Vo1. 3 ....No.
1 Copyright 2005 The New York Times
TARA-LYNNE S. PIXLEY/
NYT Institute
Carlos Betancourt’s “Installation
with Aracoel’s Objects” at
Heriard-Cimino Gallery.
Home-grown
art district
draws visitors
from afar
By Malachi Daraja
NYT Institute
As talented artists and curators
converge inside the city's art district,
New Orleans is transcending its rep-
utation beyond a party destination. It
is a cultural haven, as well.
“The art scene has exploded since
I started at my museum,” said
Daniel Piersol, curator of the New
Orleans Museum of Art. Piersol has
watched art in the city mature for the
last 25 years.
“There were only a handful of
galleries when I started here, now
there are hundreds,” he said.
Curator Arthur Roger shared
Piersol's sentiment. “Every business
has its peaks and valleys, but our art
community has been steadily grow-
ing the whole time,” Roger said.
The art district, located down-
town on Julia and Magazine streets,
is one of the fastest growing com-
munities.
“There are 11 colleges and uni-
versities in New Orleans that gradu-
ate more artists every year,” said
Scott Hutcheson, director of the
New Orleans Art Council.
"Many of these graduates do not
leave the city," he said. “The NOAC
has programs that help all of these
young artists market themselves and
design galleries of their own.”
The Heriard-Cimino Gallery is
just one of the many businesses that
have prospered during the city's cul-
tural revival.
See ARTS, page C4
INSIDE
Where New Orleans natives
get away from the tourists.
Metro A3
Playing political poker over the
future of the NFL Saints.
Sports A8
Light scales and lighter profits
as the shrimp season begins.
Business B1
At Grambling, the tiger is fine,
but what about that ‘G’?
Education B3
Dillard’s presidents, old and
new, reflect. Dillard B4
New Orleans means Mardi
Gras and Mardi Gras means
floats. Lifestyle C1
The New York Times Student
Journalism Institute Class of
2005. D1
Report details bias in Bourbon Street bars
By Shawn Chollette
NYT Institute
Bourbon Street.
The whiskey is served in abun-
dance there, but just how much you
pay for it may depend on your skin
color.
Incidents on New Orleans show-
case street are prompting officials to
take a sobering look at race relations
in the wake of a city-commissioned
report that found that 57 percent of
Bourbon Street bars discriminated
against young black men.
The study, released in mid-May,
Touching up a Classic
Mardi Gras artist Bobby Zabler puts the finishing touches of paint on a Louis Armstrong sculpture made out of fiberglass. Zabler is employed
by the Kern Studios a multimillion dollar empire that is not only known in New Orleans and the nation, but also around the world. Since his
first parade in 1948, Blaine Kern has had his hat in over 2,000 parades around the city alone, providing floats for close to 60 parades each
Mardi Gras season. LIFESTYLE, page C1.
In troubled lives, a killer found his prey
By Markel Eskridge
NYT Institute
HOUMA, La. -- Houma looks
like a tropical oasis surrounded by
coffee-colored bayous with a blend
of ancient cypress, magnolia and
palm trees.
Houma is also home to drug
dealers, prostitutes, crack addicts
and a serial killer.
In this city of 32,000, Buron
Street is an illustration of the con-
trasts. Turning left onto Mahler
Street is a gated community with
manicured lawns and waterway
privileges.
To the right, less than three
blocks away, is a tan, one-story
brick apartment building with a
lawn of patches of grass and gravel.
In one apartment two bare mattress-
es are piled on the living room
floor.
This part of Buron Street, where
drugs are easy to find, is frequently
patrolled by police. This neighbor-
hood is where a killer has found
eight of what may be as many as 18
victims, law enforcement officials
say.
They are men who have had run-
ins with law enforcement authori-
ties and lived life on the edge.
STUDENT JOURNALISM INSTITUTE
Saturday, May 28, 2005
was ordered by Mayor Ray Nagin
after Levon Jones, a black college
student visiting the city, was suffo-
cated in an altercation involving
three white bouncers outside
Razoo's, a Bourbon Street bar.
Some say New Orleans, which
has cultivated a strong relationship
with minority tourists, has a track
record of alienating those same
guests.
In 1996, Essence
Communications Inc. threatened to
pull the Essence Music Festival, a
celebration of culture and heritage,
from New Orleans after then-Gov.
Authorities theorize that the victims
all needed money and that led to
their deaths.
Houma Police Chief Patrick
Boudreaux said, “We have yet to
link all homicides. There is nothing
concrete, but there is enough evi-
dence to say they are all related.”
Most of the victims were only
partly clothed and had one or both
shoes missing. All the men were
asphyxiated.
The first two bodies were found
in Lafourche Parish on Louisiana
307.
Michael Vincent was found on
New Year's Day 2000, just off the
road, north of Raceland.
Kenneth Randolph was found
Oct. 6, 2002, further up the high-
way. Randolph's body was naked.
Authorities won't say whether
Vincent's was as well.
Larry Weidel, public informa-
tion officer for the Lafourche
Sheriff's Department, said, “The
only connection these men have is
that they are both from Houma and
they were both found along the
highway like the most recent vic-
tim.”
Authorities only began to sus-
pect a serial killer was at work when
they found the third body. It was 26-
Mike Foster proposed ending state
affirmative action programs.
Essence officials said they are
concerned, but have no plans to can-
cel this year's festival, which is
scheduled to take place July 1-3.
A spokeswoman for Essence said
the company is aware of the circum-
stances and is monitoring the situa-
tion. She added that ticket sales to
the festival are exceeding last year's
totals.
The Essence festival, which
tourism officials say brings in the
same amount of visitor spending as
three Super Bowls, is only one of the
MARKEL ESKRIDGE/ NYT Institute
Judy Lirette speaks of her deceased son, Leon “T-Paul” Lirette, in the
living room of her daughter’s home in Houma, La. In the room are
pictures of Leon, the sixth victim of a serial killer area.
year-old Anoka Jones of Houma,
found on Oct. 13, 2002, a week after
the discovery of Randolph. Jones
body was under an overpass at U.S.
90 and Interstate 310. He, too, had
been asphyxiated and his shoes were
found nearby, according to Major
Sam Zinna of the St. Charles Parish
2005
many minority-themed events held
in the city each year, and city
tourism officials said they would
like to keep it that way.
“We've only had to address this
issue just recently. But there have
been no major inquiries from con-
vention planners,” said Raquel
Dufauchard, a convention sales
manager with the New Orleans
Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Dufauchard said that while the
city has no plans to counteract the
negative publicity tied to the report,
tourism officials are concerned.
“We are working directly with
AARON DAYE/ NYT Institute
Sheriff's Department.
The fourth victim, Datrell
Woods, 18, was found May 27,
2003, lying on his back, next to his
bicycle in a cane field behind a
church. He had been asphyxiated
See SERIAL, page A7
www.nytimes-institute.com
Mayor Nagin,” Dufauchard said.
“And I'm proud of the way he has
worked to identify and alleviate any
forms of discrimination … because
it's our tourists that come in and
spend top dollar.”
The bouncers in the Jones inci-
dent have since been charged with
negligent homicide and are awaiting
trial.
At the mayor's request, the
Greater New Orleans Fair Housing
Action Center applied the same
methods that it uses to investigate
See BIAS, page A3
Wrongly
imprisoned,
he regains
new life
By Tanya Caldwell
NYT Institute
Everything Michael Anthony
Williams was familiar with had
changed, everyone he was close to
was gone.
His mother was long dead. She'd
lost her battle against lung cancer
when Williams was 12, four years
before he went away. But his father,
and the grandparents who raised him?
No, he hadn't heard about them. They
passed away while he was in prison.
He's not even sure how they died.
His six siblings are still alive,
though they've all moved. He's seen
two of them, each only once, while he
was locked up. That was in 1990.
"It's been so long I guess they gave
up on me," Williams sighed. "I guess
over the years they just gave up."
Twenty-four years of his life were
trapped behind the bars of Angola
state penitentiary, one of the nation's
worst prisons. It took more than two
decades -- and O.J. Simpson -- for 40-
year-old Williams to clear his name.
He watched every day of the
Simpson trial from a prison TV.
"I was already saying in my mind
that that case is going to help me with
my case," Williams said. "I followed
the case all the way through. And I
found out that Barry Scheck had
something to do with it, dealing with
the DNA."
Scheck was the lawyer on the
defense team who specialized in DNA
evidence during Simpson's trial in the
double murder of Nicole Simpson and
Ronald Goldman. His expertise
helped win Simpson's acquittal.
Scheck and Peter Neufeld created
the Innocence Project in 1992 to help
release wrongfully convicted people
from prison, mostly by using DNA
evidence in cases where it had not
been available at the original trial. The
nonprofit organization doesn't charge
for its services and now operates
nationally.
Williams' presumption was right.
As soon as the Innocence Project
stepped in, he was on his way out.
Williams was released after DNA tests
proved he was innocent.
The first thing he did when the
Innocence Project picked him up from
prison was go out to eat all the shrimp
he could.
"Yeah, that's my favorite," he
chuckled. "But I done got tired of
shrimp now. That's enough."
Last Wednesday he went out
with project staff member Barry
Gerharz to the VooDoo BBQ
restaurant. He ate every bite, from
the barbecue chicken, to the
greens and potato salad. The 155-
pound 5'11'' boy who went in 24
See INNOCENCE, page A2
A2 May 28, 2005
Cabbies describe danger, joys of job
By Diamond Washington
NYT Institute
On an overcast day in New
Orleans, he perked up for the
upcoming rain. He looked up at the
skies and skimmed the streets for
stragglers in need of transportation.
Yes, business should be good today.
“Getting a ‘lil rain here, but that’s
OK with me,” he said to the elderly
woman in the backseat. “Rain is a
cab driver’s best friend, you know?”
William Kerner, who has been
driving taxicabs for 28 years, takes
his job seriously. To him, it is more
than an occupation.
“It’s more like a lifestyle,” he said
as he reminisced about all that driv-
ing taxicabs entails. “It’s a study of
human behavior.”
In seconds, the third-generation
cabbie has gone from having Walter
Cronkite as a passenger to picking
up a transvestite. Adapting to the
persona of each passenger, Kerner
switches hats as frequently as a
model changes clothes.
Of the hats he has worn, chauf-
feur is a given. In addition to that are
listener to rambling patrons fresh out
of Bourbon Street bars and a familiar
face to the woman he picks up from
Sav-A-Center. But the most impor-
tant, yet most uncomfortable, is
hero.
“There are things that happen at
night that don’t happen during the
day,” he said. As he took off the col-
orfully tinted sunglasses, he revealed
his history of reckless behavior.
One night years ago, with a gun
in tow, he approached a man who
was dragging an elderly Algiers
woman. Kerner ordered the man to
release the woman, and he put her in
his backseat. Instead of immediately
taking her home, the New Orleans
native decided to chase the offender
through the city.
“The police eventually caught up
with the man and convicted him of
aggravated assault of the old woman
and rape of at least two other
women. This sparked a Superman
mentality in Kerner that would soon
turn into a bad habit.
Kerner, who said he could have
been a police officer if not for a knee
injury he sustained during a high
INNOCENCE from page A1
years ago had come out as a husky
265-pound man.
But his demeanor was anything but
domineering. He shied back and
exposed a gap-toothed grin whenever
he talked about his goal of becoming
an interior designer. He didn’t know
why he wanted to do it, “just to show
my creativity, I guess,” he said.
Gerharz promised to take him to
Barnes & Noble to get some design
books after lunch so he would have
them with him when he moves to
Virginia next week.
Williams had on his new clothes. A
black-and-white Starter baseball cap
with a matching Starter muscle shirt
and Starter socks. He had to check to
see if Starter had claimed his grey jer-
sey-knit shorts as well; it hadn’t. But it
didn’t matter. Anything was better than
the blue chambray, grey shirt and blue
jeans he had to wear on the block.
How a boy who had never experi-
enced sex could be found guilty of rape
and sentenced to life in prison is
beyond him. But in 1981, the scrawny
16-year-old found himself behind the
bars of Angola after being convicted of
sexually assaulting his 22-year-old
math tutor.
Williams said he didn’t do it, but it
was his word against hers. It was well
known that he liked the victim. He was
always hanging around her father’s
store, talking to her. She testified that
school football practice, used to get
into his cab every night with one
mission: to search for crime to solve
and women to rescue.
“I was bullied as a kid,” he said.
“So I have the tendency to get
involved in a lot of street crime.”
In his trunk, inside a briefcase,
are the faded newspaper articles --
proof of his daring past. “It took a
toll on me,” said the cabbie, who at
the time, could not sleep at night. “I
did that for 10 years, and it almost
killed me.”
He was advised to see a psychia-
trist, who prescribed medication,
which he eventually became addict-
ed to. Although it helped him sleep
at night, it did not stop him from try-
ing to save people.
Along the way, he also developed
a drinking problem. Kerner had to
stop driving and work as a dispatch-
er. He said he felt his life was spiral-
ing downward.
Then one day, he said, he got
sick and tired of being sick and tired
and went to an Alcoholic
Anonymous meeting. Then he start-
ed to go to Narcotics Anonymous
meetings. Now, he attends at least
four meetings a week and regularly
visits patients in the chemical
dependency units of the psychiatric
wards of local hospitals.
Tucked in a console on his car
door is a 12-step recovery book and
attached to the car lighter knob are
numerous, colorful key chains
stamped with the letters NA, that are
testaments to his recovery.
Classical music filled the 1997
Mercury Grand Marquis as the 46-
year-old father of two, who said he
will drive taxis until the day he dies,
cruised through the Crescent City.
“This is as fun as fishing,” he said
with a smile. “You never know what
you’re going to run into.”
Tranquility in the Chaos
Inside the cab, there is an
enveloping serenity and silence.
Even when the driver speaks, his
thick accent has a calming ring to it,
as if Abed Bader’s cab was drifting
on the Mississippi instead of riding
around the Big Easy.
Outside, it’s a busy Friday night
he just wouldn’t leave.
The burden of proof was upon him.
The victim herself had identified him.
It was a case of misidentification,
the leading cause of wrongful convic-
tions, says the Innocence Project.
Williams requested a blood test, but
that was denied. The judge chose to
believe the victim’s words over his and
Williams was found guilty of aggravat-
ed rape. The system swallowed him
whole and spat him into a cell block
with 64 other prisoners, where he was
himself sexually assaulted.
“I got jumped and all, and guys
were getting raped, and the security
was supporting it,” Williams said. “In
fact, they would join in on it. They
would take the handcuffs and handcuff
some of the guys to the bars and every-
thing. And it’d be big guys with those
handcuffs. They’d go in behind those
bars and rape you.”
He said he saw inmates “dropping
off like flies” -- dying because they
didn’t hand over the $5 for a sick card
fast enough to get treated at the clinic.
“It’s hard to keep hope alive, espe-
cially if they close all the doors,”
Williams said. “A person’s gotta’ be
strong.”
While the other inmates were play-
ing sports, Williams was finishing high
school and spending his free time in
the law library, planning his liberation.
He typed out his writs with one finger
METRO
Photographs by MARCI FULLER/ NYT Institute
“I was bullied as a kid, so I have the tendency to get involved in
a lot of street crime,” William Kerner said while on duty.
“Sometimes you have to have a heart,” said Abed Bader, a driver
for more than 15 years.
in New Orleans. From Uptown to
Gentilly, red and blue lights from
New Orleans Police cars flash on
almost every other corner. Crowds
stroll in and out of the well-lit hotels,
restaurants and casinos on Canal
Street.
“There’s just something about
New Orleans,” said the 45-year-old
from Jerusalem.
A turn on Bourbon Street and
people are seen on balconies cheer-
ing and yelling as they jiggle assort-
ed strings of beads over the mobs of
tourists and locals out to have a good
time. Drivers impatiently honk horns
-- sometimes two -- and stayed up
countless nights to finish.
“They may have gotten 20-some-
thing years out of my life,” he told
himself, “but they won’t get 30.
“I learned everything I could about
the law. And I kept working. I ain’t
never gave up.”
In 1998, Williams gave Scheck a
call and asked for help. They started
his case in 2003.
Vanessa Potkin, a staff attorney
who worked with Scheck on Williams’
case, said the facts were stacked so
high against him that at first glance she
wasn’t sure if he had a shot.
“When I first looked at the Michael
Williams case and I heard that the vic-
tim knew him and had tutored him, I
thought, ‘Well, what’s the issue?’ ”
But things didn’t add up. Williams’
grandmother testified that her grand-
son was sleeping after coming home
from a church revival while the victim
was being raped. And none of the clues
-- such as footprints outside the vic-
tim’s window -- linked Williams to the
crime.
“The prosecution’s theory was that
he woke up at 3 in the morning,
walked in, beat her, disposed of the
clothes and then goes back to his
grandmother’s,” she said. “To me, that
theory was ridiculous.”
To settle the issue, Potkin pulled out
what Scheck knows best -- a DNA test,
something that wasn’t available when
Williams was first tried. The samples
from the victim’s nightgown didn’t
match Williams’ DNA, and he was
as pedestrians cross in several direc-
tions, making it nearly impossible to
move a car past an inch. But the traf-
fic didn’t bother Bader.
“You have to carefully keep your
foot on the brake,” he said as he got
enough leeway to ease across the
street. “But don’t stop because you’ll
never cross.”
More than 15 years in the busi-
ness has given Bader enough experi-
ence to offer the advice he's so will-
ing to share.
He once established a union for
cab drivers in the city. At meetings,
Bader would demonstrate how to
cleared of the charges.
Angola had the wrong guy. On
March 9, Williams was freed from the
prison that stole his adolescence, raped
him and left him to die in the arms of
the system. He became the Innocence
Project’s 159th success story since its
start in 1992.
They gave Williams a $10 check on
his way out, but he hasn’t cashed it. It
sits in a photo frame in the living room
of his one-bedroom apartment in
Baton Rouge.
“That’s an insult,” he spat. “I mean,
a person come out on parole or proba-
tion, and they just finished their time.
Six months prior to that, they’re off in
job training and everything. All that,
you know? All these programs. And
then once they get out, they gonna’
have a place to live. They gonna’ have
a good job. They gonna’ have all that.
“But for people like me, that’s all
they give us. They give us $10 and kick
us out. I didn’t even get a bus ticket.”
Louisiana legislators are considering
a bill that would give the wrongly con-
victed $25,000 a year for each year they
were incarcerated, plus the opportunity
to go to college. So far, the only debate
has been over how much it would cost
the state to compensate the 19 people
who have been freed since 1989.
Until the government figures it out,
Williams’ check is staying in the frame.
One of the first things he did when
he was released was ask to use an auto-
matically flushing toilet.
“I’d heard about it, but I didn’t
believe it,” Williams said.
properly use a weapon, bring movies
that featured safety tips and allow
members to express their problems.
“I’m thinking to do it again,” said
the cabbie, who discontinued the
union because of a lack of participa-
tion and funding. “But I need help
from the city.”
At a stop at Harrah’s casino,
Bader tried to be careful about who
he picked up. “It’s very dangerous,”
he said. “People lose all of their
money, jump in the cab and leave
without paying. They’ll say my wife
or some family member has money
at home.”
When a man wearing a miniskirt,
hair extensions and make-up who
identified himself as Sassy jumped
into cab No. 973, Bader said he was
not taking passengers at the time.
But Sassy, who had already been
refused by other drivers, remained
persistent.
After laughing at Sassy’s tirade
about how female prostitutes get
away with pick-pocketing and how
police doesn’t need more officers,
but more covering of severe crimes,
the cabbie could not bring himself to
say no.
Instead, he shrugged his shoul-
ders and said, “Sometimes you have
to have a heart.”
On Mondays from 6 p.m. to mid-
night, Bader volunteers at a jail. The
reserve deputy sheriff of corporal
rank said he keeps his title and occu-
pation separate to avoid making cus-
tomers who may be involved in ille-
gal activity uncomfortable.
“I never mix the two,” he said. “I
always deny it.”
Rejuvenating an Old Soul
He has a hot, new ride loaded
with perks. Fold-out seats that swiv-
el, custom multicolored shell design
and a 4 cylinder, turbo-charged
diesel engine to name a few. Give
him a call and he'll take you just
about anywhere in it.
So who is this stunning joy rider?
None other than Randy Collins,
an employee of White Fleet cab and
driver of the 2005 London Executive
Sedan.
At first, the 50-year-old was hes-
itant to trade in the Buick Park
Photograph by MARCI FULLER/ NYT Institute
Michael Williams reflects on the day he found out that he would be
set free from Angola state penitentiary.
At first, he said he wasn’t quite sure
how to work it. He looked at the stall
and nothing happened. Tired of staring
it down, and not wanting to ask for
help, Williams walked away, a little
confused. As soon as he was washing
his hands, he heard his toilet flush. He
said he looked back at it, amazed.
But what he said really got him were
the 21st century car alarms. The first
time he heard someone setting the alarm
from a keyless remote, he got scared.
“I ran from that car,” he said, his
head shaking in disbelief and his
brows high as if telling a ghost story.
“It was spooky.”
The New Orleans branch of the
Innocence Project has been helping
NYT Student Journalism Institute
Avenue he’d become accustomed to.
But now, Collins seems as comfort-
able as a rebel on a Harley when he
swiftly drives the ritzy ride through
the mean streets of New Orleans.
“The picture doesn’t do it jus-
tice,” he said of the car, which gains
extra attention with a Harrah’s
advertisement.
His face lights up when he brags
about all of its features.
“Oh yeah, I forgot,” he said. “The
armrest doubles as a child seat.”
The former driver for Yellow
Checker cab said the arrival of the
five London cabs has caused contro-
versy among other drivers.
“There’s a lot of envy,” he said
while maneuvering around a crime
scene on the 3200 block of South
Carrolton Avenue. “This car has
brought more jealous-hearted driv-
ers about since it’s been on the
street.”
Beside the expensive cost of the
London Cab, Collins said several
drivers of traditional cars complain
that the glass window between the
front and backseat and the passen-
gers’ face-to-face setup might limit
tips.
But Collins argues that the tips
depend on the driver’s attitude.
“I’m a talking machine and I like
to talk to everybody,” he said.
He could remember only one
instance in which he faced possible
danger.
“Years ago, two teens planned to
rob me,” he recalled. He said the
young men carried bleach and a bag
of clothing and said they had to do
laundry. But one spilled the bleach
on the car floor in an attempt to sting
Collins’ eyes and distract him as the
other pulled out a gun.
“I kept hearing a click,” he said.
“I looked back, and he put it on his
side.”
Collins, who carried two guns at
the time, pulled the car over, got out,
fired a round in the air and said “this
is what you wanted to hear.”
The duo ran off. Since then, he
never leaves home without a gun.
But Collins said his customers
never see it.
“It’s just like a spare tire,” he said.
“You never know when you’re
going to need it.”
Williams get back on his feet.
“Dealing with life out here, it would
be incredibly disheartening to see them
finally get out and watch them fall flat
on their faces without attempting to
help them out,” said staff attorney
David Park.
Somehow Williams manages to
find his bearings in a land of techno-
logical unfamiliarity. He has two cell
phones nowadays, a prepaid plan and a
contracted plan, which he just picked
up last month. He walks around with
the new one in its case, his earpiece
snuggly plugged in his ear, even when
he isn’t using it.
It plays the “Mission Impossible”
theme song when it rings.
May 28, 2005
Locals gather at lake shore,
but not exactly together
By Ebony Horton
NYT Institute
On Sundays the south shore of
Lake Pontchartrain is flooded with
families enjoying crawfish and corn
while surrounded by bright-colored
early model Mustangs and Chevrolets
and flashy motorcycles. It becomes a
place of no tourists, no violence and no
stress. For New Orleans residents, it is
their French Quarter. Several say it is
the place where they bring their fami-
lies to see what “New Orleans is
about.”
But in what one resident called a
“City of Soul,” where black people
make up two-thirds of the population,
the races separate on Lake
Pontchartrain’s south shore.
Younger black people tend to
migrate to the right of what used to be
Pontchartrain Beach, the section east
of Franklin Avenue. White people
spend their time in the middle area and
older black people enjoy the west side
of the shore.
Some attribute the segregation to
the history of the lake, which was
legally segregated in the 1950s. Others
say police are the reason segregation is
"It's a racial barrier here
because they make it a
racial barrier.”
Carl Mobley, resident
still an issue.
The police are “always trying to
close this spot over here,” said Darlene
Salters, a black visitor on the east side
of the shore.
“They try to block us off from the
other side of the lake. They’re always
messing with people over here. They
see us having a good time, and they
want to intrude.”
George Simonealus, a black visitor
from Baton Rouge who visits the lake
frequently, agreed, and said racial pro-
filing exists in the area.
“They can make any laws they
want to -- no open cans, no music and
no cars with engines -- but unless
someone comes and buys up all this
land and puts houses on it, we’re not
leaving,” he said.
Max Hearn, executive director of
the Orleans Levee District who patrols
the south shore, said it’s not racial pro-
filing on the east side but standard pro-
cedure that would be done anywhere
else throughout the state.
“People accuse us of patrolling the
one side more so than the other, but
that’s just because there’s two-way
traffic on one side and one-way traffic
on the other,” he said. “There’s no way
police can patrol the one-way.”
Hearn said police do shut the east
side down at different times each day,
but that they are following protocol.
“It’s exactly right we shut the lake
down at a certain point each day,” he
said. “When all the parking spaces are
gone, we stop people from coming in.
When the spaces come open, we open
the lake again.”
Lake signs said the lake is open
from “sunrise to sunset.”
Police have no reason to harass vis-
itors on the east side, Hearn said.
Officers are on the lakeshore for the
same reason they are everywhere else.
“It’s no different here than any-
where else,” he said. “There have not
been physical barriers separating the
sections in my 15 years in office.”
Carl Mobley, a white 50-year-old,
said blacks need to step out of their
boundaries and realize nobody on the
lake cares about color.
“It’s a racial barrier here because
they make it a racial barrier,” he said.
“I come to the center because I like the
sand. None of us care what color you
are out here because we all want to
have a good time.”
Tom Cruise, a 47-year-old white
man who visits the beach, said it’s not
racism, but culture and age that keeps
the south shore divided.
“When I was a teenager, I would
be on the east side with my loud music
and my car,” Cruise said. “We were
young, and we were black and white.
Of course there’s racism everywhere,
but it didn’t matter at the lake.”
Cruise categorized the racial influ-
ence as “reverse discrimination.”
“Some of the blacks are restricting
themselves from this section because
they don’t dare diversifying,” he said.
“It’s a ‘project’ mentality in this
city that takes over some people,” he
said.
“But I stay a couple of blocks from
here and have black neighbors I love to
death. I have black friends. I’m defi-
nitely not racist.”
Cruise said Lake Shore residents
often complain about the traffic.
Mobley, who lives in the Lake Shore
community, agreed.
The city closed one side of
Lakeshore Drive to reduce traffic,
Mobley said.
Most shore visitors say the lake is a
family-friendly destination, but on a
recent Sunday more than five police
cars swarmed the east side, while the
west of the shore was not patrolled.
But visitors like 23-year-old Alissa
Cramer said there is never violence on
the east side.
“There’s no fighting over here but
police are prone for shutting things
down, and they’re always making
rules for (the right) side,” said Cramer,
a white New Orleans native who lives
in the West Bank.
“They even have it blocked off so
we can’t get to the other side.”
However, District D because they are directly in these com-
Councilwoman Cynthia Hedge-
Morrell, who took office April 12, said
she has not heard any complaints about
racial profiling, noise ordinances or
other concerns in the area.
“I go to all of the community meet-
ings, and no one ever complains about
the lakefront,” she said.
Regina Williams, a black New
Orleans native who lives near the
French Quarter, said she comes to the
center of the shore, something some
black people said was forbidden terri-
tory, to simply relax. It had been
Williams’ family tradition since the
1980s to visit the lake on Sundays.
“Of course it appears to be racial
tension around here,” she said, “but
you’re so used to seeing racism every-
where else that when you come out
here, everybody has the goal of just
spending time with their family.”
METRO
Members of various Louisiana chapters of The Links, Inc. enter the State Capitol building to press for better health care.
Lobbying to improve health care
By Robbyn Mitchell
NYT Institute
White heels clicked against the
marble floors of the Capitol rotunda on
a recent Wednesday in Baton Rouge.
Fifty-nine women, in matching white
linen outfits and suits, formed a jagged
line by a long table in the corner, excit-
ed to see their old friends but anxious
about their cause.
The Louisiana women were mem-
bers of The Links, Inc., and were
spending their day at the Capitol to
promote Healthy People 2010, a
national initiative to promote health
care awareness and preventive medi-
cine.
“We’re here to advocate for med-
ical service for the underserved,” said
Rebecca Cureau, president of the Le
Capitale Links chapter in Baton
Rouge. “But the best we can do is talk
to them (the legislators).”
So talking to legislators is what they
did.
They talked to them in passing in
the hallways.
They talked to secretaries and aides
in food lines in the cafeteria.
The group was presented on the
House and Senate floors. At each stop,
members used the opportunity to
inform someone new of the benefits of
Healthy People 2010.
The initiative had a supporter in
Sen. Ann Duplessis, D-New Orleans.
“The Links do their grassroots work
munities,” Duplessis said.
The Links is an organization com-
prised of more than 10,000 profession-
al black women in 274 chapters in
BIAS continues from A1
cases of housing discrimination to
assess bias in Bourbon Street bars.
“Secret shoppers,” pairs of black
and white men dressed in similar
manner, frequented the same bars
within minutes of each other and
ordered the same drinks. They docu-
mented disparities in treatment,
service and pricing.
Staff members of the center said
the most common violations they
found were black shoppers being
overcharged for drinks and harassed
about dress codes.
Danatus King, president of the
New Orleans branch of the National
Association for the Advancement of
Colored People, said the organiza-
tion conducted its own investigation
and also found improprieties involv-
ing racial discrimination among
Bourbon Street bars.
King said the NAACP also con-
ducted a meeting with French
Quarter merchants several months
ago to help resolve racial issues.
“We met with merchants and
requested information regarding
numbers of minorities employed at
establishments, names of suppliers
and whether or not they followed
some sort of protocol during
Essence Fest and Bayou Classic,”
King said. “During that meeting,
French Quarter merchants stressed
overwhelmingly that racism and dis-
crimination does not exist.”
three countries. The group is dedicated
to serving as leaders and role models
through community service.
The Baton Rouge visit was part of a
lobbying campaign by the Links’
Southern regional chapters, Cureau
said. Nationally, the organization is
pushing its “Linkages to Life” pro-
gram, an outreach program to increase
awareness among African-Americans
about the importance of organ, tissue
and bone marrow donations.
The Louisiana chapters converged
on Baton Rouge to push the initiative's
objectives to make U.S. citizens
For 14 of the last 15
years, the state has
ranked last in health
care, report says.
healthier by 2010. Launched in 1980,
the initiative asks states, organizations
and community leaders to help set and
reach national health objectives.
Government programs aren’t the
only reasons these local women are
lobbying in Baton Rouge. Some
efforts have a more individual touch.
One of the lobbyists took time out to
talk about her experiences in the New
Orleans school system.
Betty Walker, a school nurse,
described the instances in which she
went beyond the call of duty at A.P.
Tureaud Elementary in New Orleans.
She said some students came to
school smelling so badly of urine that
she had to purchase wash cloths, soap
and underwear. While she washed
King said since merchants were
not “forthcoming with the informa-
tion after repeated requests,” the
next step for the NAACP was to
march in protest. “The march, which
takes place June 25 in the French
Quarter, was planned so that it
would occur before the Essence
Festival, so that the nation could see
that there are people in our city
working to address racism,” he said.
“Continued denial shows that
there won’t be a genuine effort to
eradicate the problem because they
refused to admit that a problem
exists.”
Earl Bernhardt, co-owner of four
Bourbon Street bars including the
Tropical Isle, which was listed in the
report, said he supports the secret
shopper approach, but questions
some of the tactics.
“I’m all for the secret shopping,
but I took issue with the way the last
round was conducted,” Bernhardt
said. “There was one incident at the
Tropical Isle in which they didn’t
follow procedure.”
One team of secret shoppers was
charged more for Long Island iced
teas, but Bernhardt said it was
because the secret shoppers went to
different bartenders.
“Some bartenders use four
liquors while others use five,” he
said. “And although the prices for
each individual drink might be dif-
NYT Student Journalism Institute
Photograph by AARON DAYE/ NYT Institute
their clothes, she taught them to bathe.
“The Links gave me $200 to pur-
chase underwear and socks for chil-
dren who needed them,” she said.
Walker said she blames lack of edu-
cation for their health problems.
“Some of these children don’t even
have a grasp of basic hygiene issues,”
she said.
The 27-year teaching veteran attrib-
utes that to the neighborhood.
“I’m in a very deprived area,” said
Walker of the school’s Seventh Ward
neighborhood. “Health histories are
hard to get because a lot of the parents
can’t read.”
Based on recent health care statis-
tics, Louisiana is struggling with even
more problems. For 14 of the last 15
years, the state has ranked last in health
care, according to the United Health
Foundation’s annual report. The rank-
ing is based on a variety of health indi-
cators, from how much of the popula-
tion smokes to infant mortality rates.
According to the 2004 study by
Kathleen Kennedy, director of Xavier
University’s Institute for Minority
Health Disparities, Walker’s experi-
ences speak to a larger problem.
“On average, African Americans
and American Indians have higher
overall rates of death than any other
racial or ethnic group,” Kennedy said.
Her report, which used data from
the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention statistics, found that black
people are dying more often from
treatable illnesses than any other race.
Nationally in 2002, almost 300 out
of every 100,000 blacks died from
heart diseases compared to 220 whites
and 170 Hispanics. More than 7,000
ferent, the customer is getting their
money’s worth.”
Bernhardt said he believes the
probe is less about discrimination
and more about casting blame.
“I’ve been extremely cooperative
in working with the city’s Human
Relations Commission and trying to
get people to do the right thing,” he
said. “But the media is trying to
make it out to seem like I’m running
some sort of den of discrimination.”
Silas Lee, a national pollster and
assistant sociology professor at
Xavier University, said after review-
‘Continued denial
shows that there won't
be a genuine effort to
eradicate the problem.’
Danatus King
ing the report’s methodology, the
overall findings “seemed to be fair
and accurate.”
“The mystery shoppers were
trained. And as far as the design and
implementation, it (the study) seems
to follow the standardized design
and implementation methods uti-
lized by the federal government in
testing housing discrimination,” Lee
said.
As long as secret shoppers follow
protocol, said Larry Bagneris, exec-
utive director of the city’s Human
A3
black women were diagnosed with
AIDS, more than white and Hispanic
women combined, the study showed.
Kennedy said two schools in the
New Orleans area host “Hip Hop Rock
Your Heart,” a program in which
Xavier students expose children to
exercise using popular music.
Kennedy is planning to organize
“Diabetes Sunday,” a brunch of
healthy foods that will serve as a forum
for diabetes education. She said her
target audience is blacks in the New
Orleans community.
Some of the state’s existing pro-
grams are making an impact as well.
The 8-year-old State Children’s
Health Insurance Program enrolled
105,580 children in Louisiana in 2004.
More than 6 million children nation-
wide received the service last year. The
program provides health insurance for
students whose families earn too much
to qualify for Medicaid coverage but
too little to afford private insurance.
It has proved to be a useful weapon
for people, such as Betty Walker, who
are on the front lines of the war against
ill health.
Ultimately, progress for blacks in all
aspects of health care in Louisiana may
continue to progress slowly.
Ruth “Cookie” Jean, president of
The Links’ Pontchartrain chapter and
pharmacist for New Orleans’ Charity
Hospital, said her organization is
working hard to improve health care
because of the negative statistics.
“Our focus now is health care dis-
parities, education and prevention,”
she said. “Our mission: we have to
change our numbers ‘cause they don’t
look good.”
Relations Commission, the tactic
would be one of the city’s best
weapons against discrimination.
Bagneris said the city has man-
dated sensitivity training for French
Quarter hospitality workers. He said
he hopes the training, which consists
of three 20-minute sessions on racial
sensitivity, state law and legal reali-
ty, will be offered twice a year.
“Once we correct the problem,
the idea is to make sure it doesn’t
happen again,” said Bagneris,
explaining that his office plans to
prosecute repeat offenders as well as
use secret shoppers to police other
areas of the city.
Bagneris said if businesses are
found to be repeat offenders, they
will come before the commission,
have a hearing and, if found at fault,
will be fined.
However, some patrons, such as
Darrell James, a 27-year-old black
man from Montgomery, Ala., said
Bourbon Street bars are still target-
ing young black men.
“Go read the dress code posted at
the entrance” of Utopia, James said..
“No plain color T-shirts, over-
sized athletic T’s or undershirts, no
bandanas, no camouflage, no sleeve-
less shirts, no sweatshirts or athletic
jerseys. Who do you think is wear-
ing the oversized T-shirts and jer-
seys?” he asked. “They don’t allow
you to take your culture into the
club, specifically hip-hop. And in a
roundabout way, black men are still
being targeted.”
A4 May 28, 2005 METRO NYT Student Journalism Institute

