Education
Louisiana college students must submit vaccination information before next semester
Twenty-seven of LSU’s total 34,000 students were dropped from LSU after not submitting proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or filling out an exemption waiver, which was due last Friday, Ernie Ballard, LSU’s spokesperson, said. Seventy-eight students were at risk of being dropped this week, but the other 51 students took “the necessary steps to remain part […]
LSU says 81 percent of students have had at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine
Eighty-one percent of LSU students have gotten at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, President William Tate announced Wednesday. Meanwhile, 72 percent of the university’s faculty and staff are fully vaccinated, an LSU spokesperson said. “If you had asked me two months ago whether this was imaginable, I would have said no,” Tate said […]
Agriculture section of reconciliation bill centers on fighting climate change, enhancing research
WASHINGTON—The U.S. House Agriculture Committee on Monday finished marking up its section of the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package. The agriculture portion would provide funding for historically Black land grant colleges and investments in urban agriculture, along with boosting U.S. Department of Agriculture programs to address climate change threats in farming. The $66 billion agriculture measure […]
Standardized test scores remain optional for LSU applicants
High school students applying to LSU this year will not have to submit an SAT or ACT score because of the recent fourth surge of COVID-19 due to the Delta variant. LSU applicants last year had the same exemption because COVID-19 prevented students from taking standardized tests in facilities big enough to maintain adequate protection […]
At LSU, tension between university board and faculty remains high
The LSU Board of Supervisors proposed — but then set aside — a motion to restructure the university’s faculty groups Friday after one professor complained the board was trying to silence them. “This will cause national embarrassment for a university whose reputation is already at a low ebb because of the way this board responded […]
LSU basketball court name change sparks debate over gender equality
The LSU Board of Supervisors voted to name the basketball court in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center after former LSU men’s basketball coach Dale Brown, but only after an extended and heated debate over whether a woman coach should be given the honor instead. Mary Werner, a LSU Board member, pushed back on naming the […]
Hurricane Ida spares most Louisiana public schools of significant damage
Virtual learning, classes in “alternative facilities” on-campus or continuing their education in a different school in a different part of the state are among the options for Louisiana students whose schools suffered significant structural damage during Hurricane Ida last weekend, state Superintendent Cade Brumley said. In their initial estimate of the damage statewide caused by […]
Hurricane Ida interrupts fall semester for many Louisiana universities
Universities in southeast Louisiana put their fall semester on pause after Hurricane Ida devastated the region last weekend, leaving the vast majority of the area without electricity or internet access and lacking in food, gas and phone resources. The catastrophic storm sent thousands of students scrambling, with Southern University of New Orleans, which encouraged students […]
I quit teaching over COVID-19
It took 36 years, but I’ve finally left school. The end came shortly after University of Colorado administrators denied faculty the ability to teach remotely amid yet another COVID-19 surge. Following the denial, a stream of unusual advice for professors trickled in: anticipate chaos, get creative and, if necessary, call the police. Over the years, […]
Hurricane Ida sends Nicholls State students to shelter at Louisiana Tech
The future is uncertain for the 40 Nicholls State University students taking shelter at Louisiana Tech in Ruston. The students, who evacuated Saturday night, have no timeframe for when they might be able to return to college. Nicholls hometown parish of Lafourche was devastated by Hurricane Ida, and damage is currently being assessed, with roads […]
Biden administration launches civil rights investigations of 5 GOP-led states banning school mask requirements
WASHINGTON — Federal education officials have launched civil rights investigations in five Republican-led states that have prohibited school districts from mandating mask-wearing, saying those policies could amount to illegal discrimination against students with disabilities. The Biden administration notified the education chiefs in Iowa, Tennessee, South Carolina, Utah and Oklahoma of the investigations through formal letters Monday. […]
Feds expand Pell Grant program for prisoners working on college degrees
WASHINGTON—Prison inmates around the U.S. are getting the chance to do something that was almost unheard of a generation ago: pursue a college degree while behind bars and with financial support from the federal government. Inmates in 42 states and Washington, D.C., can now get federal grants to work with colleges and universities to earn […]