Eric Alva , Purple Heart re-cipient and retired Marine Staff Sergeant, visited the University on Tuesday to share his story of recovery, message of equality and efforts to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

University Campus Life brought Alva to speak to students as a part of the University’s Civil-ity Week.

Alva was one of the fi rst American soldiers wounded in the war after being deployed for the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom in

2003 . Alva said he was trying to cook an MRE (meal ready to eat) on the engine of a Humvee when he walked over to the passenger

side.“To this day,

I have no clue what it was I was getting, but I never made it,” Alva said.

He walked over a land mine and sustained se-

vere injuries. He was only in Iraq for three hours before being in-jured.

After being airlifted to a

hospital in Kuwait , Alva woke up dazed but completely aware of his injuries.

“I get teary-eyed to this day, but I remember seeing the right side of my blanket was fl at,” Alva said.

For months, Alva recuperated and adapted to his new life after losing his right leg. He said he be-gan to live by his mother’s motto — “Everything happens for a rea-son.”

After going back to school, Alva found an interest in standing up for social justice, specifi cally

Reveillewww.lsureveille.com

SEC: Players comment on Texas A&M’s desire to join the division, p. 6

� e DailyFootball: Chad Jones hopes to return to the NFL, p. 5

Wednesday, September 14, 2011 • Volume 116, Issue 17

Campus crime: Man found with 68 grams of marijuana, p. 3

LAUREN DUHON / The Daily Reveille

This owl lives at the University’s School of Veterinary Medicine. Read about the Wildlife Hospital’s Adopt a Bird rehabilitation program, p. 4.

BIRD IS THE WORD

ACADEMICS

University remains top tier for fourth year

Human rights advocate talks ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy

LGBTQ

LGBTQ, see page 11

Lauren DuhonContributing Writer

RANK, see page 4

ALVA

LSU drops four spots, ranks 128thAndrea GalloStaff Writer

The University dropped four slots in the 2012 edition of US News & World Report’s best col-leges list, published Wednesday , where it reigns in 128th place. When ranked with only public universities, the University holds 63rd place.

Chancellor Michael Martin said he is pleased the University remained in the top tier, making the continued accolade an unprec-edented event in Louisiana pub-lic education history. He said the ranking “refl ects on our faculty, support and students.”

$447 billionTotal Cost

$461 billionTotal Savings

If the American Jobs Act is passed, some of the projects it will allocate include:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

billion billion

billion

30$

5$

25$

for community college modernization.

to � x transit systems, including highways,

railways and airports.

billion50$

for school infrastructure, projected to “modernize at least 35,000 public

schools.”

for states to prevent teacher layoffs and

promote hiring thereof.

TONY DEJAK / The Associated Press

‘Pass this jobs bill’In his latest attempt to energize the economy,

President Barack Obama detailed a $447 billion plan called the American Jobs Act in a congressional ad-dress Thursday .

Instead of providing money to businesses to spur growth, the American Jobs Act is poised to cut taxes for businesses that either employ new workers or in-crease wages. The act particularly targets small busi-nesses by halving taxes on businesses’ payrolls up to $5 million .

According to the act, the cap of $5 million spent on payroll encompasses about 98 percent of business-es in the country. And if a business hires new workers or increases current worker wages, the business will not pay payroll taxes up to the fi rst $50 million spent .

These tax reforms for businesses will cost the government $65 billion , according to the White House’s American Jobs Act overview.

The act particularly provides for veterans with a program called the “Returning Heroes Tax Credit.” The credits amount to $5,600 for hiring veterans who have been unemployed for six months or more and $9,600 if the veteran has “service-connected disabili-ties.”

Also in the act are a bipartisan National Infra-structure Bank and Project Rebuild — two initiatives to create jobs through “modernizing” transit systems, such as roads and airports, and renovating rundown schools.

Obama set aside an investment of $25 billion for

Act could produce job opportunities for students

JOBS, see page 11

Clayton CrockettStaff Writer

Matthew Jacobs • Editor-in-ChiefChris Branch • Associate Managing EditorRyan Buxton • Associate Managing Editor

Marissa Barrow • Managing Editor, External MediaSydni Dunn • News Editor

Rachel Warren • Deputy News Editor & Entertainment EditorRowan Kavner • Sports Editor

Katherine Terrell • Deputy Sports EditorKirsten Romaguera • Production Editor

Devin Graham • Opinion EditorChristopher Leh • Photo Editor

Brianna Paciorka • Deputy Photo EditorBryan Stewart • Multimedia Editor

Steven Powell • Radio DirectorScott Cornelius • 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 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 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 Wednesday, September 14, 2011page 2

Seven killed during Taliban attack on US Embassy, other Kabul buildings

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Teams of insurgents fi ring rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons struck at the U.S. Embassy, NATO headquarters and other build-ings in the heart of the Afghan capital Tuesday, raising fresh doubts about the Afghans’ ability to secure their nation as U.S. and other foreign troops begin to withdraw.

Seven Afghans were killed and 15 wounded in the coordinated day-light attack, which sent foreigners dashing for cover and terrifi ed the city from midday well into the night as U.S. helicopters buzzed overhead. No embassy or NATO staff members were hurt.Former Argentine President Menem acquitted of arms traf� cking

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Former Argentine President Carlos Menem and 17 members of his government were acquitted Tuesday of charges that they vio-lated international weapons embar-goes on Ecuador and Croatia in the 1990s.

Menem, still a sitting senator at 81, had faced up to eight years in prison if convicted, but two of the three judges on his panel found him not guilty.

Tests show Orange Beach tar balls are linked to last year’s oil spill

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. (AP) — A coastal mayor says tests show tar balls washed onto Alabama’s beaches by a recent tropical storm are from last year’s BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon said Tuesday the connec-tion was found in preliminary tests performed by Auburn University. Kennon says additional tests will be conducted.

Tropical Storm Lee dumped tar balls on the coast. BP says additional cleanup workers were added at the request of area leaders, and teams also are working longer hours.Coyote-infested neighborhood residents oppose killing the canines

GLENDALE, Calif. (AP) — Res-idents in a prosperous Southern California neighborhood infested by a pack of coyotes are urging authorities not to trap and kill the animals.

The coyotes took up resi-dence in a home that was gutted by a fi re last fall, and have since given birth to a litter of pups. Homeowners say the canines have been showing up almost daily to lounge in their yards and refuse to be scared away.

Former New Orleans police of� cer sentenced to 210 years for rapes

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A for-mer New Orleans police offi cer who pleaded guilty in May to seven counts of rape has been sentenced to 210 years in prison.

The Times-Picayune reports Christopher Buckley’s sentence was imposed Monday by Criminal District Judge Karen Herman. The 39-year-old Buckley faced fi ve to 40 years on each of the seven rape counts.