State schools improve,

but few credit NCLB
By Titus Ledbetter III
NYT Institute
NEW ORLEANS - Controversy
has surrounded No Child Left Behind,
the Bush administration’s signature
education reform. Many Louisiana
education administrators say they are
pleased with the gains made under the
program, but some administrators and
teachers say the three-year-old pro-
gram has hindered their ability to
deliver quality education.
Members of the American
Federation of Teachers said they are
concerned many schools are improv-
ing, but the strides made within the
schools are not recognized. On May
19, the AFT announced a campaign to
reform the law because schools labeled
as “failing” are put under sanctions
instead of given increased help.
AARON DAYE / NYT Institute “In my opinion, No Child Left
Lieutenant Fred Bates Jr. gesturing to get a point across, while teaching “forgiveness” during a Wednesday night Bible study. Behind means every child is left
behind,” said Edna Woods Francois,
an eighth-grade teacher at George
considering the students did do well,”
Chase said. “The teachers and stu-
dents became more familiar with the
expectations of LEAP. The students
are performing and they are not afraid
anymore.”
In 2005, students scoring above
Basic level on LEAP 21 have
increased by 6 percent on the Math test
and 5 percent on the English tests since
the previous year.
Despite Chase’s optimism, others
involved directly in teaching and form-
ing policy for schools expressed con-
cern about the impact of NCLB and
standardized tests. Hermine Jones, a
math coach at Edward and Chester
Elementary schools, said the students
are not learning what they should in
the classroom.
“We don’t have enough teacher
moments to address things that come
up. It’s too structured,” Jones said.
“We are having to follow programs
that don’t allow teachers to be creative
and innovative.”

Fighting crime with a badge and a Bible
By Jessica Young
NYT Institute
At a glance, the 5th District is like
any other police district in New
Orleans. Officers come in and out of
the precinct. Detectives pour over
paper work. The commander goes
from meeting to meeting.
But what is not as evident is the
spiritual bond officials in the district
share. To discover this aspect, one
must go into the offices and see
Bibles lining bookshelves and crosses
mounted on walls.
One could also inquire and hear
the conversations between the offi-
cers, especially those from Captain
Lawrence Weathersby and Lieutenant
Fred Bates.
“The 5th district philosophy is ‘Be
positive, be professional, be proac-
tive,’” Weathersby said. “The entire
office is saved. They don’t curse in
this building; they do not disrespect
each other.”
Weathersby is commander of the
5th District; however, on Sundays, he
assumes the role of a pastor at New
Homes Family Ministry in Slidell,
La. In the church, he leads his congre-
gation through Bible lessons just as
he leads the precinct through police
procedure.
“The anointing flows down from
the head to the bottom,” he said.
“Leadership passes down their bless-
ings and it goes all the way down to
the bottom.”
Then there is Bates, who is a part
of the 5th District Integrity Control
and is working towards his ordination
at Cornerstone United Methodist
located in New Orleans East. He per-
ceives his role in church as extensive
-a role that does not end at the close of
service on Sunday.
“My pastor says church begins
when you walk outside the doors,” he
said. “So what we call ‘going to
church’ is a misnomer. Church is all
the time.”
Annetter Lewis, an officer in the
5th District and Bates’ sister, said the
office has a spiritual overlay, and she
would not want to lose the cama-
raderie.
“Everyone in the administrative
office has a relationship with God,”
Bates said. “Not to say everybody is
perfect, but everybody is working on
getting closer to God.”
According to Bates, Weathersby’s
leadership plays an active role in set-
ting an example for everyone else.
“Everyone sees there are certain
things you just don’t tolerate, and you
will do what is right even when there
is no one looking,” he said.
Weathersby does not confuse his
religion with his duty as commander,
but he admits the significance of each
job lends itself to the other.
“You have to draw on your faith,”
he said. “The 5th district is the most
violent district in the city. When it
comes to violent crimes, they cross all
lines - lines of faith, economic lines
and racial lines. The police depart-
ment has to break down those barri-
ers.”
MARCI FULLER/ NYT Institute I could keep you here all day to list
Captain Lawrence Weathersby of the Fifth District Precinct believes them.”
local churches should get more involved in the community.
The police captain said the demo-
led a group of ministers and the men
graphics of the 5th District contribute
of their congregations in a movement
to criminal activity. Of the nearly
to minister to the people in the street.
120,000 people in the district, about
The group loaded vans and rode
70 percent of them are in five member
through the city doing “Holy Ghost
families that earn less than $12,000 a
Drive-bys.” After six months, these
year in income, he said.“drive-bys” reduced crime by 7 per-
“Violence is perpetuated by the
cent.
demographics, and what makes me so
Barriere worked with the 5th dis-
mad is that these young men out here
trict to carry out the “Drive Bys.” He
have no conflict resolution skills,” he
recalled Weathersby as a constant
said. “They look at it like, ‘if it attacks
aide and support.
me, kill it.’” “He had the resources we needed
The 5th district has had 25 mur-
such as cars and boards to board up
ders this year. Both the church and
particular properties such as crack
police officers are staples in these vio-
houses,” he said.
lent, but church-centered communi-
Barriere said relations between the
ties, and the two entities often join
New Orleans Police Department and
together to reduce community crime.
communities it serves have been
Bates feels the church must have a
complicated and conflicted, but
focus and goal in order to change the
Weathersby works on correcting this
problems in the community.
problem.
“We have to be mission minded to
“There are people in there now,
get things done,” he said. “Without a
such as Weathersby that really want to
mission, there is no purpose, and
say, ‘Hey let’s turn this around,’” he
without a purpose you can not solve a
said. “He is not just sitting behind a
problem.” desk. He’s from the community and
Pastor Antoine Barriere of
he touches the community. And
Household of Faith in New Orleans,
maybe this is because he is a man of
God. Whenever it was someone to
stand up in the Bible, it was often one
man, like Moses, Joseph, and
Abraham.”
Weathersby is humble when asked
about the many accolades that dress
his office walls. He speaks deliberate-
ly and clearly, especially when it
comes to addressing the social prob-
lems in his district.
“We have got drug dealers living
with these single moms, but won’t
marry them so they can stay on wel-
fare,” he said. “And the dealer goes
out and gets the money, but it can’t be
accounted for because it’s drug
money. So, when they come around
to do the census, you’ve got all this
poverty. There are so many problems.
Washington Carver Middle School.
“And the reason for that is the school
system is all about
structure and not
concerned about
people.”
‘In my opinion, No
Francois, 68, has Child Left Behind
been a teacher in
New Orleans for 40
means every child
years. She said the is left behind.’
legislators who cre-
ated the law have
been too concerned with “the dollar.”
But she is concerned, she said, about
children who are raising themselves
because their parents are either incar-
cerated or addicted to drugs.
“What (legislators) need to do is take
a look at the children - feel the needs of
the children,” Francois said. “I mean
get social workers in there, get doctors
in there, get whatever is needed to
address these kids with their needs.
Children need somebody they can turn
to, someone who can give them
advice, and somebody who cares.”
However, Edgar Chase, a member of
the state’s Board of Elementary and
Secondary Education, has a different
opinion of the legislation.
“Overall, I’m pleased with No Child
Left Behind because it has led to an
accountability system and a method of
making sure learning takes place in the
classroom,” Chase said. “It drives
accountability and measures quality
education. We need to know that as a
nation we are (competing with) other
countries across the world.”
NCLB includes annual tests in
math and science for grades three
through eight.
In 1997, the Louisiana legislature
passed two tests: LEAP 21, the
Louisiana Educational Assessment
Program of the 21st century, and GEE
21, the Graduation Exit Examination
of the 21st century. LEAP 21 deter-
mines if fourth and eighth grade stu-
dents can advance to the next grade;
students who pass the GEE21 and
complete the required number of
course units receive a high school
diploma.
“The improvement is amazing,
Jones, a teacher for the past 15 years,
said the school’s resources are not
equally distributed
in the district.
Leslie Jacobs, also
a member of the
Board of
Elementary and
S e c o n d a r y
Education, said she
maintains that the
state had high goals
before NCLB and does not give the
program all the credit for the recent
improvement.
“High stakes testing began in 2000,”
Jacobs said. “When we released
school performance data, we were
right at our goal.”
Jacobs indicated the state had nation-
ally recognized acceleration programs
that were very successful before
NCLB. In 2002 to 2003 the Blue
Ribbon Commission for Educational
Excellence met to identify strategies to
close the achievement gap between
minority and white students in middle
and high schools. According to
Jacobs, NCLB is putting pressure on
the school system to operate one way,
when another direction may be more
successful.
“Part of the problem with No Child
Left Behind is they came up with one
recipe,” Jacobs said.
Jacobs said she appreciates the
emphasis NCLB has placed on highly
qualified teachers. Over 2,000 teachers
have until July 1, 2006, to prove they
deserve recognition as a “qualified
teacher.” These teachers will either
take a test or submit a portfolio to
make their case.
Sundy Barjon, a professional school
counselor at Andrew Bell Junior High
in New Orleans, said because of too
much emphasis on tests, there is not
enough emphasis on counseling.
“If we had more counselors at
school, we could get to the root of the
problem,” Barjon said. “But what we
are doing is putting more programs on
top of programs and we are not getting
to the root of it - we are putting a band-
aid on top of it.”

State and hospitals take measures to reverse nurse shortage

By Sheena Johnson
NYT Institute
As the day winded down for first-
shift nurses in the nephrology unit at
Tulane University Hospital and
Clinic, it took an unexpected turn for
registered nurse Immel August.
At about 4 p.m., August, who had
been at work since 5 a.m., received a
call that she would have to prepare
for a kidney transplant that was
thought to be a “no go.” The evening
shift was set and no other nurses were
available to come in.
“I needed two nurses and I could
not find them,” said August, who was
the head nurse.
She was left to handle the trans-
plant and the transfer of the patient.
August said that was one of count-
less times when she was left on the
floor without enough nurses to cover
patients.
“There aren’t enough to go around
and you have to get out there and do
what you have to do,” she said.
“When everyone else is leaving after
their 8 to 10 shift, you still have to
stay. It leaves you pretty much strand-
ed.”
The transplant incident was 15
years ago, a time when August
encountered one of the most stressful
times in her career because of the low
numbers of nursing staff on the floor.
Now, in her 34th year of nursing, she
is a rare find - a nurse who stayed in
the profession.
Many nurses are leaving the work-
force discouraged by the demanding
vocation, spurring a shortage of prac-
titioners and faculty members to
teach replacements.
“The demand is so high in so
many areas,” said Joe Ann Clark,
executive director of the Louisiana
State Nursing Association.
According to the American
Hospital Association, the United
States currently has 126,000 nursing
vacancies. By the year 2010, the
number is expected to jump to
400,000.
In response to the national prob-
lem, President Bush signed the
Nursing Reinvestment Act in 2002,
which provides programs to increase
the numbers of qualified nurses.
Louisiana has 4,000 vacancies for
registered nurses and over 3,000 for
licensed nursing positions. There are
currently about 43,500 registered
nurses and 21,000 licensed practical
nurses in the state.
Three years ago, the Louisiana
State Board of Nursing and the state
legislature reactivated the Nursing
Supply and Demand Commission,
which evaluates, researches and
determines factors that contribute to
the nursing shortage.
During the commission’s first
year, the focus was placed on
decreasing the shortage of faculty
members. Funding was provided for
30 nurses to go back to school to
obtain advanced degrees.
“For every $10,000, they have to
give back to one year of service to the
state working in the classroom,” said
Karen Zoeller, communications coor-
dinator for the workforce commis-
sion.
She also said 60 nursing educator
positions were opening this year and
only 50 percent of those slots would
be filled.
According to Zoeller, the state has
just signed an agreement that allows
those interested in joining the profes-
sion to advance at a faster rate.
Anyone beginning a nursing pro-
gram, including high school students,
can start off as a certified nursing
assistant and move up to a licensed
practical nurse, which requires an
associate degree of nursing. The stu-
dents can eventually receive a bache-
lor of science of nursing, Zoeller said.
About 6,000 people expressed
interest in nursing programs, but
most were not accepted because of
lack of space, equipment and instruc-
tors.
“Our applicants have increased to
about 250,” said Elizabeth
Humphrey, dean of the Louisiana
State University School of Nursing.
“But we are only able to take about
70 due to limited space and faculty.”
Without enough staff, not enough
students can be trained.
“It’s like what comes first, the
chicken or the egg?” said Ellienne
Tate, a registered nurse consultant for
education for the Louisiana State
Board of Nursing. “Nurses must have
faculty to teach them and someone
must have the experience to do so.”
May 28, 2005 NYT Student Journalism Institute A5

Textures
A friendly gator
represents New
Orleans with a
smile, encourag-
ing people to
come in and

around
sample some of
the restaurant’s
cooling bever-

New Orleans
ages.

nown for its wild nights and

K lazy days, the “Big Easy” is

a historical playground.
Tourists from every corner of the
globe flock to experience all the
fun and flavor of Louisiana’s
famous city, and discover a place
steeped in history, culture and
color.
New Orleans is the quintessential
city of light, love and taking liber-
ties- from the dozens of French
Market stalls offering rainbow-
hued wares and themed trinkets to
rowdy gatherings of friends over
beer. The gaping maws of garishly
painted alligators call out to
passersby to come in and cool
down with any one of an assort-
ment of fruity liqueurs.
This is New Orleans, and it feels
good.

Asian-themed items soak up the sun, waiting to be noticed and A young girl daydreams in a hammock while waiting for her family to finish picking from the assortment of
perhaps purchased. fabrics in a French Market shop.

A late afternoon
gathering of
friends at Utopia,
a club in the
French Quarter,
lends itself to a
mass of empty
beer bottles and
loads of laughter.

