SG official addresses buses
This is in response to Megan Harney’s Letter to the Editor on Wednesday. Ms. Harney, please be aware that LSU Student Government, and the Office of Parking and Transportation are doing all they can to assure a high level of bus service at all times. I have worked diligently with Gary Graham since early August trying to address any problems, concerns, or comments that have been brought to our attention.
We do however have a strict budget we must follow, and we also cannot control unforeseen circumstances. Bus Drivers are normal people too, and sometimes bathroom emergencies do arise. Buses break down, and accidents occur slowing down buses and creating bigger traffic problems. Also, students dropping off and picking up friends in front of Lockett Hall and other buildings slow down the buses as well. These all contribute to gaps in bus service.
We are doing our best to improve the bus system every day. The best thing you can do is continue to give us your feedback. If you have suggestions, comments, or complaints, let SG and the Transportation office know.
The best way to have your voice heard in the upcoming weeks is through Student Government’s student surveys about the buses. We will be distributing these on the bus routes themselves and in the SG Office. Please take the time to read these surveys and fill them out as honestly as you can. The information we hope to obtain in these surveys will be used to improve the parking and transportation system for years to come. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at [email protected].
Kyle Wilkinson
Director of Campus Safety and Transportation
LSU Student Government
Bush justified war on terror after 9/11
This letter is in response to an article by Rebecca Markway called “Government Misled Americans on Iraq.” After a few paragraphs I understood that the information was misquoted and misunderstood.
The phrase “Saddam was an eminent threat” is a media message that has been regurgitated time and time again. The only problem with it is that it’s a message that has never crossed the president’s lips. When asked about his decision to go to war, Bush said “Saddam Hussein was a dangerous person, and there’s no doubt we had a body of evidence proving that.”
When asked again, he replied, “Well, you can keep asking the question and my answer’s gonna be the same. Saddam was a danger and the world is better off ’cause we got rid of him.”
To think that Saddam was not a danger, to think that he did not wish to harm the people of the United States, is the equivalent of sticking one’s head in the sand. The man murdered hundreds of thousands of his own people, used weapons of mass destruction on the people of Kosovo, and has hated the United States for years.
Such actions prodded the UN to pass several resolutions against the tyrant in a futile attempt to stop the madness. When it was becoming very clear that no one was actually going to do anything about the growing threat in Iraq, America once again took center stage to fight terrorism abroad before it was brought to our shores.
The problem with the liberal mind is that they think we have to wait for another 9/11 to protect ourselves. Thank God we did not let it get to that.
Kenneth Habetz
Sophomore
Biological Sciences
Problems in D.C. started with Clinton
Since when did the Reveille become a liberal left news organization? This is of great concern due to the fact that probably over 75 percent of the campus are either conservative or moderate.
The attacks on the president and his administration are not fair. President Clinton’s administration thought Iraq had WMD’s in the late 90s. Where’s the criticism upon him or upon the intelligence community whom the president and his staff listened to and entrusted when making this very important decision?
The official United States policy for Iraq has been regime change ever since 1998 when the Clinton Administration drew it up. Isn’t the world today a safer place without Saddam Hussein?
We are seeing the ties between the disposed dictator and Al Qaeda were strong. If Howard Dean or Wesley Clark were left to be President, thousands would be slaughtered by the compassion-less man as they would have taken no action to stop the torture and mass graves.
So while we sit here and debate about how there should or shouldn’t have been a war. let’s not debate one thing: don’t make this a Republican-and-conservatives-at-fault issue. Another party had a hand in this as well.
 
Chris Gibson
Senior
Finance and Mass Communication
Disney College Program not magical
This past Fall semester, I attended the Walt Disney World College Program with the intention of broadening my horizons, of networking with experienced artists in my field, and of leaving with a great name, Walt Disney World, to add to my resume. Though the name is an honor to have on my resume, I do not feel that the program was worth the name.
At the beginning of the program, it seemed as though things were running smoothly. The Disney Team acquainted us very well with our new surroundings and the training for my job in food and beverage at the Magic Kingdom was extremely thorough. As weeks passed however, I could not help but question, “When do I get to meet and work with people in my field?” Weeks became months and that hope, that intention that I had in the beginning, had fizzled out.
