sub-

ject to human error. They’re too important.

It won’t tarnish the game in any way to have a system of checks and balances to make sure nothing goes wrong in a big way.

Johanathan Brooks is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Powder Springs, Ga. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_jbrooks.

BABBLING BROOKS

Baseball should consider a better instant replay system

Johanathan Brooks

Sports Columnist

JAE C. HONG / The Associated Press

The Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Napoli tags the New York Yankees’ Robinson Canó on Oct. 20 during an American League Championship game in Anaheim, Calif.

Contact Johanathan Brooks at jbrooks@lsureveille.com

THE DAILY REVEILLEPAGE 10 TuEsdAy, NovEmbEr 3, 2009

Sharper’s hands, and the party was on in New Orleans.

The New Orleans defense ha-rassed Ryan all night. The former Boston College standout finished the night 19-for-42 for 289 yards, one touchdown and three inter-ceptions. Ryan was also sacked three times.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees countered with a 25-for-33, 308-yard performance of his own. Brees threw two touchdowns to one interception in the victory.

Brees spread the ball around to several receivers.

Marques Colston led the way with six receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown, and tight end Jeremy Shockey added five catches for 72 yards.

Robert Meachem and Dev-ery Henderson tallied 47 and 46 receiving yards, respectively.

Falcons running back Mi-chael Turner led all rushers with 151 yards on 20 carries for one touchdown.

But the Saints’ running back by committee matched the Fal-

cons’ standout nearly yard for yard.

Pierre Thomas finished with 91 yards and a touchdown, Mike Bell finished with 49 yards and Reggie Bush added a touchdown on just three yards of his own.

The Saints stay at home and await division foe Carolina for a 3:05 showdown Sunday.

The Falcons return to At-lanta for a noon matchup Sunday against the Washington Red-skins.

The primetime matchup was the first Monday Night Football appearance for both the Saints and the Falcons this season.

The Saints will appear on Monday night again later this month for a Nov. 30 matchup against New England in the Su-perdome.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Top-ranked Florida will be without star linebacker Brandon Spikes for the first half of Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt.

Coach Urban Meyer suspend-ed Spikes on Monday, two days after the defensive captain appar-ently attempted to gouge the eyes of Georgia running back Washaun Ealey in a 41-17 victory.

“I don’t condone that,” Meyer said. “I understand what goes on on the football [field], but there’s no place for that. We’re going to sus-pend Brandon for the first half of the Vanderbilt game. I spoke with him. That’s not who he is. That’s not who we are. He got caught up in emotion.”

Spikes issued a statement apol-ogizing for what he did.

“I accept responsibility for my actions, and I accept the conse-quences of my actions,” he said. “I would like to apologize to my team and the coaching staff and Washaun Ealey. Football is a very physical and emotional game, but there is no excuse for my actions.”

Meyer’s wife mentioned Spikes’ actions to him Sunday night, then defensive coordinator Charlie Strong did the same Mon-day morning. Meyer said his first reaction was to move on. Then he saw a replay of the incident, which shows Spikes shoving his glove-covered right hand into Ealey’s facemask and moving it back and forth.

Meyer then spoke to Spikes and determined he was retaliating

after getting his helmet ripped off and eye poked earlier in the game. Meyer also talked to Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive, but Florida officials said it was Meyer’s decision to suspend Spikes.

“We understand the game of football,” Meyer said. “Some of us have played it. Very emotional things happened in that game in par-ticular that were not good for either side, but the bottom line is we’re Florida and he’s Brandon Spikes and we expect certain things. He understands.”

The SEC issued a statement saying it reviewed and accepted the discipline handed down by Florida.

FOOTBALL

Florida’s Spikes suspended for attempting to gouge player’s eyesBy Mark LongThe Associated Press

SAINTS, from page

ALABAMA, from page 7

Contact Rachel Whittaker at rwhittaker@lsureveille.com

Contact The Daily Reveille’s sports staff at sports@lsureveille.com

area,” Miles said. “If the center goes to the right, he takes that guy, and if he goes to the left, he takes the other guy. [Cody] is just a good player and a very good competitor.”