Photography and text by Tara-Lynne S. Pixley Performers like this saxophone player abound on Canal and Bourbon streets
Page Design by De’Eric M. Henry in the Quarter, filling the streets with music while keeping an eye out for
money.
A6 May 28, 2005
James Crawford, 7, eats frozen lemonade on his porch in C.J. Peete Housing Development, which is still better known as Magnolia.
Still surviving in Magnolia
By Shaka Lias
NYT Institute
At the Spur gas station on Claiborne
Avenue, a woman in a uniform hurried-
ly filled the tank of her banged-up van.
She moved to New Orleans nine
years ago and knew little about
Magnolia, but didn’t want to talk about
it.
“Magnolia? Isn’t that on
Washington?” she asked at the station.
“I don’t know anything about
there.”
“There” was only ten blocks away,
where the residents of Magnolia, offi-
cially titled the C.J. Peete Housing
Development, reside. But unlike the
uniformed woman, they don't drive
away. Unlike the artists who have
found fame by evoking the projects in
their rap lyrics, residents don't escape.
According to the Housing Authority
of New Orleans, 300 residents live in
Magnolia - two-thirds are women, and
every one is African-American. Yet, the
residents maintain there are only about
100 of them still in the project. This
may be due to the dozen, three-story
buildings that are inhabitable, while the
other buildings have been boarded up
for renovations or torn down.
On one particular day in uptown
New Orleans, the sun was beaming on
Magnolia’s community center. In con-
trast to the neighborhood, the center is
a freshly-painted pink building sur-
rounded by a flower bed.
But around the corner, there is no
color, and the only things close to fresh
are cantaloupes that were dropped off
by the local food bank.
Two kids, one barefoot, search
through boxes looking for fruit actually
worth eating. An elderly resident
dumps the bad fruit in the garbage can.
Lloyd H. Williams Jr., a 60-year-old
who has called Magnolia home since
1952, said it used to be a beautiful place
before the name became synonymous
with violence.
He was just cooling down, burglar testifies, but he catches heat anyway
By Ayesha Rascoe
NYT Institute
It was so unbearably hot one
August night that William Tice
said he walked through Mid-City
and felt like jumping into the
bayou or showering with some-
one's garden hose.
He could not find the bayou or
a hose -- Tice broke into an air-
conditioned doctor’s office
instead.
Tice told these details and
many others to a judge in Orleans
Parish Criminal District Court
where he took the stand to defend
himself against the charge of sim-
ple burglary. His defense, in sum,
was simple: he was drunk.
It took Judge Lynda Van Davis
only two hours to find Tice guilty
of breaking and entering. He is
Photographs by AARON DAYE/ NYT Institute
The police substation in the area has
been shut down, and no police cars
were patrolling the project.
“We had everything until the other
generation came in, and everything
went down,” he said.
Growing up in the midst of
Magnolia’s violence were former resi-
dent Terius “Juvenile” Gray and other
rappers from the group Hot Boys and
the record label Cash Money.
“Some of them are giving it a good
name,” Williams said of the rappers.
“This is where they came from.
Everything was different and when
they came through that is what they
saw.”
Sonia Murray, a music critic with
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, said
she doesn't think rappers try to glorify
the projects, contrary to what some
might believe.
“Lots of artists are from the projects;
hip hop is from the inner city,” Murray
said from her Atlanta office. “It seems
like they take inspiration from the peo-
ple that come from there.”
In his song “Living in the Projects,”
Juvenile raps about being “from the
third with helluva nerve.”
Concerning the project’s violence,
he continued: “If you cross my line you
will … win, lose or die - this happens
everyday.”
Juvenile often returned to the proj-
scheduled to be sentenced next
month and could face up to 12
years in jail.
Tice, who admitted to the
court that he was an alcoholic,
said he began drinking in the
1980s while serving in the U.S.
Army as a sniper because stress,
physically and mentally,
overwhelmed him.
“I started to drink to maintain
my outgoing social personality,”
Tice testified.
The 40-year-old, who had
worked for about a year for the
owner of the office, said he cut the
grass at the building the day of the
burglary and that he had been
paid.
Tice said he took the check,
bought alcohol and consumed a
mixture of vodka, whiskey, gin
and beer -- all within a matter of
METRO
ects to shoot videos, like “Back that
Thang Up” and his latest hit, “Slow
Motion,” which featured Soulja Slim.
Juvenile’s childhood friend, who once
went by the name “Magnolia Slim,”
was murdered in 2003, but not in
Magnolia.
Kissey Crawford, a 28-year-old, sin-
gle mother of two and cook at Harrah’s
New Orleans, lived in Magnolia for the
past nine years, and said that lately
killings have been happening every
other day.
“If they are not shooting, it’s okay,”
she said of a typical day in Magnolia.
“It’s quiet when the chaos is not
around.”
According to Crawford, there have
been plenty of times when women had
to run to shield kids from violence.
“They try to get children out the way
of those crazy people," she said, as her
kids sat on the porch enjoying frozen
lemonade.
Anthony Emelle Jr., a 74-year-old
Army veteran who has lived in
Magnolia for 34 years, said the prob-
lems in the projects don’t necessarily
come from the residents, but the people
outside the projects.
Emelle, who proclaimed himself as
“the man who did not miss much,” said
he has witnessed plenty of deaths.
“Murder - well put an s on that -
murders,” he said, figuring he has seen
hours.
Tice testified that, on the night
of Aug. 10, he was dressed only in
jeans and sandals.
He also told the court that
while in a drunken stupor, he
entered the doctor's office because
he was desperate for air-condi-
tioning and rest.
He said he climbed a 6-foot
fence outside of the office, broke a
window and slid through guard
rails to enter the building. When
Tice heard burglar alarms sound
inside the building, he remained
calm.
Tice said that he thought “the
heck with it, I'm just going to lay
down anyway.”
Once Tice noticed that about 20
officers had surrounded the build-
ing, he admitted he was so scared
of being shot that he defecated on
about 15 or 16. “That is what I saw --
not what they told me.”
However, Emelle said he did miss
the rumor about Bryan “Baby”
Williams and Ronald “Slim” Williams,
founders of Cash Money Records and
former Magnolia residents, buying up
the projects.
“I didn’t hear that, but I think if you
stay here for so long, they should give
you an apartment,” he said.
None of the rappers associated with
Cash Money returned calls.
Emelle said he pays $299 a month in
rent, but said some residents pay as lit-
tle as $25 depending on their income.
“One time they used to pay $3, and
they still got put out,” he said through a
chuckle.
If given the option, Emelle said he
would change a lot about Magnolia,
including the rent and the staff. But he
said he is not going anywhere: “They
can’t put me out of the projects.”
Williams agreed. “I’ll be here for
life -- I grew up here,” he said.
Down the street from Emelle sits a
different generation, and opinion.
Josh, a student at Fortier High
School, who, like the others, would not
give his last name, said at the moment
he does not have any aspirations in life.
“You don’t have too many options
when you stay in New Orleans,” he
said while flipping through XXL mag-
azine.
Justice has been sitting quietly on
the concrete step. Her red hair adds
color to a sullen mood.
“I’m going to Atlanta, I just graduat-
ed and I'm going to Georgia Tech,” she
said.
Justice said she has lived in
Magnolia her entire life and is ready for
a change.
The only thing she’s seen change
around the Magnolia is the name.
But, John said even that does not
really mean anything.
“Name don’t change nothing, peo-
ple still the same,” John said.
himself. When he refused to leave
the building, a police attack dog
bit him on the thigh and dragged
him out.
Assistant Attorney General
Paul Knight questioned how Tice
was able to recount the events of
the burglary so clearly if he was
drunk during the episode.
Tice said he had been sober for
nine months while awaiting trial.
He said he spent much of that
time reflecting on the night of the
crime and it became clear in his
mind.
One of the arresting officers,
Salvador Provenzano, however,
testified for the prosecution that
Tice was sober when he was taken
into police custody.
While much of the trial was
filled with laughter, the courtroom
was silent when Provenzano was
Termites swarm,
eat away patience
By Stacy Anderson
NYT Institute
Mike Grotesch is flooded with
phone calls this time of year.
“It spreads like killer bees,” said
Groetsch, owner of Metro Termite and
Pest Control in New Orleans. “They’re
never going away.”
Grotesch is referring to Formosan
subterranean termites. He said he
receives the most business between the
months of March and June. But, he
cautioned, “they eat all year long and
are discovered all year long.”
This ongoing problem is most obvi-
ous beginning in early May during
swarming season, when termites mate,
develop a new colony and reproduce.
Peak season is generally from early
April to mid-July, said Mike Carroll,
assistant director of the City of New
Orleans Mosquito and Termite Control
Board.
Termites thrive in moist areas such
as New Orleans, which is below sea
level. Termites generally swarm at
dusk and are attracted to light, which
makes them more noticeable when
they flutter around street and porch
lights. Residents also notice termites
when they discover damage in their
homes, Carroll said.
One myth about termites is that
cool air will keep them away, but
Carroll said that turning the air condi-
tioner on high is not a solution. “Not at
all,” Carroll said. “They’re in the walls
and the halls. They retreat to their nests
and can generate their own heat.”
Termites are attracted to moisture.
“The number one problem is water
leaks,” Carroll said. These include
leaks to roofs, pipes and air condition-
ers, as well as rain damage leaks.
“Termites do need water,” Carroll said.
“It’s quite advisable to have your home
under termite contract.”
Richard Marschke, owner of
Integrated Pest Management, said ter-
mites can be eliminated with moisture
control. Marschke said termites need
food, water and harboring; houses pro-
vide two, if not all three, of these fac-
tors.
The Mosquito and Termite Control
Board has developed several initiatives
to deal with insects since establishing a
termite division in 1995.
The board, along with the United
AARON DAYE/ NYT Institute
Termites shed their wings in a Dillard University dorm during the
2005 swarming season in New Orleans.
on the stand. He described the
night when he responded to a bur-
glar alarm that Tice activated as
very tense.
“It has to be said that a couple
of nights before,” an officer had
been killed. “So we were specifi-
cally told not to go into any build-
ing alone,” Provenzano said.
When Davis handed down her
guilty judgment, Tice remained
stoic. Tice’s attorney, Joe Becker,
said he was disappointed with the
outcome of the trial.
“My argument was obviously I
don't think the state's evidence
supported a verdict of guilty,”
Becker said. “Our argument was
he was breaking in to sleep and
not to burglarize.”
Becker, who said he advised
Tice not to testify, was also upset
about the way his client was
NYT Student Journalism Institute
States Department of Agriculture and
Louisiana State University
Agricultural Center, started Operation
Full Force in 1998 to control termite
infiltration, specifically in the French
Quarter.
David Boethel, vice chancellor of
research for the LSU AgCenter, said
that individuals from all three groups
have used the newest technology to
reduce termite infiltration in 80 percent
of the French Quarter, which contains
some of the most historic buildings in
the state.
Last year, the board also initiated a
program that killed termites in live
oak trees around the city. However,
Groetsch said this program harmed
residents more than it helped them.
He said homes are now the new target
for termites. “It’s a matter of time
before they find you. Nine out of ten
people don't care because they don't
see it.”
Groetsch said a proven way to pro-
tect any home is chemical treatment,
which has been used since the 1940s.
He also advised residents to get their
homes treated frequently, and depend-
ing on the product, as often as every
five years.
Marschke also advised residents to
keep their homes properly maintained
by replacing sidings and quickly
repairing any leaks.
Darance Hayes, a Dillard
University police officer and resident
of Gentilly, uses home remedies to
treat termites. “I swat them and spray
starch to keep them from flying,”
Hayes said. “It’s sticky. It stops their
flow.”
Hayes also follows the advice of
professionals and gets his home chem-
ically treated twice a year. “Once
you've seen them, they’ve already
done their damage.”
Termites originally came to port
cities in America during World War II
through imports from the Pacific.
According to Carroll, termites were
not defined until several years later in
1967, since most swarms appear four
to five years after the nest has devel-
oped.
The three common places of
entrance by termites into Louisiana are
the Mississippi River, Lake Charles
and Camp Leroy Johnson military
port.
apprehended.
“It took 20 guys and an attack
dog to bring him in,” Becker said.
The voluntary intoxication
defense that was used during
Tice’s trial is not common,
explained Julie Kilborn, a crimi-
nal defense attorney with the
Baton Rouge Capital Conflict
office.
Kilborn said that in Tice’s case
intoxication would have been a
valid defense only if he could”
show he was involuntarily intoxi-
cated, and intoxication was a
direct cause of committing the
crime.”
One person who did not believe
Tice’s defense was valid was
Leslie Hightower, the owner of the
property that was burglarized.
“I think it was a true and just
conviction.”
May 28, 2005
Gastric bypass surgery
changes sheriff’s life
By Shaka Lias
NYT Institute
Two years ago, Sheriff Harry Lee’s
doctor gave him a life or death choice:
to have gastric bypass surgery and face
a 1 percent chance of dying from the
surgery, or to not have the surgery and
face a 20 percent chance of dying from
morbid obesity. For Lee, the answer
was simple. He would have the sur-
gery.
“It was more dangerous for me not
to have the operation,” said Lee, who
has been sheriff of Jefferson Parish
since 1980.
At 70, Lee was diagnosed with mor-
bid obesity. According to doctors, mor-
bid obesity is when a person is at least
100 pounds overweight. It can lead to
weight-related illnesses.
Besides his family history of obesi-
ty, Lee’s eating habits also played a
role in his weight gain. He often
enjoyed Chinese food, steak and pota-
toes.
Although he said he feared dying on
the operating table, Lee knew that the
surgery was necessary. Now he says
that it was one of the best decisions he
ever made.
“Someone 6 feet, 400 pounds was a
walking blob,” Lee said, referring to
himself before the surgery.
According to the George
Washington University Hospital Web
site, gastric bypass surgery creates a
very small stomach pouch by stapling
the top portion of the stomach. The
new pouch is connected to the small
intestines, bypassing some of the upper
portion of the small intestines. The per-
son is then able to consume less food.
Before his surgery, Lee had prob-
lems walking and getting out of a chair.
He developed shortness of breath, joint
pain and severe lower-back pain. He
also had problems with diabetes and
high blood pressure.
After the surgery, his shortness of
breath, joint pain and back pain went
away. The diabetes and high blood
pressure are under control, and so is his
life.
He had the surgery in April 2003 at
Magee-Women's Hospital at the
University of Pittsburgh and lost 100
pounds within seven to eight months
after the surgery. Lee has gained only
five pounds since then.
Now Lee, 72, has embraced life.
He is already making plans to run
JOSHUA L. HALLEY/ NYT Institute
Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee sits among his duck decoy and
gun display in his office.
SERIAL from page A1
and was found without a shirt and
shoes.
Michael Barnett, 20, was victim
number five. His body was found Oct.
24, 2004, in an empty storage unit a
half mile from where the fourth victim
was found.
Weidel said: “The lifestyles of
these people were high-risk drifters.
Some of them were probably bisexu-
al. They weren't gainfully employed
and they operated underground. It is
basically difficult to trace their where-
abouts. If you look deep, you may find
they were interrelated in the lifestyles
they lived.”
Leon “T-Paul” Lirette was the sixth
victim. At the apartment house on
Buron Street, a pregnant woman in
her early 20s, who asked that her
name not be published, briefly dis-
cussed Lirette and Woods.
“If you knew these people, you
could see that they were not bad peo-
for sheriff again when his term ends in
2008. He would then be the longest
running sheriff in the history of the
Jefferson Parish.
In the last election, Lee defeated
three opponents and received 76 per-
cent of the votes.
“If my health is good and the people
still want me, I intend to run in 2011,”
he said. Lee, who doesn't have a spe-
cial routine to keep the pounds off,
said, “I have a treadmill and exercise
bike, but like everyone else I don't use
it.”
His eating habits haven’t changed
drastically either.
“I’m still a meat and potato man.
But now it's less meat, more veggies,”
Lee said.
He said all he would order in the
past was steaks. Now he orders chick-
en, fish and salads. Since the surgery,
his stomach capacity is limited.
“I know that if I take one more bite I
would probably get sick,” Lee said.
Betty Adams, Lee's executive assis-
tant for 38 years, said she was worried
about the sheriff, but she is now hope-
ful.
“Sheriff Lee is one of the nicest peo-
ple you ever want to meet,” Adams
said.
Deputy Chief Dan Russo agreed.
“Whenever there is a problem he is
one of the first to step up to the plate,”
Russo said. “He's a local celebrity. He
has his own bobble heads and every-
thing.”
Inside Lee’s office is a wall of pic-
tures of him with Willie Nelson, Tom
Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Clint
Eastwood and every president since
Lee became sheriff in 1980: Jimmy
Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush,
Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
“It's selling out at garbage compa-
nies all over the world,” Lee joked
about his 1991 effort.
He said he is enjoying life more with
Lai, his wife of 47 years, one daughter
and two granddaughters. He likes to
travel and do the things he used to do
such as hunting, fishing and collect
handmade wooden duck decoys.
Despite how the surgery has
changed his life, Lee said he does not
feel comfortable recommending the
surgery to anyone else.
“I'm not in the position to recom-
mend the surgery,” Lee said. “It's up to
the individual and their family. But I’d
do it again in a New York second.”
ple. The police and the news are talk-
ing about the crime lifestyle they
lived. But if you really knew these
people, you would see that they just
needed help,” she said. “T-Paul would
do anything to help his mother. His
dad passed away three months earlier
and his mom needed him. He was a
nice guy. He didn't do anything to hurt
anybody.”
Recalling a memory of him, the
woman, who described herself as a
girlfriend of Lirette's said, “He had
pretty green eyes; he had not fully
matured as far as facial hair.”
“Datrell was a sweet person,
although he was addicted to crack.”
She said Lirette and Woods both
had lived at a house at 1627 Buron
Street, across from the apartment
building, although they were not there
at the same time.
Lirette's mother, Judy, began to cry
as she held an 8x10 photo of her son
METRO
Lawsuit over child’s death puts focus on state agency
By Frenchi Johnson
NYT Institute
Two days after the Louisiana
Department of Social Services closed
its investigation on the abuse and neg-
lect case of 3-year-old Mya George,
she died.
The Port Allen girl had been
burned, raped and beaten so severely
that she was knocked unconscious,
according to medical reports.
The abuser was no stranger. He was
someone who had frequently cared for
her: her step-grandfather, Jessie White,
41.
Despite child welfare officials hav-
ing received three reports against the
mother for lack of supervision for Mya
and her 6-year-old sister, Rheanna,
Melissa Turnage was allowed to main-
tain custody and continued to leave her
children in White's care.
After Mya’s death in September
2003, her father, Travis Stewart of Port
Allen, filed a civil lawsuit against the
state.
The lawsuit claimed the child wel-
fare agency ignored several allegations
of abuse reported to its office.
“We brought a wrongful death suit
against the state,” said Stewart's attor-
ney, state Sen. Cleo Fields, D-Baton
Rouge. “The state had notice on at
least three occasions that Mya was
being abused. They failed to take any
action.”
“The only entity that Mya had to
protect her was OCS (Office of
Community Services), and they
failed,” Fields continued. “Every life
is precious and every complaint
should be handled with the utmost
care.”
The suit is one of 21 pending law-
suits in Louisiana alleging the state
failed to act or respond appropriately
in child neglect cases. The lawsuits
and talked about T-Paul, recalling the
days leading up to when police told
her he was dead.
On Tuesday, Feb. 15, he asked her
for $5 for cigarettes and beer, she said,
and then went to Laverne’s, a nearby
bar.
She said she was told he couldn't
get in at first because of the beer in his
hand, so he left it outside beside his
cousin's bicycle and went inside. She
never saw her son alive again.
The next day, T-Paul called a
cousin and was “drugged up” with
marijuana and alcohol, Judy Lirette
said. That’s the last time he is known
to have been in contact with anyone
but the killer. That same day his moth-
er filed a missing person report.
“Thursday we searched the bayou
to see if he was floating in the water. I
was scared he was dead,” she said.
“On Sunday, I was on the phone with
my daughter, Shirley, when the police
drove up slow. I told my daughter to
call me back and the officer asked me,
‘Did I file a police report?’ I told him,
reflect a national rise of severe child
abuse cases. According to a 2004
National Child Abuse and Neglect
Data System report, an estimated
1,400 child fatalities from abuse or
neglect occurred in 2002 nationwide.
In Louisiana, the number of chil-
dren who died from abuse rose from
27 in 2002 to 49 in both of 2003 and
2004, according to state officials.
The Advocate newspaper in Baton
Rouge recently reported that 42 per-
cent of the child abuse fatalities had
been investigated by the Department
of Social Services.
In an interview, a department
spokeswoman stated that of the 98
child abuse fatalities in the last two
years, only three children died while
there was an “open” DSS investiga-
tion. Because Mya George’s case was
closed, she was not considered in the
statistic.
Marketa Garner Gautreau, assistant
secretary of the Office of Community
Services, defended the agency’s role in
protecting children, noting the
agency's caseload includes 5,000 chil-
dren.
“If it is put in perspective, the 21
lawsuits are not a huge number,”
Gautreau said.
Gautreau said a more significant
issue is the severity of abuse her case
workers now handle.
“Child abuse cases are far more
severe today than they were five years
ago,” she said. “The sexual abuse is
greater. Children's bones are breaking.
Children are dying at a higher rate.”
There were a total of 13,241 valid
allegations of abuse in 2004, including
9,156 valid cases of neglect, 2,745 of
cases of physical abuse and 815 cases
of sexual abuse, according to state
records.
The total is 21 percent higher than a
year before. While the number of sex-
yes, my boy.”
The police told Lirette her son’s
body had been found in a field on
Houma's abandoned military airbase.
“They shipped his body to
Jefferson Parish. The coroner said he
had something in his system, but they
did not know what it was,” she said, “I
couldn't see his body because it was
decomposed. At the funeral they had
his neck covered up and they only
showed me the tattoo on his arm.”
In the small circle of victims, she
said she also knew Anoka Jones and
that he lived down the street and had
been friends with her son.
She recalled the last time she saw
Jones alive.
He was visiting her home and told
her he was going to buy her husband a
beer if he could get change for a $100
bill. He left her home, and she never
saw him again.
The seventh victim, August Terrill
Watkins III, 31, was found April 9 in a
ditch on the side of U.S. 90.
Watkins is the only victim to have
NYT Student Journalism Institute A7
JOSHUA L. HALLEY/ NYT Institute
ual abuse case declined slightly in
2004, cases of both neglect and physi-
cal abuse climbed sharply, according
to Louisiana statistics compiled by the
Child Welfare League of America.
Gautreau said that instead of people
focusing on DSS when a child death
occurs from abuse, there needs to be a
higher sense of awareness for the
increase of severe child abuse cases.
“Any social change needs a social
‘The sexual abuse is
greater. Children's bones
are breaking. Children
are dying at a higher
rate.’
outcry, citizens saying we are not
going to tolerate child abuse,” she said.
“That’s not happening in this country.”
Gautreau said the law prohibited
her from commenting specifically on
Maya George's case or why her
agency did not take action to prevent
the 3-year-old’s death.
“We are all human and therefore
fallible, but what you never hear about
are the thousands of cases in OCS’
care that are fine,” she said.
“People need to realize a child died
because their parent killed them,”
Gantreau said. “None of my staff have
ever killed a child. We are responding
to the abuse, but we are not responsi-
ble for the tragedy.”
Stacy Horn Koch, executive direc-
tor of the Covenant House in New
Orleans, a Christian-based advocacy
organization that works with children
and families, said the factors contribut-
ing to abuse are systematic.
all of his clothes on when discovered.
A multi-agency task force that
includes the FBI, Louisiana State
Police, State Attorney's office, St.
Charles Parish Sheriff’s Department,
Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Department,
Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's office and
the Houma Police Department is
investigating the deaths.
On May 6, authorities arrested
Johnny Billiot of Houma, after raiding
his home, where they said they found
child pornography. The Houma
Courier reported that Billiot was con-
sidered a suspect in the killings,
although he has not been charged in
any of the deaths. He is being held on
$250,000 bond facing 20 counts of
possession of child pornography.
Eight days before Billiot was
arrested, police found the body of an
eighth victim, Kurt Cunningham, 23,
who had lived with Billiot, according
to The Courier.
A woman who had known
Cunningham when he was a student,
said he had been homeless and his
Reading
Made
Breezy
A breeze interrupted 5-
year-old Lynsi
Doucitte's newspaper
reading in Duncan
Plaza. Metro area tem-
peratures were in the
mid-90s during the
week.
The primary predictor of abuse in a
home, Koch said, is substance abuse.
“When you have mental illnesses,
substance abuse, lack of education as
our biggest barriers, the state can’t
keep up with it,” she said. “In
Louisiana, the problem is that services
for children and families are very
low.”
Additional funding for child wel-
fare cases is not likely. While the
appropriations bill for DSS is being
heard in the Louisiana House of
Representatives May 23 through 28,
legislative officials said the agency has
been asked to prepare a contingency
plan in case state funding is cut for its
programs.
Koch said previous cuts made to
state and federal outreach programs
have not helped the issue.
“I think that in the state there are
some very fine child protection work-
ers and there are some very bad child
protection workers, but there are defi-
nitely too many cases and not enough
workers,” she said.
According to the state, there are
229 child protection services workers
in the state. In New Orleans, there are
26. In addition to their existing case-
loads, DSS officials said each case
worker may receive 10 new referrals
each month.
Koch said society needs to be will-
ing to support programs that help chil-
dren and families.
For Mya George, that help did not
come in time.
She died from her injuries Sept. 25,
2003, at Our Lady of the Lake
Regional Medical Center in Baton
Rouge. Her attacker, pleaded guilty to
first-degree murder and was sentenced
to life in prison. Her mother was put
on probation.
The civil lawsuit concerning Mya's
case is still pending.
only possessions were the clothes on
his back and his skateboard.
“Kurt’s parents gave him to foster
care when he was 3 or 4, 5 or 6, and
didn't have any contact with him,”
said the woman, who had been an art
teacher at the Genesis alternative
school. She said Cunningham and his
7 siblings were all put in foster homes
after their parents were divorced.
“He never knew where he would
sleep," she said as she cried. “The
only thing I could think of was that
whoever killed Kurt offered him a
home. It had to be someone he trust-
ed.”
Cunningham's body was found
April 28 in a ditch near Louisiana 307
in Lafourche Parish.
At the trailer home where she is
staying, Lirette said she can’t bear to
hang the picture of her son on the wall.
She said she keeps it on the top
shelf of the living room closet.
“I can feel him telling me, ‘Mama
I know who did it, Mama, I know who
did it.’ ”
A8 May 28, 2005
From left, Leslie Rowe, Ron Brignac and Patty Brignac watch a Zephyrs game in 98 degree heat. The minor league team is one of New Orleans’ sport successes.
VooDoo, Zephyrs outshine local NFL, NBA franchises
By LeMont Calloway
NYT Institute
From the avid fan on Bourbon
Street to the 8-year-old Little
Leaguer, people have their own
opinion on New Orleans profession-
al sports teams. But they have one
thing in common: a less-than-enthu-
siastic view of the city's best-known
teams.
While the VooDoo and Zephyrs
have been received with open arms,
local fans' perceptions and attitudes
toward the Saints and Hornets have
been on a steady decline.
New Orleans is home to the
NBA's Hornets and NFL's Saints.
Those teams also share the athletic
spotlight with the Arena Football
League and AAA professional base-
ball. The VooDoo takes some of the
football pressure off the Saints,
while the Zephyrs stand alone as the
only professional baseball team in
the city.
Over the past five seasons, the
Saints are 42-38, but have failed to
reach the postseason since 2000.
The exclusive rights to ineffec-
tiveness, however, do not belong
solely to the Saints. The other major
professional team in town, the
Hornets, which moved from
Charlotte, N.C., in 2002, has also
fallen on hard times. After a 47-35
inaugural season in New Orleans in
which they made the playoffs as a
fifth seed, the Hornets have since
gone 59-105.
Their drought in the win column
has translated into lower home
attendance numbers for both teams.
The Hornets began their New
Orleans career in 2002 with an aver-
age of 15,651 fans in the New
Orleans Arena, which seats 18,500
for basketball. This past season saw
a 1,440-fan decrease, bringing their
numbers down to a league-low of
14,211.
During the 2000 season, the
same season in which the Saints
Governor and Saints in negotiation over payments and Superdome
By Ayesha Rascoe
NYT Institute
Like a high-stakes poker game,
the government of Louisiana and
the state's sole NFL team, the New
Orleans Saints, are involved in spir-
ited contract negotiations marked by
bluffing and trash talking. The par-
ticipants have different motives and
constituencies but whether they
seek to maintain office or economic
gain, the one constant is that they
must play the hands dealt to them.
Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco,
a Democrat, sits on one side of the
table aiming for a new contract with
the Saints that would lessen the
state's financial obligations to the
team. Blanco inherited the obliga-
tion from her Republican predeces-
sor, Mike Foster, in the state's cur-
rent contract with the team, which
guarantees the Saints $186.5 million
in state subsidies through 2010.
The state had to borrow money
last year for the team's annual subsi-
made the playoffs, the average atten-
dance for the eight home games in
the Superdome was 63,039. The fol-
lowing year, attendance jumped to
70,059. Since then, attendance has
dipped to an average of 64,147.
The Arena Football League's
VooDoo, who share the New
Orleans Arena with the Hornets,
play with a fewer total capacity of
seats. With 16,900 available seats,
the VooDoo took in an average of
15,240 fans in 2004, outdrawing the
Hornets.
In the four years spent at the
University of New Orleans'
Privateer Park, which seats 5,225,
the AAA professional baseball
Zephyrs brought in an average of
2,590 fans. In the seven years since
moving to the more spacious Zephyr
Field, the average attendance has
jumped to 6,168.
Paul Prino, an employee of Jonny
White's Sports Bar located on the
corner of Bourbon and Orleans in
the French Quarter, explained why
his views on the Saints are swayed
away from the home team.
“Besides the fact that the
Pittsburgh Steelers are by far my
favorite team, I just don't like the
Saints,” said the Lancaster County,
Pa., native. “They demand way too
much.”
The demands Prino spoke about
were the cost of game tickets. The
purchase of a season ticket package
for the Saints costs in the range of
$250 to $1,300 per seat compared to
the $250 to $2,700 for the Steelers.
“Every game I went to, they
lost," Prino said. "What have they
done for us to make me want to pay
that much?”
Tiffane Guichet, a 29-year-old
bartender at the Old Absinthe
House, couldn't agree more about
the Saints, whose record since 1967,
234-399-5, includes a 1-15 record in
1980.
“I think everybody's tired of the
dies payment, and unless the con-
tract is renegotiated before July 5,
the state will have to borrow $8.25
million again to make this year's
payment.
“I believe the current deal with
the team provides exceedingly gen-
erous payments to the Saints,”
Blanco said in an April 27 press
release.
On the other side of this contract
battle sits Saints' owner, Tom
Benson, a New Orleans native.
After several months of negotia-
tions, Benson has effectively left the
bargaining table. Rejecting the
state's offers for new agreements,
Benson said he would like to main-
tain his contract through the 2005
football season.
“After much deliberation, I
believe it is in everyone's best inter-
ests to continue to operate under the
existing agreement reached with the
State and approved overwhelmingly
by the Louisiana legislature only
SPORTS
losing streak that hasn't ended in 35
years,” Guichet said. “I can't afford
to go. I think they're asking too much
out of the city where half the city is
falling apart.”
The Saints have an agreement
with city officials that would allow
the team a 90-day period to leave the
city after the season by paying an
$81 million exit fee. Saints owner
Tom Benson has said that he does
not want to relocate the team, but
state officials have opposed a deal to
pay the Saints $186 million over 10
years to keep the franchise in
Louisiana, saying the state cannot
afford it.
Opinions on the status of profes-
sional sports in New Orleans are
even being formed by those who
aren't necessarily enthralled with the
sports world.
“If they can make better money
somewhere else, let them go,” said
Paul Fritt, a regular at Jonny White's
who pays no attention to sports, in
response to the tentative proposal
made by the Saints to move the fran-
chise to San Antonio. “It's the same
with the Hornets, but they're not as
greedy as the Saints are. It's nice to
have a hometown team, but the
Saints have overstepped the bounds
of decency in greeting the local
economy.”
Even though some fans appear to
have given up totally on their home
teams, there are still those who have
taken to heart the new media cam-
paign being pushed by the Hornets,
which calls for fans to “Believe.”
Kenneth Smith, who has lived in
New Orleans his whole life, has not
lost faith in the Hornets.
“They're a good team, they just
crack up toward the end of the sea-
son,” Smith said. “I go to the games
and cheer for them. My favorite
player on the Hornets is J.R.
(Smith). Nothing will happen
overnight, but I'm thinking a few
years down the road, I think he's
'I know in my heart I
hope the Saints stay in
Louisiana, but it's get-
ting hard with issues
such as health care
and teachers raises.’
three years ago,” Benson said in an
open letter to the public in April.
Roderick Hawkins, a deputy
press secretary for the governor,
said Blanco has sought a personal
meeting with Benson to discuss
negotiations further, but has not
received a response from the Saints.
While a representative of the
Saints would not comment about the
negotiations, Benson told the
Times-Picayune on May 24, he
plans to stay in New Orleans. He
going to be the next M.J. (Michael
Jordan).”
Smith mentioned that, unlike the
Saints, Hornets tickets are extreme-
ly affordable.
“Lower seats are about 50 bucks
and the 300 level seats go for $7 to
$12,” Smith said. “By the arena not
being so big, everybody pretty
much has a good view.”
He didn't dismiss the fact that
the Hornets have made some ques-
tionable personnel decisions in
their brief New Orleans history.
Paul Silas, who was named
interim coach on March 7, 1999,
and appointed as the full-time head
coach May 11, 1999, led the
Hornets to four straight playoff
appearances including the second
round in 2001 and 2002. His 208
Hornet victories are the most by
any coach in franchise history. His
stint as head coach, however, was
cut short in 2003 when he was
fired.
“They should have given him a
better chance and stuck with him,”
Smith said.
In an attempt to give the fans
what they want, the Hornets' home-
also denied reports that his team
was interested in moving to San
Antonio. Benson added that the
Superdome needs to be replaced
with a new stadium so that his team
can remain competitive.
Even after NFL Commissioner
Paul Tagliabue announced on May
25 that he will intervene in the
negotiations, it still remains unclear
as to when and how this standoff
will be resolved. Behind the scenes,
the battle between the two sides is
nothing more than a clash of the
worlds of politics and business.
“The greatest motivator for all
politicians is to get re-elected,” said
Gary Clark, chairman of the depart-
ment of political science at Dillard
University.
Media Research Insight's poll of
350 voters in April found that 62
percent of those polled strongly
opposed the use of tax dollars to
keep the Saints in Louisiana. For
Republican Sen. James David Cain,
AARON DAYE/ NYT Institute
page has even asked fans to email
the team so they can find out which
game giveaways they'd like to get
next season.
On-field success coupled with a
fan-friendly atmosphere has helped
the city's Arena League and minor-
league baseball teams make a dent
in the New Orleans sports scene.
The VooDoo took to the indoor
field in February 2004. Its home
debut February 14, which drew
14,236 fans at the New Orleans
Arena, was a 41-40 come-from-
behind victory over the Indiana
Firebirds.
Since then, the VooDoo has expe-
rienced a wide range of successes,
including Coach of the Year honors
for Mike Neu and several all-league
player selections. The team also gar-
nered a playoff berth behind an 11-5
inaugural regular-season record
before falling 47-44 to the Colorado
Crush in the first round.
Attendance at Voodoo games
ranked third in the AFL during the
2004 season.
The season finale against the
Carolina Cobras drew a standing
room only crowd of 17,030, clearly
topping the league average of
12,019.
“I've never gone to any games,
but I hear that they win more," said
Guichet, before referring to the
Saints: "When your team loses hor-
ribly over and over, it's not entertain-
ing anymore.”
As new as the Voodoo are to the
New Orleans scene, baseball in the
city has a long history. Dating back
to the 1880s, the New Orleans
Pelicans participated in the Southern
League, which converted into the
Southern Association in 1901. After
a 17-year hiatus, New Orleans base-
ball resumed in 1977 when the
Pelicans joined the American
Association.
See FANS, page A9
who commissioned the poll, the
results are cause for concern.
“I know in my heart I hope the
Saints stay in Louisiana, but it's get-
ting hard with [issues like] health
care and teacher's raises,” Cain said.
“It's going to be hard because I
know the public doesn't want to give
them any more money.”
Cain, who represents district 30,
which is about 200 miles north west
of New Orleans, cited regional rival-
ry as one of the reasons that support
for the Saints does not seem to be
widespread. Voters who live outside
of New Orleans may not want their
money to go to a team they believe
does not represent them, he said.
Cain said. He said he wants a
deal to be reached with the team, but
he believes the city of New Orleans
should pay for any public costs the
team incurs, instead of the state.
Regional differences like these
have dominated Louisiana politics
for years, Clark said.
NYT Student Journalism Institute
City to build
training facility
for Hornets
By Rebecca Roussell
NYT Institute
The City of New Orleans is
planning to build a $6.5 million
new training facility for the New
Orleans Hornets basketball team,
just a few months after the team
posted one of the worst records and
the lowest fan attendance in the
NBA last season.
Mayor Ray Nagin and George
Shinn, owner of the Hornets, signed
a letter of intent for a new training
facility to be built next to their cur-
rent game-day home in the New
Orleans Arena.
The agreement calls for the city
to provide construction funding for
the facility, as well as granting the
Hornets free rent in the building for
a decade, as long as the team
remains in New Orleans.
If the team moves before then, its
owners will be forced to refund
$650,000 for every year remaining
under the 10-year deal. After the ini-
tial 10-year lease expires, the team
will pay only $1,000 in rent per year
to the city.
The practice center is to be built
on state-owned property located on
the boundaries of Girod, LaSalle and
Julia streets by the property occu-
pied by the New Orleans Centre
Parking Garage.
The city will take a 99-year
ground lease on the land from the
Louisiana Stadium and Exposition
District and then lease the new facil-
ity to the Hornets.
Construction plans have not yet
been finalized and no groundbreak-
ing date has been set, said Tim
Coulon, chairman of the Louisiana
Stadium and Exposition District.
Facility plans have been outlined,
but there is no certain date on when
the production of the facilities will
begin, according to Coulon.
Coulon also mentioned that his
agency was not a part of the talks
between the Hornets and the city.
Nagin called the deal “a great day
for the city” and the team. But offi-
cials contacted in his office would
not provide more details. Calls to the
Hornets were not returned.
The deal could boost the eastern
New Orleans community, even as it
takes the Hornets' practices away
from another local neighborhood.
The agreement also calls for the
Hornets to build a $2.5 million com-
munity center in east New Orleans
on land donated by Six Flags New
Orleans (formerly known as
Jazzland).
Since their move from Charlotte,
N.C., in 2002, the Hornets have
practiced in the John A. Alario Sr.
Events Center, on the Westbank of
New Orleans. The new deal will
take the team's presence out of
Jefferson Parish, where the center is
located.
Clark described southern
Louisiana residents as more likely to
embrace a New Orleans sports team
that generates millions of dollars in
tax revenue as well as jobs for mid-
dle and lower income workers. He
said people further north in the state
are less enthusiastic about the Saints.
Senator Ken Hollis, a Republican
whose Jefferson Parish district sur-
rounds New Orleans is determined
to keep the Saints in the state.
“They offer us the opportunity to
be a big league city,” Hollis said.
“If we lose the Saints, we will never
be able to afford a team.”
Having the team allows the state to
host Super Bowls, which Hollis said
have generated about $400 million for
Louisiana. New Orleans has hosted six
Super Bowls in the Superdome since
1978, the last one in 2002. For Hollis,
this economic gain alone could justify
keeping the Saints.
See SUPERDOME, page A9
May 28, 2005
Zephyrs’ highs and lows
Pitching staff gives up
15 hits to Sky Sox
By Sheena Johnson
NYT Institute
The New Orleans Zephyrs pitching
staff had a lackluster performance by
giving up 15 hits in a 10-6 loss to the
Colorado Springs Sky Sox at Zephyr
Stadium on May 19.
Colorado Springs (18-18) took an
early lead scoring a home run in the
top of the second by Eddy Garabito
and three runs in the third. They also
scored two in the fourth and three in
the seventh to take control of the game
and a commanding lead over the
Zephyrs.
“The fourth inning was hectic,”
Zephyrs manager Tom Foli said.
“We’ve been switching around a little
bit, and we have to train to be more
patient with guys who haven't played
those positions before.”
The pivotal fourth inning began
with a fly ball to centerfielder Brandon
Watson, who has only been with the
Zephyrs for four days, turned his back
on the ball when it popped over the
wall, giving the Sky Sox a run.
That play was followed by back-to-
back bunts in which Zephyrs starting
pitcher Ed Yarnall (3-2) failed to cover
first when first baseman Matt Cepicky
picked up the bunt. On the second
bunt, the ball made a strange bounce
Colleges are rethinking Undaunted wide receiver works for big break with Saints
use of nicknames, mascots
By Rebecca Roussell
NYT Institute
The NCAA deadline recom-
mending that colleges and universi-
ties examine their use of Native
American mascots and nicknames
is Aug. 1.
“The Minority Opportunities and
Interests Committee will review the
self-evaluations from our member-
ship along with the Executive
Committee,”said Erik Christianson,
spokesman for the NCAA.
The Executive Committee con-
sists of presidents and chancellors
from the institutions that are in the
three divisions of the NCAA. The
committee encouraged the schools
that have a mascot with Native
American representation to do the
evaluations, which call for exten-
sive research on the school’s back-
ground behind the mascot.
After sending in evaluations,
some colleges have determined
whether or not they should keep
their mascots.
After 74 years, Chief Brave
Spirit will no longer be used as a
mascot for the University of
Louisiana at Monroe. The universi-
ty will keep its nickname of Indians,
with modifications to the mascot,
according to Judy Willson, media
relations director for the university.
The school made the decision after
the university sent its evaluation
this spring to the NCAA.
“It is an Indian, with red skin and
a big, red nose,” said Louis
Thomas, a former ULM student. “It
was horrible.”
Chief Brave Spirit was the char-
acter that was normally a person
dressed up in Native American-
style costume at the games.
“The costume figure will still be
a brave on horseback,” Willson
said. “All modifications are expect-
ed to be made by the beginning of
the fall semester, but may take a lit-
tle more time.”
The university will also phase
out the term “reservation,” now
used in reference to its teams’ play-
ing fields.
Alcorn State committee mem-
bers changed the Braves logo from
an Indian to an “A” for its athletics
teams after its evaluation.
“The president and the adminis-
tration do appreciate the need and
importance for cultural sensitivity,”
said W. Christopher Cason, director
of university relations and mascot
committee chair.
The university's new “A” logo
has been in place for about a year
now, he said. The Braves nickname
will still remain, but there is no
mascot or costumed character.
over Cepicky's head.
“If the hop was true, he would have
made that play every time,” Yarnall
said. “When you fall back like that, it's
tough to come back, but as a team you
have to keep going.”
This was Yarnall's seventh start of
the season. Jason Young earned the
win for Sky Sox, only giving up five
hits, no runs in five innings of work.
Eighth-inning hit ends
losing streak
By Markel Eskridge
NYT Institute
The New Orleans Zephyrs ended a
three-game losing streak May 22
when first baseman Rick Short’s
infield single scored two runs in the
bottom of the eighth inning, beating
the Colorado Springs Sky Sox 8-7.
The victory prevented Colorado
from sweeping the four-game series.
Short batted 3-for-4 with three RBIs
and one walk for the Zephyrs.
“It was a do or die play,” Short
said. “It wasn’t a pretty hit. We had
been playing uninspired baseball the
last three games. It feels good to get a
win.”
The first three batters in the
Zephyrs lineup, Tyrell Godwin,
Brandon Watson and Melvin Nieves,
scored seven of the team's eight runs.
In the bottom of the first inning, the
Pending NCAA comments,
Alcorn will remain with its current
plans until further notice.
Mark Trahant, long time advo-
cate and Shoshone-Bannock Native
American, said it is inevitable there
will be a change, but it is just the
question of when schools will
change its Native American refer-
ences. “People are continuing with
a view of the world that no longer
exists,” he said.
Two large colleges that still use
Native Americans as mascots are
the Florida State Seminoles, and the
University of Illinois’ Fighting
Illini. Other schools that have
recently changed their mascots are:
St. John's University, from Red
Men to Red Storm, Marquette
University, from Warriors to
Golden Eagles and Miami
University (Ohio), from Redskins
to Redhawks.
SPORTS
Salt Lake Stingers catcher Jeff Mathis collides with Zephyrs infielder Dan De Ment at home plate.
For more game articles:
www.nytimes-institute.com
Zephyrs jumped out to a 4-0 lead.
Godwin led off with a double and
scored when Watson singled up the
middle. Consecutive passed balls by
Colorado catcher Pascual Matos
allowed Watson to advance to third.
Nieves and Short walked, which
loaded the bases for Brendan Harris,
who reached on a fielder's choice, scor-
By Markel Eskridge
NYT Institute
Keron Henry, a wide receiver,
walked into the New Orleans Saints’
indoor practice facility with an air of
confidence, despite not having a
guaranteed contract and the possibil-
ity of not making the team staring
him in the face.
At 6-foot-1-inch, 218-pounds, the
rookie free agent has been participat-
ing in the team's four-week coaching
session since May 16. He plans to
attend mini-camp June 10-12, fol-
lowed by training camp, which
begins June 29.
After training camp, the team will
decide whether Henry will fill one of
the 53 slots available. A total of 92
players are competing for a spot.
Henry, a Guyana, South America
native, is one of 10 undrafted players
with tentative two-year contracts
SUPERDOME continues from A8
Hollis said while the current
contract gives the team too much
leverage, he does not blame
Benson, a businessman, for trying
to maintain it.
While politicians are often con-
cerned about the opinions of vot-
ers, Clark said entrepreneurs, like
Benson, must make sure the enti-
ties they own or manage are as
profitable as possible. Their con-
stituents are not voters, but stock-
holders and employees.
Benson began his career as a
mogul by owning car dealerships
in Louisiana. According to
Superdome public relations direc-
tor Bill Curl, when Benson
acquired the Saints in 1985 he bar-
gained for a better contract for the
team. Since then, Benson has
renegotiated several times for
FANS continues from A8
The Zephyrs joined the Pacific
Coast League as a Houston Astros
affiliate in 1993 and have served as
a minor-league training ground for
players like three-time Astros all-
star Lance Berkman. After playing
four years in the University of
New Orleans’ Privateer Park, the
Zephyrs, currently a Washington
Nationals affiliate, moved into
Zephyr Field in 1997, which seats
approximately 10,000.
Before this month, John
Berthelot, 46, of Chalmette, La.,
had only been to one baseball
game in his life. It was a Zephyrs
game. As batting practice com-
menced at Zephyr Field, Berthelot
explained why he was making his
second trip.
“I’m not really a great profes-
sional baseball fan, but the first
ing Watson. Dan DeMent singled to
center scoring Nieves. Carroll singled
to left and Harris scored. Harris played
only three innings Sunday because he
was called up to the major leagues by
the Washington Nationals, the
Zephyrs’ parent team.
Colorado Springs Elvis Pena dou-
bled and then scored on a single by
Matos. Eddy Garabito doubled and
scored Matos. Garabito then scored on
a Jorge Piedra single, cutting the
Zephyrs’ lead to 6-4.
with the Saints. The free agents
receive a signing bonus, but do not
have guaranteed contracts until they
actually make the team.
These undrafted players will be
competing with veterans and fellow
rookies that were actually picked in
the draft. A first to second-round
pick can receive a $15 million to
$20 million signing bonus, while an
undrafted player receives a $15,000
to $30,000 bonus.
“The downside to being undraft-
ed is the money,” Henry said. “The
upside is being able to choose your
own team and possibly put yourself
in a better situation.”
For Henry and the other nine
undrafted players, training camp
could be their last shot at making an
NFL roster.
If Henry makes the team, his
experience might compare to the
improved contracts, according to
Curl.
The 2001 deal provides the team
with subsidy payments from the
state on a sliding scale, with pay-
ments now at $15 million and
eventually reaching $23.5 million
in 2009. The team can opt out of
this contract after the 2005 season
but would have to pay $81 million
in penalties. In 2011, the team
could exit the agreement with no
penalties.
Although Curl said the deal was
meant to be temporary while the
state explored building a new stadi-
um or renovating the Superdome,
Benson can now keep the deal until
2011 or until the state offers him an
agreement to his liking.
The deal Benson rejected in
April would have reduced subsidy
game I came to, I had a great
time,” Berthelot said. “There’s so
much going on that sometimes you
can't even concentrate on the
game. They try to make it fun for
everybody.”
The Zephyrs offer a jam-packed
season-long promotional plan that
includes $1 hot dog Wednesdays
and a fireworks exhibition every
Friday night. The park is even
equipped with a pool for private
parties behind the right field wall.
“This is fabulous,” said Guy
Pellitteri, 52, who attended a
Zephyrs game with his company,
the Gumbo Shop, at the pool.
“There’s not a better way to see a
baseball game than sitting back in
a hot tub with a beer.”
But one of the special moments
of each Zephyrs game occurs as
NYT Student Journalism Institute
AARON DAYE/ NYT Institute
Matos hit a three-run homer in the
sixth, which gave Colorado a 7-6 lead.
Travis Hughes came on in relief, after
the Short RBI infield single to earn his
second save of the season.
3-run homer in ninth
rallies Zephyrs
By LeMont Calloway
NYT Institute
A two-out game-winning three-run
homer by outfielder Matt Cepicky
two most popular players’-kick-
returner Michael “Beer Man” Lewis
and linebacker and Hall of Famer
Sam “Field Mouse” Mills-in Saints
history.
‘If they let me get my
foot in the door, I plan
to kick it down.’
Lewis came to the Saints as a free
agent with no college experience. In
2002, he set an NFL record with a
combined 2,432 yards on kickoff
and punt returns.
Mills, another former free agent,
was selected four times to the Pro-
Bowl as part of the “Dome Patrol.”
“I see my future wherever I fit,”
Henry said. “If they let me get my
payments in 2008 from $20 million
to $14 million. Instead of the $23.5
million in 2009, 2010, and 2011,
the team would receive $9.5 mil-
lion, annually. Curl said the team
could make up the difference in the
payments with increased revenues
from a renovated Superdome.
In the state's offer, the Saints
were asked to give $40 million
towards the $174 million in
planned renovations to the
Superdome. During the recent
negotiations the Saints offered to
pay $17.5 million for the improve-
ments to the stadium. The team
also wanted to keep all subsidy
payments the same through 2011.
As far as a new stadium, Curl
said a state-hired consultant found
that a new stadium would be
unfeasible.
the national anthem is sung. Local
Little League ballplayers accom-
pany the players on the field, giv-
ing them a chance to bond with
some of athletes they look up to.
Ian MacInnes, an 8-year-old
right fielder for his Vikings Little
League baseball team who recently
attended a game, said he looked
forward to catching foul balls and
seeing home runs.
“I wish we had a Major League
team here though,” MacInnes said.
“If we did, I would call them the
Yankees.”
Whether or not MacInnes’ wish
comes true, New Orleans sports
fans are not alone in wanting their
teams to succeed. It took the
Boston Red Sox 86 years to cap-
ture their first World Series cham-
pionship since 1918, but their fans
A9
propelled the New Orleans Zephyrs to
a 7-6 victory over the Salt Lake
Stingers May 23 night in the first of a
four-game series.
“I knew it had a chance, but this
park plays funny sometimes,” Cepicky
said. “I saw it go up and it must have
went over because they were playing it
off like it didn’t go out. So it must have
been close.”
The home run was Cepicky's first
since May 3.
With a 4-3 lead going into the ninth,
Zephyrs relief pitcher Travis Hughes
(2-2) gave up a triple and a two-run
home run to the seventh and eighth
batters, Nick Gorneault and Adam
Pavkovich. Until then, the sixth
through ninth batters for the Stingers
were hitless in 12 at-bats.
Zephyrs starting pitcher Sunny Kim
threw 101 pitches, giving up five hits
and striking out four in seven innings.
Kim “was real sharp at the end, and
he actually could have pitched another
inning,” said manager Tim Foli. “He’s
been solid all year and he's given us a
chance to win every ballgame he's
pitched.”
Zephyrs outfielder Brandon
Watson has hit in seven straight games
while second baseman Rick Short tied
the Zephyrs season-high hitting streak
with eight games. The team had a total
of 15 hits.
“I was looking up there and we had
14 hits and four runs, and that’s not
always that good,” Foli said. “But we
got the big one when we needed it, and
that’s great.”
foot in the door, I plan to kick it
down.”
Henry says his parents are his
inspiration, and motivated him to
graduate from the University of
Connecticut this spring after major-
ing in computer science and electri-
cal engineering with a minor in
mathematics.
Henry was 5 when his family
came to America with only $5. His
parents, grandmother, brother and
sister lived in a one-bedroom apart-
ment.
His mother currently works with
abused children as a social worker
and holds a doctorate in psychology.
His father had little education when
the family made it to America, but is
now a doctor.
“I just realized in my junior year
of college how my parents helped
me,” Henry said.
"The state does not have money
to build a new stadium," Curl said.
While the state does not have the
cash on hand for this year's subsidy
payment, Curl said the government
will honor its obligations. Curl
said the state is looking at different
options such as refinancing the
Superdome's bonds to fulfill this
commitment.
With elected officials looking to
boost their political favor and
Benson searching for a new stadi-
um, the two worlds have intersect-
ed.
Clark said these worlds meet
everyday.
"It's just now you're seeing this
discussion in an open arena,
because politics is business and
business is politics. It's
inescapable."
went along for the ride and sup-
ported them every step of the way.
Pellitteri, who loves the Saints,
expressed his feelings on the cur-
rent state of the team.
“It’s like being a Boston Red
Sox fan,” Pellitteri said. “You get
beat up, depressed. But hey, they're
our team. There's so much negative
publicity about this town. They’re
something people take a lot of
pride in. If they go, nobody’s going
to take their place.”
The only professional team in
New Orleans to win a champi-
onship was the Zephyrs, back in
1998 when they defeated the
Buffalo Bisons to capture the AAA
World Series title.
Fans of the Hornets, Saints and
Voodoo are still waiting for their
hometown teams to shine.
 STUDENT JOURNALISM INSTITUTE 2005
A10 May 28, 2005 NYT Student Journalism Institute