I was convinced that the chance to work with Disney designers was an impossible dream; impossible because I was working 14 hour days and 60 hour weeks with minimal pay. Our rent for the apartments was taken out every week, leaving us with little money to do much else. We were able to enter the parks for free, but after the first 2 weeks and also working in the parks every day, most of us did not want to spend our off days playing in the parks.
I did not mind the hard labor, it is what’s expected in the real world, but I did mind the false advertisement that Disney presented to us at the meetings. As an artist I understand the process of propaganda and the techniques used to persuade an audience.
Over many years, the Walt Disney Company has successfully persuaded thousands of college students into believing that the program would be a great asset to their future and an excellent investment in a career.
They are indeed extraordinary businessmen. They have fooled the world into thinking that everything about the Walt Disney World Company is “magical.” I have learned that this is not in fact true.
With disappointment upon my shoulders and classes that I have missed out on, I have to admit, the program was definitely not worth skipping a semester of school. This was simply just an experience to learn from and not one to brag about.
Fortunately, through observing my fellow employees, I was reminded everyday of an important life lesson, to graduate from college.
In the world of Disney, aren’t dreams supposed to come true? I suppose in the world of Disney, with fiction and fantasy, the real world just doesn’t fit in with its false pretenses and fickle advertisements. Maybe I just needed a little more pixie dust.
Sheri Childs
Junior
Art and Design
Miller dorm situation getting out of hand
Last Tuesday, Miller Hall had two false fire drills. Being someone that has spent the past semester there, I’ve actually grown immune to the early morning wake-up calls.
Every time we evacuate, it seems we take it less and less seriously and grow more and more agitated with the Miller staff. Instead of being upset with those that pulled the prank, we’ve become angry with the staff for keeping us out of the building.
This really shouldn’t be happening, so I apologize to the R.A.s for any past treatment that they may have gotten from Miller girls. I understand that they are simply following LSU’s policy of keeping on-campus residents safe.
But after last week, I must say that I was let down by how things were handled.
The 7 p.m. alarm was a result of someone spraying the fire extinguisher on the sixth and seventh floors. But, for some reason, the seventh floor was charged for the emergency vehicles coming, and it was the 7th floor that was made to clean up the mess. You wonder why everyone just swept it into the elevator.
Now the 3:30 a.m. alarm was a different story. That alarm left us out in the parking lot until about 5 a.m. I understand why we had to wait outside for the emergency vehicles and I respect the decision to go in and check to see that everyone had evacuated.
However, when the R.A.s decided to go inside and wait in the warm and heated building while we were left outside in the cold to “wait until someone confesses,” it’s quite understandable as to why 540 girls were agitated and stormed the building. Barricading the doors only made it more obvious that they were intentionally keeping us out.
I respect our Miller Hall staff and I think that they have done an outstanding job over the past sixth months.
However, last Tuesday upset many people and I really hope that those events have sparked some changes in the way future fire drills are handled.
Amy Adams
Freshman
Accounting
Students need to allot time for parking
Hello from the pits of the first-yearers. While my experience here at L.S.U. has so far been very positive, I am concerned about the uproar the parking situation has caused.
In regards to Mr. Brad Steimel’s argument, I couldn’t disagree more. According to Mr. Steimel, he cannot find a parking space because he leads “a busy, productive life outside my scholastic life.” How does this separate you from the other 30,000 students at L.S.U.?
I myself work roughly twenty hours a week off campus as do many other students. Other students may not work, but may have obligations such as family or even Greek activities.
You also say that many of you “have strict daily schedules to abide by.” If your strict daily schedule does not allow for finding a parking spot fifteen minutes before class, you do not manage your time very well.
The point here is that the university is doing all that it can to provide adequate parking spaces for students. If finding a parking spot is the very bane of your existence, schedule 7:30 a.m. classes like I do.
You’ll have no problems finding a space to park; I promise you that. Just please, please stop complaining.
Jacob Patrick Savoie
Freshman
International Trade and Finance
“Fashion Police” need to grow up
In this week’s edition of “The Fashion Police,” your writer makes the statement, “Some people wear out of the ordinary clothes because that is their style, and that’s cool.”
Could this statement be any more contradictory to the policies and history of “TFP?”
Week after week, your writers bash the students of LSU for not adhering to the obviously “mall chic” fashion preference of your writers.
I think its time for you guys to grow up and realize that everyone has different tastes, and no one has the right to humiliate others to cover up their own “fashion” insecurities.
Tyler Hicks
Sophomore
Psychology