However, in announcing his intention to swap 36 of the most beautiful undeveloped acres in Lafayette for four acres of land near Lafayette General Medical Center, and in suggesting the development of the remaining 65 horse farm acres as "high-scale residential property," Authement's public pronouncements are curious, unconvincing and even suspect ("Horse Play," Oct. 19).
Publicly, Authement is saying the property is too far from campus for classrooms, and the university can't negotiate the Johnston Street traffic with its buses. The horse farm is about the same distance from the main campus as is the football stadium parking lot, from which UL's buses negotiate Johnston Street traffic every day. Also, how many classrooms can be built on the proposed four acres to be acquired in this deal, as opposed to 100 acres less than one mile away? It just doesn't add up. Authement now appears unable or unwilling to envision the university's land needs ' 25, 50 and 100 years from now.
In urban areas all across the nation, universities are running out of land and space to grow. Most would love to be in UL's position, owning 100 acres of beautifully situated and prime real estate, within one mile of a main campus.
The secrecy and speed with which this deal is moving forward is calculated to preempt public scrutiny as to the wisdom of this affair. This land swap should not be a private and secretive deal, and Authement's power and arrogance are starting to seriously interfere with good judgment and the effective governance of a public institution.
As a younger man, Authement exhibited great vision for our university's future. Now, it seems he cannot see beyond a couple of blocks from the main campus.
JUNE 16 This story in the Advocate tells us that the state Department of Education is taking a look at the Course Choice program. They're doing that because the legislature (probably responding to reporting by Tom Aswell, who does not work for the Advocate) ordered them to make sure that these private companies aren't signing six-year-olds up for high school Latin classes without their parents' knowledge or consent.
JUNE 17 Columnist James Gill writes about the recent complaint of death row inmates at Angola: it's hot as you-know-what in their cells, with the heat index topping 120 for months. Since we're not executing people anymore (Gill opines) then we should probably officially end the practice of putting people on death row. The prisoners, by the way, are not asking for cool breezes: they only ask for clean water and a temp that doesn't top 88.
JUNE 17 Here's blogger Ian McGibboney's take on the Baton Rouge plan to give bus tickets to homeless people who have a home with family who live far away. Taken from one point of view, it could be a good solution for some people. But McGibboney raises some good points here, including this one: Why not improve opportunities for everybody in Baton Rouge so these people can find the jobs they came to BR for?
JUNE 17 Picayune columnist Jarvis DeBerry talks here about the Zimmerman trial, but the real topic is the concept of a black man being more dangerous, somehow, than a white man in a fight. It is an interesting discussion, and one that may enlighten people who think that racism doesn't exist because nobody's keeping black folks from eating at the Woolworth lunch counter.
JUNE 17 Here's an interesting column from Baton Rouge Business Report's publisher, Rolfe McCollister, about anger against the government. It's brewing because of recent revelations about the IRS and the GSA, he says. It's readable, not just for the subject, but because of McCollister's collection of sources: Huffington Post, National Review and Wikipedia. That's a combo you don't see every day.
JUNE 17 In this American Press post, Jim Beam talks about the high school diploma track that lets kids who aren't interested in university get what they want and need out of high school. The diplomas get kids ready for technical school, Beam explains, and then he goes on to give some of the numbers. Some of these numbers might really surprise people who think technical school is second best. And, Beam adds, a college diploma does not guarantee anybody a job.
JUNE 17 The Washington Post reports here that OSHA is going to investigate the explosion that occurred last week in Donaldsonville, shortly after the other fatal accident in Geismar. As soon as the site is safe, State Police will be pulling out of the Donaldsonville plant to make way for OSHA investigators, the story reports. (Hey, here's an idea: why don't they go a couple miles down the road and figure out what happened when that massive sinkhole started sucking up land.)
JUNE 17 Robert Mann writes about the LSU Board of Supervisors in this post, taking a look at the many ways board members have served Gov. Jindal and not their university or their students. The board members are esteemed members of their fields, but can't seem to do anything but say "yes" to Jindal, regardless of the cost to LSU, Mann opines.
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