The Life
MASCOT
of a

T o Zephyrs fans, Nick “Boudreaux”

Perret is more than just a symbol of
good luck for the minor-league team.
He works up a sweat to help spectators
enjoy the game of baseball. Top to bottom,
Perret cools down between innings; greets
fans; goofs around with a fellow mascot;
and teases a young fan before heading
home.

Photography and text by

Aaron Daye

Page Design by
De’Eric M. Henry
May 28, 2005
BUSINESS B1
NYT Student Journalism Institute

State panel
rejects plan
for Entergy
rate hike
By Sheena Johnson
NYT Institute

A state public service com-

missioner blasted Entergy
Louisiana Corp. May 18, as the
commission reversed an earlier
decision and took back a rate
increase it had previously
approved for the Louisiana-based
utility agency.
‘We turned it down complete-
ly,” said Foster L. Campbell, a
commissioner for the Louisiana
Public Service Commission.
“They didn't do a good job, and
they didn't deserve anything.
“They thought they were
doing a good job. I would hate to
see them do a bad one.”
Entergy proposed a $167 mil-
lion increase in consumer rates
about a year ago to increase the
company's budget and cover
maintenance, supplies and
salaries. Entergy executives
would have received $5 million of
the budget for their bonuses.
The energy company, which
provides services to more than
one million Louisiana customers
and Arkansas, Mississippi and
Texas residents, sliced its propos-
al to an $18.3 million increase.
The five members of the pub-
lic service commissionion unani-
mously voted not to grant Entergy
the increase.
“They asked for $167 million
and got down to $14 million but

‘They didn't do a good

job, and they
didn't deserve
Photographs by JOSHUA L. HALLEY/ NYT Institute
anything.’ Top: Bundy’s seafood worker Kendrick Bennett looks away from the dismal amount of shrimp from the season’s first catch. Left: One crate of
shrimp is all that fills a trailer at Bundy’s seafood May 16. Right: Bundy’s seafood worker “Big D” sweeps the dock as the last few shrimp come
off the conveyor belt.
they were glad to take zero and

Shrimpers try to stay afloat

get out of there,” Campbell said.
The last time the company
asked for a rate increase was
1988.
The increase was instituted in

as their catches, profits sink

Entergy customers’ bills in late
April, with each consumer paying
an additional 92 cents for monthly
service.
With commissioners slam-
ming the increase, consumers
could be refunded as much as $6
million.
In Wednesday’s session,
Commissioner Jack Blossman Jr.
suggested a substitute proposal,
which axed the rate increase. A
commission judge recommended
the bonuses be eliminated May
17.
“It hurts their credibility with
their commission because you
can't follow the numbers. It does-
n't make sense and it shows some-
thing was fishy in the first place,”
Campbell said.
But the company said the
increase would help it stay on top
in the energy industry.
“We have a competitive com-
pany and we are not getting a lot of
respect from the industry,”
spokesperson Morgan Stewart said.
“We have to keep talent like
(our executives) in Louisiana and
we have to compensate them and
that's associated with the cost of
doing business.”
Stewart said Entergy execu-
tives' salaries are less than what
other executives in the industry
take home each year.
But Campbell said the com-
pany had the highest consumer
rates in the Southeast out of nine
states and the ratepayers shouldn't
have to pay for executives' bonus-
es.
“It's unreasonable when you
put that increase on some of the
poorest people in the country pay-
ing the highest rates in the U.S.,”
he said.
By Titus Ledbetter III
NYT Institute
All signs point to a tough brown-
shrimp season in southern Louisiana.
Those involved with the industry are
concerned that lower than expected
catches, retailers buying imported
shrimp and the rising cost of fuel will
hurt local businesses.
Some who depend on shrimp for
their livelihood are already disagree-
ing with experts’ predictions of an
average catch for the season, which
began on May 16.
“Usually they have 700 to 800
pounds, but today they are coming in
Proposal to close Navy base sparks fear of job losses
By Jessica De Vault us some 10 to 20 percent, but it’s
NYT Institute going to happen eventually,” he said
Lenise Foster, a local patron,
The dimly lit seafood restaurant said the base closing would be an
sits across the street from the Naval inconvenience. “My husband is
Support Activity base. At Jack retired and we do a lot of things
Dempsey's, the customers, military there,” she said. “But we can
and civilian, relax and have a satis- adjust.”
fying helping of fried catfish. The Adjustment is the way of life
base, which has been recommended for many military personnel, Capt.
for closing under a Pentagon plan, Kevin McCarthy said. “We transfer
may not be open in two years, but throughout our careers, but many
Dempsey’s isn't going anywhere. communities have thrived post-
Dempsey’s manager, Sammy BRAC.”
Biamonte, said he would lose cus- The Base Realignment and
tomers if the base closes. “It’ll affect Closure commission became the
with 150 pounds,” said Kenneth
Bundy, 64, who owns Bundy's
Seafood in Lafitte. “How are we going
to make it? It doesn't look good.”
Bundy's wife, Belle, added that the
company might need to borrow money
to stay afloat because of rising expens-
es. The extra money for fuel and ice
costs have cut into their profits. They
spend $900 on ice for every two days
of shrimp production. Fuel for his
boats cost about $1.60 per gallon. His
fishermen earn about 55 cents per
pound for their shrimp, an amount
Bundy said he wishes he could
increase.
“I have seven people working here
‘Worst-case scenario, you
would have a dramatic job
loss in the city or the area.’
bearer of bad news May 13 when it
announced the Naval Support
Activity was one of 33 bases on the
closure list. The news upset New
Orleans officials because the city
relies heavily on the base, which
employs 2,711 people.
At least 1,400 jobs would trans-
fer to the larger Belle Chasse Naval
and I'm going to go in the hole today.
“On a slow day the workers are not
going to work for less than $50 a day.
They come in at 7 o'clock and they
don't leave until the sun goes down.”
Belle Bundy said her shop can
charge $1 per pound of shrimp; in
2000, the shop could charge $2.40.
But Bundy worker Raul Mena, who
shuttles shrimp to the boat from the
dock, remains hopeful.
“It's going to be rough today, but
tomorrow it will pick up,” said Mena,
who was born in Honduras. “You can't
base it all on one day. If it was a bad
See SHRIMP, page B2
Air Station in metro New Orleans, Reid, an attorney who consults with
which is not slated for closure. NASA on the Michoud facility. “It
However, officials fear the blow would be a real devastating case.”
from other jobs lost will be great if Local and state officials have
the Pentagon carries out its plan to vowed to fight to keep the Naval
close Naval Support Activity. Support Activity installation open,
The city could lose another despite the Department of Defense's
8,000 jobs because of proposed closing recommendation.
downsizing of two major employers, “This recommendation is not the
Michoud Facility and Northrop end of the BRAC process, but still
Grumman Avondale Shipyard, very much a beginning,” said U.S.
according to figures from lawmak- Sen. Mary Landrieu in a statement.
ers and a NASA consultant. A group of politicians,
“Worst-case scenario, you including Landrieu and Sen.
would have a dramatic job loss in
the city or the area,” said Lee C. See JOBS, page B2
B2 May 28, 2005
Shrimp boats return from an early morning catch. On the opening day of the season, most of the docks along Bayou Lafitte experienced a major decrease in the amount of shrimp caught so far this season.
SHRIMP continues from B1
week, then it would be hard to pay
bills.”
The numbers of trips by fisher-
men in Bayou Lafitte have
dropped more than 59 percent
between 2000 and 2004, according
to the Louisiana Department of
Wildlife and Fisheries.
Martin Bourgeois, a biologist
with the department, said he is
optimistic about the future, but it
will be tough for shrimp business-
Statewide tourism down,
yet visitors flock to Big Easy
By Nicholas R. Birdsong
NYT Institute
While the number of people vis-
iting Louisiana dropped last year,
New Orleans, a city famous for mis-
chief, music and meals, had an
increase in tourism.
The Department of Culture,
Recreation and Tourism in Louisiana
reported May 13 that despite losing
some 1.4 million tourists in compar-
ison to the previous year, the state
earned an estimated $500 million
more than it did in 2003.
In 2004, more people traveled by
air to the state, stayed longer and
spent more.
Angele Davis, head of the depart-
ment, said the Louisiana tourism
industry is recovering from the after-
effects of 9/11, a time when tourism
was down nationwide because of
reduced air travel.
But the drop in numbers of
tourists doesn't hold true for New
Orleans. The Hospitality Research
Center at the University of New
Orleans reported 10.1 million peo-
ple visited the city in 2004, as
opposed to 8.5 million in 2003. This
allowed the Big Easy to bank an
additional $400 million.
“In New Orleans, overnight trip-
pers are staying longer and therefore
spending more,” said Janet Speyrer,
associate dean of research and pro-
fessor of economics at UNO.
However, one person in the field
isn’t so quick to believe the statis-
tics.
“I don’t know that there was that
much of an increase in the money,”
said Leland Scroggins, executive
director of the Red River
Development Council in northern
Louisiana. “I can’t substantiate those
numbers.”
Scroggins, a member of the
department’s staff, said he has been
working in tourism in Natchitoches,
La., for the last seven or eight years.
The 72-year-old said he hasn’t
noticed much of a change in the
number of visitors, at least not in his
area.
Natchitoches, which is the oldest
permanent settlement bought in the
Louisiana Purchase, is a pretty con-
sistent draw, Scroggins said.
“We have a lot of things that peo-
ple like to come and see,” he said.
New Orleans is trying to clean up
its hedonistic image to bring in more
families, and a recent survey shows
es to stay afloat.
“It’s a matter of staying power,”
Bourgeois said. “Who is in posi-
tion to hold ground in hopes for
improvement? For the businesses,
it has been hard.
“But, I think things will
improve and we have seen the
worst of it.”
Low tides have hurt shrimp pro-
duction, he said, because the shrimp
take advantage of the tides to move
Above: Tourists in the French Quarter can travel from restaurants to shops in horse-drawn car-
riages. Carriages often line up along the street waiting to attract customers for a slow trek through
the Quarter. Below: Street performers can be seen throughout the French Quarter entertaining
passersby. Performers’ skills range from magic to standing still for hours at a time.
it’s working. An online poll conduct-
ed by Yahoo! Travel and National
Geographic Traveler named the city
the United States’ top family travel
spot.
That title may be surprising to
out-of-towners who associate the
city with the random acts of
debauchery performed during Mardi
Gras that are constantly plastered
and migrate. Shrimp ride with the
tides, so lower tides bring fewer
shrimp for fishermen to catch.
Bourgeois said a coming full
moon on May 23 should bring in
two full tides and improve shrimp
production. In the meantime,
securing disaster relief funds and
low interest loans have helped
many businesses in the fishing
industry avoid closing in 2003,
another slow year, he said.
Seventy-two-year-old Jules
Nunez, former owner of Nunez
Seafood in Lafitte, said the com-
Photographs by MARCI FULLER/ NYT Institute
across their television screens.
“I think that when a lot of people
think of New Orleans, they think of
the French Quarter, and that is our
No. 1 destination,” said Laura
Claverie, editor of
NewOrleansOnline, the city’s offi-
cial tourism Web site.
“But we never market Bourbon
Street. MTV and all the other media
BUSINESS
pany has been weathering several
tough years.
“The production is not here,”
said Nunez, a Lafitte resident.
“We have received about 40 per-
cent less shrimp than last year.”
He estimated only about 10 “big
boats,” shrimp vessels that range
from 70 feet long to 100 feet long,
were working in Bayou Lafitte last
year. In 2000, he said, there were
130.
Lynda Norred, 48, sells shrimp
from the Barataria Bait Shop, also
in Lafitte. For she and husband
outlets do it for us.”
Claverie said New Orleans is
considered the cultural mecca of the
South. The city has 3,088 restaurants
and 18 museums, according to the
New Orleans Metropolitan
Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Claverie said, “The word is out
that there is a lot more to New
Orleans.”
James Savoie, shrimp season
means “food on the table.”
But this year, the meals may be
fewer and further between.
“The price of shrimp went down
last year and a lot of people went
under.”
“My husband has to catch
$1,000 worth of shrimp before he
makes any money,” said Norred,
who is from Belle Chasse, La.
Another concern for the
Norreds is that more of their cus-
tomers are buying shrimp import-
ed from other places.
JOBS continues from B1
David Vitter, as well as representa-
tives from various organizations,
have drafted a proposal that calls for
the restructuring of the base into a
federal city. If the realignment and
closure commission decides to shut
the century-old naval base, the state
is prepared to push the proposal.
Gov. Kathleen Blanco has
pledged $100 million to fund the
federal city initiative, Michael
Olivier, Louisiana’s economic
development secretary, said in a
statement.
“This investment will provide
the federal government with sub-
stantial cost savings,” Olivier said,
although he did not specify how
much the savings might be.
Blanco has also pledged an
extra $65 million for low-cost hous-
ing near the military base.
Established in 1901 as an Army
base, the Naval Support Activity
once served as a naval vessel repair
site and provided housing for tran-
sient personnel. In 1996, the Army
base was transferred to the Navy and
renamed Naval Support Activity. It
now houses offices for the Naval
and Marine Corp Reserves and 40
other commands.
Naval Support Activity, as other
bases, was targeted for closing
because it served no tactical purpose
in the fight against terrorism, U.S.
Defense Department officials said.
Louisiana officials said they were
expecting the closing recommenda-
tion and were preparing to respond.
They drafted the federal city initia-
tive, which would re-structure the
base to support units for the Army,
Navy Reserves and Coast Guard.
The facility would have state-of-the-
art equipment and possibly a region-
al Homeland Security headquarters.
David M. Brasington, a
Louisiana State University econo-
mist, confirmed that the federal city
plan could be a reasonable idea, and
that some base closings have report-
edly proved to be beneficial.
It “turned out to be a blessing in
disguise, and they did better with the
base closings than before,”
Brasington said in reference to a
base closing in Pennsylvania in the
late 1990s.
“They probably aren’t going to
be a good thing,” he said. “But it’s
easy to overstate the negative.”
There is life after realignment,
and in some cases a base closure can
be something that breeds other
opportunities for the community. At
the England Air Force Base, the
realignment commission decided to
shutter the base in 1991. City offi-
cials, afraid of losing jobs, took the
initiative to restructure the base. As
a result, an airpark, community and
NYT Student Journalism Institute
JOSHUA L. HALLEY/ NYT Institute
“Louisiana should be able to
sell their shrimp in Louisiana
before the imports take over,” she
said.
“We have the freshest products
right here.”
Belle Bundy said she would like
to see a higher tariff on imported
shrimp.
“We have all these politicians
who say they're going to help us
when they run, but you don't see
them after the election,” she said.
“They could do a lot more to
help us out with imports.”
home to 50 other businesses,
emerged from the ruins of the closed
base. In 12 years, the base has pro-
duced millions of dollars, and
employs over 1,000 people.
Despite the optimism, the job
losses at the base, Michoud and
Northrop Grumman would still be
inevitable.
Michoud currently manufactures
the external tank essential for
launching space shuttles, which will
be phased out by NASA by 2010.
With no external tank to create,
Michoud would lose an entire pro-
duction line and an estimated 2,000
of its 2,083 workers, Reid said.
Navy cutbacks of Northrop
Grumman Avondale Shipyard also
loom, with the possibility of 6,000
jobs on the line, Landrieu said in an
Associated Press article.
John Caldwell, the manager of
business retention and expansion at
the Greater New Orleans Inc., said
when a shipyard works for the U.S.
military, it’s at the mercy of
Washington. The Navy recommend-
ed that the shipyard cuts the number
of ships it manufactures from 12 to
nine — which could cost roughly
900 jobs, Landrieu told A.P.
“When they cut ships, that’s
going to affect some of the hiring
that goes on,” Caldwell said. “It’s an
unfortunate thing.”
Economist Milton “Dek” Terrell
of LSU said New Orleans’ econom-
ic outlook is bleak. According to the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the
city’s employment rate has grown a
little under 1 percent in the past year.
“When you put all of those things
together, it’s certainly going to have
a negative impact,” Terrell said.
According to Reid, it’s highly
unlikely that all three economic
threats would occur at once.
“The city and state officials
are addressing both problems head
on,” Reid said. “When we do (this)
in Louisiana we tend to succeed.”
May 28, 2005
Grambling
to select
something
new in G’s
By Stacy Anderson
NYT Institute
Grambling State University offi-
cials say any controversy over the
school losing its rights to its dis-
tinctive “G” logo is overblown.
“No logo has been finalized at
this time,” spokeswoman Vickie
Jackson said, adding that the
university is working on creating a
“standardized look.”
The Associated Press reported
May 25 that the school was pursu-
ing a new logo since its rights to
the logo lapsed nearly seven years
ago. The “G” logo is currently con-
trolled by the NFL’s Green Bay
Packers.
“It’s not trademarked by the
institution, so we can’t control the
revenue from it,” Jackson said.
“We’ve never owned the ‘G’ but
we’ve had permission to use it.”
Russell LeDay, president of the
university’s Elizabeth Robinson
Alumni Chapter, said changing the
school’s logo is necessary as part
of a larger effort to bring the cam-
pus together around one symbol.
He said the university plans to
“modify the logo, not destroy it.”
A committee, which includes
staff, faculty and students, will
make a recommendation to the uni-
versity’s cabinet, which will make
the final decision on the logo. The
university’s licensing office has
always dealt with these issues, but
the committee was recently estab-
lished to organize all branding and
trademark matters, including the
Campus officials
downplay the expiration
of a famous symbol.
logo, school seal, letterheads, busi-
ness cards and motto.
If Grambling patents an original
logo, it will have sole ownership
over its brand and will be able to
license it out to others.
“We will be able to receive
appropriate royalties for our
name,” LeDay said.
LeDay said many other schools,
such as Louisiana State University,
Southern University and Prairie
View University, have redesigned
their logos. “It’s an effort to get
hold of potential revenue that uni-
versities are not realizing,” he said.
LeDay estimated that schools are
missing out on the opportunity to
profit by millions of dollars.
The emphasis on logo owner-
ship stemmed from the efforts to
make Grambling more integrated.
“We wanted to make certain every-
one on campus used the same logo
on business cards,” LeDay said.
“We wanted to become more uni-
fied.”
University officials said the
logo issue has not caused much of
a stir on the Grambling campus,
despite several media reports to the
contrary.
“It’s not a big deal,” said Elaine
Thomas, an employee in the Office
of Alumni Affairs. “The media is
blowing it out of proportion.” She
said that to her knowledge, only
one alumnus has complained about
the proposal.
Other alumni said they are
weighing both sides of the new
plan. “I can see some advantages
and disadvantages,” said Linda
Jones Mosley, president of the
Desoto-Grambling Alumni Chapter
in Mansfield, La. “The school will
have to make quite a few changes,”
she said, in regards to manufactur-
ing paraphernalia with the new
logo.
“But then again, it’s like throw-
ing away something we've had for
so long,” she said.
School officials say the new
logo will not vary too much from
the current one and will likely
incorporate a tiger, the school mas-
cot, into the design.
All Saints Elementary School will close its doors for good May 27 at the close of the 2004-2005 school year. Several students will be adversely affected by the school
closing and parents are having difficulty finding new schools for their children to attend.
Black Catholic school
to close after 80 years
By Sheena Johnson
NYT Institute
Amanda Thompson’s eyes
welled up with tears as she heard
the most devastating news of her
11-year-old life. They began to
trickle down her face as her moth-
er delivered the news that will end
her family's tradition.
All Saints Elementary School,
where she had attended all of her
young life and where her mother
and grandmother graduated from,
was closing. She would have to go
to another school next year.
“I was sad and mad,” the fifth-
grader said.
All Saints will close its doors
after the students are released for
summer break May 27. The pre-
dominately black Catholic school
has served the community for 80
years.
The Office of Catholic Schools
held a news conference May 20,
to announce the closing of the
school.
“It’s part of you and to say that
it's not going to be here is harder
than you think,” said Amanda's
mother, Anysia Thompson.
“I was born into this church;
I’ve been with the church for
more than 40 years. I graduated
from here and I was christened
here. I really wanted her to carry
on the tradition of graduating.”
According to Father William
Last-minute notice keeps students from graduating
By Titus Ledbetter III
NYT Institute
Students, parents and teachers
in Orleans Parish are outraged that
seniors were notified less than a
week before graduation that they
had failed their standardized tests.
Holding the students back is the
Graduation Exit Examination of
the 21st century (GEE 21).
Alcee Fortier and John
Mcdonogh high schools students
who failed the GEE were given
only a two-day notice before the
graduation ceremony May 25.
Still, they were more fortunate
than the 50 seniors from Marion
Abramson Senior High School
who were notified on graduation
day.
Of the 163 students in the
Alcee Fortier senior class, 25 were
denied graduation because of their
GEE test scores.
One of the dejected, senior
Brandon Frank, sat beside his
stepmother, Shirley Holt, to watch
his stepsister graduate with the
Maestri, superintendent of New
Orleans Catholic schools, atten-
dance at the school has been wan-
ing.
“Declining enrollment and
financial stress are contributors to
the schools closing,” Maestri said.
The decision to close the
school, which taught students in
pre-kindergarten through eighth
grade, was made official May 16.
All Saints has 185 students
enrolled and only 40 have pre-reg-
istered and prepaid for the follow-
ing year, Maestri said. The
Archdiocese of New Orleans esti-
‘We are not looking to
close the facility. We are
looking at this as
transformation,
not an ending.’
mated 135 students for the next
school year.
The New Orleans Catholic
school system consists of 24
schools and about 10,000 stu-
dents. Maestri said that no other
schools will be closing.
At a meeting held recently with
parents, pastors, principals, facul-
ty and staff, Maestri informed
them of the closing and said it’s
possible that the students will be
placed at surrounding Catholic
‘I guess the harsh reality to timing
is important in making things
happen for yourself.’
class he thought he was a part of.
Frank had failed the GEE test.
While Holt was concerned the
teachers did not teach the students
the material on the tests, her
biggest problem was Frank's late
notification.
“They notified him on
Thursday,” said Holt, a 38-year-
old housekeeper at a local airport.
“On Thursday they let him
know, but this had been going on
for a whole month. They kept say-
ing that they never did get the
scores in.”
Gerard DeBose, principal at
Alcee Fortier, said he tried to noti-
fy the students who were not grad-
uating on May 26 as “quickly as
EDUCATION NYT Student Journalism Institute B3
Photographs by TARA-LYNNE S. PIXLEY/ NYT Institute
schools on the Westbank.
According to the Archdiocese,
tuition for All Saints is $2,500 per
year, which it called reasonable.
“Certainly they were sad to see
the school close,” Maestri said.
“But we are not looking to close
the facility. We are looking at this
as transformation, not an ending.”
Maestri added that the facility
could be used for an adult literacy
center or a special needs center.
“God is asking us to be of serv-
ice and minister to people in
another way and we plan to do
that,” he said.
Darlene Montgomery, a parent
of an All Saints student, learned
the school was closing a few days
after the announcement. She said
she may not be able to enroll her
son into another Catholic school
because the pre-registration dead-
line has passed.
“I’ve been asking about the
school closing since January so I
could prepare,” Montgomery said.
Derrick Thompson, a second grader at All Saints Elementary
“Now, I have to find somewhere
School, comes from one of the many families who have made a
for him to go.”
tradition out of attending the 80-year-old institution.
Others are also mourning the
loss of the institution. A teacher
who would identify herself only has been teaching at All Saints for staffed the school and several
as M. Bush said that the shock of 17 years. “It has been educating community leaders have come
the school's closing will be felt by the African-American community through the school.
many in the area. spiritually and academically, and “They have done everything in
“It is most unfortunate that a is a vital part for many years.” their power to keep this school
school so rich in history would According to Bush, the Sisters open,” Bush said of the Catholic
close its doors,” said Bush, who of the Holy Family originally school system. “It is truly a loss.”
“It is a measure or indicator A year later, Varlander Mack
that students have at least still does not have a diploma.
achieved some basic level of
knowledge,” Randall said.
While many parents have referred
to the test as the “LEAP test,” the
“It is a reality. It’s not going GEE was what held students back
anywhere and so our kids have to
buckle down. They need the extra
from graduating.
“I know my daughter was an
help with testing so that they can honor roll student,” Cynthia Mack
make it happen for themselves -- said. “She really started doing her
so they can at least be at the level best work when she got to her sen-
possible.” of competence. ior year and she was on the honor
He said only students who meet “You got to remember that they roll for three quarters.
the requirements set by the state have had opportunities throughout “I feel if they were good in
should be allowed to walk. the year, not only their final year, their subjects at school -- she
“It is very important because it but other years they were in failed the math part of the LEAP
represents an example of excel- school to pass the test. I guess the test -- why should they hold her
lence and a certain standard of harsh reality to timing is impor- back for that?”
excellence that only a few can tant in making things happen for Varlander Mack has taken the
achieve,” DeBose said. yourself.” test two times since her sched-
“As a principal you are so Cynthia Mack, 40, said she uled graduation day and contin-
proud of the students because they knows firsthand the devastating ues to fall short of the required
have met every standard that was effect this has on students who score. She is currently enrolled in
asked of them. You have an have their hopes crushed on grad- Job Corps to try to earn her diplo-
extreme source of pride for those uation day. ma.
individuals who have graduated.” In 2004, her daughter, Varlander “It causes kids to give up,”
Rich Randall, an 11th grade Mack, did not walk with her class Cynthia Mack said. “They won't
special education teacher at Alcee at John Mcdonogh because she be able to get a better job in the
Fortier, explained the importance failed the math part of the GEE future to support themselves or
of the GEE test. test -- by two points. their family.”
B4 May 28, 2005
DILLARD NYT Student Journalism Institute

