Despite a light rain and the clatter of power-tools outside the LSU Student Union, a free king cake giveaway was enough to stop students long enough for Student Government to grill them on their concerns.Setting up shop outside in Free Speech Alley, the SG executive branch hosted another edition of “Straight Talk with Student Government” on Wednesday afternoon. Aiming for a Mardi Gras theme less than a week before the holiday, SG sought to have an open forum to discuss student issues.Though SG President Colorado Robertson had planned to have live, Louisiana-themed music present during this session, time and revenue constraints kept the bands from appearing.”We decided not to have a band today because they were going to charge us an arm and a leg,” Robertson said.To make up for the missing music, SG carted out a public announcement system with the intention of blasting jazz and zydeco sounds. However, a broken power outlet in the alley ended that ambition.LSU Dining Services provided SG with about 500 pieces of king cake for the event. Though there weren’t any plastic babies hidden inside the pieces, the traditional Mardi Gras treat served its purpose. 
“This is supposed to kick off the Mardi Gras celebration,” Robertson said. “Everyone enjoys a moist piece of king cake.”While some students did walk up to the SG booth with legitimate concerns about the University, many said they were only interested in a free piece of cake.”I just went into New Orleans and didn’t get any king cake, so I thought I would just come over and get some,” said Adam Prentice, electrical engineering senior.Before he had time to pick up his cake, Robertson and Prentice got involved in a conversation about the delays in Union construction. Prentice said as long as new Union facilities are open before he graduates in May, he would be happy.Other students didn’t bother to stick around and chat with SG, nabbing some cake on the run and continuing on past the Union.”Some people were just taking king cake and leaving,” said Iftekhar Rouf, assistant director of student involvement. “When you pass out free food, it’s bound to happen.”Robertson said getting students to stop and share their concerns is always difficult for SG. He said people going to lunch are more likely to stop than people coming from the Union on their way to class.Aaron Caffarel, University Center for Freshman Year Senator, said he had spoken to very few students about specific University issues. While he said “Straight Talk” was a good opportunity to make SG visible, he agreed most students who stopped were only after free king cake. “Students look at us and say ‘Oh! King cake!’ and it gets them to stop,” Caffarel said. “This whole thing helps to promote a positive image of SG.”–
Contact Adam Duvernay at [email protected]