LSU sophomore center T-Bob Hebert will be going against Cody on Saturday, and Miles said the 6-foot-3, 285-pound Hebert will be up to the task despite his size differ-ence against the 6-foot-5, 365-pound Cody.

“It’s like any opponent that chal-lenges you to bring out your best,” Miles said. “T-Bob will be inspired to play well along with our whole of-fensive line.”

Senior running back Charles Scott put up 112 yards rushing and two touchdowns against the Green Wave, his first 100-yard rushing per-formance of the season. Miles said keeping up that momentum on the ground is very important for a vic-tory against Alabama.

“In terms of establishing the run, it’s always important in every game with significance,” Miles said. “If you don’t, you become a one-di-mensional team, and that’s an issue and certainly will be for me.”

Sophomore quarterback Jor-dan Jefferson went 11-for-16 for 163 yards Saturday. Miles said his effort was impressive because the sophomore had an illness earlier that week.

“It was not a physical ailment,” Miles said. “He was sick with a dis-ease or some kind of virus or some-thing — a fever and his lungs were congested.”

Junior Josh Jasper and redshirt freshman Drew Alleman handled the punting duties against Tulane, but Miles said there is no indication ju-nior Derek Helton will be unable to play against Alabama.

“One thing that Derek Helton gives you is great hang time,” Miles said. “We expect he would be that guy taking those punts. There would be no reason for me to expect any differently this week.”

Contact The Daily Reveille’s sports staff at sports@lsureveille.com

THE DAILY REVEILLE PAGE 11TuEsdAy, NovEmbEr 3, 2009

great player, and he always comes to work with bumps and bruises and doesn’t complain. He gets better at something every week, and it shows on the field because he’s a guy you can count on.”

Sheppard also recorded his first solo sack of his career Satur-day night in LSU’s 42-0 victory against Tulane while adding two additional tackles for loss.

With 13 tackles against Tu-lane, Sheppard — once known by Tiger fans as “the other Ryan Perrilloux” because he shared the same jersey number (No. 11) as the former Tiger quarterback during his freshman season — has begun to make a name for

himself in the Southeastern C o n f e r e n c e , ranking No. 4 in tackles.

“He’s al-ways seen him-self as a leader and somebody that is integral to this team,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “He’s taken it upon himself

to improve his play ... Not only is he a very good player, but he’s a leader of our football team.”

The second-leading tackler on the team is Sheppard’s high school teammate senior lineback-er Perry Riley with 55 tackles.

Riley said Sheppard’s recent

play reminds him of their days back in high school.

“He’s doing everything you can ask of in a linebacker,” Riley said. “It’s just as it was back in high school, so it’s no shock to me that he’s having so much suc-cess.”

Sheppard was instrumental in leading his team to a 12-2 re-cord with 102 tackles, 10 sacks, an interception for a touchdown, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery as a high school senior. He had 106 tackles in his junior season in high school, a number which he may surpass this season in his junior year as a Tiger.

In his first two non-redshirt-

ed seasons at LSU, Sheppard re-corded 85 tackles, including 6.5 for losses, as a part-time starter and special teams player for the Tigers.

But one thing the fourth-year linebacker has not gotten since his senior season at Stephenson High School is an interception, a word that makes his eyes light up.

“I’m looking forward to that first one,” Sheppard said. “I should have had two this year, but I let them slip away.”

SHEPPARD, from page 7

JASON BORDELON / The Daily Reveille

LSU junior linebacker Kelvin Sheppard (11) tackles a Tulane player during one of his 13 tackles against the Green Wave on Oct. 31 in Tiger Stadium.

Contact Andy Schwehm at aschwehm@lsureveille.com

‘He always comes to work with

bumps and bruises and

doesn’t complain.’

Al Woodssenior defensive tackle

OpinionPAGE 12 TuEsdAy, NovEmbEr 3, 2009

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 Communi-cation. 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 opinion@lsureveille.com 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 Reveil-le reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for space consideration without changing the origi-nal intent. The Daily Reveille also reserves the right to reject any letter without notification of the author. Writers must include their full names and phone numbers. The Daily Reveille’s editor-in-chief, hired ev-ery semester by the Louisiana State University Media Board, has final authority on all editorial decisions.

