Author

Piper Hutchinson

Piper Hutchinson

Piper Hutchinson is a reporter for the Louisiana Illuminator. She has covered the Legislature and state government extensively for the LSU Manship News Service and The Reveille, where she was named editor in chief for summer 2022.

November most lucrative month for sports betting revenue for Louisiana

By: - December 15, 2022

Sports betting revenue for Louisiana spiked again in November, generating more than $6 million in taxes for the state.  November’s revenues of $6,265,200 for the state are the highest Louisiana’s has seen since sports betting companies began operating in November 2021 and coincided with major football wins for LSU, Tulane and Southern University. All three […]

St. Tammany library meeting

St. Tammany sees showdown over library books

By: and - December 14, 2022

COVINGTON – More than 100 people packed into a meeting room at the Covington library Tuesday night, eager to weigh in on how the St. Tammany Library Board of Control handles books a local conservative activist group has said are inappropriate for children.  St. Tammany is the latest venue for the fight over library content […]

A purple sign that says "Student Health Center" stands in front of a building and an oak tree

Health insurance is a make-or-break cost for LSU graduate assistants

By: - December 12, 2022

After crashing his bicycle earlier this year, Suman Gunin has never recovered the full range of motion in his arm and still experiences pain.  A doctoral student from India studying neuroscience at LSU, he can’t afford the recommended physical therapy on the $15,000 annual stipend he receives for his teaching and research responsibilities. Gunin paid […]

Dillard University

Louisiana Higher Ed: Dillard set for first graduate program, LSU honors Black trailblazers 

By: - December 9, 2022

The Louisiana Illuminator takes a weekly look at news from universities and colleges around the state. Have a tip or want to submit a Louisiana Higher Ed news item? Contact [email protected] Dillard University has been accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to offer graduate courses toward master’s degrees starting […]

Anti-censorship group in St. Tammany seeks to join frontlines in library battles

By: and - December 8, 2022

To uproarious applause from a crowded auditorium full of St. Tammany Parish Republicans, local activist and attorney David Cougle decried pedophilic material in libraries, likening children’s books to the experience of walking down Bourbon Street at night.  Cougle spoke to the local Republican Executive Committee meeting as a representative of the St. Tammany Library Accountability […]

Jeff Landry sues ULM med school over vaccine mandate

Librarian fears AG Landry’s tip line will create ‘weird witch hunt’

By: - December 2, 2022

Critics say a tip line launched by Attorney General Jeff Landry for “taxpayer-subsidized sexualization of children” at libraries is a symptom of an anti-LGBTQ moral panic.  The Protecting Minors tip line will field  complaints about librarians, teachers and other school and library personnel. Landry made the announcement at Monday’s meeting of the St. Tammany Parish […]

ACLU of Louisiana sues 2 police agencies over fatal shooting of LaPlace man

By: - November 29, 2022

The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana is suing Louisiana State Police and East Jefferson Levee District Police Department for fatally shooting a man 24 times. Jabari Asante-Chioke, 52, of LaPlace was killed a year ago in Metairie. According to news reports, a passerby saw him in distress, walking along a highway, carrying what was […]

LSU Clock Tower

Louisiana Higher Ed: LSU students call out campus security problems

By: - November 18, 2022

The Louisiana Illuminator takes a weekly look at news from universities and colleges around the state. Have a tip or want to submit a Louisiana Higher Ed news item? Contact [email protected] LSU students petition for campus safety Four LSU student groups are calling on university leaders to make changes to ensure the safety of students. […]

college classroom

Report: Students at schools that close unlikely to continue education elsewhere

By: - November 16, 2022

Less than half of students whose colleges closed between 2004 and 2020 went on to enroll at  another school, according to an analysis of school closures.  Between 2004 and 2020, approximately 12,000 campuses closed, impacting nearly 150,000 students. Of those schools, 78% were for-profit colleges.  Louisiana has not been immune to the wave of for-profit […]

University of New Orleans

Louisiana Higher Ed: UNO students reject football fee, Southern to memorialize 1972 tragedy

By: - November 11, 2022

The Louisiana Illuminator takes a weekly look at news from universities and colleges around the state. Have a tip or want to submit a Louisiana Higher Ed news item? Contact [email protected] University of New Orleans students overwhelmingly rejected a fee increase of $300 per semester to support new athletic programs at the university, including a […]

Representative Edmond Jordan addresses members of the Louisiana House of Representatives

Louisiana voters reject ban on slavery, involuntary servitude; author also opposed it  

By: - November 8, 2022

With all ballots counted from Tuesday, six out of every 10 Louisiana voters opposed an amendment to the state constitution that would prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude but allow forced labor as part of a criminal sentence. It possibly set the tone for the rejection of five out of the eight proposed amendments on the […]

Representative Edmond Jordan

Louisiana voters take to social media to complain about slavery amendment

By: - November 8, 2022

Across social media platforms, Louisiana voters are seeking clarity about a confusing constitutional amendment on involuntary servitude. In it’s original form, the amendment, dubbed “Remove Involuntary Servitude as Punishment for a Crime from Constitution Measure” would have prohibited slavery and involuntary servitude in Louisiana. But after going through the legislative process, the language was watered […]