He pleaded guilty in May as his trial entered its second day. His ex-girlfriend’s 15-year-old daughter was preparing to take the stand and describe how he raped her multiple times in 2008.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

photo submitted by DREW SUTTON

A student prays for peace Sunday during the 9/11 faith walk in LSU’s Enchanted Forest. Submit your photos to photo@lsureveille.com for the chance to be published.

WeatherTODAY

7393

Sunny

91 68

THURSDAY

@lsureveille, @TDR_news, @TDR_sports

facebook.com/thedailyreveille

Passenger accused of stealing car from driver at traf� c violation stop

PAINCOURTVILLE (AP) — As-sumption Parish sheriff’s deputies say that when a woman was pulled over for a possible seat-belt viola-tion, her passenger pushed her out of the car, took the wheel and drove through several yards in Paincourt-ville — nearly hitting several people.

The Courier reports 28-year-old Jermaine Moland of Belle Rose was found Sunday in the attic of a shed near the street where police found the car.

Brazil Census shows nearly 43,000 kids under 14 years old are married

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Cen-sus fi gures from 2010 show that nearly 43,000 children under 14 years of age are living with a part-ner in Brazil in defi ance of laws forbidding these unions.

Brazil’s penal code prohibits marriage with children under 14 and defi nes sex with them as statu-tory rape.

The states in which these unions are most common have the country’s lowest per-capita income.

ROB KEERIS / The Associated Press

Members of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests protest Tuesday in front of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.

Today on lsureveille.com

90 68

FRIDAY

89 70

SATURDAY

90 68

SUNDAY

After one week of fantasy football, read the Tiger Feed sports blog for tips, advice and commentary on the hobby.

Read the Out of Print news blog for a � rst-hand opinion on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Get the latest news by downloading the LSU

Reveille app in the iTunes Store and Android MarketReveille app in the iTunes

When envisioning medical technology of the future, images of holographic x-rays, wristwatch sys-tem monitors and full-body scanners sweeping a person from head to toe in seconds spring to mind.

Although still years in the mak-ing, devices of this caliber may not be too far away.

A team of Uni-versity researchers in the Chemistry and Mechanical Engineering depart-ments are developing a device that can find individual errors in a single strand of a person’s DNA, known as human genome sequencing.

The National Institutes of Health awarded Steven Soper, ad-junct chemistry professor, a grant to fund research in genome sequencing. The goal is to develop technology that can complete the sequencing for $1,000 or less.

“Using a simple handheld de-vice, the doctor could generate huge amounts of information to determine the history and the future of a par-ticular patient,” Soper said. “It can tell which diseases people are predis-posed to and how best to treat them.”

Soper said the device they are working on should be able to com-plete a sequence for about $500, compared to the current cost of roughly $50,000 to $100,000.

“Insurance doesn’t pay for it and you have to have a family his-tory done before they’ll do DNA testing, which makes it a challenge,” Soper said. “If this cost comes down and it’s easier to get that information, many people can be screened early before cancer metastasizes.”

Soper said the University is the

lead researcher on this project, but scientists and engineers are working with institutions like Weill Cornell Medical College, Baylor College of Medicine and Northeastern Univer-sity in Boston.

Soper joined the University’s Chemistry Department in 1989 but is now a professor in biomedical engi-neering and chemistry at the Univer-sity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He will remain an adjunct professor at LSU, meaning he will continue to be affiliated with the University but will hold a more flexible position. Students moving to UNC to continue researching with him will remain LSU students and will receive an LSU diploma after graduation.

Soper said his move will not affect the project. Students will continue working on the sequencer, and collaborators will remain at the University. The additional resources at UNC-Chapel Hill will accelerate work on the project, and researchers will be able to test the device in clini-cal settings, he said.

The Chemistry and Mechanical Engineering departments have been talking about and working on DNA sequencing technology like this for five years, and the anticipated com-pletion date for a working model isn’t for five more.

A piece of DNA consists of three billion characters, he said.

The sequencer scans all three billion characters piece-by-piece for muta-tions, determining if each character is correct.

The technology developed by the University will allow doctors to do this quickly and at a low cost so insurance will pay for it. Right now, this is not possible, Soper said.

“I tell my students if it was easy to do, everyone would be doing it, and it wouldn’t be worth doing,” he said.

Jiahao Wu, mechanical engi-neering graduate student, said the project has been challenging.

“It’s very interesting as a me-chanical engineering student work-ing on something related to biology and chemistry,” Wu said. “It’s a to-tally different world to be working with a single molecule area.”

The Daily Reveille page 3Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Survivor: Bush 3PM (Campus Channel 75)The Ramen 4:30PM (Campus Channel 75)The Ramen 6:00PM (Cox Cable Channel 4)The Ramen RERUN 6:30 PM (Campus Channel 75)Making Moves RERUN 7PM (Campus Channel 75)The Ramen 7:30PM (WBTR Cable Channel 19)The Ramen RERUN 8PM (Campus Channel 75)The Ramen RERUN 9:30PM (Campus Channel 75

Plucker’s Wing BarMon: $14.99 All You Can Eat Wings and $3 Pluckers Specialty Drinks

Tues: Kids Eat Free, $3 Mexican Beers and MargaritasWed: Live Trivia at 8 pm, $4.50 34oz Mugs

Thurs: $12.99 All You Can Eat Boneless Wings, $4.50 34oz Mugs, $5.50 Patron MargaritasSun: $3 Pluckers Specialty Shots

EVERYDAY BEER SPECIAL: $6.50 34oz Mugs--Blue Moon, Dos Equis, Abitas

Black Student UnionGeneral Body Meeting

Wednesday, September 14 6:30 PMVieux Carre Room

Gender on Film - “The Warrior” 9/19/2011$5 refundable deposit required to reserve tickets

Contact LSU Women’s Center @ 225-578-1714 for more info.

Thursday September 15, 2011 at 530 pm in rm. 1119 Patrick F. Taylor HallLearn about what NSBE-LSU has to offer you this semester

Find out about scholarships, internships, and increasing academic performance while having funJoin us for food, fun and feel free to bring a friend

This week at LSU URECRegistration open at the UREC SRC

Intramural Tennis, Table Tennis & RacquetballVisit www.LSU.edu/UREC for details.

CAMPUS CRIME BRIEFSStudent arrested for marijuana possession with intent to distribute

An 18-year-old University stu-dent was arrested Sept. 8 for posses-sion of 68 grams of marijuana with intent to distribute, said Capt. Cory Lalonde, LSU Police Department spokesman.

LSUPD officers were called to East Campus Apartments at 3:17 p.m. after complaints of the smell of marijuana, Lalonde said. Officers located the apartment from which the odor was coming and identified Karl A. Neuenhaus, of 6623 Argonne Blvd. in New Orleans.

During the investigation, Neuenhaus admitted to having marijuana and drug paraphernalia, Lalonde said.

Neuenhaus was booked at East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.

Man found asleep on bench arrested for public intoxication

Man unaffiliated with University arrested twice while tailgating

Man unaffiliated with University arrested for fighting, hitting an officer

A 21-year-old man unaffiliated with the University was arrested Sat-urday for disturbing the peace while intoxicated at a football tailgate and was arrested a second time soon af-ter for simple battery and resisting an officer, Lalonde said.