Summer session opens with declining enrollment

Photographs by TARA-LYNNE S. PIXLEY/ The NYT Institute

The stage at Cook Auditorium was practically empty because of the success of online registration for Dillard’s first summer session. Early enrollment figures showed a decline from last summer’s classes.

By Eba Hamid
NYT Institute
Dillard University’s enrollment
for this summer’s first session,
which began on May 16, dropped by
95 students, when compared with
last summer’s attendance of 610 stu-
dents.
The second summer session in
2004 also showed a decrease, as the
number from the previous session
shrunk to 532. For 2003’s first and
second summer sessions, enrollment
was 602 and 522, respectively.
Registrar Connie Seymour said
the number for this year’s first ses-
sion could rise after teachers have
submitted their final rosters.
“Many students will wait for the
last minute (to register),” she said,
adding that “the number should get
close to last year’s.”
Seymour said the drop in enroll-
ment from first session to second
session is a trend for the school.
“It’s pretty much the same each
year,” Seymour said. “Many students
stay for the first session because it’s
relatively close to the end of their
spring semester classes and it’s easi-
er to just stay here for a few more
weeks.”
Michael Todd, assistant vice pres-
ident for treasury services, said this
year’s first session included a new
registration process and placed more
responsibility on those attending
summer school.
“Students can now log onto the
system and put in their own classes,”
Todd said. “We eliminated the prior
process, which included students
having to run through different
departments for registration clear-
ance.”
According to Rhonda Creighton,
Dillard’s loan collections coordina-
tor, the new process was a success.
“Registration went very smooth-
ly,” Creighton said. “The process
was much easier because we didn’t
University accountant Cynthia Harris talks to a student who sought
advice on her financial accounts to receive clearance to register.
have that much traffic. Traffic was
very light because we did everything
online.”
Dillard officials are also planning
events for students during the sum-
mer.
“We are trying to have at least one
attendance at some events would be
minimal because of their other obli-
gations.
“Having no events during the
summer is good because many peo-
ple try to focus mainly on grades,”
said Millicent Perry, a fifth-year sen-
ior from Mobile, Ala.
“With family and summer jobs,
many people are just busier during
the summer.”
While Hill anticipates some stu-
dents will not be able to attend these
events for various reasons, she
believes many students will enjoy
the experience.
“Some can’t go and some will go
to one or a few. I think many students
will welcome the opportunity to
thing each week,” said Freddye Hill,
have a chance to go to free events
vice president for campus life.
that are not like other traditional
Hill said Campus Life will pro-
events,” Hill said.
vide bus transportation to free con-
“You just have to try to plan
certs, Lafayette Park, City Park,
something of interest for those who
local theaters and street parades.
have time.”
However, some students said
Other possible excursions include
the Essence Music Festival and the
upcoming International Arts Festival
in New Orleans.
Some Dillard students said sum-
mer classes, with or without events,
are beneficial.
“It seems like teachers have more
of a focus,” said Perry, who attrib-
uted improved communication with
professors to smaller class sizes.
Hampton University sophomore
Jeffery Ambrose, who is enrolled in
summer school at Dillard, said he
enjoyed his first day.
“The instructors seemed very
intelligent,” Ambrose said. “It
seemed like I could learn a lot from
them.”
Patrick Okeke, a senior at Dillard,
is using his summer courses to stay
“two steps ahead.”
“Everything is more laid-back
with (summer classes),” Okeke said.
Dillard University’s first summer
session classes will end June 17. The
next session starts June 27.

Appointment of Hughes
as female president is
milestone for university
By Frenchi Johnson
NYT Institute
For Marvalene Hughes, Dillard
University’s new president, age is
not an issue.
At a point where most educators
head into retirement, the 67-year-
old said she is accustomed to fac-
ing all types of challenges and does
not know why her age should be
anyone’s concern.
Hughes recently retired as pres-
ident of California State University
at the Stanislaus County campus.
“When I arrived in Stanislaus, I
was not only the first female presi-
dent, but I was also the first
African-American president to
assume the position,” she said in a
telephone interview from
California.
Hughes will also be the first
female president at Dillard
University, which was founded in
1869. She began her career as
president at Stanislaus County in
1994, and retired in July 2004.
However, she continues to serve as
interim president through this
month.
“I don’t see my leaving as retir-
ing; I see it as a transition,” she
said. “I had planned to stay (at
Stanislaus) for at least five years,
but I found myself being here for
10 years and discovered that every-
thing I needed to do, and more, I
had already done. Frankly, I was
finished.”
Hughes said she is excited about
coming to Dillard. The new presi-
dent said that when she officially
takes over at Dillard, she will be
focused more on showcasing her
skills as a leader and being a role
model for the students and the
community.
“I will serve as a president who
is an advocate for the community,
who believes in motivating others,
and who leads according to my
own personality. I don’t follow
descriptives,” Hughes said.
The historically black college’s
ninth president said she plans to
begin her term by building rela-
tionships and stressing the impor-
tance of academic excellence.
“My hope is that by doing so,
they (the faculty) will be able to
apply for grants that will help them
determine how to vastly improve
their already outstanding pro-
grams,” she said.
“It will be very important for me
to distinguish Dillard University
from other universities,” Hughes
said. “I think it is for good reasons
that HBCU’s produce some of the
most outstanding leaders of this
country and the world.”
Hughes graduated from
Tuskegee University, a historically
black university in Alabama.
Hughes said she was always held
accountable for her actions aca-
demically and wants to do the same
for students.
“I want them to have pride in
their heritage, and I want them to
know they are not limited in what
they can achieve,” she said.
Maureen Larkins, Dillard's
director of communications and
relations, said, “We are excited
about Dr. Hughes’s arrival.
Because 70 percent of the universi-
HUGHES
ty’s population is female, Hughes
will have a very important role.”
Dillard has about 2,100 students.
Dillard's new leader has no doubt
she will be influential.
“Since the female students have
not had a female leader, I will def-
initely have an impact on them. I
hope it will motivate them,”
Hughes said.
Overall, Hughes is confident she
will do a good job.
“I am true to myself. I do not
think I should change to fit the
style of other managers.”
After Hughes earned her bache-
lor’s degree in English and history
from Tuskegee, she received her
master’s degree in counseling and
administration. She later attended
Columbia University for doctoral
studies in counseling and received
her doctorate in counseling from
Florida State University.
Hughes’ career includes being a
psychology professor at Stanislaus
County, the vice president of stu-
dent affairs and a professor of var-
ious disciplines at the University of
Minnesota, the University of
Toledo and Arizona State
University.
Different job, new goals
for former Dillard leader
By Shaka Lias
NYT Institute
When the spring semester at
Dillard University ended in
2004, students weren’t the only
ones packing their bags. Dr.
Michael Lomax, then president
of Dillard, was also getting
ready to leave the university
where he had worked for seven
years.
Since then, Lomax, 57, has
found a new home as chief
executive and president of the
United Negro College Fund in
Fairfax, Va.
At UNCF, Lomax’s primary
job is raising money to support
the nation’s historically black
colleges and universities.
In his first year, he exceeded
his goal of raising $93 million
in scholarships. Instead, he
raised $97.5 million.
When Lomax first got on the
job, he joked about having to
walk around with a tin cup ask-
ing for money.
Now, he says, “It’s kind of
hard to fit $97.5 million in a tin
cup.”
Plus, the tin cup is really not
needed, thanks to major fund-
raising events the UNCF holds
annually such as the Black and
White Ball held every June in
Chicago, the mayor’s Mask Ball
held in December in Atlanta and
the UNCF anniversary dinner
held in New York in March.
The New York dinner is the
most successful, raising $2.5
million a year.
Lomax said he loves his new
position, but admits that he
misses Dillard.
LOMAX
“Walking to the office, living
and working on a college cam-
pus was convenient,” Lomax
said.
Nowadays, Lomax’s sched-
ule is hectic. He travels three to
five times a week and is rarely
at home in Fairfax, where
UNCF has its headquarters.
His wife, three daughters and
granddaughters live in Atlanta,
where he commutes every
weekend.
Lomax said he still considers
Atlanta home. After all, he
served 12 years as chairman of
the Board of Commissioners in
Fulton County, Ga., and gradu-
ated from Morehouse College in
1968 with a bachelor’s degree
in English.
He followed with a master’s
in 16th century literature from
Columbia University and a
Ph.D. from Emory University in
African-American literature.
UNCF was founded 61 years
ago by presidents of private
HBCU’s.
Currently, 38 HBCU’s
receive support from UNCF to
help keep their tuitions down.
In his spare time, Lomax said
he enjoys reading fiction and
history books. He is an avid
book collector and has more
than 500 first-edition African-
American books. His oldest is a
book of slave narratives written
in 1850.
Lomax also works out four to
five days a week.
“It’s my entertainment and
health,” he said.
Lomax said UNCF keeps him
busy, but he's not complaining.
“As long as I have breath, a
beating heart and working mind
I'll be doing it,” he said,
“because after all a mind is a
terrible thing to waste.”
May 28, 2005
LIFESTYLE C1
NYT Student Journalism Institute

Artist,
Storyteller,
Genius

By Linda Hobbs
NYT Institute

is work is versatile, just a guy that makes stuff.”

H
from wooden sculp-
tures and sketches
to paintings and col-
lages. In 1992, he
was honored with
the “Genius Grant”
from the MacArthur
Foundation, a fellowship only bestowed to
master artists.
But when John T. Scott, 64, arrived at the
New Orleans Museum of Art -- where his lat-
est exhibit, “Circle Dance: The Art of John T.
Scott,” is being displayed -- he acted nothing
like an art world celebrity. In fact, Scott does-
n't even consider himself an artist.
“I'm a polyrhythmic visual storyteller,”
Scott said, wearing a black button-up shirt,
navy blue jeans and brown sandals. His
snow-white beard, slight hunch and smooth-
caramel skin gave him the swagger of a
youthful man.
“I don't think I'm an artist yet,” he said.
“I never use that term. It's a sacred term. I'm
But according to Daniel Piersol, the
museum's curator, running a retrospective of
Scott's work was a no-brainer.
“The museum has a long history of
exhibiting Louisiana's contemporary
artists,” Piersol said. “John’s one of the
leading artists in Louisiana. He's done an
incredible amount of work in different
mediums. He's so versatile.”
Piersol, 58, did not discover Scott in the
New Orleans elite art crowd, or by catching
his work displayed in a gallery. Instead, he
met Scott 25 years ago, after just moving to
town, and remembers the day vividly.
He went to pick up a date who worked
for a sculptor. “I turned the corner and saw
this big strapping guy,” he said. “The guy
said, ‘Hey! You pick that up,’ ” referring to
a piece of brass. Dumbfounded, Piersol later
Photographs by TARA-LYNNE S. PIXLEY/ NYT Institute
told his date, “ ‘That big guy made me pour
bronze.’ ”
Left: The work of John T. Scott's is being shown at the New Orleans Museum of Art
through July 10. Above: The 1970 steel work "The Resurrection of the Risen Christ” is
See SCOTT, page C4 a major piece hanging in the first of five rooms of the circular exhibit.

Float-making process Jazz musicians

doesn’t just sail along
By Rebecca Roussell
NYT Institute
It's a two-week party, but a 50-
week job in New Orleans. It is
Mardi Gras, the revelry that began in
1827. It is a massive celebration that
takes time, money and many helping
hands to be success-
ful. And the biggest
part of Mardi Gras is
the floats.
Joseph III, Barry
and Tana Barth grew
up in the midst of
Mardi Gras and the
business of building
and designing floats.
"My dad used to
have a small float that
he built and pulled it
around with all of the
kids in the neighbor-
hood on it on Mardi Craig Baudoin repairs a prop hand for the Bacchus Parade’s paper is prepared, it
Gras day," said Barry Wizard of Oz-theme float at the Kern Studios in New Orleans. is ready to mold and
Barth, 51, president of
Barth Bros. Artists Designers and company is not the largest float The Barth-form process allows for
Decorators.
Mardi Gras was definitely a fam- bers say they are proud about
ily affair, and became the career remaining unique.
choice for the Barth siblings.
and my brother and I began Barth his father in the 1960s, Barry Barth
Bros. Artists Designers Decorators said.
in 1975," Barth said. The papier-mache method
The Barth siblings are still involves taking sheets of brown
around today, designing floats, using
craft paper of different weights,
papier-mache. Barth said. The thinner paper is used
"We felt that Mardi Gras lost its
for detailed work such as flower
traditional style," Barth said. Thepetals or small sculptures. The larg-
er float-head sculp-
tures are made of
wood first and then
sculpted with the
paper.
The paper is then
coated with a con-
tact adhesive or
glue, and then hung
to dry on a wire.
When the paper is
drying, Barth said, it
binds to itself, but
does not stick to
AARON DAYE/ NYT Institute hands. After the
shape on the floats.
designer in the city, but family mem- the papier-mache to dry quickly.
It takes about three weeks to
The Barth-form process of papi-
build a wooden frame float on plat-
say song remains
the same in the city
By Linda Hobbs
NYT Institute
Somewhere past the seedy bar
with the poker-faced bartender, the
portrait of Louis Armstrong and the
wooden balcony where anticipating
visages stare down into a green spot-
light, Tom McDermott gets settled at
a black baby grand piano.
He’s accompanied by his long-
time partner, clarinetist Evan
Christopher, trombonist Rick
JOSHUA L. HALLEY/ Trolsen and drummer Wayne
NYT Institute Maureau. They’re all dressed com-
A jazz band entertained a full fortably: crisp slacks, buttoned-up
house Sunday night at the Snug shirts, loafers. The location is Snug
Harbor in New Orleans. Harbor, a 25-year-old, cabin-like
jazz club in New Orleans’ French
Quarter.
“This place is still important as a
‘Jazz in New roots center where jazz is still
Orleans has mixed,” McDermott said. “It’s not
just pure jazz. It’s a smorgasbord
never been because that’s (what’s) in modern
New Orleans music.”
better, even McDermott, 48, is from St.
since its Louis. He was lured to New Orleans
at 26 because of a new job and sonic
heyday.’ love affair with the music of tragic
pianist James Booker and R&B
Crescent City.
When McDermott, who now
calls Louisiana home, is told that
there are people who say the modern
jazz scene of New Orleans is offi-
cially lifeless, he leans back in his
chair and tilts his head sideways.
“Who says that? I’ll be curious.”
Snug Harbor's owner George
Brumat, 60, has heard the same
thing, but doesn't buy it. “Jazz may
be dead in other places, but it's not
dead here,” he said. His pudgy
physique, hard stare and long shag-
gy beard and hair make him look
more like a Hell’s Angel than a jazz
enthusiast.
“Jazz in New Orleans has never
been better, even since its heyday,”
Brumat said. Seated at a small
roundtable in the corner of Snug
Harbor one night, he leans forward
on his elbows as if he has a secret.
“As an incubator of young talent,
New Orleans is par none,” he dead-
panned. “It's a place where jazz is
appreciated. There is an audience.”
“It’s something about the cultural
energy for artists,” said New

"My father started the business er-mache modeling was devised by See FLOAT, page C3 pianist Professor Longhair of See JAZZ, page C7
C2 May 28, 2005
Imitators from
the dark side
turn out for night
of ‘Star Wars’
By Malachi Daraja
NYT Institute
The words “light saber fight”
rang through the air May 18 as thou-
sands of fans descended upon the
AMC Palace 20 movie theater in
New Orleans with one thing on their
mind: “Episode III: Revenge of the
Sith.” After three years of waiting
patiently, the time had finally come
to see just how Anakin Skywalker,
the doomed Jedi knight, transformed
into the evil Darth Vader.
“I saw the original ‘Star Wars’ at
a midnight showing like this 28
‘Dozens of fans in
costumes flock to see
‘Episode III.’
years ago,” said John Guidry, a die-
hard Star Wars fan. He was anxious
to see if the final installment would
be better than the previous two pre-
quels, “Episode I: The Phantom
Menace” and “Episode II: Attack of
the Clones.”
Although Guidry was not dressed
in costume, dozens of others were.
Looks ranged from simple Jedi-like
robes and toy-store-bought
lightsabers to near-authentic charac-
ter imitations. Nearby, a Darth Vader
imitator struck fear into the hearts of
more than one moviegoer, before
removing his ebony helmet.
Underneath the menacing disguise
was the face of an unusually tall but
baby-faced 12-year-old.
“I love these movies,” said Jack
Burton. Instead of his lightsaber,
At institute, minority firefighters unite to tackle a common goal
By Frenchi Johnson
NYT Institute
The International Association of
Hispanic Firefighters is participating
for the second year in the Carl
Holmes Executive Development
Institute at Dillard University.
Members of the association, a
nonprofit organization created to
provide networking, career advance-
ment and training for Latin firefight-
ers, attended the two-week develop-
ment program at the urging of its
president, Ronald Morales.
“I felt it would be a great opportu-
nity for Latin firefighters to attend
EDI to network, as well as to get
knowledge,” Morales said.
Morales said black and Latino
firefighters have more in common
than they think because they face
many of the same issues.
“We have the same problems get-
ting jobs, the same problems trying
to get recruited to take the National
Firefighters Academy test, and we
have the same problems finding
Burton, 30, who was dressed in the
brown and beige robes of a Jedi
knight, wielded a cold beverage to
combat the heat of the New Orleans
night.
AMC Theaters anticipated a
swell of people for their midnight
viewings at more than 200 locations.
“AMC Theaters has been thrilled
by the unprecedented amount of
excitement that ‘Star Wars Episode
III: Revenge of the Sith’ has generat-
ed,” said Melanie Bell, corporate
communications manager for AMC
Entertainment Inc. The film contin-
ues to do well after the initial box-
office onslaught.
“In fact ‘Star Wars Episode III’
broke the single-day (24-hour peri-
od) record for the highest grossing
film AMC has ever shown,” said
Bell.
The original “Star Wars,” which
premiered in 1977, its sequels and
the recent prequel trilogy have
amassed a huge following and
grossed $3.5 billion worldwide.
Bryan Smith, a 20-year-old fan,
dressed in jeans and a Black Sabbath
T-Shirt, speculated on why the
movies are so popular. “The stories
are timeless. It all boils down to
good vs. evil,” he said. “It’s the
modern-day mythology that a lot of
people probably don't even take time
to think about. Myths must be just a
little ahead of our reality, so it makes
sense that the new myths would
involve technologies more advanced
than our own.”
Although incredibly suc-
cessful at the box office, collective-
ly grossing nearly $750 million dol-
lars in the U.S., “Episodes I and II”
have been panned by some critics
people who will help us in our
careers”" he said.
Similarities between the two
groups are what drew Morales to ask
Carl Holmes, the institute’s founder,
if Latin firefighters could attend the
two-week program.
“I have always believed in what
Dr. Holmes was doing and how he
was helping black firefighters,” said
Morales, a Clinton, Conn., firefight-
er.
Holmes, a retired Oklahoma City
fire chief, created the institute in
partnership with the International
Association of Black Professional
Firefighters in 1991. Their goal was
to pave the way for black firefight-
ers to advance in the industry.
Morales said he and Holmes dis-
cussed the topic several times, and
in fall 2003, Holmes called Morales
and informed him the association
could attend the following year.
In 2004, there were only six Latin
firefighters in attendance. This year,
nine members of the association
attended.
LIFESTYLE NYT Student Journalism Institute
Photographs by JOSHUA L. HALLEY/ NYT Institute
Left: Paul Reynolds, Katie Reynolds and Julie Unger dress for premiere. Right: Mark Taranto, 32, and Edwin Bergeron, 29, engage in a light
saber fight outside of the movie theater.
Empire ends but Lucas’ legacy lasts
By Malachi Daraja Movie Review Mathew Woods) to the final duel between Obi-
NYT Institute Wan and Anakin on a planet covered with lakes
It is the beginning of the empire. It is the end of molten lava, the graphic designers had their
of an empire. The last installment in the Star Chancellor Palpatine, his long-time political hands filled bringing Lucas' last Star Wars film
Wars saga, “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith,” mentor. Thus, Anakin must quickly decide to to life.
finally shows Anakin Skywalker's transforma- whom his loyalties lie. However, the preoccupation with CG cre-
tion into Darth Vader and the establishment of “Revenge of the Sith's” cast does incredibly ations and tying up all the loose ends between
the evil Galactic Empire. The movie brings the well with what they are given to work with. the two trilogies make the cinematography
space drama full circle, effectively bridging the Saying that the dialogue is weak at times gives seemed rushed at certain points. It also neglects
gap between the prequel and original Star Wars it too much credit. When Anakin and Padme one of the most powerful aspects of any of the
trilogies. exchange loving words on a balcony, the lines Star Wars movies, the musical score, which is
“Revenge of the Sith” is not to be taken are so stale it is all a fan can do to not openly barely noticeable for most of the movie.
lightly. The computer-generated graphics have laugh. Perhaps the strongest of the prequels to the
created one of the most realistic virtual uni- Still, the movie does have those rare original Star Wars films, Lucas' Episode III is a
verses in cinematic history. The fight scenes moments when a line encapsulates both the fast-paced roller-coaster ride of spaceship dog-
are so intense that for the first time in its six- scene and echoes “real-life” issues. Watching fights, epic battles on alien worlds -- and it has
movie history, Star Wars received a PG-13 rat- her character's beloved Republic fall before her light sabers galore. Despite criticisms Lucas
ing. This movie is easily the darkest episode in eyes, Portman says: "So this is how liberty will receive about the movie in years to come,
the Star Wars saga. dies, to thunderous applause." he has already accomplished what he set out to
Hayden Christensen returns as the brooding, Regardless of the poor writing, the movie do almost 30 years ago.
impatient and powerful Anakin Skywalker, receives huge theatrical help from its cast. Lucas has cinematically created a unique
whose life has never been more difficult. Christensen's portrayal of the angst-driven universe that is completely realistic within its
Padme (Natalie Portman), who in the last film Skywalker is incredible, nearly outshining film own context, a universe that two generations
he secretly married, announces that she is preg- veterans Samuel L. Jackson and Ewan have paid billions of dollars to be a part of, if
nant. To make matters worse, his Jedi teachers McGregor. only for a few hours. To complain about prob-
-- Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), Mace Regardless of the film’s billing, the main lems and failures in the individual movies will
Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) and Yoda (voiced star is definitely the special-effects crew. From do little to tarnish his legacy. He has nothing
by Frank Oz) -- decide to use Anakin to spy on the Jedi-slaying General Grievous (voiced by left to prove.
and Star Wars fans alike. “Hayden Christensen's acting as who was criticized that evening. chance, they would alter elements of
One fan, Mark Smith, 37, said Anakin just isn't strong enough.” “Lucas just can't direct,” one fan Episode I or II.
that George Lucas “should have Jaime Bernard, movie critic for said flatly. “The actors are more than “I wouldn’t change a thing,” said
hired better writers for these the New York Daily News, shared capable, but they aren't getting any Joseph Lamarque, in a giant black
movies.” Smith continued, “The dia- Mr. Smith's sentiment. “Christensen directional help.” shroud, dressed as a Sith, the
logue in ‘Episodes I and II’ were so conveys Anakin's fall from Jedi Despite many critiques of the movie's villains. “Who are we to say
weak that they were distracting.” goodliness mostly by slitting his prequel trilogy, not many fans at the that we know better than Lucas? He
Smith blamed some of the eyes,” she wrote in a movie review. “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” is the mind behind all of this in the
movies pitfalls on the acting. Christiansen wasn't the only one premiere said that, if given the first place.”
Reynaldo Santiago, a battalion
chief in Camden, N.J., attended the
institute this summer for the first
time.
“I'm trying to prepare myself for
the deputy chief's test. I’m using this
as a steppingstone.”
Although this is the second year
members of the Hispanic firefight-
ers' association have attended, the
institute’s director, Robert
Demmons, said the program is open
to any member of the black fire-
fighters association, regardless of
race. This is the 14th year EDI has
held its summer program.
“One of our first graduates was
Native American, and she was a
member of IABPF,” he said.
One white firefighter has attended
the institute, Demmons said.
Demmons said the main objective
of firefighters is to serve the com-
munity.
“Our main objective is preparing Photograph by AARON DAYE/ NYT Institute
(firefighters) to become future lead- Ronald Morales, president of the International Association of Hispanic Firefighters, shown in the dining
ers in the industry -- that’s what it is hall at Dillard University, where black and Latino firefighters from across the country are participating in
all about.” the Carl Holmes Executive Development Institute.
C3 May 28, 2005
FLOAT continues from C1
form wheels. It takes about two
weeks to decorate a float after it is
built and whited-out, Barth said.
Krewes, groups that organize and
participate in Mardi Gras, usually
rent floats from $3,500 to $12,000
per float, depending on the com-
plexity of them, Barth said. Krewes
that own their floats usually spend
about $50,000 on preparation for
the entire parade.
The materials used to build and
design the floats come from various
supply companies across the
nation, Barth said.
The brothers build and design
floats for 10 parades in the New
Orleans area. Their clientele
include the krewes of Rhea,
Perseus, Oshun, Iris and
Pontchartrain.
Barth said Mardi Gras is the
only holiday that packs the hotels
with tourists from all over and there
is minimal cost to the city.
“It (Mardi Gras) is completely
funded by private individual clubs,
which is very unique compared to
other parades around the city,”
Barth said.
The Mardi Gras business is a
profitable one for the Barth family.
“During Mardi Gras, we gross just
about under $1 million,” Barry Barth
said. The company usually produces
150 to 200 floats per season.
In 1979, a police strike caused
most of the Mardi Gras parades to
relocate to other parishes or not roll
at all. Artists had to redesign the
floats for the next season.
“We got paid to do the floats, but
we were still disappointed that we
had to start from scratch,” Barth
said.
Weather is also a factor that can-
not be controlled, Barth said.
“Sometimes you can reschedule,
sometimes you can’t,” he said.
In 1984, the Barth brothers
designed two mermaid statues for
the entrance gates of The World’s
Fair in New Orleans. In 1985, the
city of New Orleans also invited the
company to the Louisiana Folklife
Festival, held at the Smithsonian in
Washington, D.C.
Barth Brothers has extended its
services nationwide and even to
Honduras.
In the early years of Mardi Gras,
the floats were old farm wagons.
Today, floats have evolved to intri-
cate wooden frames and even steel.
These players
bluff their way
into this
World Series
By Markel Eskridge
NYT Institute
The World Series of Poker
Circuit Tournament is in New
Orleans for the first time.
Hundreds of novice players are
lining up for a shot against poker
legends and an ultimate payday.
The tournament is being held at
Harrah’s New Orleans from May
18 to 28. The finale will be tele-
vised on ESPN.
Players play “Texas No Limit
Hold ‘Em” in separate games to
get to the final table, while others
can buy their way into Saturday’s
final table with $10,000.
All week at Harrah’s, the scene
has been boisterous, with people
lined up across the casino waiting
for autographed pictures and
books from poker legends T.J.
Cloutier and Doyle Brunson.
One such player hoping to win
his way through the field is attor-
ney Craig Mordock, who started
playing poker 18 months ago.
Mordock, 33, has lived in New
Orleans for seven years. He attend-
ed Tulane University Law School
and liked the city and casino so
much that he decided to stay.
Mordock’s own run started well
because he was “short-stacked,” a
poker term meaning he had less
chips than the other players and
wasn’t a target of the other players.
“I had more than $2,000 in
chips, I got up to $10,000, and I
The concept for a Mardi Gras
float begins in the mind, and ulti-
mately develops into a mystical
idea on wheels.
“There is so much to do and so
many parades, we stay busy
always,” said Henri Schindler, an
artistic director for the Rex,
Hermes, Babylon and Endymion
parades. Schindler is one of the
masterminds behind the elaborate
floats that cruise down the streets of
New Orleans. He works with illus-
trators and artists to make float
sketches come to life from the
drawing board. Schindler is in
charge of creating themes for the
krewes and their parades. After
Mardi Gras, his job begins all over
again.
Schindler works closely with
Blaine Kern, CEO of Kern Studios,
to make Mardi Gras happen every
year.
“We meet with the krewes every
spring to firm up a theme for the
next two years,” Schindler said.
“So there is always something in
the works.”
Once the theme is decided,
Schindler takes his ideas from sto-
ries and tales he researched; he then
looks at floats from the past years.
Afterward, an illustrator draws the
floats on sketch paper as small
thumbnails.
Once the thumbnails are chosen,
they are drawn as individual
sketches and become an intricate
replica of the floats to be decorated
for the upcoming carnival season.
The sketches are then painted with
bright colors and final changes are
made to the sketch.
“Once the sketches are com-
plete, the floats are covered with
white paint, or whited-out,”
Schindler said. Floats are prepared
for painting and decoration and are
often reused from previous years to
create new ones.
The float painter takes charcoal
sticks and blocks out areas that
need coloring. He makes notations
such as “yellow,” “green,” etc. The
basic color is then sprayed on the
float and detailed work is done with
theatrical paints.
Schindler said he feels pretty
confident about being ahead in
schedule for painting for the 2006
Mardi Gras season. All of the floats
for the Rex parade should be done
by the end of the summer, he said.
Participants in the World Series of Poker trying their luck at the tables
in Harrah’s of New Orleans.
‘I play poker
to support my
legal habit.’
was able to pick up antes and
blinds,” he said. “That kept me in
the game.”
“I play poker to support my
legal habit,” he joked.
He said for one game he started
playing at noon Monday, with
$1,500 in chips, until 3 a.m.,
Tuesday morning.
“Every 50 minutes the stack
becomes bigger, you have to keep
doubling up until you get a mon-
ster hand,” he said.
Mordock placed third in
Wednesday’s tournament, cashing
out with $17,000. Six months ago
he would have been satisfied with
LIFESTYLE
Float designers Elliot White, foreground, and Raymond Bowie Sr., rear, of Rex Float Designs walk back to work with the various floats after
taking a short break from their work.
A silhouette of float painter Raymond Bowie Sr. while he draws a
rough sketch of the design. He then paints it on the side of Lafcadio
Hearn float at Rex Float Den.
But finishing early always depends
on when Mardi Gras day, also
known as Fat Tuesday, falls. “Last
year we worked up until the end,”
Schindler said.
For Blaine Kern, saying Mardi
Gras is his hobby would be an
understatement. “God’s been so
MARCI FULLER/ NYT Institute
the nominal pool amount that goes
to all participants, he said, but
now, he isn’t even satisfied with
the amount that he won.
“Next time I want to win the
tournament,” Mordock said.
Some fans believe Don “Final
Table” Mullis, 41, is the hottest
player in poker right now.
Mullis said he has won seven
out of 10 final tables, an unprece-
dented feat in poker history.
“None of the big players has
done this. You don’t go 800 fields
with over 800 players in each
field. It’s never been done.”
Mullis, a car salesman from
Mooresville, N.C., has only been
playing poker for eight months but
has appeared in 10 World Series of
Poker tournaments.
“Men ‘The Master’ [Nguyen],
I took him out twice,” Mullis
said. “I’ve been in the same field
with Phil Ivey, Johnny Chan,
David Williams and Phil
Hellmuth Jr., and they were all
put out before me.”
good to me beyond my wildest
dreams and I am having fun,” Kern,
said.
The 78-year-old Kern has over-
seen a multi-million dollar empire
that is not only known in New
Orleans and the nation, but also
around the world. He’s been given
With increased profits, casinos win
By LeMont Calloway
NYT Institute
Louisiana casinos took in $13
million more in April 2005 than they
did in April 2004, as gamblers
dropped $189.4 million into slot
machines and on card tables, accord-
ing to a state police report released
May 17.
Several factors ranging from
sunny days to the steady spending of
money from retirement funds have
caused the fluctuation of casino rev-
enue.
Rob Stillwell, the vice president
of corporate communication for
Boyd Gaming, which runs Treasure
Chest Casino in New Orleans,
offered speculation for the 7.3 per-
cent increase from the $176.6 mil-
lion the casinos got out of gamblers
last April.
“Great weather and more week-
ends in a month can affect the rev-
enue taken in,” he said.
In addition to the five weekends
in April, Dan Nita, Harrah’s senior
vice president and general manager,
said in an e-mail statement that the
purchase of more hotel rooms at
partner hotels contributed to their
success.
“We saw our occupied rooms
increase by 4,500 in April 2005, as
compared to April 2004, which
enabled us to bring in more existing
Harrah’s customers from outer mar-
kets,” Nita said.
After a reporter made several
calls and a visit to the casino, Mia
Lewis, a spokesperson for Bally’s
casino, declined to comment on the
issue citing a desire to keep strategi-
cally motivated plans in-house as
Photographs by AARON DAYE/ NYT Institute
the title, “Mr. Mardi Gras.” Under
the umbrella of Kern Studios, there
is Blaine Kern Artists, Mardi Gras
World and Kern International.
Since his first parade in 1948,
Kern has had his hand in more than
2,000 parades around the city
alone, providing floats for close to
60 parades each Mardi Gras season.
“The themes are theatrical,”
Kern said. “We try to make each
krewe have its own personality.”
Kern has worked with Rex,
which is the oldest parade in New
Orleans, for 52 years. Rex began
parading in 1872. Their floats are
made of the more traditional form,
with papier-mache. The larger,
newer krewes expect extravagant
floats to bring out the theme as well.
“The larger clubs like Endymion
and Bacchus require larger, double-
decker floats,” Kern said. The more
traditional single-deck floats are
used in older parades and for those
who have smaller clubs.
Kern Studios owns a fleet of
tractors with generators that carry
her reason.
Spokesmen at Boomtown did not
return calls.
Most of the statewide increase
came from the four New Orleans
casinos in the report, which saw a
12.5 percent increase from their
April 2004 total. Those casinos
drew $55.8 million this year com-
pared to $49.6 million of last April.
Treasure Chest, a stationary
riverboat casino located in nearby
Kenner, which offers 1,000 slot
machines along with 47 table games
and three restaurants, brought in
$9.9 million in April with a total
attendance of 129,301.
Bally’s Belle of New Orleans, a
24-hour riverboat casino, earned
$5.2 million behind 109,935 clients.
Boomtown, another stationary
riverboat casino, entertained
201,374 patrons who spent an aver-
age of $50.10 per gambler. The
casino, which features 1,300 slots
and 37 table games, earned $10.1
million.
The leader of the pack, however,
was the Harrah’s franchise.
Exceeding the earnings of all the
other state-licensed casinos,
Harrah’s was the most popular
establishment with 606,048 players
in April.
Those gamblers spent an average
of $50.48, propelling Harrah’s earn-
ings to $30.6 million.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin
acknowledged the increasing figures
and said that they were playing a
part in driving the economy.
“As I understand, we are experi-
encing record numbers which are
driving everything,” Nagin said in a
brief interview. “We have a 10 per-
NYT Student Journalism Institute
25 kilowatts of power to pull super
floats. The wheels are made of
strong rubber and latex to add more
protection to prevent flat tires.
Kern has traveled the world and
brought artistic ideas from various
countries back to New Orleans. The
ideas come to life through super
floats such as the Leviathan -- a
steel serpent from the Old
Testament of the Bible -- unique to
the Orpheus parade every year. The
float, which includes fiber-optic
lights, took four to five months to
build and design and cost about
$650,000, Kern said.
Kern spreads the Mardi Gras
bug to places all over the nation,
such as Universal Studios,
Philadelphia’s Thanksgiving Day
parade, the Nickelodeon Parade in
California.
Kern International enabled the
mogul to build and design floats for
the Shanghai Festival of the Moon
parade last September in China.
“We don’t ever shut the place
down,” Kern said.
cent sales tax. Tourism is up and it
looks like we are going to set more
records.”
Some say that they continue to
gamble because they are financially
stable with retirement income.
Al Lamothe, a 76-year-old retired
resident of New Orleans, visits
Bally’s twice a week, where he usu-
ally spends $30 to $45 gambling
each visit.
“I guess [the gamblers] have been
lucky,” Lamothe said in his explana-
tion for the revenue increase.
“It’s usually a spontaneous thing.
But we usually come once a month
to eat,” Frazier said.
Meanwhile, Fair Grounds Race
Course, which is owned by
Churchill Downs Inc., has pondered
the possibility of installing slot
machines into its establishment.
“In terms of business, the most
significant factor will be in purses
and prize money,” said Lenny
Vangilder, director of marketing and
public affairs at the Fair Grounds.
Vangilder explained that the
trickle-down effect from an increase
in racing fans would add money to
the purses, which would amount to
more money for better quality hors-
es.
Vangilder pointed out that close
to 500 slot machines could be
installed after July 1.
“Harrah’s has been approved to
build a $350 million hotel,” he said.
“With that extra business, we might
be able to install the maximum allot-
ment of 700 slot machines.”
The New Orleans City Planning
Commission has yet to vote on
whether to allow the installment of
the machines.
C4 May 28, 2005 LIFESTYLE NYT Student Journalism Institute

