Almost three months after the South Carolina State House lowered the Confederate flag from its grounds, LSU Student Government is trying to see them lowered at gameday tailgates.
SG created a flag exchange program over the past few weeks, said SG president Andrew Mahtook. The program has SG members offer to trade flags with tailgaters flying purple and gold Confederate flags on gamedays.
If an SG representative noticed a purple and gold Confederate flag at a tailgate, he or she could offer to exchange that flag for a new, regular LSU flag. The program was created several years ago and was well received, Mahtook said.
“If they said ‘yes,’ we exchanged them,” Mahtook said. “If they said ‘no,’ we said, ‘All right, thanks,’ and went on our way.”
Mahtook said the program was around before he came to LSU, but he has not seen exchanges firsthand. From what he has heard, it was successful while in operation.
The initiative is being postponed while “higher ups” determine how the LSU flags will be purchased, Mahtook said. They are also trying to figure out what to do with the Confederate flags once SG gets them.
SG is working on an initiative to provide students with free 30-minute legal consultations, Mahtook said. He said he hopes the program will be ready for the spring semester.
SG presented the proposal to Kurt Keppler, vice president for student life and enrollment, who helped guide the students in getting the idea off the ground, Mahtook said. SG is also working with Paul M. Hebert Law School officials to determine which model would work best for LSU.
Eight Southeastern Conference schools have a student legal aid program in place, as well as other schools across the nation. Mahtook said he will visit Tulane University to see how its program operates. He’s also contacted with officials from several other universities with a similar program.
“We reached out to all the SEC schools that have a service, and they’ve been more than helpful helping us shape our program as well,” Mahtook said.
He said the other schools’ programs vary in the amount and types of services they offer. The University of Florida, for example, will represent students in court for issues such as landlord-tenant cases, marriage dissolution and sealing criminal records.
LSU’s program will likely not operate to the same extent as Florida’s and will mainly serve to give students advice on limited legal matters, Mahtook said.
Because Mahtook does not expect the program to be ready until the spring, SG is looking at ways to provide consultation until then.
“We’re trying to work with the Baton Rouge Bar Association to get some ask-a-lawyer days on campus,” Mahtook said.
He said SG is also working on several other initiatives, such as incorporating the Law School into SG. The school rejoined the flagship campus this year, and Mahtook said he hopes to have them fully represented in SG.
Other SG initiatives include working with the Student Activities Board to bring a Mardi Gras Masquerade to campus for students who cannot attend the big balls in New Orleans.
Mahtook said SG will work with students in the Manship School of Mass Communication to create a campus environmental app.