Officers were called at 5:33 p.m. to the Oaks Lot off of

A 27-year-old man was arrested Saturday after striking an LSUPD officer who was trying to break up a fight, Lalonde said.

The officer was called to the corner of Dalrymple and East Cam-pus drives and saw three men in a struggle on the ground, Lalonde said. When the officer approached the rumble and identified himself, Brian C. Shelfer, of 18622 Santa Maria Drive, struck the officer with a closed fist.

Shelfer was charged with

A 26-year-old man unaffiliated with the University was arrested for public intoxication, resisting arrest and public intimidation after found slumbering on a bench near the PMAC, Lalonde said.

A citizen flagged LSUPD of-ficers at 9:40 p.m. in reference to a man supposedly disturbing the peace by the PMAC and Bernie Moore Track Stadium, Lalonde said.

He said officers found Jason Ja-mar Dixon, of 1262 Aster St., asleep on a bench. They woke Dixon, who then showed signs of intoxication and became belligerent, loudly curs-ing and shouting.

Dixon attempted to walk away and continued screaming and curs-ing when officers stopped him. He physically resisted when officers attempted to take him into custody, Lalonde said.

Dixon was booked at East Ba-ton Rouge Parish Prison.

Nicholson Extension Drive and saw John S. Simpson, of 506 Sullivan St. in Denham Springs, in a verbal alter-cation with fellow tailgaters, Lalonde said. Officers issued Simpson a mis-demeanor summons for disturbing the peace while intoxicated and al-lowed him to return to the tailgate.

At 6:11 p.m., officers found Simpson in another altercation that soon became physical, Lalonde said. They proceeded to arrest him though he physically resisted.

He was charged with simple battery and resisting an officer, Lalonde said.

Simpson was booked at East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.

public disturbance, battery of an officer and resisting arrest. The other two individuals in the fight did not press charges, Lalonde said.

Shelfer was booked at East Ba-ton Rouge Parish Prison.

SCIENCE

Morgan SearlesStaff Writer

Contact Morgan Searles at msearles@lsureveille.com

Soper

Research to develop DNA sequencer

The University’s College of Science announced Tuesday it has received a grant of approximately $11 million to fund research to look at the toxicity of fine par-ticles similar to those found in cigarettes.

The grant is the largest of-fered by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The grant was awarded to four institutions, including the Univer-sity. The other institutions include Duke University, the University of North Carolina and the Univer-sity of California at Berkeley.

The research program will comprise about 50 people and will be used on six projects, said Prin-ciple Investigator and Chemistry Professor Barry Dellinger. About 12 University graduate students will work on the research. Three of the projects will take place within the College of Science and three at the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. A small part of the project will also take place at the LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, according to Dellinger.

“For a long time, re-searchers have thought that the

components of cigarettes existed as molecules,” Dellinger said. “The truth is that they exist as these fine particles.”

The research will look into the particles’ effect on individuals and the environment.

“This could create a whole new way of looking at air pollu-tion,” Dellinger said. “We hope to correlate our research with ac-tual cases related to fine particles found in the health care system.”

Dellinger said this is a long-term project that was supposed to begin on Aug. 1, but the College of Science didn’t receive the official paperwork from the NIEHS until Sept. 1. Dellinger did not specify when the project would begin.

The grant will be paid over the course of five years.

The college received a small-er, reduced grant two years ago from the National Institute of Health.

“This grant is considerably larger than the starter grant,” Del-linger said. “This grant is not part of a class; however, the research could lead to future class offer-ings.”

Kevin Carman, College of Science dean, said this is a great step forward for the University.

Martin said he believes the University dropped in the peer evaluation category because of news being leaked about its bud-get problems over the past three years.

The Univer-sity was ranked 128th in the 2010 edition but climbed to 124th in 2011.

The Univer-sity shares 128th place this year with Colorado State University, Hofstra Univer-sity (N.Y.) and The New School (N.Y.).

Among the LSU’s Southeast-ern Conference peers, Vanderbilt University far exceeds all others, ranking 17th this year, while Mis-sissippi State University ranks the lowest of the schools at 157th place. In addition to Mississippi State, LSU also ranked ahead of the University of Arkansas and the University of Mississippi.

LSU’s closest SEC neighbor on the list is the University of Kentucky, which ranked in 124th place.

Executive Vice Chancel-lor and Provost Jack Hamilton has repeatedly emphasized the

University’s tuition rates, which are lower than that of its SEC col-leagues, and said the University must raise tuition to stay on the same plane as these other colleges.

US News & World Report found the University’s 85 percent

average freshmen retention rate as high and its six-year graduation rate of 61 percent as medium. In terms of selectiv-ity in admissions, the University was labeled as “more selective.”

US News & World Report ex-tended its rank-ings to 200 slots this year, allowing Louisiana Tech University in Rus-

ton to break through to the top tier in 194th place.

“I believe all universities in the state benefit from the stature that LSU has achieved because it elevates the national public per-ception of higher education in Louisiana,” Martin said in a news release.

The Adopt a Bird program at the Wildlife Hospital in the Uni-versity’s School of Veterinary Medicine continues to care for injured wild birds including bald eagles and turkey vultures.

The Adopt a Bird program has been around for more than 15 years with assistance from Vet School students who care for the birds by feeding them and clean-ing the cages, according to Javier Nevarez, assistant professor of zoological medicine and director of the Wildlife Hospital of Loui-siana,

The six resident birds, which cannot be returned to the wild be-cause of permanent injuries, are often used in educational presen-tations, such as church and school groups.

Nevarez said the purpose of the presentations at schools is to provide an educational message for children. In return, the chil-dren will adopt a specific bird as a group project.

“Many times elementary school classes will raise money to adopt and sponsor a bird,” Neva-rez said.

Nevarez said the Wildlife Hospital is currently caring for 10 to 12 birds that are in rehabilita-tion for future release.

One of these birds includes a bald eagle with a wing fracture. Nevarez said this is a common in-jury among birds.

From the time the birds are brought in and until their release, the rehabilitation process for a single bird can cost anywhere from $50 to $100, he said.

The adoption funds can be used for both resident and reha-bilitating birds.

Since no state or federal fund-ing is provided to care for the birds, the program is 100 percent funded by the public with an occa-sional private business donation.

Donation amounts differ among the birds depending on the amount of food the bird con-sumes. For example, expenses for Hilary, a Harris hawk, cost about $200 each year while Brize, a Mississippi kite, only costs $100.

Popular adoption birds

include Squirt, an Eastern screech owl and Morgan, a red-tailed hawk.

Morgan, who is missing a wing, was brought to the Wild-life Hospital in 1985 as an adult. Morgan is estimated to be about 30 years old and is retired from presentations.

