Thousands of fans will pack Tiger Stadium on Saturday night for the matchup against Mississippi State, and the Athletic Department will use that stage to honor two groups from the University community working with oil-spill response efforts.
First, faculty, staff and students from the School of Veterinary Medicine who helped clean birds and wildlife after the April 20 BP well blowout will go on the football field between the first and second quarters to be recognized, said Herb Vincent, associate vice chancellor for University Relations and senior associate athletic director.
Then, during “an early game timeout,” Vincent said “a number of University researchers” working to understand the oil’s many impacts will receive recognition for those efforts.
“It’s an important symbol when we do these things because LSU football games are such a great gathering of people across the state,” Vincent said.
Shawn Keaton, a doctoral student specializing in sports identity and communication in the Department of Communication Studies, said fans “largely believe” athletic teams have “a responsibility to give back to the community.”
“[Such efforts] show the symbolism of ‘one for all and all for one,’ [and] says LSU is one of the ‘us,'” Keaton said.
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Contact Nicholas Persac at [email protected]
Oil recovery efforts to be recognized during first home game
September 15, 2010