EdITorIAL PoLICIEs & ProCEdurEs QuoTE oF THE dAy“Good ideas are not adopted

automatically. They must be driven into practice with

courageous patience.”Hyman G. Rickover

American Navy AdmiralJan. 27, 1900 - July 8, 1986

Editorial Board

THE DAILY REVEILLE

NICHOLAS PERSACJERIT ROSER

ELLEN ZIELINSKIMATTHEW ALBRIGHT

ERIC FREEMAN JR.MARK MACMURDO

EditorManaging Editor, ContentManaging Editor, ProductionOpinion EditorColumnistColumnist

FREEMAN OF SPEECH

Favre’s return to Lambeau matches Saban’s betrayalAs Chuck Norris might have

put it, betrayal is a dish best served with a swift roundhouse kick to the face.

Such was the case Sunday when Minnesota Vikings quar-terback Brett Favre’s every move was filmed, processed and broad-cast on a live webcast during his return to Lambeau Field and the Green Bay Packers.

The NFL took it to a whole new level, offering a “FavreCam” for supporters and opponents alike to capture Favre’s every step in the “Frozen Tundra.”

The media knew all about it, as did his teammates and former teammates across the sidelines. Even Favre himself knew. Most of the sideline footage featured Favre looking stoic, occasionally talking to one of his running backs, wide receivers or coaches, but for the most part reserved.

But most of the time he looked like he knew he was on camera.

Any veteran of pregame and postgame interviews knows he would publicly support his team and teammates, preaching old cli-chés like “It’s a team effort” or “I’m only where I am because of in-credible sup-port from my t e a m m a t e s and some of the best fans in football.”

But any sane interpretation of the FavreCam involves a micro-cosm of how Brett Favre views the league and his career.

In four words: It’s all about him.

Other than the sheer domi-nance of the Saints — Who Dat? — the biggest story this NFL season centers around Favre’s outright betrayal after his fourth or fifth retirement — I lost count

three retirements ago — and his dismantling of any good will af-forded to him by his former Cheesehead faithful.

After a lackluster stint with the New York Jets, Favre’s re-re-turn to the NFL with the Vikings left me with the same feeling after Nick Saban did the unthinkable and became head coach at Ala-bama.

The pair both moved to dif-ferent venues, with Saban accept-ing the head coaching position for the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.

The Tiger faithful were happy for him, to a degree. After all, he delivered a national championship to LSU, and we were eager to see him succeed on the professional level.

After two disastrous seasons, Saban called it quits in the NFL and took a sledgehammer to the hearts of Tiger Nation by sign-ing a $28 million contract with the Crimson Tide, with the gall

to proclaim “It wasn’t about the money.”

To be fair, it wasn’t about the money. Again, it’s all about him.

Saban saw the NFL for what it was: not for him. He couldn’t wrangle the egos associated with his players’ multi-million dollar contracts and endorsement deals.

Instead, his ego got the best of him, and he destroyed any good will he left in Baton Rouge.

Both Favre and Saban were successful in their first games where they made their names, with Favre throwing four touch-down passes in a 38-26 victory and Saban vanquishing the Tigers, 27-21, in overtime in his Death Valley return last year.

Only Saban didn’t have the “benefit” of having millions of eyes glued to his every move on-line.

Both Packer fans and Ti-ger fans can take solace in the fact both teams have moved on

relatively well. Aaron Rodgers looks promising at best as the new Packers quarterback, while Les Miles has already delivered a na-tional championship of his own to LSU.

But the pain remains. No one can undo the hurt

Packer fans suffered after the loss of arguably their greatest player ever, while nothing can salvage the outright disloyalty Nick Saban showed by joining one of LSU’s biggest rivals.

Well, maybe not nothing. Delivering a swift round-

house kick to Alabama this Satur-day would do it.

Eric Freeman Jr. is a 22-year-old political science senior from New Orleans. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_efreeman.