Many of the residential birds are accustomed to being handled by people and have similar char-acteristics to pets. Nevarez said Sydney, a turkey vulture, enjoys playing with toys, especially his LSU tennis ball.

Jenna Alfonso, kinesiol-ogy freshman, said she had never heard of the Adopt a Bird program before, but she thinks its a good cause.

“This is really great,” she said. “I think the state should help

out with some of the funding, and the Vet School should look into finding more sources for funding to help out more birds.”

Bonnie DeVera, computer science sophomore, said she also was unaware of the program’s ex-istence.

“It’s good that the Vet School is helping out wildlife,” she said. “Working with the birds is also great experience for the students.”

The Daily Reveillepage 4 Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Contact Kate Mabry at kmabry@lsureveille.com

LAUREN DUHON / The Daily Reveille

Morgan, a 30-year-old red-tailed hawk who is missing a wing, has been cared for at the Wildlife Hospital since 1985.

VET SCHOOL

Kate MabryStaff Writer

Process can cost $50 to $100 per animal

Contact Andrea Gallo at agallo@lsureveille.com

Wildlife Hospital’s Adopt a Bird program rehabilitates hurt birds

SEC US News & World Report Rankings (in alphabetical order)

• University of Alabama: 75• University of Arkansas: 132• Auburn University: 82• University of Florida: 58• University of Georgia: 62• University of Kentucky: 124• University of Mississippi: 143• Louisiana State University: 128• Mississippi State University: 157• University of South Carolina: 111• University of Tennessee: 101• Vanderbilt University: 17

RANK, from page 1

COLLEGE OF SCIENCE

Grant to fund study of cigarette particles

Joshua BergeronContributing Writer

University one of four to be awarded

Contact Joshua Bergeron at jbergeron@lsureveille.com See photos of resident

birds at lsureveille.com.

Entering the 2011 season, many Tiger fans questioned the ability of LSU’s passing game, which fi n-ished 107th in the nation last year.

LSU graduated its leading re-ceiver and lost its third-leading re-ceiver and starting quarterback to off-fi eld issues, leaving doubts lin-gering offensively.

Toss in the uncertainty of ju-nior wide receiver Rueben Randle and his struggle with tendinitis, and LSU faced a real problem.

While many thought new additions like freshmen wide

receivers Odell Beckham, Jr., and Jarvis Landry would receive the bulk of the looks, it was a familiar, yet somewhat forgotten face that found himself fi lling the void.

“Being an older guy, I see the young guys making plays, and I want to make plays too,” said se-nior tight end Deangelo Peterson. “I know I can run routes better than re-ceivers. I’m focused and I’m ready to show up for my senior year.”

Peterson was the Tigers’ lead-ing receiver after the blockbuster season-opener against then-No. 3 Oregon , catching four of senior quarterback Jarrett Lee’s 10 com-pleted passes for 62 yards.

The tight end capped his hot start by hauling in a touchdown pass in the fi rst quarter of Saturday’s clash with Northwestern State.

“He did a great job for us,” Lee

said. “Sometimes we have other guys covered who have made plays for us in the past. You’ve got to fi nd other guys, and [Peterson] is just the guy right now that’s getting open for us, and he’s doing a great job.”

To Peterson, it’s no surprise that he’s thriving in the offense.

The 6-foot-4-inch senior spent most of his high school days at De-sire Street Academy lined up as a receiver before making the switch to tight end at LSU.

Despite his past, Peterson has adjusted well to the move, saying he actually prefers playing tight end now.

“That’s where I want to be bet-ter,” said Peterson, who now has 71 receiving yards on the year. “By me moving to tight end, it gave me the

Tiger Feed: Read speculations about Mo Isom’s new rumored kicking ambitions at lsureveille.com.

SportsWednesday, September 14, 2011 page 5

Chris AbshireSports Writer

Chris AbshireSports Writer

Mark ClementsSports Writer

FOOTBALL

FOOTBALL

PETERSON, see page 7

INJURIES, see page 7

ZACH BREAUX / The Daily Reveille

LSU senior tight end Deangelo Peterson is tackled by two Oregon State players Sept. 3 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Tigers won, 40-27.

Contact Chris Abshire at cabshire@lsureveille.com

Nike Pro Combat uniforms unveiled

Deangelo Peterson thrives at tight end

Jonesin’

File photo

Senior safety Chad Jones returns the kick-off of the fourth quarter for a

touchdown Sept. 26, 2010, during the Tigers’ 30-26 win over the Mississippi State

Bulldogs in Starkville, Miss. Jones was chosen in the third round of the NFL draft by the New York

Giants, but currently resides on their Physically Un-able to Perform list after a June car accident in New Orleans that shattered his lower leg.

Play

See page 7 for a preview of LSU’s Nike Pro Combat uniforms.

LSU’s classic white uniforms will come with a new twist Oct. 22 when the Tigers play Auburn .

Nike unveiled its Pro Com-bat Series jersey design for LSU on Tuesday . The Tigers’ traditional white jerseys will be embellished with gold trim and lined with a royal shade of purple on the sleeves and tiger eyes on the gloves.

“Nike takes pride in giving athletes an advantage by providing them with cutting-edge innovation. The Nike Pro Combat system of dress uniform delivers unparalleled on-fi eld performance benefi ts while inspiring the team through each uni-form’s unique design,” said Todd Van Horne , Nike’s creative director for football, in a news release.

LSU will be the latest in a line of high-profi le teams to don the modern gear, as Georgia , Boise State and Oregon have already done so in 2011 . LSU coach Les Miles said his team is honored to receive the Pro Combat treatment.

“While we love the tradition and the historical signifi cance be-hind the uniform we wear each week, our players also enjoy the op-portunity to wear something differ-ent,” Miles said.

From thrilling thousands of LSU fans as a two-sport athlete to wondering if he would ever play football again. That was the fate of former LSU safety and relief pitcher Chad Jones after a gruesome car accident last June in New Orleans mangled his left leg and put his professional future in doubt.

Two months earlier, the New York Giants picked Jones in the third round of the NFL draft. But the single-vehicle accident shat-tered his tibia and fi bula, ripped large chucks of skin from his heel and leg — exposing the damaged muscles — and gashed several nerves and veins. The surgical aftermath focused more on Jones’ eventual ability to walk, let alone play football.

Jones, known affectionately as the “Dreadlocks of Doom ” by LSU fans for his fl owing mane, said he had no idea the injuries were so severe in the immediate wake of the crash.

“In the ambulance, on the way [to the hospital], I was in and out [of consciousness], but I thought I had a broken leg and would probably be out just a few months before I got rolling again,” the New Orleans native said. “Once I woke up in the hospital and the doctors told me, that changed real quick.”

Jones said he is now “70 to 75 percent” as he rehabs in his hometown in hopes of returning to the NFL in time for the 2012 season. Despite being ahead of schedule with his reha-bilitation, Jones said the process has been excruciatingly slow,

Former safety still recovering from

accident, may return to NFL with rehab

Senior was leading receiver in opener

to

Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive said Texas A&M joining the SEC is no longer a matter of “if,” but “when,” in a statement Monday.