ART continues
from A1
“Our vision is to present art-
work like these to both New
Orleanians and national patrons,”
co-owner Robert Heriard said, while
motioning to his showcased Carlos
Betancourt photographs.
Already representing over 11
artists, Robert Heriard acknowl-
edges that it is not easy for a rela-
tively new artist to secure one of the
gallery’s monthly exhibitions,
which, as is the case with most gal-
leries in the art district, change on
the first Saturday of every month.
“We usually find out about new
artists if they are friends of other
artists that we already represent,”
Heriard said.
A block away, the 7-month-old
Roy Gallery tries to distinguish
itself from the crowd. Unlike the
Heariard-Cimino Gallery’s white
walls and minimalist approach,
owner Roy Malone fills his space
with furniture.
“Other galleries and museums
think that furniture takes the focus
away from the work of the artist. I
think the relationship between the two
enhances them both,” Malone said.
Malone welcomes young artists
to bring him their portfolios.
“Sometimes I like the art and
sometimes I really don’t, but at least
I give him a chance,” he said.
A Miami native, Malone has also
lived in New York, but left the Big
Apple for the Big Easy.
“I wanted to live in another city
that still had that New York
ambiance,” he said. “New Orleans
reminds me of SoHo. Not the mod-
ern one, it's like the young SoHo
from the late 70’s.”
As Malone and Heriard have
established themselves in the city,
modern art has indeed become a
very lucrative business.
At the New Orleans Auction
Galleries, business has never been
better.
“We were able to sell a William
Henry Buck piece for $340,000 and a
Richard Clague piece for $380,000,”
said public relations spokesperson
Michelle Castro.
“Neither artist had sold a piece for
that much money before our auc-
tion.”
With such a large demand for
their work, those with creative tal-
ents and steadfast ambition find the
city an ideal place to perfect their
craft and realize their dreams. Simon
Gunning is one such artist.
Emigrating from Australia, Gunning
fell in love with New Orleans almost
25 years ago.
“As a youth, I received a scholar-
ship to leave the Victorian School of
Art in Australia and attend an art
school in London,” Gunning
recalled. “My flight to London had a
layover in the U.S. I never even
made it to England.”
Although Gunning was fond of his
new home, he soon realized that mak-
ing it big as an artist was not easy. “I
loved New Orleans, but I wasn’t even
remotely established when I got here
and I couldn’t fully support myself on
In old house, activist
speaks out with her art
By Bravetta Hassell
NYT Institute
Perhaps the dog knew it was too
humid to stand under the sun. He
struggled up the worn steps of the
front porch and settled under a wood-
en stoop - exhausted. Dawn
Dedeaux, his owner, nodded.
Through the part-cabin, part-
museum, part-house, to the other
side, was a backyard she said would
be cooler. There, the tops of the tall
trees expanded to an almost canopy.
Her satisfaction with her decision
showed in the ease with which she
reclined in a green cast-iron patio
chair, holding a chilled Corona.
Dedeaux, 53, knows every tree,
every blade of grass, every weed that
sprouts in her backyard unnoticed by
the outside world.
She pointed up. “That’s an
Imperial,” she said of the palm tree.
Who knew palm trees grew in
New Orleans?
Dedeaux sometimes stays in a cen-
tury-old house that is so ornate one
Photographs by TARA-LYNNE S. PIXLEY/ NYT Institute would only want to visit it for field
Robert Heriard, co-owner of Heriard-Cimino Gallery, adores his min- trips. It is where she creates art.
imalist gallery on Julia Street in New Orleans' Warehouse District. Across town is the artist’s main resi-
Displayed behind him is "The Vague Years from Interventions in dence. She was once so submerged in
Nature Series," a 2001 metallic lambda print by Carlos Betancourt. her community's politics that it bled
into her art.
Her comfort zone is wrapped
around her in the house she calls
"tucked off," where technology and
common life, unadulterated by the rig-
ors of fast pace and instant gratifica-
tion, embrace. The most up-to-date
objects in the house are the cinema dis-
play and powerMac, the fax machine
and a big-screen TV-all juxtaposed
against the life of the rustic house.
“I’ve always been high-tech in a
low-tech house,” Dedeaux said.
Clothespins on a cord on one side
of the main room hold up digitally
manipulated portraits printed on cloth
my art alone,” he said. He added, “Maybe I could make and watercolor paper.
To make ends meet, Gunning more if I was in one of those other Dedeaux shuffled through print
took up a job as a bartender in the cities, but I came to New Orleans cases that looked like skinny file cab-
French Quarter. The job not only because of its culture and I became inets, searching for her first etchings.
paid the bills; it had other perks. an artist because I love it.” One was of magnolia seed pods she
“I had the opportunity to spend The New Orleans art scene is said she did when she was 12 or so.
my nights working and my days obviously growing and "it's only That was the same time her parents
painting,” he said. “And maybe once getting better,” according to Mary divorced, leaving her younger broth-
a year or so I was able to finance my Beth Romig-Haskins, a public infor- er and sister to live with their father
own exhibition. mation officer at Ogden Museum. and Dedeaux with her grandmother.
“In the end, it paid off. I was able Haskins used her museum’s grow- As a girl, Dedeaux remembers
to quit my bartending job about 12 ing departments as an example of the meeting Laura Adams, then a young
years ago.” art community’s development artist, who rented from Dedeaux’s
Today, Gunning’s art sells “Our contemporary art department grandmother and blossomed into an
between $3,000 and $30,000 per is already huge,” she said. accomplished painter. Dedeaux trav-
piece. While some artists would love “Contemporary photographers (who eled to New York after her college
to one day enjoy a five-figure pay- tend to be younger than artists in other graduation to thank Adams, who
day, others try not to place a lot of mediums) are also apart of the fastest three months later committed suicide.
emphasis on such things. growing artist field in the city.” It was in art that Dedeaux sought
“I didn’t become an artist for the She cited the recent campaign by relief after the loss of her mentor, and
money,” artist Martin Payton said. the New Orleans Tourism Marketing in art that she found comfort after the
Payton’s success rivals that of fel- Corporation. death of her sister when she was a
low New Orleans native Simon “The NOTMC has advertised child. The artist said she didn't
Gunning. New Orleans as a cultural destina- remember life too clearly before her
“New Orleans is a good city, but tion,” she said. “That’s important. mentor had entered it.
it's doesn’t have the art market of The country’s artists now know there Political art-ivism
New York, San Francisco or are more markets where up-and-com- Large-scale photographs of deco-
Chicago,” said Payton. ing artists can showcase their work.” rative security doors hide a bed
Dedeaux sometimes uses when she
gets really busy. The photos make a
statement: No matter how liberated
people think they are, “We’re all in
this situation together,” she said.
“You can’t go inside your house
and withdraw from these community
issues.”
One of the pictures, taken during
the first Gulf War, shows a front door
with a mini-American flag wedged in
the knocker that had a yellow ribbon
tied to it. The door and the flag are
blocked by a black security gate.
The pieces are a part of a series
called “Soul Shadows: Urban Warrior
Myths,” a video-based installation
probing the lives of young inmates,
largely black, struggling for empow-
erment in the Orleans Parish Prison.
In Dedeaux's multimedia project,
there were photos of girlfriends with
TARA-LYNNE S. PIXLEY/
NYT Institute
Dedeaux’s recent work
hangs from her rafters.
boyfriends. In one, the boyfriend
points a gun at his girlfriend's stom-
ach, and in another, he points the
weapon at her head. In both pictures,
they were smiling.
In others, Dedeaux’s photographs
depicted young American men in the
prison system dressed as warriors of
different cultures.
Being an urban warrior is a rite of
passage everyone goes through,
Dedeaux said.
“[You] feel compelled to pay trib-
ute to nature, to mankind, to ideals,”
she said, having developed, as part of
the grant-funded project, “A Book of
Judgment.” The book is a collection
of letters and thoughts written by
juvenile offenders.
Her “Soul Shadows,”exhibition
toured the United States from 1991 to
1993.
Dedeaux had made it priority to
shed light on young black men in the
prison system, an issue some critics
say was not hers to document.
In hindsight, “I think maybe I was
the wrong messenger,” Dedeaux, a
white upper-middle class woman
from the South, said.
John Scott, a local artist, said he
didn't like the glorification of the men
depicted in the installation. Despite
that, Scott said he respects her work,
but questioned Dedeaux’s use of
romanticism in the project.
“It wasn’t about protecting the
communities (because) they were
criminals,” Scott said. “You’ve got
black guys in loin cloth - what the
hell is that?”
Dedeaux said she asks herself if
her “Soul Shadows” would have
been challenged if she was black.
“I did my street life,” she said with
a quick chuckle.
“(That) was, you know, why I
turned to nature.”
Not too soon after the tour of
“Soul Shadows,” Dedeaux left for
New York to escape the criticism she
received over the installation.
Years after spending most of her
adult life in the North, Dedeaux, who
was born and raised in New Orleans,
decided it was time to return home.
Using a $5,000 honorarium received
in 2001, she made a down payment
on her first home and main residence.
Eventually recognizing a need for
more space for her work, Dedeaux
purchased her “art house.”
An artist's transformation
Dedeaux’s art, once drowned in
social commentary, is now softer and
pays close attention to plant anatomy.
“They fit really nicely into the
work she had done in the past,” said
Arthur Roger of Dedeaux's
“Documents of Resurrection.”
Roger is the owner of the Arthur
Roger Gallery in New Orleans.
“[These] were easily collectible
and were the first tangible pieces that
could be hung in someone's home,”
he said.
In 2004, Dedeaux’s work ranged
in value from $1,600 to $4,500 at the
gallery. At the Spruill Gallery in
Atlanta, her “Warrior Pantheon
Portfolio,” a collection of 18 pieces,
sold at $5,250.
Dedeaux now is completing the 8-
foot twin portraits of tree skins, part
of an installation to be showcased in
Dallas, that hang in the main room.
Winding Down
The paint in Dedeaux’s workhouse
is chipped. But the spirit of the folksy
house hints at how life is supposed to
be - submerged in comfort.
At this week’s end, Dedeaux will
have attended every neighborhood
pow wow concerning the proposed
slot machines to be installed at the
race track up the street. By then, she
will be ready to store away her
activism and focus.
“I wish there were more of me,”
she said. “I’ve struggled between
choosing to be an artist or being a
social worker. It's like two sides of
your brain conflict.”
For Dedeaux, it's time to go back
to work.

SCOTT continues from B1 ‘I never discovered jazz;

John’s art grow and change,” he said.
“It was his time.”
The museum will run the exposition
“Circle Dance” through July 10.
According to Piersol, attendance has been
greater than expected and larger than what
the museum has seen in a long time.
“A good turnout for us is 600 to 700 on
an opening night,” Piersol said. But when
“Circle Dance” debuted, Piersol estimated
1,500 people attended the opening.
Entering the exhibit, visitors are greet-
ed by a series of religious sculptures made
of steel. One is called, “The Resurrection
of the Risen Christ,” which hangs from
the ceiling, thorns, spears, painful façade
and all.
“Urban Crucifix,” a wood and steel
sculpture, depicts violence in the decadent
'80s. It features shoe labels like
Timberland, Nike and Reebok as well as
machine gun parts. Scott said he was com-
menting on young black men dying over
footwear. “Violence in the streets,” he
said, glaring up at the sculpture.
Scott travels from the concrete jungle
to Paris in “Quadrille,” a series of colorful
brass and wood sculptures inspired by his
experiences in the “City of Lights,” where
he once taught.
“For years I was criticized because I
didn't work in one medium," he said, men-
tioning how critics give praise to artists
like Picasso and Michelangelo but snub
his work.
“These artists are known for using
more than one medium, and they refer to
them as ‘Jesus.” But when they get to my
work, they call me ‘unfocused,’ ” he
added. “We always judge people by our
own limitations.”
Limited or not, his work evokes the
penetrating culture of jazz, the music he
grew up on in New Orleans. “I never dis-
covered jazz; I was born into it. Music is
a way of life.”
When he decided to become an artist as
an adolescent, his mother, an embroiderer,
and father, a chef, were very casual about
his decision.
“They never said ‘Do that, don’t do
that’ ” he recalled. Instead, they told him
that whatever he wanted to do, he should
do it well. While neither of his parents
have more than a third grade education,
Scott holds a Master of Fine Arts from
"Dancing at the Crossroads," is a 1996 painted aluminum piece.
Michigan State University.
Today, he teaches fine arts two days a
week at his undergraduate alma mater,
TARA-LYNNE S. PIXLEY/ NYT Institute
Xavier University. He describes his teach-
ing style as no-nonsense.
“I'm not in the classroom to hold a
I was born into it.
Music is a way of life.’
debate on the information I'm giving,”
Scott said dryly. “It’s either my way or
you can get the hell out.”
Walking throughout the exhibit, the
professor spots visitors staring wide-eyed
at some of his collages, before turning and
recognizing him. He seems used to the
attention.
“I’m honored that people would be
interested in my work. But I don't really
sit up and think about it,” Scott mumbled.
Lillian Samardzija, a 67-year-old semi-
retired nurse who’s been volunteering at
the museum since 1977, finds Scott’s
work to be “moving.”
“The emotion he puts into his work is
very, very philosophical,” she said as she
viewed his Louis Armstrong paintings.
But Scott, who loves his fans, has
never cared about critics. “You can criti-
cize the content of my work, but I don't
feel you can criticize the quality of my
work,” he said. “You don't have to like it,
but you can't change my right to do it.”
May 28, 2005 NYT Student Journalism Institute C5

ASEA OF I
n a city known for noise and
excitement, there is a place
where deep silence
envelop visitors and only oohs
and aahs can be heard as they
can

Diversity
stand before a large aquarium
wall staring at various species of
sharks and other fish quietly
swimming back and forth.
The Audubon Institute
Aquarium of the Americas is a
haven where sounds of parrots
squawking reverberate through
the air, jellyfish light up the dark
waters of their habitat with their
vibrant colors, the seahorses
dance among the seagrass and
families share moments to
remember.

Photography and text by Joshua L. Halley

Page Design by De’Eric M. Henry
C6 May 28, 2005
In this composite image, the Algiers neighborhood, left, borders the Mississippi River. The neighborhood, known for its quite, modest life, has been called one of New Orleans’ best-kept secret.
Cozy town, and a great nook for business
By Rebecca Roussell
NYT Institute
ALGIERS, La. - At the place where
the Mississippi River comes to a point
across from New Orleans sits a slice of
history and architecture that defines a
more tranquil kind of living. Algiers
Point, the red-headed stepsister of New
Orleans, is a clandestine adventure that
harkens one back to the simple life.
It has not changed much since its
incorporation in 1719. Not many
native New Orleanians know about it
or have traveled just two minutes by
ferry to see what's on the other side of
the river. But those who have made it
their home embrace and love the town.
Stepping off the ferry onto a cob-
blestone street, visitors are greeted by
Louis Armstrong's wide grin. The Dry
Dock Café and Bar is packed with the
usual lunch crowd. And on the river,
steamboats whistle as they travel to
their next destination.
Residents of Algiers Point call it
“New Orleans’ best-kept secret” that
has a quaint ambiance all its own. They
know all about what people who flock
Estate
receives
landmark
status
By Titus Ledbetter III
NYT Institute
A tour group exploring Longue Vue
House and Gardens entered the din-
ing room of the estate.
“Is this the original wallpaper?”
asked Gail Margolis, 65, a former
attorney from Chicago.
“Yes, you can even see the original
stains on the wall,” quipped the ener-
getic tour guide, dressed in a plaid
shirt and a black skirt.
The artwork, furniture and even
family photos have been in their orig-
inal state since 1980, the last time the
house was occupied.
The estate was created for cotton
broker Edgar Stern and his wife Edith
Rosenwald, Sears Roebuck and Co.
heiress, between 1939 and 1942.
After Margolis’ 3 o’clock tour, she
said she was impressed.
“It gives you a picture of what afflu-
ence can do,” Margolis said. “A lot of
times money and good taste do not go
together. But, it did in this case.”
The landmark may be the only liv-
ing space in Louisiana that features a
grandfather clock from Wales, a rug
from Turkey, figurines from around
the world and the view of a country
club, the New Orleans Country Club.
In April, Gale Norton, Louisiana’s
Secretary of the Interior, designated
Longue Vue one of 51 “National
Historic Landmarks.” It is the highest
honor the estate could receive. Fewer
than 2,500 places in America have the
title.
To receive national historic recog-
nition, the Department of the Interior
to New Orleans -- and even longtime
residents -- are missing out on.
For those who live in Algiers Point,
the community is an escape from the
wild, crazy atmosphere in the city. It is
a haven from crime, the stagnant
smells of Bourbon Street and crowds
that jam the streets during Mardi Gras.
Residents enjoy the break from sirens,
the clean streets and the neighbor that
lives across the street. Here, everyone
knows your name.
It is that down-home feel that draws
residents and keeps them here.
***
How far would you go for love?
Would you cross the Atlantic Ocean
and move to another continent?
Well, a lovely lady and a love for
blues, history and culture led England
native Kevin Herridge to do just that
and land in Algiers Point.
“I visited in 1993 and moved here
in 1994,” Herridge said.
Herridge met his wife, Wendy, at
Tipitina’s, a popular bar in New
Orleans. He spent some time with her
the next day, then he canceled his flight
back to London. He stayed another
Fountains and gardens are just two of several elaborate features that the historical house Longue Vue ,
built from 1939 to 1942 for the cotton broker Egdar Stern, has to offer tourists.
‘Each garden and room
has its own
personality.’
had to conclude the landmark had
exceptional value in “illustrating or
interpreting” the nation’s heritage.
Longue Vue was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places
list by the Department of the Interior
in 1991.
“From a national perspective, it
will provide us with the recognition
that we have significance greater than
the local area,” said Bonnie
Goldblum, the executive director of
the landmark.
“The house and gardens will res-
onate outside the community and it
can benefit people outside of the com-
munity. The recognition is a good
seal of approval.”
Longue Vue was designed by Ellen
Shipman with brothers William and
Geoffrey Platt.
Shipman has designed more than
LIFESTYLE
two weeks and canceled his flight
again. This time he stayed until his visa
ran out.
For 13 months, Wendy and Kevin
traveled back and forth from New
Orleans to London to see each other
before they decided to wed in 1994.
The couple bought a home in the
newer section of Algiers and traveled
to Algiers Point often to ride the ferry
downtown and tour the community.
Crime became a problem in their
neighborhood during the late ‘90s. So
they moved to historic Algiers Point.
In 1998, Herridge opened the
House of the Rising Sun Bed and
Breakfast at 335 Pelican Ave. Since its
opening, hundreds of people have
stayed in the renovated shotgun house.
Herridge always had a passion for
researching. In England, he traced his
family history and when he arrived in
Louisiana, he traced his wife’s family
history as well. He knew many facts
about the South, slavery and the
African-American culture. When he
settled in Algiers Point, he wanted to
know more about the neighborhood.
“I didn’t want the sanitized, white
Photographs by JOSHUA L. HALLEY/ NYT Institute
A semi-spiral staircase is topped by a rotunda made of glass. The
staircase is one of the estate’s best details
600 gardens in America, but few of
them remain intact today.
“Each garden and room has its own
personality,” Goldblum said. “People
are most intrigued by the flower
arrangement room and the gift wrap-
ping room. Most people don't have
that. These people lived a life that
was truly special.”
A press release said more than
version of Algiers’ history,” Herridge
said. “I wanted the real true history.”
Herridge said history books about
Algiers Point never told the “black
side” of the story. He formed the
Algiers Historical Society in 1999 so
1,500 at-risk children visit the
Longue Vue gardens each year.
Goldblum said that the Wildlife
Garden was built for the children in
1998, and has been a great attraction
ever since.
“Even the children’s garden is fun.
We weren’t expecting that,” said
Anne Kisly, a 49-year-old resident
from Cincinnati, Ohio.
NYT Student Journalism Institute
Composite photograph by AARON DAYE/ NYT Institute
both sides of the story would get told, tle convincing and many visits before
he said. she settled in Algiers Point.
*** “The charm of this neighborhood is
Carlos Barona is from Columbia what moved me here,” said
and came to this part of Louisiana with Trepagnier, a longtime resident of New
his brother 20 years ago. Orleans who lived in Kenner, La., for
“You are near New Orleans, but the past six years.
you’re not quite there,” Barona said. After moving to Algiers Point, she
“There is a lot of history and a lot of opened a coffee shop. She transformed
stuff happening here.” an old barber shop to Bon Vie
In May, Barona opened Sortez Café Naturelle in January. Trepagnier, who
at 141 Delaronde St., near the ferry lives across the street from the shop,
landing. enjoys the diversified community that
“I used to work for several hotels as she serves. The easy access to down-
a chef,” Barona said. “I wanted to fea- town and frequenting tourists are great
ture the traditional Creole and Cajun for her business. Safety and communi-
cuisine,” he said. ty support are also why the shop owner
The café opens at 6 a.m. on the thinks the Point is a great place to be.
weekdays and stays open late on the “This is a friendly community with
weekend. Sortez Café offers a variety people from all over,” she said.
of foods such as pastries, soups, salads Trepangier’s sister has lived in
and snowballs, which is a New Algiers Point for 10 years and persuad-
Orleans favorite. ed her to relocate.
The building where the café is Trepangier said she decided to
located used to be an old slaughter move because she wanted to be closer
house and Barona renovated it. He also to her family, and life was getting
renovated his home where he lives. bland living in the city.
*** “The quality of life over here is bet-
For Angela Trepagnier, it took a lit- ter in more ways than one,” she said.
Don R. Hecker, The New York Times, Director
DESIGNERS
Madia Brown
Robbyn Mitchell
Florida A&M University
Frenchi Johnson
Savannah State
Norfolk State Diamond Washington Sheena Johnson
Florida A&M University North Carolina Central
Eba Hamid
Hampton University Titus Ledbetter III
REPORTERS Hampton University
De’Eric Henry
Grambling State Shaka Lias
Stacy Anderson Clark Atlanta University
Howard University
PHOTOGRAPHERS Ayesha Rascoe
Nick Birdsong Howard University
Aaron Daye Florida A&M University
North Carolina Central Rebecca Rousell
Terrell Bryant Dillard University
Marci Fuller Benedict College
Dillard University Jessica Young
Tanya Caldwell Spelman University
Joshua L. Halley Florida A&M University
Southern University
LeMont Calloway
Tara-Lynne S. Pixley Florida A&M University
The New York Times
Florida A&M University Student Journalism
Malachi Daraja Institute is held the last
EDITORS Morgan State two weeks in May
every year. Applicants
must be students from
Elizabeth Bertrand Jessica De Vault historically black
Lincoln University North Carolina A&T colleges or
universities affiliated
Shawn Chollette Markel Eskridge with the Black College
Communication
Grambling State LeMoyne-Owen Association.
All expenses, includ-
Alexander Ford Bravetta Hassell ing transportation to
Hampton University Hampton University and from the Institute,
are paid. More
information can also be
Ebony Horton Linda Hobbs obtained by calling
Stillman University Clark Atlanta (212) 556-1576.
For more articles, photographs and graphics by
institute journalists, and an application:
nytimes-institute.com
May 28, 2005 LIFESTYLE NYT Student Journalism Institute C7

