BATON ROUGE, La. - After LSU gave all sororities and some fraternities a 48-hour deadline to get checked for COVID-19, thousands of Greek students overwhelmed the campus’ largest testing site
COVID-19 and LSU
There were 1,562 COVID-19 cases in the fall and 693 in the spring semester, according to the COVID-19 Reporting Dashboard. In the spring, the University administered over 10,000 COVID-19 tests. Since March 2020, the University reported that 6,478 students and 3,488 employees said they received vaccines.
The University began administering vaccines in March at Tiger Stadium. The state supplied LSU with Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Galligan announced in April that LSU could not require students to receive vaccines in order to attend LSU, but some faculty members called for LSU to rethink that decision.
Classes were held in person, in a hybrid format and fully online. According to the University, one-third of classes occurred in each format.
With the end of the spring semester fast approaching, LSUâs Student Government is voting on bills, hosting end of year events to get excited about new initiatives and celebrate the end of a school year unlike any other.
LSUâs SG Senate will vote on a bill to increase student workersâ pay to $15 per hour instead of $7.25 per hour. Senate Speaker Marina Cole said the bill is non-binding, so if it passes at the Senate s meeting on Wednesday, April 7, the administration will decide whether or not to implement it.Â
âItâs basically a suggestion to administration, but the bill shows them that students support a pay increase,â Cole said. âThe University decides what should happen with it at the end of the day.â
Bellah Bultron was cornered by two men driving a truck one night as she walked across the un-lit bridge leading to the University Recreation Center. Even after asking to be left alone, Bultron said the men harassed her with questions to see where she was going. The men eventually relented and let her pass, but the experience served as a warning to Bultron that other situations may not turn out so harmlessly. Now, she avoids going anywhere at night without a male friend accompanying her.
Since Husch Blackwellâs Title IX conclusions were presented at the March 5 Board of Supervisors meeting, the LSU community has focused heavily on the need to change campus culture. Many female students have suggested that the current culture is one in which women feel victimized and physically unsafe on campus, primarily due to lighting issues.
After a Nov. 16 USA Today article accused LSU of widespread mishandling of sexual assault cases, University administration hired law firm Husch Blackwell to conduct an independent investigation into its Title IX office and LSUPD to determine if such misconduct exists.
A representative from Husch Blackwell reported to the LSU Board of Supervisors at their Dec. 4 meeting detailing the team of lawyers plan for…
Husch Blackwell Partner Scott Schneider described the firmâs review of the University as âmultifacetedâ and said a team is interviewing a wide range of students, employees and faculty, particularly those whose names were made public in the USA Today story and other newspieces.Â