Slive said the SEC first be-came interested in a possible ex-pansion when it was contacted by Texas A&M President Richard Loftin.

“While the SEC wasn’t think-ing about expansion, it was impos-sible not to be interested in Texas A&M,” Slive said.

When put to vote last week, all 12 SEC presidents voted to ac-cept Texas A&M, but only if the school is free of legal issues stem-ming from its departure from the Big 12.

Several Big 12 schools —

namely Baylor — have said they don’t support Texas A&M’s de-parture and have the right to file a lawsuit on behalf of their concerns.

If Texas A&M does eventu-ally make its way to the SEC, long lost rivalries within the SEC would be rekindled.

Texas A&M and Arkansas have squared off in the Southwest Classic 67 times since 1903, but only twice since 1992. The rivalry was put on hold when Arkansas left the Southwest Conference for the SEC in 1991. Arkansas leads the all-time series 40-24-3.

LSU and Texas A&M have met 50 times, including in LSU’s 2011 Cotton Bowl victory. But not since 1995 has the match-up occurred on a yearly basis. The teams met every year between

1942-49, 1955-56, 1960-75 and 1986-95. LSU leads the all-time series 27-20-3.

“It was a big rivalry before we stopped playing them,” said sophomore linebacker Kevin Minter. “It would be nice to have that back.”

Minter said playing Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl last sea-son felt like a rivalry game.

“It would be great if [Texas

A&M] came to the SEC because that would mean more competi-tion,” Minter said.

Slive reflected a similar senti-ment, saying Texas A&M has an “exceptional athletic program.”

Slive also noted Texas A&M’s “passionate fans and wonder-ful traditions” as why the school would be a good fit for the SEC.

The topic of expansion in the SEC has been a mainstay in the

news since late August when the Aggies decided they would leave the Big 12, but that doesn’t mean it’s a topic of discussion among all of LSU’s football players.

“We don’t look at that right now,” said sophomore wide re-ceiver Kadron Boone. “We’re just focusing on one game at a time during the season. Whatever hap-pens, happens.”

If Texas A&M completes its

transition into the SEC, Slive said the conference doesn’t have im-mediate plans for a 14th member.

“We aren’t thinking in terms of numbers,” Slive said. “We think about the strength of the SEC and the attractiveness of Texas A&M as an institution.”

The Lady Tigers’ fastest run-ner, Laura Carleton, requested to use her redshirt at an abnormal time.

Carleton, who already used her redshirt season in track, chose to use her redshirt season in cross country during her final year of eligibility — this year. She said she wanted to run her final seasons of track and cross country in her last year at LSU.

“Instead of using up my last year this year, I wanted to wait until next year,” Carleton said. “Hope-fully I’ll be faster, and I think our team will be stronger, too, because I’m the oldest on the team so no one is going to be leaving.”

Carleton completed her under-graduate degree in management in May with a 4.0 grade point aver-age and enrolled in LSU’s graduate program this fall to pursue a mas-ter’s in business administration and continue running.

“Another reason I wanted to redshirt this fall is to make the ad-justment to graduate school easier,” Carleton said.

Carleton said the first semester of LSU’s MBA program involves a lot of group work which she may have had to miss if she had to travel for cross country meets.

A stress fracture in her foot forced Carleton to use her track redshirt in 2010, leaving her with two more track seasons in 2012 and 2013. Carleton said her primary fo-cus this fall is to prepare for a suc-cessful track season.

“I’m not racing as much be-cause I don’t want to tire myself out, but at the same time I’m pretty much doing all the same training because I think what you do in the fall has a huge effect on how you do in the spring,” Carleton said. “I think it’s worked well for me run-ning last year all through cross, in-door and outdoor, so I don’t want to mess anything up by taking it too easy.”

Carleton’s teammates said she’ll be missed this season but are excited to have her back with an additional year of training.

“We were hoping to have her back on the team, but I think she wanted her senior year to be her last year and to have a good last year. Hopefully she won’t get hurt

or anything and she’ll be able to come back even better next year,” said junior Leigh-Ann Naccari.

Junior Brea Goodman is also looking forward to Carleton’s re-turn to next year’s squad.

“It’s kind of sad because she’s one of our top runners, but we have a lot of girls who can pick up the slack for next year,” Goodman said. “I think it’s a good move for the team because next year we have a really good shot.”

LSU coach Mark Elliott said Carleton can make a bigger impact on next year’s team, which he said will be improved from this year’s team.

“Next year with our new re-cruits and the kids we have here getting better, she’s going to make it a much better team,” Elliott said. “I think Laura could definitely af-fect the position we finish this year, but I think we could have the team finish the highest it ever has in the conference next year.”

Elliott said Carleton wanted to devote another year to training before her last competitive season.

Carleton said redshirting will allow her to train the whole season while her teammates will need to

rest before and after meets. Run-ners usually have easy runs the day before and after a race, but Car-leton will be able to keep training.

“I’m just trying to take ad-vantage of having a lot of training

and not having to prepare for any meets,” Carleton said.

The Daily Reveillepage 6 Wednesday, September 14, 2011

CROSS COUNTRY

FOOTBALL

Top runner to redshirt this year, return for her final season

Slive: A&M move to SEC will strengthen conferenceScott BransonSports Contributor

Andrew ChappleSports Contributor

BLAIR LOCKHART / The Daily Reveille

Graduate student and distance runner Laura Carleton [left] runs with the cross country team Monday evening. She is redshirting this fall, but continues to train with the team.

Contact Andrew Chapple at achapple@lsureveille.com

Contact Scott Branson at sbranson@lsureveille.com

opportunity to create mismatches. I feel like no linebacker or no safety can cover me, and mainly, if it’s one-on-one, I don’t think they can.”

His most memorable contribution last season came in the fourth quarter against Alabama, when Peterson’s number was called on a 4th and one reverse that he brought to the 3-yard line, setting up the go-ahead touchdown.

Peterson finished fourth on the team with 16 receptions and 198 yards last year despite missing the first three games with an ankle in-jury.

Watching from the sidelines, Peterson said he used his down time as motivation for his senior campaign.

“I think the motivation and what helped me was me having a year under my belt last year,” Peter-son said. “I was hurt the first three games, and having that experience only helped. Now I’ve just got to stay focused at practice and know what I’ve got to do and just come out and ball every game.”

Peterson was recruited as a four-star athlete who chose LSU over a slew of offers including Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Vir-ginia.

He said he looked up to former Tiger standouts Demetrius Byrd and Brandon LaFell as role models en-tering LSU.

“I liked looking at guys before I got here, and I talked to a couple of them before I got here,” Peter-son said. “I still follow them now.

I know what they did wrong and know what they did right. I tried to pick up the positive things and go forward.”

If you ask his coach, Peterson has done just that.

LSU coach Les Miles com-mended Peterson on his transforma-tion as a tight end and called 2011 “his time.”