From jail to courtroom,

law clerk inspires others
By Nick Birdsong
NYT Institute
Lynell Desdunes Sr. does his job
from behind a desk filled with law
books. As the law clerk in Section A
of the Orleans Parish Criminal
Court, under Judge Charles L.
Elloie, he handles fines and fees and
helps ex-offenders on probation
complete their community service.
Every day, Desdunes sees dozens of
defendants have their day in court.
He understands what they are
going through. Desdunes served
eight years in prison.
In 1976, he bought a 1966
Cadillac from a used car lot for
$600. Turns out, Desdunes says the
car was stolen. He spent his 18th
birthday behind bars, convicted of
possession of a stolen automobile.
That’s where he met the love of his
life, the law.
“I always tell people,” Desdunes
said. “I got bit by the legal bug when I
was 18 and I’ve been sick ever since.”
His daily grind, doing research,
dealing with probationers and writing
judgments for the court is often inter-
rupted by the ins and outs of visitors.
A young woman walked in.
Dressed in a purple blouse with
matching shoes and a pair of creased
jeans, she opened her mouth, reveal-
ing two gold teeth. She said she’d
worked in his office two years ago
and knew Christina, one of his two
daughters. She hoped to get her
record expunged. In Louisiana, any
arrest that isn’t prosecuted can be
removed from a person’s record
after a successful probation, which
includes fines and fees. Desdunes
quickly made the transition from
compassionate to complete profes-
sional, telling her the fee was $325.
“Thank you for your time,” she
said. She didn’t have the money.
Since his release from prison in
1994, Desdunes has given much of
his time to ensuring that kids don’t
get a record in the first place. He
works on the Pupil Project, spon-
sored by Elloie, a child of the housing
projects. The program brings elemen-
tary, middle and high school students
to visit Section A and see where bad
decisions could lead them.
A program like Pupil Project
could have helped two of the sons of
Bernadette Tyler. She was in
Desdunes’ office so he could sign
off on her community service hours.
She is a working mother of eight.
But there she was just known as No.
‘People see me at my job
working in the criminal
justice system. They don't
even know I was a criminal
my whole young life.’
37. One of her sons is already in the
ground and another is facing 10
years in prison for possession of rock
cocaine. She’s done time herself.
Barely holding back tears, Tyler
told Desdunes that no killer had
been found for her son who was
murdered, in broad daylight. “I was
incarcerated at the time my child
was buried,” she said. “And the
State of Louisiana didn’t even let me
out for the funeral.”
Growing up down the street from
the Lafitte Housing Projects, Desdunes
says he probably would have been one
of what he calls the “big pants boys.”
As a teenager, he began to experiment
with marijuana, which led to other
drugs. By 14, he was caught up in a
cycle of petty crime.
“Once you go to jail two or three
times, you get kind of desensitized,”
Desdunes said. “Sometimes, the
only thing that deters a child from
committing crimes is the fear of
going to jail.” Jail is where he first
began to read law books. Inside
them, Desdunes found a way out.
In his trial for car theft the prose-
cution had listed the price of the
Cadillac at $6,000. That was the
price the owner paid when it was
new. Desdunes had paid $600. He
filed a handwritten motion for a new
trial, succeeded, and was found not
guilty on the grounds that the district
attorney had not introduced the used
value of the car.
Friday is the busiest day in
Section A. It’s drug court day. The
courtroom was filled nearly to capac-
ity with college-aged black men.
But there wasn’t a suit in sight.
Dressed mostly in tall white cot-
ton T-shirts, baggy Marithe Francois
Girbaud jeans and classic Reebok
sneakers, the men were casual to a T.
One by one, the men walked up
and updated Elloie on their progress
in the free world. Then, they patient-
ly waited to be given another court
date or be sent to jail.
Elloie praised some and chastised
others, as if they were his own chil-
dren. “Instead of those long shirts,
get you a shorter shirt,” said Elloie,
shouting down from his seat to one
young man wearing a multicolored
Rocawear shirt. “And when you get
that shirt, get you some nice pants
and tuck that shirt in your pants.”
Desdunes was hired as a parale-
gal in 1996 by Elloie before he was
elected to the bench. After the elec-
tion, Elloie brought Desdunes along
with him as his law clerk.
“I initially got some flack,”
Since his 1994 release from prison, Lynell Desdunes Sr. is now on the other side of the law. He is a law
clerk for Section A of the Orleans Parish Criminal Court.
Elloie said. “But not from judges or
people in the courts, from ignorant
people.”
Back in the office, Desdunes was
operating business as usual, his way.
A man, fresh out of jail the day
before with twists in his hair, hand-
ed Desdunes a Camel and told him
his situation. He had to pay his court
fees the same day he came home.
“I been in jail the whole time,”
said the man, as he tied a camou-
flage bandanna around his wrist.
“They told me I had to pay today or
have another warrant out.”
Desdunes gave the man advice on
how he can stay free.
“Everybody has money problems
man. Many people will say, ‘Well I
didn’t have the money so I didn’t
come back,’ ” said Desdunes, show-
ing the man a calendar. “Nobody is
going to jail because they are broke.
They are going to jail because they
don’t come back.”
“The system is being supported
by the poorest people in the commu-
nity,” Desdunes said. “If you are not
compassionate, that’s not a fair sys-
tem. Crime pays, just not for the
criminal.”
He leaned his portly frame over
the fragile wooden desk, raising the
cigarette to his dark lips, inhaling
the smoke and exhaling the rest of
his story.
Desdunes dropped out of high
school during his senior year and
earned his GED at night school. He
eventually wound up repairing old
cars for a used car company.
But the company paid him bad
checks, Desdunes says, and after he
cashed them he ended up being
charged with forgery.
That was February 1987. He can
still remember it all, down to item
numbers of police reports, the arrest-
ing officer’s name and the name on
the checks that landed him in prison.
It was called the biggest forgery case
in Orleans Parish history.
Desdunes defended himself in a
highly publicized three-day trial that
JOSHUA L. HALLEY/ NYT Institute
included 50 witnesses, 40 handwriting
samples and 37 police reports. He lost.
At 29, he was sentenced to 25
years. Instead of letting the time do
him, Desdunes sharpened his legal
mind and built his reputation in the
law community.
Eventually, a friend spoke on
Desdunes’ behalf to the judge that
sentenced him. The court decided
that he’d served enough time. On
April 14, 1994, he was resentenced
and then released.
“People see me at my job work-
ing in the criminal justice system,”
Desdunes said. “They don’t even
know I was a criminal my whole
young life.”
He’s working on the right side of
the law now. Despite his nearly 30
years of studying law, he’ll never get
a law degree, doesn’t want one.
“I have a problem with having
someone’s fate in my hand,” he said.
“What if I lose? That person’s
going up the river. I have more fun
developing change in the law.”

JAZZ from C1
“New Orleans is charming
because of the historical value. I
believe that there’s still a bunch of
great musicians in New Orleans.”
New Orleans has been called
the native land of jazz -- the place
where Dixieland found a voice.
The story’s been told before:
During the early 20th century, jazz
in New Orleans was like hip-hop
in the late ‘70s in the Bronx or
rock in Seattle during the ‘90s --
untouchable.
Creole musicians pushed the art
form of what was once called “jass”
forward; they “rocked out” early
venues like in the historic Storyville
area of New Orleans, wearing prop-
er-looking suits and nice shoes.
Early players like Buddy Bolden,
Clarence Williams, Joe “King”
Oliver and Jelly Roll Morton
became New Orleans elder states-
men. Then, a young, trumpet soloist
named Louis Armstrong blessed
brass and paused time.
Eventually, the New Orleans jazz
popularized in the annals of musical
beginnings, tall tales and innova-
tions slowed down, and some say
the old form is no longer important.
Like ‘60s psychedelic, it died out
like a flame left burning at
Woodstock.
Of course this is depending on
whomever you ask. For 19-year-old
Calvin Johnson, nephew of famed
New Orleans jazz clarinetist Ralph
Johnson, jazz in New Orleans is as
alive today as it ever was.
Johnson said he often hears the
“lifeless rumor” from those not
native to New Orleans. “I’m not
too offended when I hear that,” he
added. “But the modern jazz
scene in New Orleans is still
thriving.”
Johnson, who has played tenor
sax for 10 years and is a member of
the New Orleans jazz orchestra, said
he usually goes to several local jazz
spots to listen, sit in or play a gig
every night of the week.
One night, he showed up at Snug
Harbor, leaned up against the wall in
the back of the dimly-lit room, and
JOSHUA L. HALLEY / NYT Institute
Snug Harbor has remained the premier jazz club in New Orleans by
allowing hopeful contemporary jazz artists the opportunity to play.
just watched a local quintet jam. He
said he’s reminded everyday of just
how much the jazz scene is flourish-
ing.
“Ever since I was a child, it has
always been there in my face. It kind
of chose me and I chose it.”
Modern jazz, once anchored in
the flamboyant enclaves of New
Orleans’ swampy bayou backdrop,
found a home in burgeoning cities
such as New York.
Avant-garde trumpeter Olu Dara,
64, finds that now the lust for New
Orleans modern jazz is lost.
“It (jazz) really mattered during
Louis Armstrong days, during that
era. The sound was funkier and the
musicians had more exciting person-
alities,” said the Louisville, Miss.,
native who migrated to New York
City in 1963.
“They’re not as apparent as they
used to be. They stick to the same
songs they did years ago.”
Dara, who performs every other
year in New Orleans at spots like
Congo Square and Tipitinas, said
that the contemporary power of the
city’s jazz is “a tourist thing.”
“Jazz is basically instrumental
music and there hasn’t been any
innovation there. It went more aca-
demic. New York is the center of
jazz now,” he said from his home in
Harlem.
Johnson finds the “tourist”
aspect of New Orleans entertain-
ment inevitable.
“A major part of the economy
here is tourism, so that’s a part of it,”
he said. “But New York isn’t the
birthplace of jazz. They (artists) had
to be cultivated in New York. We
have a large number of people who
come to recruit musicians from New
Orleans.”
History notes that before the Big
Apple welcomed New Orleans’
musicians with open arms during the
artistic renaissance of the roaring
‘20s, it was Chicago that first took
note of the movement. This is when
artists like clarinetist Johnny Dodds,
Louis Armstrong and his mentor,
cornet player “King” Oliver, found a
stomping ground.
New York eventually caught on.
The swing era of jazz (an era with
big bands, bouncy cymbal swishes,
and horn wailing cultivated by the
likes of Duke Ellington) began to
take shape. And like another black
art form polished in America, hip-
hop -- which went through phases of
nursery rhymes, droll story-telling,
political awareness, “gangsta” pos-
turing, hypnotic jazzmatazz, “ice”
tales, and crunk -- jazz had its own
phases to weed through.
Two Dillard theater majors
graduate to the small screen
By Stacy A. Anderson Chris, a cocky music producer on UPN’s “As If” in
NYT Institute 2002, Marine paramedic Latrell Griffith on two
episodes of “Third Watch” during the 2002 season,
Two Dillard University graduates appeared in and Jaspar Goodwin in 1997’s “The Big Easy.”
the season finale of “Law and Order” Wednesday Jackson said his next move is to relocate to Los
night. Angeles later this month.
John Duwayne Jackson and Leslie Elliard made Leslie Elliard, a 1999 Dillard graduate, already
cameo appearances on the cop drama, which ranked enjoys the best of both coasts. Elliard starred as
third in prime time television, according to Nielsen lead detective on Wednesday night’s “Law and
Media Research spokesman Matt Tatham. Order” episode, “Locomotion.” He is an estab-
Approximately 12.4 million viewers watched the lished actor on Broadway, starring in Regina
two products of Dillard’s theater department. Taylor’s “Crowns” as the only male lead in 2003.
Jackson graduated in 1997 with a degree in Elliard has also starred as Mufasa in “The Lion
speech communication and theater. King” for the past year and nine months.
He said he first showed interest in acting as a Elliard graduated from Dillard with a bachelor’s
sophomore in high school. “I took acting as an elec- degree in speech communication and theater. Hyatt
tive,” he said. “My teacher thought we were clowns said Elliard also contributed to the theater depart-
and let us audition for a school play instead of ment at Dillard.
doing a paper.” “He’s a very talented guy,” Hyatt said. “Leslie
Jackson first went to college at Florida A&M filled the spot when J.D. left as our lead actor. He’s
University, where he gained the attention of Garey what you call a triple threat. He can sing, dance and
Hyatt, a former FAMU professor. act.”
“Mr. Hyatt had such an influence on students,” The alumni worked together in 1997 when
Jackson said. Elliard was stage manager for “Shades of Gray,” a
In fact, Jackson transferred to the University of play produced by the theater department while
Louisiana-Lafayette and Dillard Jackson was director. The alumni
University as his mentor received
job offers at the schools.
‘My teacher thought we briefly saw each other at the cus-
tom fitting for the season finale
Hyatt, who taught at Dillard were clowns and let us for “Law and Order,” but didn’t
University from 1995 to 2005, audition for a school play film any scenes together.
praised Jackson. He recalled a day instead of doing a paper.’ The Detroit native also
in his introduction to theater class recounted what he learned from
at FAMU when Jackson read the Dillard. “It was the opposite of
role of Eugene in the civil rights nurturing,” Elliard said. “It
movement-themed play, “Contribution.” forced students to fend for themselves, how to be
“I saw something in him when he read,” Hyatt aggressive in pursuing what you wanted. You had to
said. “That boy has some talent.” After the class, do it on your own or find people with the same pas-
Hyatt urged Jackson to read for a play on campus sions to collaborate.”
called “Checkmate,” which features only four cast Along with acting, Elliard has produced music
members. Jackson quickly proved his skills and with his roommate, another Dillard alumnus, Jamal
earned a role in the play. Sterling. “We get to dabble in it all before we settle.
After graduating from Dillard, the Battle Creek, There’s possible career expansion,” Elliard said.
Mich., native attended graduate school at Temple His most recent project includes the
University, where he earned his master’s degree in “Barbershop” series for Showtime, which is sched-
fine arts with a focus in theater. Upon graduation in uled to air Aug. 10. “I’ve been so wrapped up in
2000, Johnson headed to New York to pursue his ‘Barbershop.’ It’s every actor’s dream being in a
career in theater and acting. series,” he said.
Jackson has more than 10 credits which include Elliard will reprise Sean Patrick Thomas’ character
a snitch on CBS’s “Hack” during the 2003 season, as Jimmy, the proper, educated and well-spoken barber.
C8 May 28, 2005
Hair as beauty,
culture and now art
By Stacy Anderson
NYT Institute
Women of all complexions
and ages align the sitting area on
a busy Saturday at Premiere Hair
and Nail Salon, awaiting their
turn in the raised chair. Stylists
shuffle from the sinks to their
personal stations, trying to cater
to their client's needs. Tucked in
the back of the salon stands co-
owner Michelle Jones, quietly
circling her client. She clips each
section of hair with precision and
ignores the rapidly spinning
world around her.
“To me, it’s an art,” Jones
said. “There’s a technique. You
give your mark or signature. I
may cut for an hour to perfect
that.”
Jones’ efforts represent the
often overlooked aspect of being
a stylist: Hair design is an art
form, one that has evolved over
the years and provided expres-
sion for many.
Kim Curry-Evans, curator of
“HairStories” at the
Contemporary Art Center in New
Orleans, agrees.
“Black hair is often buf-
fooned,” said Curry-Evans. “It’s
not just a fashion statement. It
provides a lot of historical com-
mentation.”
She added that the cultural
significance of hair has been evi-
dent since slavery and even
before in Africa when represent-
ing tribal status. She also said
that the subject of black hair is
prevalent in all types of art,
including music and poetry.
“HairStories” examines the
essence of black hair in four
themes: individual expression;
barbershops and beauty salons
serving as a meeting place; the
social and political symbolism;
and good hair versus bad hair.
Mona Simon, who has been a
hairstylist for 23 years, said hair
trends and personal expressions
have evolved over the years.
“When I first started, Jheri
curls were real popular,” she said
with a laugh, as she applied a
chemical relaxer to a client’s
scalp.
“Black hair is unique,” Simon
said. “We can do a lot because of
the texture -- straightening, dif-
ferent cuts, braids. There’s so
much versatility to it.”
Simon, who now works out of
Dancing,
exercising
for a cause
By Frenchi Johnson
NYT Institute
It could have been a scene
from Mardi Gras. The floats,
music, dancing and energy on
Saturday were invigorating for
the 200 people who came to
“Jazzercise,” all in the name of
charity.
Fitting in with the backdrop of
shining dragons, dinosaurs and
jesters, exercise students and
instructors, wearing colorful
spandex, came from all over the
country to step to the beat of the
Jazzercise Art & Soul Tour.
The fundraising event, in its
first year, will benefit the Boys
and Girls Club of America and
the Susan G. Komen Breast
Cancer Foundation. The tour
made its fourth of 10 stops at
Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World.
An energetic Cindy Cambrae,
42, said she registered for the tour
because she had been jazzercising
for years and felt an obligation to
support the cause for personal
reasons. “My mother had breast
cancer,” she said. “I would do
anything to give to research for
cancer.”
All participants were expected
to raise a minimum of $150. The
her home, said recent hairstyle
trends promote care for healthy
hair over a fashion statement.
Most of her clients prefer soft
hairstyles, which include using
relaxers, flat irons and roller sets.
“People are conditioning and are
not putting on as much heat,”
Simon said.
However, Jones said many of
her clients prefer the natural
trend. “It’s convenient, looks bet-
ter, looks healthier, and lasts
longer.”
Simon said the weather plays
a major part in how black women
wear their hair. For many black
women in New Orleans, pressing
their hair straight using heated
combs is not popular because of
the humid weather.
Not only is the beauty salon a
place to change one's look, it is
also a haven for gossip and com-
munity current events. “It’s the
starting point for dialogue,” said
Curry-Evans.
Simon said meeting at the hair
salon gives people a chance to
socialize. “You find out what’s
going on in the news, in the city,
in the schools,” Simon said. “It
brings people together. Clients
talk about family and children.”
“Girl, we're like psychia-
trists,” Jones said.
Salons and barbershops also
promote entrepreneurship. “I
wanted my own business and
incorporated it at home,” Simon
said. “It’s more private and less
expensive without all the over-
head.”
Jones said her grandmother
pressed and curled for $2.50, so
many of Jones’ relatives were
skeptical about her career choice.
“They said, ‘How you gonna
make any money,’ ” she mim-
icked. She said she now has over
200 clients.
Curry-Evans said black hair
can be an expression of cultural
and political symbolism, and it
can affect how the world per-
ceives black images and how
blacks perceive themselves.
Stereotypes are also part of those
elements.
“It is very much about identi-
ty,” she said.
One section of the exhibit that
encompasses what black hair rep-
resents for society includes pho-
tos of Angela Davis’ bold Afro,
Bob Marley’s dreadlocks sway-
Jazzercise participants strike a pose during the first Jazzercise
Art & Soul Tour.
tour has raised $200,000 toward
its $1 million goal.
“One instructor put a flyer in
the break room of her business.
She raised more than $300,” said
Emma Mattei, New Orleans dis-
trict manager for Jazzercise.
“We've had others raise more than
$1,000.”
Participants’ reasons for sup-
porting the event varied. Mattei
said some do it because they enjoy
exercising, while others do it
because of personal reasons.
“You never know what is
touching people,” she said.
Judi Sheppard Missett,
Jazzercise's founder and CEO,
said she is touched by the art and
LIFESTYLE
Mona Simon gives a “blow out” to one of her faithful customers from her home salon.
Cynthia Wiggins' "Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful."
ing on a concert stage and Nat
King Cole’s cool swagger in
pressed waves.
A painting by Beverly McIver
titled “Transformation” includes
a client sitting in the styling chair
with blackface. This art poses the
question of whether Blacks are
trying to change their appearance
to assimilate and fit the stereo-
types imposed upon them or sim-
ply relaying their sense of style.
“HairStories” credits Cicely
Tyson with introducing cornrows
to the public in the 1963 televi-
sion series “East Side/West
Side.”
Another piece of artwork that
explores black hairstyle trends in
the media is “Closely Guarded”
by Kori Newkirk. It portrays bas-
AARON DAYE/ NYT Institute
the soul of jazzercise.
Missett, 61, started Jazzercise
35 years ago after being a profes-
sional dancer and teacher with a
Chicago dance company. She said
in her professional class, members
would often drop out rather than
learn the techniques of dance.
Jazzercise leaders decided to
put together the tour in memory of
a longtime instructor, Pam Mader,
who died from cancer.
“Because our program is dedi-
cated to women, I have always
thought it important to educate
and pay attention to health
issues,” she said. “She (Mader)
inspired me to put all of this
together.”
ketball goals made of braids and
beads. The caption explains that
celebrity athletes’ style, such as
Allen Iverson's intricate cornrows
and Kobe Bryant's mini-Afro or
close cut, influence pop culture.
“Self-Portrait #1” by Nadine
Robinson is a canvas completely
covered with Chinese human hair
extensions that the artist wore
over a four-year period.
“It is a testament to the time
and money we put in hair,” said
Curry-Evans. She said it also rec-
ognizes the “need and desire” to
acquire hair from others.
“HairStories” also explores
the ongoing debate of “good
hair” versus “bad hair.” In the
black community, this can be a
touchy subject because of its his-
Low power doesn’t mean more music
By Terrell Bryant
NYT Institute
Local musicians have always
relied on radio to get their songs
played in hopes of making it big.
In New Orleans, residents and
visitors alike say they would like
to hear more local artists on their
radios. The Low Power Radio
Act of 2005 now in Congress
offers the promise for more com-
munities to have a voice with the
introduction of low-powered
local FM stations.
While this could mean a vari-
ety of new stations, most of them
will probably not be providing
new music choices.
In the New Orleans area, there
are 16 applications for licenses to
operate low-wattage stations. The
majority are from religious, edu-
cational and civil organizations,
which may have music in their
programming, but are more like-
ly to carry community messages.
At Tower Records in New
Orleans, sales clerk Wes Harris,
51, said he believes there should
be more locally oriented radio.
“Too much of the program-
ming comes from Los Angeles,
Dallas or someplace else. New
Orleans is large enough to sup-
port more than one low power,”
he said.
Peaches Records and Tapes
manager Ryan Graffagnini said
Photographs by TARA-LYNNE S. PIXLEY/ NYT Institute
A common sight: sweeping up snipped hair after each cut.
tory. Hair described as course,
kinky or tightly-curled can be
considered “bad” by some, while
straight, fine-textured hair could
be labeled as “good.”
Evans-Curry said the issue is
very personal for her. She
recalled the pain of burns when
her mother pressed her hair
straight as a child. She eventually
cut her hair into a cropped Afro
and has worn it that way for the
past decade.
“There’s a difference in how
people approach you,” Curry-
Evans said. “There is a dynamic
of treatment in the hairstyle.”
The exhibit also showcases
artifacts significant to the image
of blacks including displays of
Totally Hair Barbie, old school
he was not too familiar with
LPFM, or low-powered FM, but
would support it if it provided
more alternatives for local music.
“With some of those big sta-
tions, it is hard for a lot of good
artists that could make it to break
out of here and have a chance.
Without any radio play, artists
have to do a lot of word of mouth,
and all kinds of other promotions.
Low powers could definitely help
with this,” Graffagnini said.
The Low Power Radio Act of
2005, which is sponsored in the
Senate by John McCain,
Republican of Arizona, would
allow the licensing of new low-
power FM stations. The bill
would also decrease the distance
on the radio dial between sta-
tions, allowing more stations in
any region, and allow more local
stations in metropolitan areas.
In New Orleans, Metairie and
Marrero, 16 organizations
applied when the FCC first
offered the licenses in 2000. Of
those, 11 were education or com-
munity organizations.
The FCC has received more
than 3,400 applications for
licenses, including 65 from
Louisiana.
But after the FCC had granted
about 300 licenses to nonprofit
organizations, Congress called a
halt, prompted by opposition
NYT Student Journalism Institute
hot combs, and fist Afro pick.
“HairStories” was inspired
and compiled in 2000 after a
dance performance of the same
name by the Urban Bush Woman,
a New York dance troupe. It
includes over 60 pieces of art-
work from 27 artists from across
the country.
The exhibit will remain at the
Center for Contemporary Art in
New Orleans until June 19.
Curry-Evans said the exhibit
“takes a great look at blacks’
impact on culture,” but is not
only limited to the appreciation
of black people.
“It’s a topic very familiar to
everyone. Everyone in the com-
munity can come and share their
stories.”
from the National Association of
Broadcasters, which represents
more than 8,000 major commer-
cial stations, and National Public
Radio. McCain's bill would per-
mit the FCC to begin issuing the
licenses again.
The NAB and NPR said they
feared the low-powered stations
would cause interference with
their signals. “We have nothing
against low-powered FM’s,” said
Jeffrey Yorke, an NAB
spokesman. “It is the interfer-
ence we have concerns with.”
The low-powered stations
have support from one person
who works for their high-pow-
ered brothers. Gabou Mendy, a
programmer for 90.7 MHz,
WWNO, a non-profit high-pow-
ered radio station, said, “I would
like to see more community
news, along with environmental
issues in the New Orleans area
covered. I think LPs are an alter-
native to other stations.”
“When I travel I like to listen
to other types of music, especial-
ly music on the left side of the
radio dial where many are locat-
ed,” he said. “You can learn
something and I bet you would
not hear the same song twice in
one hour-in on a low power. I am
not worried they would be com-
petition. I believe they will bring
something new to the dial.”
May 28, 2005
Whole Foods
hungry for
new market
Relocates to Metairie,
leaves former customers
feeling a little empty
By Tanya Caldwell
NYT Institute
Every morning for about three
years, Geoff Douville visited
Whole Foods Market to get his
favorite breakfast: an oatmeal
raisin cookie and a small cup of
medium-roasted, fair-ground cof-
fee.
But on May 18, there were no
cookies and coffee for Douville.
There hasn't been for nearly a
month now. And there's no telling
if or when he'll ever be able to buy
those things from the grocer on the
corner of Esplanade Avenue and
Mystery Street again.
All that remains is a sign on the
storefront window:
“This neighborhood has been
fantastic, funny, crazy, caring and
fun. We're grateful to everyone
who made this one of the best
experiences of our lives.”
In short: We're closed.
“It’s knocked a hole in my
diet,” said Douville, 39. “I haven't
made the adjustment yet.”
Things have changed since the
Esplanade Avenue Whole Foods
Market closed down on April 20.
All that remains are a couple of
empty crates around the back of
the building and some large cool-
ers that were used to keep its
organic foods fresh.
Katina Caldwell, who works at
the bakery next door, said the
neighborhood is a tight-knit com-
munity. The loss wouldn’t have
Whether creamy, spicy or thick, classic crawfish dish pleases the palate
By Elizabeth Bertrand
NYT Institute
Crawfish étouffée is a traditional
Cajun dish that can be made in a
thousand different ways and still be
called classic. Every recipe calls for
the same basic ingredients: rice, but-
ter, onions, bell pepper, cayenne
pepper, flour, water, green onions,
and - of course - crawfish. Tinkering
with the ingredients, whether at
home or in a restaurant, makes each
variation distinctive.
Crawfish étouffée can be cream-
colored, brown or orange. Orange is
typically my favorite and is consid-
ered the most traditional. I want my
crawfish étouffée to be spicy, but not
overpowering.
Étouffée can be soupy, creamy or
thick. Usually a watery étouffée
makes me cringe. Étouffée should be
eaten with a fork, not a spoon. But
the étouffée from The Half Shell
Restaurant in New Orleans is an
exception. It was thin, but the dish's
flavor and spices made up for its
consistency.
My absolute favorite crawfish
étouffée is not from a fancy or one-
of-a-kind restaurant; it's from
Piccadilly Cafeteria, which was
founded by Tandy Hamilton in
Baton Rouge, La., in 1944. There
are now more than 130 restaurants in
15 states.
It's where I had my first crawfish
étouffée, and to me, it's still the best.
But as it turns out, it's not the loca-
tion that mattered - it was the thick-
ness of the roux, a combination of
been so rough if the store was in an
urban area like New York City, she
said.
“It wouldn't have been that big
of a deal,” she said. “I guess they
felt like this was their store.”
Since the closing of the store,
business at the bakery and other
shops along Esplanade has been
slow, Caldwell said.
“They were very, very upset
when the store closed.”
But the store just wasn't meet-
ing the company's expectations
anymore, said Whole Foods
Market spokesman Scott Simons.
“We didn't want to move that
store,” Simons said. “There would
be no reason if the sales were what
they needed to be.”
The fate of the empty building
on Esplanade is still undecided.
Two bidding grocery companies -
Lakeview Fine Foods and
Matassa's Market - want to take
over. They’re scheduled to meet
with the public at a hearing May 19
from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Cabrini High
School on 1400 Moss St.
Simons said both companies are
contractually acceptable. He said
the public's say will be a big factor
for the store's future.
“We just have a long-standing
relationship with the community
and we really wanted to make sure
they were served,” Simons said.
“Community feedback is really
going to weigh heavily on the final
decision.”
flour and oil or butter.
“The key to doing anything like
that is, ‘How do you brown your
roux?’ ” said Matt Koontz, associate
general manager of the Piccadilly
restaurant in New Orleans on
Veterans Highway. “The darker the
roux, the more buttery it tastes.”
Another restaurant that makes
really good, thick crawfish étouffée
is Mulate's.
"We use a little bit more flour and
a little bit more water to make it a
more consistent sauce - a little thick-
er," said Monique Boutté Christina,
the manager of Mulate's in New
Orleans.
She added that the crawfish
étouffée they make at Mulate's is
thicker than what she makes at
home.
Ernest Prejean, who is chef of
Prejean's in Lafayette, La., said he
uses chicken base and lobster base
in his étouffée, in addition to tradi-
tional stocks.
However, when you look at the
cookbook that the restaurant sells,
their crawfish étouffée recipe for the
lobster base is not listed. That's the
main difference between the étouf-
fée in the restaurant and the étouffée
in their cookbook.
Prejean's cookbook has paprika,
garlic, chicken bouillon and celery
in its recipe.
Chef Emeril Lagasse, who, as
you know, is famous for taking it up
a notch, uses two bay leaves, thyme,
fish or shrimp stock, tomatoes,
Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire
LIFESTYLE
The Whole Foods Market on Veterans Blvd. draws in large numbers to their grand opening.
Esplanade's other businesses
just hope the change won't take
away its longtime customers.
“I'm a little nervous, just a lit-
tle,” said Karen Terranova, whose
husband, Benny, owns the 80-year-
old, family-owned Terranova
Grocery. “We get nervous every
single time somebody comes.”
Terranova, 46, has posted green
fliers in the bakery and other shops
along Esplanade, asking the resi-
dents what organic foods they need
so Terranova Grocers can sell them
to its neighbors. She said she's
hoping whatever company takes
over will decide to keep the store a
source for organic foods so it won't
directly compete with her store.
But Simons said the two com-
panies vying for the store would be
conventional grocery stores.
“They’re both open to carrying
more organic foods, if that's what
the community wants,” Simons
said.
Terranova said she'd be at the
meeting on May 19.
About five miles away in
Metairie, a new grocery store was
booming. May 18 was the grand
opening of the Whole Foods
Market on Veterans Boulevard and
the place was packed.
People driving Lexuses,
Mercedes and other cars beeped
their horns and crammed their way
in and out of the parking lot and
the surrounding streets. They
parked behind the store in the load-
ELIZABETH BERTRAND/ NYT Institute
Crawfish étouffée from Pampy's Restaurant and Bar.
sauce, lemon and salt in his crawfish
étouffée.
Chef Austin Leslie, of Pampy's in
New Orleans, makes his étouffée
with Worcestershire sauce, thyme,
one bay leaf and tomatoes. He uses
“heavy cream.”
Some people include tomatoes as
a way to give the food its orangish
color. A recipe from www.creole-
man.com said to use Rotel tomatoes.
But my favorite recipes don't
include them.
However, the New Orleans
restaurant, Seafood & Co., uses fine-
ly chopped tomatoes and tomato
paste, and the étouffée there is mag-
nifique!
Jamal Mousa of Seafood & Co.
Photographs BY MARCI FULLER/ NYT Institute
The closing of the Whole Foods Market on Esplanade Ave. is deeply
missed by its local consumers.
ing dock and down the street at the
mechanic shops.
Inside, the new store boasts a
full-service, sit-in restaurant; a
sushi station; two salad bars and
more.
Customers were enjoying sam-
ples, everything from hand soaps
to three-milk cake, as they
shopped.
It’s bigger and better here, if
you ask John Lacarviere, who
worked at the Esplanade store for
almost two years.
“It's the same (community) feel-
ing, but there's just more of it,” he
said.
Simons said Whole Foods relo-
cated to improve advancement
opportunities as well as sales.
“It wasn’t happening in
explained his method for making the
tasty étouffée: always use fresh
ingredients, make the sauce your-
self, listen to what other people say
about it and don't use tomato sauce.
“I don't use tomato sauce because
it can give people heartburn,”
Mousa said. “I use tomato paste.”
I don’t even have to tell you how
people take shortcuts when making
this dish at home. Sometimes they
bypass making a roux for their
crawfish étouffée. They use
Campbell's cream of mushroom
soup or cream of celery instead. I
can describe my feelings on the mat-
ter in three words: “Don't do it!”
Some recipes call for more, some
for less butter. I say, use more butter.
NYT Student Journalism Institute
Esplanade,” he said. “Esplanade
had about 65 to 75 team members.
The new store has about 275 mem-
bers. That’s many more job oppor-
tunities, for team members and for
management.”
Back at Esplanade Avenue and
Mystery Street, Douville is still
looking for a decent place to buy a
cookie. He said he's not going to
the new, larger store on Veterans
Boulevard.
“The greatest thing was that it
was a local store,” he said. “It’s a
drag that you’re losing a store for
some corporate box being put up in
Metairie.”
Until something new opens up
at the corner market, Douville said
he’ll start going to the other shops
on Esplanade.
Christina outlines her ideas in
her self-published cookbook,
“Recipes from Mulate's and Other
Family Favorites”: “All you need
to cook a good meal is a little skill
and lots of patience. Cooking isn't
just about the recipe. Recipes are
only guidelines for cooking a good
meal. True cooking is putting your
heart and soul into the dish.”
Christina's father, Kerry Boutté,
originally established Mulate's in
Breaux Bridge, La., in 1980. They
added the New Orleans location in
the French Quarter in 1990. The
Breaux Bridge location has been
enlarged three times and now occu-
pies a 10,000 square foot building.
Shirley Bartmess and Jackie
Roark, who lunched at Mulate’s
one week day, called it “very
good.” They had eaten at the
Breaux Bridge location and
enjoyed the food there, and they
liked the fact that Mulate’s is
“famous” as it says on the door.
They are not your average cus-
tomers. Bartmess is the owner of
Jim Bowie’s Relay Station, a
restaurant in Enterprise, a small
town in northern Louisiana.
Roark said the crawfish étouffée
that Bartmess makes “is a little
more orange than brown.”
When asked why Jim Bowie’s
Relay Station did not have crawfish
étouffée on the menu, Bartmess
said, “We have thought about hav-
ing it on our menu, but I would be
the one to cook it, and I don’t want
to cook it.”
C9
Even more
food, wine
in the city
By Jessica De Vault
NYT Institute
The 14th annual New Orleans
Wine and Food Experience brought
locals and tourists together to enjoy
good eats, vintage wines, authentic
antiques and fine art.
The five-day event, which runs
from May 25 to 29, also offers cul-
tural seminars and features more
than 25 art galleries and antique
shops.
Thursday’s featured attraction,
the Royal Street Stroll, attracted
experienced and novice art collec-
tors to one of the French Quarter's
better-known art streets.
“This is one of our best events
that we participate in,” said Becky
Cheffer, owner of Bee Galleries. She
said that by 6 p.m., her gallery had
already sold a number of paintings
by the featured artist, Martin
LaBorde.
Visitors walked through galleries
and were able to sample some of the
finest wines, champagnes and hors
d'oeuvres for $55.
Mary Bonney, owner of the
Williams and Joseph Gallery, said
she has participated in the festival
for the last five years.
“It’s a big to-do,” said Bonney,
who hired chef Yvette Yates to pre-
pare an extravagant buffet that
included octopus salad and duck
confit canapés.
Mark Ramy, a sales consultant
for the gallery, said that although the
menu was extravagant, sales rarely
increased during the event.
“We found it really doesn’t do to
terribly much for sales,” Ramy said.
However, New Orleans Crab Bag
owner Lynn Abide said her business
did quite well.
“Everything is going great,”
Abide said. “I would say from last
year, it has actually doubled.”
Not every gallery on Royal Street
signed up for the festival.
The owner of Le Jardin Glass Art,
Heather Newell, was not an official
participant, but offered wine and fin-
ger foods at her gallery.
“There's been lot's of people,”
Newell said. “The sales are definite-
ly different.”
Sales are not necessarily the main
focus for the participating galleries
and antique shops, according to
Ramy.
“We just like to party,” he said,
adding that some patrons “just seem
more interested in the wine.”
Friday and Saturday's featured
event will be a Grand Tasting. The
Wine and Food Experience ends
Sunday with Bubbles and Brunch.
Crawfish Etouffée
1 ½ cups butter, divided
½ cup flour
2 small onions, finely diced
½ cup finely diced bell pepper
¾ cup finely diced celery
¼ cup chopped
green onion bottoms
2 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
¾ teaspoon garlic
3 tablespoons chicken bouillon
1 quart water
2 pounds crawfish tails
½ cup chopped green onion tops
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Combine ½ cup butter and ½ cup
flour in a small saucepan. Stir while
cooking for three minutes over
medium-high heat; keep warm. In a
four-quart saucepan, add ½ cup but-
ter, onion, bell pepper, celery and
green onion bottoms; cook over
medium heat while stirring for eight
minutes. Add paprika, peppers, gar-
lic and chicken bouillon. Cook two
more minutes while stirring. Add
one-quart water and bring to a boil
for five minutes. Add reserved roux,
stirring well with wire whip.
Reduce heat to medium, and boil
for three minutes. Add crawfish,
onion tops, and parsley; then stir in
last ½ cup butter. Turn heat to low
until ready to serve.
©2004 Prejean's
Used with permission.
C10 May 28, 2005 NYT Student Journalism Institute