Contact Eric Freeman Jr. at efreeman@lsureveille.com

VIEW FROM ANOTHER SCHOOL

MEDFORD, Mass. (U-WIRE) — This weekend I found myself cel-ebrating the last Halloween of my college career, and I don’t know what was scarier: swine flu or the prospect of not finding a job. I receive e-mails nearly every day

concerning both of them: from the university, from my mom, from my friends — all admonishing me to wash my hands, buy a suit, avoid sharing drinks and network. My everyday conversations are suddenly peppered with news of which fortunate souls have been recruited and which unfortunate ones have come down with the in-

famous H1N1, as well as who took the LSATs out of sheer desperation and who has the vague and myste-rious “ILI.” It seems no one is safe. Why? Unemployment might not be as contagious as the dreaded swine, but sensationalism definitely is, and I see it infecting the university.

I work at an OCD clinic, where people with obsessions — and sub-sequently, compulsive behavior (rituals) — go to regain control, es-cape constant fear and recover their peace of mind. I spend my days convincing people that touching doorknobs and then not washing their hands before lunch will not, in fact, kill them. Try telling this to my roommates — who, thanks to the university’s helpful reminders that they have zero new informa-tion for us but want to let us know that it is still possible we will all get the swine flu and die — have succumbed to the very OCD symp-toms I try to eliminate in patients: excessive hand washing, undue fear of sniffly people, and the su-perfluous rule of 12.

This rule consists of the dubi-ous conviction that contamination can be transferred up to 12 times and still be dangerous, and I have seen it in action: shoes touch the floor and then a chair which touch-es pants which touch the couch

which touches a face and BAM. That’s only five — you’re definite-ly done for.

The terrifying notions of “our future” and “next year” are little different. We obsess over jobs and applications and networking sites. (Hello? Just last semester you were using those to post black-out pic-tures of your friends with Sharpie on their faces.) We ritualize our quest for a livelihood after college, checking and rechecking, display-ing shocking levels of perfection-ism, scrupulosity and self-doubt. We spend hours a day on these things in an attempt to extinguish our perpetual anxiety over the pos-sibility of joblessness, but the fear remains. We just can’t handle the uncertainty. This is textbook OCD.

I’m not saying our entire cam-pus has a clinical psychiatric di-agnosis — this campus is home to approximately 36,829,457 active student organizations. I’m pretty sure most of us are more than functional. We study, we leave the house, we have friends, we feed ourselves. We’ll be OK.

This notion, however, is ac-tually what I think we need to in-ternalize even more as a campus — We. Will. Be. OK. The terrain of our future, and apparently, our health, looks pretty rugged from

here; we have suddenly found our-selves without the vaccines and foresight that have always served us so well. Finding a job might be hard. So might be finding a pas-sion or a place to live (especially if you have swine flu). But we chose a major, chose a college, figured out how to pay for it and how to survive it — we will do this, and something tells me we will do it well.

In the meantime, I think the present state of everyone’s lives might be improved if we just re-lax. Read the e-mails if you must; explore your options for next year and perhaps stick to your own Solo cup for the rest of the semester. Wash your hands and clean up your résumé. Do what you have to do, but don’t fret!

This is not scary. “Paranormal Activity” was scary.

This is exciting! Things have a way of working out, and if they don’t, then you were probably just destined for failure. Kidding! But seriously, take my word on this one: Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.

Contact The Daily Reveille’s opinion staff at opinion@lsureveille.com

BEST AND WITTIEST

cartoon courtesy of KING FEATURES SYNDICATE

Swine flu, graduation causing OCD symptomsBy Jessie BorkanTufts University

Eric FrEEman Jr.Columnist

OpinionTuesday, November 3, 2009 PaGe 13

THE DAILY REVEILLE

Book banning isn’t always a terrible idea.

Granted, I agree with the main premise of The Intellectual Free-dom Exhibition held by the LSU Libraries, just not its broad gener-alizations.

Found on the second floor of Middleton Library, the exhibition showcases many challenged and banned books for the purpose of “ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular view-points to all who wish to read them.”

This is done in defense of an individual’s inherent right to hear a plethora of viewpoints and thereby form their own opinion, as per the First Amendment and the tradition of the marketplace of ideas.

However, with the rallying cry issued by the exhibition comes a smidgen of oversight. What free speech proponents often forget is an important distinction: in some situations, it’s perfectly acceptable to ban books, particularly when they’re foisted on young students as “required school readings.”

Unfortunately, this distinction isn’t often made because of the negative connotations associated with the phrase “book banning.” Most find the idea too offensive to entertain a scenario in which it might actually be beneficial.