“[Peterson] is bigger, stronger and faster than he has been,” Miles said. “His team is counting on him more as a blocker and as a receiver, and he really is making the best of it. He goes to work and works hard every day. He’s a great teammate.”

especially for an elite athlete accus-tomed to an all-out training regimen.

“It’s just hard running, doing squats, and lifting [weights] and not being able to do the drills at that level I’m used to,” said the former St. Augustine star. “When football games come around and I have to watch the Giants play, that’s where I want to be. It’s painful to watch sometimes.”

Still, one can hear the excite-ment in Jones’ voice as he describes the next big step in his recovery. On Oct. 5 — his birthday — he will run his first timed 40-yard dash since the accident.

When and if Jones plays in an NFL game, it will likely be with the Giants, who embraced him at train-ing camp this summer and currently have him on their Physically Unable to Perform list.

As the Tigers prepare to travel to Starkville, Miss., for their Thurs-day night showdown with Missis-sippi State, the setting has brought back memories of what was perhaps Jones’ finest hour as an LSU football player.

With LSU locked in a tight battle early in the fourth quarter as a heavy favorite at Mississippi State in 2009, Jones fielded a punt at his own 7-yard line, made a few shifty jukes, shook off several tackles and followed the excitable wind-mill blocking of former cornerback Patrick Peterson down the right

sideline for a 93-yard touchdown.Minutes later, Jones essentially

saved the game with a seemingly superhuman pass deflection near the goal line in the game’s final minute that prevented a probable winning touchdown for the Bulldogs. LSU coach Les Miles tabbed the former safety’s heroics as his favorite mo-ment from the Tigers’ 30-26 tri-umph.

“The memory that I have is Chad Jones returning a punt and [former defensive tackle Charles] Alexander leading the way with a block at midfield with Patrick Peter-son waving his arms, giving direc-tions,” Miles said. “It’s hard to for-get that one.”

Jones said he defied standard punt-return procedure by picking the football up inside the 10-yard line.

“The ball was rolling real slow, and the receiver coach at the time, D.J. McCarthy, always warned me not to let those balls get downed too deep,” Jones said. “But you’re not supposed to catch anything past the 10-yard line, either. I pick it up, and, next thing I know, with some great blocking and a few moves, I was stumbling into the end zone.”

Jones said he still keeps in touch with the LSU program, es-pecially through several players he hosted during recruiting visits, like Lavar Edwards, Tyrann Mathieu and Deangelo Peterson.

“I developed a bond with those guys on their visits. I brought them in,” said Jones, who also won a

baseball national championship in 2009 as an effective relief pitcher for coach Paul Mainieri’s squad. “They were right there, showing concern after my injuries and seeing how I was doing. But everybody at LSU has been incredible to me.”

Jones’ father, Al, said the “LSU family” helped his own family, which includes his son and former Tiger defensive end Rahim Alem, handle the chaos following Jones’ accident.

“I don’t think I’ve gone a day without someone asking me about Chad or his progress,” he said. “Les, I know he’s busy, but he still checks up on my boy. We still go to games and tailgate with the friends we’ve made around the program. Their concern for us feels real and genu-ine.”

The younger Jones said he has kept a close eye on this year’s Tiger defense.

“They look real good,” said the 2009 Second-Team All-Southeast-ern Conference safety. “Defensive backs are flying to the ball. Some of the young guys have popped up real good, and got the defense roll-ing. They look like one of the best defenses in the country, which LSU should be every year. It’s continuing the legacy. I’m proud to be a part of that legacy.”

The Daily ReveilleWednesday, September 14, 2011 page 7

PETERSON, from page 5

Contact Mark Clements at mclements@lsureveille.com

EYE ON THE BALLINJURIES, from page 5

Contact Chris Abshire at cabshire@lsureveille.com

photo courtesy of JAMES GOLDEN

Nike unveiled Tuesday the Pro Combat Series jersey design that LSU will wear Oct. 22 during its game against Auburn in Tiger Stadium. Check out a gallery of other views of the uniform at lsureveille.com.

In response to Zach Davis’ Sept. 8 column, “Israeli actions show Amer-ican alliance is irresponsible”:

Since you have so graciously published your views on the Amer-ican-Israeli alliance in The Daily Reveille last week, allow me to pro-vide you the history your teachers

forgot to tell you. First of all, there have been at least fi ve opportunities for peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, all including offers of Israeli land in exchange for peace. Each time, the Palestinians have re-jected this offer by either blatantly refusing to negotiate or attacking the people of Israel.

Secondly, let me remind you that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. It is the respon-sibility of the United States, as a democracy, to support all democ-racies in the world that strive for

peace and freedom from oppression, including Israel.

Lastly, let me put this situa-tion in perspective. If the U.S. was repeatedly attacked over the U.S.-Mexico border by the Mexicans launching missiles into the south-ern states because it was their land fi rst, would our military not defend us by fi ghting back? Wouldn’t we also confront those that funded and voiced support for those attacks? What right do we have to demand Is-raeli leaders to allow its citizens to be attacked without retaliating? On the

contrary, the U.S. needs to support Israel in defending itself from those attacking its citizens by whatever means necessary. The alliance be-tween the U.S. and Israel is an al-liance we must defend because democracy and freedom are worth fi ghting for.

Rebecca Ringuette Physics graduate student

Really, this has to stop.We’ve deluded ourselves for far

too long. I think I can safely general-ize and say in near-ly every political race, lower taxes are proposed by at least one well-in-tentioned candidate.

Occasionally? I’m all for it. If we can cut excess spending or repeat programs, I certainly won’t stand in the way of progress. But when we make a platform out of lowering taxes, we cannot be successful.

That is, we cannot continue to lower taxes forever. Eventually, it takes a quantifi able amount of mon-ey to actually fund this thing. We need roads, buildings, public service offi cials like fi refi ghters, police and yes, politicians, not to mention regu-latory agencies, military spending, social programs and so on.

Take the Tea Party. In the “Con-tract from America,” lowering taxes is listed as a “plank” of the contract. And herein lies the problem: an ap-proach to taxes which fundamentally ignores the economic and fi scal en-vironment.

When will the Tea Party Patri-ots who support the Contract from America say taxes are fair and low enough? They won’t ever because, as a policy, taxes are too high. Above zero? Too high.

It’s just an ignorant position. A bit closer to home sweet

home, our ever-loved Gov. Bobby Jindal is expected to let the tax on cigarettes expire soon, which brings in something in the neighborhood of $12 million each year for Louisi-ana’s coffers.

In unrelated news, Jindal sup-ports raising tuition and fees on stu-dents, but I digress.

Unsurprisingly, our governor also supports the barely-literate Rick Perry. Why? Because of “job

creation, lower taxes and smaller government.” What about Texas’ improvements in standard of liv-ing, citizens’ quality of education or research into life-extending medi-cines?

