An LSU student senator introduced a resolution Wednesday thanking a professor for his years at the university after he announced he was stepping down after Jeff Landry’s election as governor.
Sen. “Corbitt” Driskell of the E.J. Ourso College of Business introduced the motion honoring Manship School professor Robet Mann saying it was necessary to show the school’s support for academic freedom. The motion will be voted on a future meeting.
The move comes as Mann, a critic of Gov. Jeff Landry, announced on X (formally known as Twitter) that he intended to step down from his position at LSU at the end of the academic year to limit any reputational harm the Manship School might receive if Landry attempts to oust him.
“My reasons are simple: The person who will be governor in January has already asked LSU to fire me,” Mann said in his post. “And I have no confidence the leadership of this university would protect the Manship School against a governor’s efforts to punish me and other faculty members.”
Landry had previously called for LSU to punish Mann over a comment he made in 2021 in which he referred to one of the attorney general’s employees as a “flunkie.”
Mann said he didn’t feel backed up by the university and fears for the future of the state’s higher education systems.
LSU affirmed its commitment to academic freedom in a statement to the Reveille after Mann’s departure announcement.
“LSU President William F. Tate IV and the entire LSU administration have consistently protected our faculty’s right to pursue discoveries and truth free of influence, and the freedom to voice their opinions,” said Ashley Arceneaux, Tate’s chief of staff.
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The rest of the meeting saw Sen. Calvin Feldt and Colin Raby of the College of Engineering bring forth a motion “to place a referendum before the LSU student body in the fall 2023 election to amend the self-assessed Student Government association fee to $4.20 per full time student.”
The objective of the motion is to allow for the Student Government to have a larger budget for future projects.
“We need to keep up with the times,” Raby said.
Feldt, with Sen. Alisha Ortolano of the College of Agriculture, then presented a motion “to urge and request LSU to enact a university policy preventing assignments from being due during university recognized holidays/breaks.”
Their goal is to make school during breaks less stressful and easier to handle for students.
Finally, in honor of breast cancer awareness, SG is partnering with the Hermosa Eta Epsilon chapter of Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority and the NCNW to raise awareness for Breast Cancer.
The breast cancer awareness event will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 24 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the LSU Student Union Student Chambers (room 329).