My issue with the Middle-ton exhibition is the grouping of banned or challenged “required school readings” with other lit-erature. Though the exhibition in-dicates they were banned for dif-ferent reasons, it does nothing to suggest one might be acceptable.

Actually, it does the opposite by grouping all categories under a tagline that bids observers to “come

in and unlock” their minds.The result is a negative im-

pression, one which suggests con-cerned parents are closed-minded for disliking that their children are

being forced to read inappro-priate litera-ture.

What it amounts to is a school forcing children to be open-minded whether they like it or not.

Such a compelled attitude goes completely against what a free so-ciety should stand for. Essentially, it accomplishes the same thing book burning does but in a different way. Instead of telling them what to think by limiting their number of ideas, it forces them to think a certain way by insisting upon ques-tionable material, all in the name of open-mindedness.

By this logic, forcing objec-tionable literature on children is actually worse than book banning.

I believe this particular con-troversy has next to nothing to do with the First Amendment doctrine. Truthfully, it is an argument about who is more qualified to raise the child, though it is disguised with inflammatory rhetoric about free-dom of speech. A self-respecting educator should not assume they know what is best for children who aren’t their own.

Some may disagree with this sentiment and argue it “takes a vil-lage to raise a child.”

Unfortunately, these individu-als often forget about the proverbial “village idiot” and a parents’ intel-lectual right to shield the minds of

their children from the accompa-nying literature, should they find it objectionable.

This argument shouldn’t be dismissed as irrelevant prattling about a fringe issue, considering the statistics show otherwise.

Parents account for 56 per-cent of those who either challenge or succeed in banning books. And given that schools and school li-braries together account for 68 percent of the targeted institutions for banning, it’s reasonable to in-fer my gripes actually target the

predominant focal point of this controversy, rather than a fringe is-sue as most would think.

Contrary to popular belief, religious devotees who seek to uniformly ban, burn or otherwise censor literature are only 1 per-cent of those who seek to ban at all – though media overexposure and their bizarre antics make their numbers appear larger.

As such, a parent’s right to ban literature is too important to be overlooked, mislabeled or over-shadowed and stigmatized by a

relatively small, albeit loud, minor-ity. Discussion of the issue should be kept in the forefront when en-gaging in dialogue about book banning, foregoing the tendency to capitalize on free speech rhetoric.

Linnie Leavines is a 19-year-old mass communication sopho-more. Follow her on Twitter @TDR_lleavines.

ANALOG AVENGER

Hate crime act divisive, should be reconsideredWe call hate crimes unneces-

sary, but the term “hate crime” may not be necessary, either.

On Oct. 28, President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard Act, extending federal hate crime laws to protect a wider range of sexual orientations and genders.

The bill appears to bend to-ward justice and come down hard-er on malevolence. What could possibly be wrong with this?

Nothing – if you’re comfort-able cherry-picking your defini-tion of “hate.” People who impul-sively applaud this noble umbrella term are ignoring the semantic thicket into which it thrusts us.

Even more appalling is how it was passed – attached to a pricey Department of Defense bill.

Pairing hate crime legislature with military expenditures is not only an irrelevant undertaking, it’s unthinkably tactless. And this

comes from someone wholly op-posed to the military-industrial complex. It begs the question, “What is a hate crime?”

Our government surely doesn’t know. On one side of the Atlantic, this bill spon-sors Joe Sol-dier’s 105 mm armor-piercing round as it bores through the skull of the enemy he has been trained to engage – condi-tioned to, dare I say – hate now, and ask questions later.

Stateside, the same funds may sponsor a trial prosecuting the offender of our new and im-proved “hate crime” laws. The slope is getting slippery.

And what about Joe Soldier,

anyway? No matter which tango he downs, armed or unarmed (they all dress the same, right Joe?) it’s all for love of his coun-try – an intense, unbridled, shell-shocked love. Need we venture further into the shroud?

What about when a husband kills his wife in the heat of pas-sion upon catching her in bed with another man? Because when O.J. pretty much admitted to mur-der, he said, “Assume that I killed her. It was only because I loved her so much.”