Is the best measure of a politi-cian’s effectiveness his ability to pass myopic tax cuts, only to cripple the budget for the next candidate? It seems so.

Actually, the tax rate seems to be only tangentially related to the real issue. Countries like Australia and Switzerland have similar income tax rates compared to the U.S., but seem to be faring the international economy much better. Switzerland, for example, has hovered around 3 percent unemployment for some time now.

But in somewhere like France, where the tax rate is much higher, but the social programs more gener-ous, the income tax rate goes up to 40 percent . The corporate tax rate is right at 33.1 percent , slightly lower

than our top-level 35 percent rate in the U.S. And how is France handling its big gains from higher income tax levels? Not well, apparently, with the French budget defi cit reaching around $90 billion this April.

We cannot assume our fi nancial situation will improve, based only on a platform of lower taxes always, any more than we can count on success-ful social programs just by throwing money at them. Both positions over-simplify an already simple problem: don’t spend more than you make.

Now, I have to take the time to clarify a couple points. While there are some reasonable parallels to personal fi nance, the government can legitimately spend more than it makes from taxes by fi nancing the debt through other countries and in-vesting the cash. We may have spent some dough, but we do so to make more later. It’s a very good thing.

In other words, avoid unnecessary spending, promote investment.

Short-run defi cits, when caused by lots of investment, pose little threat to a fi nancially sound govern-ment.

But when we always spend more than we make from taxes, we must either pay more or ask for less. We cannot have both forever.

Systematically, politicians at all levels continue to promise short-sighted tax cuts and improved pro-grams in all circumstances. Those running for offi ce have to stop prom-ising their constituents the impos-sible, and we as voters need to stop electing the delusional.

Devin Graham is a 22-year-old economics senior from Prai-rieville. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_DGraham.

� e Daily Reveille

Opinionpage 8 Wednesday, September 14, 2011

� e Daily Reveille 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 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 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 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-� cation 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 � nal authority on all editorial decisions.

Editorial Policies & Procedures Quote of the Day“As for me, all I know is that

I know nothing.”

SocratesGreek philosopher

469 B.C. — 399 B.C.

Editorial BoardMatthew Jacobs

Chris BranchRyan Buxton

Marissa BarrowSydni Dunn

Devin Graham

Editor-in-Chief

Associate Managing Editor

Associate Managing Editor

Managing Editor, External Media

News Editor

Opinion Editor

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Contact � e Daily Reveille’s opinion sta� at opinion@lsureveille.com compiled by LAUREN DUHON

eanutThe

GalleryPMississippi citizens are facing the pos-

sible outlaw of abor-tions, birth control, in vitro fertilization and stem cell research. What do you think

about banning these health services?

‘Abortion is wrong

no matter what. . . .

Extinguishing a child’s life

isn’t fair.’Madeline Maestriarchitecture sophomore

‘In some cases

abortion might be the right

option, but it shouldn’t be the � rst.’

Jack Cadiganbiological chemistry

freshman

‘[Abortion] is up to the woman, and

it should stay up to

the woman.’Gayatri Menonbiological sciences

freshman

‘I wouldn’t personally [have an abortion], but people should have a choice.’ Lexi Schlamp

undeclared freshman

‘The option should be to somebody

who’s in the situation.

We shouldn’t outlaw

[abortion].’Jared Desoto

electrical engineering freshman

THE BOTTOM LINE

Unending tax cuts are unsustainable, can’t continue

THE BOTTOM LINE

DEVIN GRAHAM / The Daily Reveille

Contact Devin Graham at dgraham@lsureveille.com

DEVIN GRAHAM Opinion Editor

U.S. must step up support in Israel

alliance

A radioactive cloud of gloom has descended over the Quad as our beloved University dropped four places in US News and World Report’s recently released ranking of American universities.

This is perhaps a tad dramatic, but these rankings annually gen-erate headlines when the ranking itself should be largely ignored be-cause of the murky methodologies used to create the popular listing.

This year, the University dipped, but still found itself in the top tier of universities and in a four-way tie for 128th place na-tionally. Historically, the top tier has consisted of about 130 schools but has recently been extended to about 200 institutions.

While the top-tier position has often been lauded and used as a selling point for the University to potential students and legislators, what does it really mean?

Not too much, it seems.Much of the rankings are right-

fully built with hard data like grad-uation and retention rates. These are legitimate ways of calculating the effectiveness of an institution.

But for a ranking that fancies itself a “starting point for the col-lege search,” an unfortunate por-tion is derived from subjective measures.

The primary example of this subjectivity is “undergraduate aca-demic reputation.” This measure derived from survey responses by academic administrators at peer institutions who judge the Uni-versity’s intangibles like “faculty dedication to teaching.”

How exactly an academic administrator can have any inkling

of faculty members’ dedication at another institution is lost in the ranking’s method.

Keeping with the example, perhaps the most valuable experi-

ence I’ve had at the University has been with certain faculty members and their dedication to educational engagement. Ef-fective instruc-tors are the ones who can pull a

student into the subject matter by making it relevant and spurring student involvement.

While some tenured faculty members have tendencies to lan-guish in their cozy offices, many professors go beyond their base duties to inspire creativity from students. This can’t be measured by any number and has no place in creating a ranking of colleges.

It should also be mentioned the University saw some modest but tangible improvement in some of the purely statistical categories like freshman retention and aver-age alumni giving rate.

The latter of those examples saw a minute but significant in-crease as the University looks to diversify its funding as state appro-priations decrease.

This is where the usefulness of the report, not the ranking, comes in. In creating the useless ordi-nal ranking, the report compiles a trove of statistics like graduation rates and faculty resources that can be a competent indicator of the overall health of the University if

used intelligently.Further, what most of these

colleges’ rankings fail to illustrate is how effective institutions are in getting their students gainfully em-ployed upon graduation.

Believe it or not, some stu-dents attend college for purposes other than football and binge drink-ing. The gloomy reality is that we will all need real jobs one day.

This is where college rankings

and statistic compilations rarely reach, though it is the most impor-tant measure of success an individ-ual school or college could have.

I understand with research and community engagement, there is more to universities than vocation. But wouldn’t the most useful statistic for students be a measurement of the ability for an institution or individual college to place its graduates in jobs or

advanced degree programs?

Xerxes A. Wilson is a 22-year-old mass communication senior from Lucedale, Miss. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_Berxerxes.

Researchers around the world are racing to develop a commer-cially viable alternative to meat, without the inconvenience of raising and slaughtering millions of animals every year.

Lab-grown meat promises equivalent nu-tritional content to normal meat while requiring less energy and producing fewer emissions, but will people want to eat it once scientists work out the kinks?

The search for animal-free meat began more than a decade ago but has recently made seri-ous advances. In 1999, Dutch inventor Willem van Eelen re-ceived patents for the “industrial production of meat using cell culture methods.” Eelen has been working on lab-grown meat ever since, sparking dozens of other labs to take up the cause over

the past decade.Scientists are now able to

take cells from animals and en-tice them into reproducing in a nutrient-filled petri dish. The growing cells are then placed on a biocompatible scaffold, allow-ing the muscle tissue to further develop. The technology is still in its infancy, but it promises to not only change the way we eat meat but also benefit the environment.

