Louisiana State students demand no MAGA president
Baton Rouge, LA – On Tuesday August 19, students attended a public meeting held by Louisiana State University’s search committee for a new university president. After former President William F Tate left over the summer due to an increasingly politically charged campus, the board of supervisors is searching for a candidate that will help carry out Trump’s attacks on education and DEI.
The search committee is made up of CEOs, stakeholders, one professor and two students. Seven of the members have been appointed by reactionary Governor Jeff Landry, and several have donated hundreds of dollars to his political campaigns. Landry, who was endorsed by Trump, has repeatedly meddled in university affairs.
Before students entered the meeting, they were stopped by LSU police department officers who told them they were not allowed to enter. LSU’s webpage encouraged students to attend the search committee meetings and gave the option to give public comments. Students ignored LSU PD and entered the building. Another officer threatened their removal if they caused a disruption.
Throughout the meeting, several search committee members expressed the importance of keeping their “partners” happy but failed to mention the needs of the students.
“You are a bunch of unelected lap dogs who have the desires of our loathsome Governor Jeff Landry in mind, rather than the wellbeing of the students,” Zane Sutor-Benfield of Students for Democratic Society (SDS) said to the committee in his public comment.
Carlton Jones, LSU’s head legal advisor, told members to avoid electronic communication. “Be careful what you put in writing. These searches tend to spur a flurry of public records requests,” Jones said.
After the meeting, students rallied in protest outside, using amplified sound. Police ordered them to stop and pushed them onto the sidewalk. Students continued to chant with their megaphone until all the members of the search committee left the building.
“If this search committee is not going to pick someone who will actually fight for the students, we are going to force them. Jeff Landry has been appointing people left and right to run this university, but it’s about time we show him it’s the students who hold the power!” said SDS member Ryan Spalt to the crowd of protesters as they chanted outside.
Students are continuing to keep the search committee under a microscope and demand no MAGA president.