Matthew Shepard was tragi-cally tortured to a slow, painful death because he was gay — the details of which are well docu-mented. Calling it a hate crime is redundant. The conditions surrounding his death speak for themselves. His killers too will end their lives slowly, in the con-fines of a prison cell.

But for all his martyrdom toward gay rights, Shepard is no deader than another victim of premeditated murder who died peacefully in his sleep, single gunshot wound to the head.

And so, calling one act a “hate crime” does not make it unequivocally more evil than the other. Similarly, since hate crimes have nothing protecting the genetically-predisposed mor-bidly obese, am I somehow “less hateful” for running over the next Walmart shopper who needs the motorized cart just to get around? Because I’ve heard plenty of people express their “hate for fat people.”

Having specific “hate crimes” only does two things at present: First, it patronizes families into thinking their son or daughter is more special than just the “regu-lar” murder victim. Shepard was

plenty special, but his sexual preferences don’t make torturing “more wrong” than it already is.

Second, it further compart-mentalizes a judicial system already mired in bureaucracy, wasting precious dollars trying to make a black and white picture from gray paint.

It is good that the govern-ment honors people like Shepard – he did not die in vain. But the government should also check its fog lights every so often, even if it hates to.

Jack Johnson is a 23-year-old mass communication junior from Fort Worth, Texas. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_jjohnson.

Contact Jack Johnson at jjohnson@lsureveille.com

Jack JohnsonColumnist

‘Book banning’ gives concerned parents bad nameJUXTAPOSED NOTIONS

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ClassifiedsPAGE 14 TuEsdAy, NovEmbEr 3, 2009

THE DAILY REVEILLE

Help Wanted

THE DAILY REVEILLE PAGE 15TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2009

landscaping was done by another fi rm, but the oaks were Burden’s work, said Van Cox , landscape ar-chitecture professor.

“[Burden] thought [the oak] was the most beautiful tree on Earth,” Cox said. “He came to campus, and the president at the time liked what he was doing and hired him to handle the landscape of the campus. Burden pretty much had free reign, and his love for live oaks shows.”

Burden planted a special oak near the Bernie Moore track stadium that has been named the Steele Bur-den Oak. The tree is unique because it was allowed to grow naturally, Cox said.

“All the rest were generally pruned up,” he said. “The natural habit of oaks is to droop downward and [the Burden Oak] is the only one on campus that has the true form of a live oak.”

Burden planted about 1,000 southern live oaks during his time on campus, one of the most durable types of trees, Cox said.

“They live hundreds of years and tend to look even better as they get older,” Cox said.

ROOT OF THE PROBLEMThough the oaks’ above-ground

growth is beautiful, their complex root systems underground can in-vade pavements and asphalt streets. Cox said the key to preventing prob-lems is not allowing roots and con-crete to compete, though sometimes sidewalks do have to be replaced.

“In the long run, the value of these live oaks is so much greater than the value of these sidewalks,” Cox said.

Roots also cause concern dur-ing construction, said Richard Hum-phreys , Facility Ser-vices arborist man-ager.

“We do a lot to restrict construction on the root zone of the trees,” he said. “We have a tool that allows us to blow soil away from the roots so we can expose them and fi gure out how to go around them.”

Most of Facility Services’ work with the trees deals with safety, like clearing dead wood so it doesn’t fall on anything and cutting branches that could be obstructions, Hum-phreys said.

Cox said the oaks are beautiful, but they were not the best choice for a roadside tree.

“The use of the live oak as a street tree is not a good idea,” he

said. “They branch so low, and their limbs are so heavy — that’s why it’s hard for trucks to drive around cam-pus right now.”

THE GREENThe oaks pose technical chal-

lenges, but the leafy green icons help the University fi nancially. In addi-tion to their aesthetic appeal, Hum-phreys said they save the University

$1 million per year in utilities.

“They keep the sun off surfaces and reduce the atmo-spheric temperature, which reduces the amount of cooling we have to do on the

buildings,” he said.The trees were last appraised

in 1998 , when they were valued at about $15 million , Humphreys said. The oaks are not insured because of the changing nature of trees, he said.

“The value [of trees] can be-come diminished even though aes-thetically it looks to have value,” Humphreys said.