A significant portion of land in the U.S. and around the world is used for raising livestock, par-ticularly cattle. Farmers in the U.S. also use incredible quanti-ties of land, fertilizer and fresh water to produce crops to feed these livestock. Lab-grown meat could make this wasteful process obsolete.

Eating organisms high on the food chain is an incredibly inefficient use of energy. Even livestock raised on a vegetarian diet represents a significant por-tion of lost energy because only a fraction of the energy an animal

consumes will ever be passed on in the form of tasty meat.

Livestock also contributes significantly to global warming through emission of greenhouse gases via biological functions, as well as providing incentives for deforestation and other habitat destruction.

Lab-grown meat wouldn’t waste all of the energy and nutri-ents cows spend every day graz-ing, sleeping and doing whatever else it is cows do. It will also cut back on greenhouse gasses by re-ducing land requirements and cut-ting down on bovine flatulence.

A recent study by Oxford University and the University of Amsterdam estimated that re-placing conventional livestock production with lab-grown meat could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 96 percent while requiring between 7 and 45 percent less energy.

Unfortunately, by all ac-counts the meat looks terrible and tastes even worse. One

researcher described it as “steak-flavored Jell-O.”

The best in vitro meat anyone has come up with so far still looks far from appetizing. The small white gummy strings of protein are hardly recognizable as meat and are only about the size of a contact lens.

Scientists will have to find a way to overcome these aesthetic hurdles either by mimicking the system of blood vessels that give real meat its coloration, or find-ing another way to make the meat more marketable.

This issue could be solved with dyes for the ground meat researchers are currently pursu-ing, but constructing a convinc-ing steak would take significantly more time, energy and effort, and would almost certainly not be cost effective if it can be done at all.

As with many groundbreaking areas of research, the technical challenges of pro-ducing lab-grown meat will likely be dwarfed by the marketing

challenge of convincing people to try the new meat alternative.

Consumers have traditionally been wary of genetically modi-fied and cloned food, and I expect lab-grown meat to be met with the same skepticism.

With the way the technol-ogy is shaping up, I think we can hope for a reasonable facsimile of a hamburger sometime in the future, but we shouldn’t hold our breath waiting for the slaughter-free porterhouse.

Andrew Shockey is a 20 year-old biological engineering junior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_Ashockey.

The Daily Reveille

OpinionWednesday, September 14, 2011 page 9

BEST AND WITTIEST

cartoon courtesy of KING FEATURES SYNDICATE

SHOCKINGLY SIMPLE

Andrew Shockey Columnist

Frankenburgers could save energy and the environment

Contact Andrew Shockey at ashockey@lsureveille.com

BERXERXES

Don’t take US News and World Report ranking too seriously

XerXeS A. wilSon

Columnist

Contact Xerxes A. Wilson at xwilson@lsureveille.com

The Daily Reveillepage 10 Wednesday, September 14, 2011

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school infrastructure, which he proj-ects will “modernize at least 35,000 public schools” nationwide. An extra $5 billion was allotted to community college modernization as well.

Thirty billion dollars will be set aside for states to prevent teacher layoffs.

Another $50 billion will be ded-icated to fixing transit systems in the U.S., which will create jobs.

Because of the restoration-based initiatives, Associate Director for Employment Services Trey Truitt believes the plan will mostly ben-efit students involved in construction and engineering.

“Anything that energizes hiring will benefit our students,” he said.

Truitt also pointed out that vet-erans leaving the University could see more personal opportunities be-cause of the tax credits for business-es that hire them.

While the number of veteran students at the University is uncer-tain, approximately 500 students re-ceive veterans benefits, according to the Registrar’s Office.

Robert Newman, economics professor and department chair, was keen to point out “the government doesn’t create jobs.” Instead, he said the government needs to restore con-fidence in businesses.

“The administration is inconsis-tent in its approach,” Newman said.

The inconsistency lies in the tax and regulatory increases currently under way, he said.

Lingering discussions of raising taxes on the wealthy and health care reform, which Newman said is go-ing to increase employer costs, could prevent businesses from hiring as ea-gerly as the president hopes.

According to Newman, even with the tax breaks, businesses “lack confidence” and are unsure about what their future costs may be — es-pecially considering the health care reform bill passed in 2010.

“It can work,” Newman said.

“But [results] will be meager.”Adding to future expenses are

the means by which Obama plans to pay for the $447 billion plan.

The majority of the act’s hefty price will be paid with a series of tax reforms.

One reform will limit tax de-ductions for individuals making $200,000 or more annually and families making $250,000 or more. This reform is slated to raise approx-imately $400 billion over the next 10 years.

Obama also estimates another $40 billion in revenue through end-ing tax subsidies for “certain” oil companies.

Tax breaks for anyone owning a corporate jet will be eliminated as well, bringing in a projected $3 bil-lion.

If the president’s approxima-tions are accurate, the reforms should raise $461 billion to counteract the $447 billion American Jobs Act.

The act also seeks to extend unemployment insurance. Accord-ing to a recent news release by the Louisiana Workforce Commission, the number of new claims for un-employment insurance in Louisiana

increased this past week from 3,648 to 3,878, and a recent Census report stated the U.S.’s poverty rate in 2010 reached an all-time high of 15.1 per-cent.

A Congressional Connection Poll was conducted from Sept. 8-11 by Princeton Survey Research As-sociates International to gauge the American people’s responses to Obama’s proposals.

The survey showed 75 percent of those polled approved of his plan to provide tax cuts for hiring busi-nesses. Another 70 percent agreed with his provision to states to prevent teacher and public worker layoffs.

While the main facets of the American Jobs Act are meeting gen-eral approval, Republican policies to fix the deficit also hold sway with the public.

Approximately 67 percent ap-proved of a balanced budget amend-ment for the federal government, and 52 percent approved of cutting cor-porate tax rates.

The Daily Reveille page 11Wednesday, September 14, 2011

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for the LGBTQ community. He was asked to serve as the national spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign’s efforts to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

Alva decided to come out as a gay man who had served proudly for his country in front of Congress when the bill to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was released. He boldly spoke out for all people of diversity.

In the years that followed, Alva worked adamantly to make sure the policy would be repealed.

This goal was achieved on Dec. 22, 2010, when Alva stood behind President Barack Obama as he signed the repeal to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the military.

“It got a little confusing from there, but for the next several months everyone had to go through training for the implementation of the appeal,” Alva said.

LGBTQ, from page 1

JOBS, from page 1

Contact Clayton Crockett at ccrockett@lsureveille.com

Contact Lauren Duhon at lduhon@lsureveille.com

Read more on Alva’s speech and watch a video

at lsureveille.com.

The Daily Reveillepage 12 Wednesday, September 14, 2011