The trees are also fi nancially self-sustaining through the LSU Foundation’s Endow an Oak pro-gram, which allows people to donate to the upkeep of trees and dedicate a tree to someone.

Donors can endow an oak in the Quad for $50,000 , one on the Parade Ground for $10,000 or any other on-campus oak for $4,000 . About 250 oaks have been endowed since the 1990s, and 1,200 more are currently available.

Money donated to the program is evenly divided between the imme-diate care of the trees and an endow-ment providing perpetual funding for trees, said Scott Madere , LSU Foundation public relations director. Madere declined to reveal how much the program has received to date.

The program appeals to many donors because people identify the oaks as part of their memories at the University, Madere said.

“Our urban forest is something everyone at LSU gets a chance to experience,” he said. “You can’t say everyone gets to experience a certain class, or even a football or baseball game. But one common experience is they all enjoy campus.”

Scheuermann would not be paid for past work but would begin logging hours once the money is allocated.

“If the referendum gets ap-proved, it doesn’t particularly mean she is going to be receiving a sal-ary,” Sellers said. “The Senate still has to decide that when considering the budget.”

Sellers said Scheuermann

would have to quit her current part-time job at the Tiger Card offi ce “in a timely manner” before receiving payment from SG.

“This doesn’t have an impact on my willingness to serve,” Sch-euermann said. “But it would al-low me to have more time to go to meetings and work for the student body.”

Gunduz Yavuzer , physics sophomore, said neither the presi-

dent nor vice president position should be paid.

“It seems like they shouldn’t be doing it just for their résumé or for pay,” Yavuzer said. “It should be because they want to do it.”

Along with the referendum, 37 candidates are vying for open sen-ate seats, and fi ve candidates are competing for a spot on the Univer-sity Court.

Only seats for University

Center for Freshman Year, Col-lege of Education, College of Arts and Sciences and University Court have competition, said SG Election Commissioner Alexis Sarver . The rest of the candidates are running unopposed.

Former SG President Colorado Robertson said students should be concerned about who is represent-ing them because SG has the power to shape the University.

“If you want changes made on campus instead of just complaining, your senator is someone you can complain to,” Robertson said. “The Senate really is the voice of the stu-dent body when it involves making or changing University policy.”

Giles said workers are still fi n-ishing a few punch-list items, but the gym is fully functional and us-able. Renovations on the gym began during the summer with the start of roof repairs. The gym has been closed since Sept. 1, 2008, when Hurricane Gustav caused extensive damaged to

the facility. The storm ripped parts off the roof, causing rain damage to the gym fl oor, Giles said.

UREC offi cials converted three of the tennis courts to temporary outdoor basketball courts during the renovation period. Giles said bas-ketball players have adjusted to the move, and UREC offi cials are dis-cussing making the outdoor courts

permanent. Giles said the next stage is reno-

vating the locker rooms — which will start Nov. 23 and fi nish by Jan. 2. The locker rooms were also dam-aged by Gustav when high humidity levels caused the lockers to rust.

David Simon , construction man-agement sophomore, said he’s glad to fi nally have access to the gym, af-ter the construction forced him to use the outdoor courts.

“When you’re outdoors, you

have to battle the elements, which causes problems,” he said. “The gym’s fi nally back — I love it.”

Kyle Meche , sport administra-tion junior, said he used the outdoor courts once a week, though he pre-fers indoor.

“The wind messes up shots,” he said. “It’s nice to have the gym back. The wood fl oors feel so much better than concrete.”

The re-opening of the gym means the return of the indoor track

and badminton, volleyball and in-door basketball courts, Giles said. The UREC also rents out the gym for events, like graduations and fra-ternity and sorority events, he said.

“We’re exited to be back up and running as normal,” he said. “We hope the completion of the gym will draw in even more users.”

ROOTS, from page 1

GYM, from page 1

VP, from page 1

Contact Ryan Buxton at rbuxton@lsureveille.com

Contact Steven Powell at spowell@lsureveille.com

Contact Xerxes A. Wilson at xwilson@lsureveille.com

lsureveille.comLog on to see photos of oaks around campus.

THE DAILY REVEILLETuesday, November 3, 2009 PaGe 16