DOH!
WITH A FRENCH ACCENT

I
n 1862 the original Café Du Monde
was established in the New Orleans
French Market. The café is still
around, thanks to being open 24 hours,
seven days a week, and serving its famous
beignets. A beignet is a square piece of
dough that is fried until it is golden brown
and then covered with powdered sugar.
Beignets are normally served in orders of
three. But you can’t get them on Christmas
day and during bad weather, when the café
is closed.
After a fun-filled day, a local Girl Scouts troop takes a powdery break in Café Du Monde.

During the breakfast rush, the urgency is seen on the staff’s

faces (above). But servers still find time for a smile (left). The
café’s busy hours are between 9 a.m. and noon on weekdays.

Photography and text by Marci Fuller

Page Design by De’Eric M. Henry
 D1

AARON DAYE/ NYT Institute

From left, Frenchi Johnson conducts a phone interview, Meghan Irons, copy editor for The Boston Globe, edits a story and Nick Birdsong gets help with his project from Merrill
Perlman, director of copy desks at The New York Times. Other student reporters and editors work on their stories in the makeshift newsroom at Dillard University in New Orleans.

CLASS
OF 2005 THE NEW YORK TIMES
STUDENT JOURNALISM INSTITUTE

I
t was Year 3 of The New
York Times Student
Journalism Institute,
where 30 young journal-
ists from historically
black colleges gathered in New
Orleans this May to get inten-
sive on-the-job training.
The students covered real
news, posting their work on
www.nytimes-institute.com
AARON DAYE/ NYT Institute
Ayesha Roscoe,19, a Howard University junior, discusses her story with AARON DAYE/ NYT Institute and producing a newspaper.
Arlene M. Schneider, the New York Times copy desk recruiter. Students Rebecca Roussell flashes a smile
worked directly with professional journalists during the program. at the start of her day. Housed on the campus of
Dillard University, they expe-
rienced all the stress and satis-
faction of a professional news-
room. They shared pizza as
they worked late on stories
ranging from the heart-break-
ing to the glamorous to the
funny.
Lending guidance were
journalists from The New
JOSE R. LOPEZ/ NYT Institute
York Times, The Boston Globe
Don Hecker, director of the institute, right, delivers remarks to the class of 2005 during the and regional newspapers of
opening afternoon session at Dillard University. Students also participated in training sessions
aimed at preparing them for the professional world of journalism. the Times Company.
 D2 May 28, 2005
Stacy Anderson
Howard University
If experience is the greatest teacher,
then Stacy Anderson studied with the
best.
Anderson, 20, an Atlanta native, has
had many experiences as a journalist, in
hopes of having a diverse career.
“I eventually want to become an editor
of a newspaper, have my own publishing
company, and produce an entertainment
news program geared toward young peo-
ple,” Anderson said.
The first opportunity to flex her writ-
ing skills came through Headz Up! mag-
azine, a nonprofit publication distributed
through Atlanta-area
middle and high
schools. She became
entertainment editor
when she was 14.
Anderson said the
experience began her
journalism career.
“I learned how to
investigate, how to
research, basically the
whole journalism process in general,”
said the Howard University junior.
Since she began college, she has
interned at CNN International as an
administrative assistant and the following
year she assisted producers by research-
ing and booking guests for CNN.
In spring 2005, she completed an
internship at BET.com and this summer
she will intern at United Press
International in Washington.
And during the 2005-06 school year
she will serve as business and technology
editor for The Hilltop, the campus
newspaper.
Elizabeth Bertrand
Lincoln University
She says she has many passions, but
one purpose. When asked what that pur-
pose was, Elizabeth Bertrand replied
quickly, “To serve God.”
Bertrand has
been from South
Africa to Israel evan-
gelizing, feeding the
hungry and working
with the underprivi-
leged. Her desire to
make a change in the
world is as large as
the ministry she's
taken on each sum-
mer for five years.
The pictures of foreign places she has
captured with a disposable camera hint at
her skill, though she has never had any
formal photography instruction. But they
account for only a portion of her life
story.
Bertrand is a young, white woman
who chose to attend a historically black
college. She initially planned to attend
Lincoln University in Jefferson City,
Mo., before transferring to another insti-
tution that had promised her a scholar-
ship. However after getting to Lincoln,
she said she loved the school so much,
she decided to stay.
At Lincoln, she read the campus news-
paper and decided she could contribute to
improving its editing. She's been a copy
editor at the student newspaper, The
Lincoln Clarion, for two years.
As an elementary education major
with a minor in print journalism, Bertrand
is open to a future of teaching and copy
editing.
The daughter of a nurse and a copy
editor, Bertrand grew up in a newspaper
office and looked for errors in copy --
everywhere.
“I would always find typos in my
‘Babysitter's Club’ books,” Bertrand said.
Nick Birdsong
Florida A&M University
It was Nick Birdsong's dislike for a
teacher that sparked his detour into a pro-
fessional journalism career.
“My high school Spanish teacher was
annoying,” he said.
“So I went to my
guidance counselor
and begged her to
remove me from my
Spanish class.”
Newspaper jour-
nalism was the only
class available. He
wrote a few sports
PROFILES
Markel Eskridge talks to New Orleans Saints player Ikechuku Ndukwe while covering one of their practices. Eskridge said
meeting NFL players was a memorable experience. "I realized they were down to earth, just like me,'' he said.
‘My most memorable experience is witnessing
the organized chaos of the professional
newsroom.’
Malachi Daraja
stories and began to take a serious interest ion designer, detoured into writing for the
in reporting. school newspaper after the high school
“Journalism was the only thing I felt yearbook staff was full.
confident in. I never liked science and In high school, after Brown had been
mathematics,” he said. promoted from reporter to section editor,
Birdsong was a talented high school her peers recognized her talent for page
basketball player who during his senior design and she eventually became a
year traveled to Sweden and France as design editor.
part of a Nike all-star team. He consid- At The Spartan Echo, NSU’s student
ered making basketball his career, but newspaper, she was the design editor dur-
decided against it. ing her sophomore and junior years and
“I loved to play basketball but I didn't was promoted to editor in chief her senior
want to have to play it as if my existence year.
depended on it.” Brown, who has interned with The
Birdsong, who had decided not to Virginian-Pilot and The Detroit News as a
attend college, changed his mind and Chips Quinn Scholar, is scheduled to go
applied after being invited to a Florida to Washington after The New York
A&M University football game. Student Journalism Institute as a design
He immersed himself in journalism, intern at The Washington Post.
working on the campus newspaper, The
Famuan, as an assistant sports editor,
sports editor and co-news editor.
In the fall, the newspaper journalism
Terrell Bryant
senior will serve as managing editor of Benedict College
Journey, the campus magazine.
“I'm nosy,” said Terrell Bryant, justi-
fying his decision to delve into journal-
ism.
Madia Brown The 23-year-old says he first toyed
Norfolk State University with the idea of being an architect
because of his awe of
It’s a tough world out there. Madia skyscrapers. But
Brown’s life speaks to that without her somewhere in the
saying a word. industrial art mix,
The 21-year-old, a recent graduate of Bryant realized that
Norfolk State University in Virginia, says journalists were much
she is headed to the top despite setbacks cooler.
earlier in her life. “I always thought
“If you don’t stand they were the
for anything, you’ll smartest people,”
fall for everything,” Bryant said with a
Brown said. wide, toothy grin. It’s “such a respected
Her brother was field.”
killed in Liberia when Bryant noticed that he enjoyed being
she was considered “in the know” before anyone else.
too young to under- Writing became his path to glory. “I get to
stand what happened. be in control,” he said.
When she was 3, her The recent Benedict College graduate
single-parent mother died in a hospital was editor of his monthly campus news-
during surgery. paper, Tiger News, which had a staff of
Family friends helped Brown’s grand- no more than 10 news junkies. “And that
mother raise her and her older sister. included the adviser,” he added.
“My goal is to prove people wrong,” Though he described the setup as chal-
the Walterboro, S.C., native said. “People lenging, he was able to learn the ropes
assume that I’m going to be a statistic.” well enough to complete two internships
Brown, who first wanted to be a fash- during his time at Benedict, one at
AARON DAYE/ NYT Institute
Carolina Panorama and the other at Black
College Wire, an online newswire spe-
cializing in black college news.
Bryant, who was only one of 10 mass
communication students from Benedict to
graduate, has snagged a job at The State,
the largest daily newspaper in South
Carolina. Bryant, who is interested in
public relations, said he's looking forward
to his position as a retail sales account
executive. When he spoke, it was nearly
impossible for him to hide a beaming
smile.
“Life is too short for you to always be
down,” he said. “If you have a pessimistic
view on life, your soul is dead . . . without
God I wouldn't be here.”
Tanya Caldwell
Florida A&M University
For Tanya Caldwell, the start of a pro-
fessional journalism career with the
Tribune Company has come through her
faith -- and the number 7.
When she was in the seventh grade she
set a goal of owning a magazine, and then
she prayed. After seven newspaper
internships, she will report this fall to The
Los Angeles Times as part of a two-year
training program.
“My life is like one
big leap of faith,” she
said.
The recent Florida
A&M University
graduate counts
among her opportuni-
ties being deputy
news editor of The
Famuan newspaper,
managing editor of
Journey, the campus magazine, and
gospel music director of WANM 90.5
FM. In 2001, she earned her first pro-
fessional internship at Florida Today in
Melbourne.
From there Caldwell spent consecu-
tive summers and fall semesters at The
Providence Journal, The New York Times
Regional Media Group's capital bureau,
Sun-Sentinel's capital bureau and St.
Petersburg Times. She is scheduled to be
an intern at the South Florida Sun-
Sentinel in June.
NYT Student Journalism Institute
LeMont Calloway
Florida A&M University
It is a simple saying with a twist that
has stuck in the mind of LeMont
Calloway: “Where there is a will, there is
a Calloway.”
Those words, spoken by his father
when Calloway was 11, have been with
him for the last 10 years. The lesson was
taught when he was ready to give up as a
budding basketball player disappointed
with his team's losses.
Since then, Calloway has applied
those words to his life and his ambition of
becoming a journalist.
The Chicago native said he came from
a family of sports fanatics. His love for
writing and sports came together in his
goal of becoming a
sports reporter.
“There is always
something going on
in sports and there is
always someone who
wants to talk about
sports,” he said.
After playing high
school basketball,
Calloway picked up a
pen and notepad and started writing about
sports, sparking his journalism career as a
sports editor for his high school newspa-
per, The Evanstonian.
Calloway became assistant sports edi-
tor for Florida A&M University's news-
paper, The Famuan, his sophomore year.
Now a senior at the college, he has risen
to deputy sports editor.
Of his experience in the New York
Times Student Journalism Institute,
Calloway said, “I like the idea of bump-
ing shoulders with those who have the
same ambition that I do.”
After the institute, he will intern on the
city desk at The Tuscaloosa News in
Alabama and then at The Tallahassee
Democrat in the fall.
Ultimately, Calloway wants to become
an NBA beat reporter.
Stanley Chollette
Grambling State University
Self-proclaimed comedian Stanley
“Shawn” Chollette sees himself as a
philosopher and a scientist.
The Louisiana Tech University senior
copy edits for Grambling State
University. Chollette, who is studying to
become a biomedical engineer and a jour-
nalist, said he works hard while laughing
in the face of adversity. “I have had a lot
of setbacks in my life, but despite my set-
backs I still rise,” Chollette said.
One of his tough decisions is choosing
between engineering
and journalism.
Chollette has decided
to combine both pas-
sions.
“There is a lack on
both fronts of young
African-Americans in
newsrooms and in the
science and technolo-
gy fields. There needs to be a liaison
between the two, and I think I am quite
capable of being that person.”
Chollette, a native of New Orleans,
aspires to report on science and techno-
logical issues affecting minorities.
He had an internship with Black
College Wire in the summer of 2004, a
news wire service for historically black
colleges, and has an upcoming Chips
Quinn internship with the Lancaster
Eagle-Gazette in Lancaster, Ohio.
Malachi Daraja
Morgan State University
Malachi Daraja has always had his
head in a book.
“I have never known a living environ-
ment that did not have
at least four stacked
bookshelves filled to
the brim with books,”
said Daraja, editor in
chief of The
Spokesman, the stu-
dent newspaper at
Morgan State
University in
Baltimore.
In elementary school, Daraja couldn't
get enough of the Goosebumps books.
“I finished them in three hours,” said
the 20-year-old senior from Long Island.
“I needed more than one and I filled up
May 28, 2005
Daraja turned his love for reading into
a passion for journalism in college.
Starting as a staff writer at The
Spokesman, Daraja became world news
editor and eventually managing editor.
“I just got hooked,” Daraja said.
“When I became world news editor, I
found something I really enjoyed.”
This summer he will intern in the pub-
lic relations office at Morgan State.
Although Daraja said he’s open to all
types of journalism, he wants to become a
foreign correspondent. He is also interest-
ed in American politics.
He said that if African-Americans real-
ized the power they had, it could bring
about major change. “If the entire
African-American community stood up
and demanded improvement in education,
we would get it,” Daraja said. “You can’t
ignore that large a number. If we aren’t
conscious, then we aren’t important.”
Aaron Daye
North Carolina Central University
Aaron Daye is a busy man.
“On average, I only get about four hours
of sleep,” he said.
Daye spends most of his time as a pho-
tographer and graphic designer. But the 22-
year-old also has been a T-shirt designer,
event planner and painter and is a recent
North Carolina Central University graduate.
In addition to being
an entrepreneur, Daye
is busy in the commu-
nity organizing blood
drives and fundraisers
for Alpha Phi Alpha
Faternity, Inc. He also
is the fraternity histori-
an, social chairman and
Webmaster.
The fast pace
of the New York Times Student Journalism
Institute is nothing new to Daye.
“I'm pretty used to always being on the
go,” he said. “Here I won't have all my other
things going on keeping me from giving 150
percent.”
The former intern at The Herald-Sun in
Durham, N.C., said he hopes the institute
helps him become a better visual artist.
Daye has several plans for his future,
including establishing a marketing, graphic
design and photography firm, opening a bar-
ber shop and trying his hand at real estate.
With all his aspirations, sleep will be the
last thing on Daye's mind.
Jessica De Vault
North Carolina A&T
For as long as Jessica De Vault can
remember, she has been a writer.
Growing up in Fayetteville, N.C., she
entertained her friends by writing stories
about them and designing comic strips.
But it wasn't until she entered North
Carolina A&T University that she knew her
career goals.
“I didn't realize I
wanted a career in
writing until college,”
said De Vault, who
started as a theater
major and once played
an evil stepsister in
“The Cinderella
Story.”
Now a journalism
major, the 22-year-old is active on the
school paper, The A&T Register. The senior
is finally getting the position she has been
waiting for: arts and entertainment editor, a
job that usually goes to more experienced
seniors.
De Vault says she has major plans as
A&E editor.
“I want to bring different stuff to campus
before I leave,” she said.
What De Vault loves about being a jour-
nalist is the thrill of chasing the story. What
she hates are the crazy hours and the
paparazzi, which she says give journalists a
bad name.
“People assume that we will do anything
for a story,” she said.
De Vault is the only child of Ava De Vault.
Because of her mother's military back-
ground, she has traveled to France, Spain
and Germany, where she lived for three
years.
The fan of Oprah Winfrey and Katie
Couric says that although she loves the busi-
ness, she does have limits.
She will not go to war or compromise her
values.
“I'm passionate about writing. But it ain't
that serious.”
Life at the Institute
JOSHUA L. HALLEY/ NYT Institute
Online research is a hard day's work for Jessica
Young, a reporter with the Institute.
Ebony Horton speaks with NAACP State Conference President Eddie Johnson while reporting on the NAACP
march in the French Quarter.
Markel Eskridge
LeMoyne-Owen College
When 32-year-old Markel Eskridge
departed the plane in New Orleans with a
tattered copy of “French Quarter: History of
New Orleans Underworld,” he turned a few
heads. A few even stopped to ask what he
was reading.
“They wanted to
know what was hold-
ing a black man's
attention,” said the
Memphis, Tenn.,
native.
It wasn’t until he
turned 30 that Eskridge
decided to enroll in
LeMoyne-Owen College in south
Memphis.
“I walked into the financial aid office and
said, ‘I want to go to school, but I don't have
any money,’” said Eskridge, who is now a
junior in print journalism.
The financial aid officer looked past his
four gold fronts, baggy clothes and
Memphis slang and helped him get admit-
ted to LeMoyne.
“When I walked through the college
doors, I didn't even know how to cut on a
computer or type a paper,” Eskridge said.
“But at the end of the first semester I had a
3.0.”
As managing editor of The Magician,
LeMoyne's campus newspaper, Eskridge
hopes to use his experiences to further the
voice of the urban black male.
“I want to put a twist and another voice
in the newsroom,” Eskridge said. “I want to
be the kind of journalist who gives some-
body hope.”
Alexander Ford
Hampton University
Many people would describe earning a
college diploma as one of the defining
moments of their lives. Alexander Ford is
not in that group.
Instead, Ford views his recent graduation
from Hampton University as just another
step in his journey to “taking over the air-
waves.”
As the only child of a single mother,
Ford, 22, grew up in Miami with a lot of
PROFILES
AARON DAYE/ NYT Institute
Marci Fuller was one of the four pho-
tographers at this year's Institute.
MARCI FULLER/ NYT Institute
independence. “My mother did not spoon munication and psychology double major
feed me,” Ford said. “She let me experience from Houston also finds time to volunteer at
the world for myself.” Fairchild Elementary School. She said she
Now, he plans to dispel the myth that loves the kids; just don't expect to see her in
people from single-parent homes cannot the classroom preparing pupils to prosper.
succeed. She said her mother, a teacher, encouraged
“People who complain about that foolish- her not to follow in her footsteps.
ness, they’re holding But she is just as ambitious in the class-
themselves back,” Ford room as she is in her various clubs and
said. organizations. Fuller maintains a 3.4 grade
Ford refuses to be point average and is a Gates Millennium
held back by anything, Scholar, an award given to 1,000 students
especially hard work. annually by Bill Gates.
While at Hampton, Having mastered the art of multitasking,
Ford was the sports Fuller is on a mission to leave a lasting lega-
editor and copy editor cy.
for The Hampton
Script, and urban music
director at the campus radio station, WHOV Joshua L. Halley
88.1 FM. He also produced a talk show Southern University
about relationships called “He Said/She
Said.” Joshua L. Halley’s professional pho-
His efforts have been paying off. After tography career was unplanned.
The New York Times Student Journalism “I started by accident,” said Halley, a
Institute, he will begin an internship with sophomore at Southern University in
Black College Wire. “I feel that I'm so ultra- Baton Rouge, where he works for the
talented that by just doing newspaper, I Southern Digest.
would be limiting myself because of my Halley’s career began when he stum-
potential,” Ford said. bled across an ad in his school newspaper
seeking staff photographers. Eager to
make extra money,
Marci Fuller Halley submitted his
Dillard University best work: photos he'd
taken during his sen-
It is amazing that Marci Fuller even ior high school trip to
found the time to write the 500-word Guatemala that
essay required for this year’s New York included images of
Times Student Journalism Institute. mountain ranges,
Fuller, 21, a junior at small, impoverished
Dillard University, said villages and happy
she is involved in so children. These
many extracurricular images earned him a spot on the staff.
activities she can't Halley has always loved photography.
remember them all. “I started taking recreational pictures
She is the photo editor when I was 4,” he said. “My dad was an
of the university’s stu- amateur photographer, so I just played
dent newspaper, The around with his professional equipment.”
Courtboullion; vice In his freshman year, Halley took
president of the more than 5,000 pictures. The mass com-
school’s chapter of the National Association munications student said his sports pho-
of Black Journalists; an on-air personality at tographs are the best.
the campus radio station, WDUB 660 AM; He is particularly meticulous about
and a member of the Houston Club and the feature stories and profiles. “I’m a perfec-
Student Government Association. tionist. I have an image in my head,”
Off campus, Fuller has interned at Halley said. “I keep shooting till I get it
Houston Style Magazine. The mass com- the way I want.”
NYT Student Journalism Institute D3
Eba Hamid
Hampton University
Eba Hamid seeks an educational opportu-
nity when and wherever she can.
Last year she was one of five winners of
the Knight Ridder Minority Scholarship
Program, which offers $40,000 over four
years, four summer internships, and a
chance for employment with the company.
Born in Sudan, Hamid, 19, a Hampton
University sophomore, moved to the United
States with her parents when she was 3.
Hamid initially wanted to be a police offi-
cer, but said she
changed her mind after
her older sister per-
suaded her to write for
their high school news-
paper. Her interest
changed as she discov-
ered the many sides of
the craft. She decided
to rejoin the paper the
following year at her
teacher's request and later became the editor.
Now a staff writer for the Hampton
Script, her college newspaper, she wants to
try photography, page design and copy edit-
ing with the institute.
“I want to experience everything I can,”
she said.
Bravetta Hassell
Hampton University
Bravetta Hassell said a high school
journalism program sponsored by The
Washington Post changed her life.
The Alexandria,Va., native also attend-
ed a Scripps Howard journalism program
that allowed her to cover Capitol Hill,
elderly abuse of prescription drugs, the
historical desegrega-
tion of schools, and
the National Spelling
Bee.
Hassell has
interned at The
Washington Afro
American newspaper,
where she covered
“American Idol”
auditions and inter-
viewed D.C. Rep. Eleanor Holmes
Norton.
The print journalism major intends to
minor in a foreign language. “Spanish is
a marketable language. I need to know
it,” Hassell said. “It makes me more ver-
satile in my abilities to write and commu-
nicate.” She said she would like to work
for a mid-sized newspaper and focus on
education and general assignment.
Hassell, who will be editor in chief for
the 2005-2006 school year, said she
intends to improve the campus publica-
tion: “I want people to be proud of the
Script and I want them to look forward to
reading more than just one section.”
De’Eric Henry
Grambling State University
Growing up in Shreveport, La., De’Eric
Henry spent several years trying to find his
passion.
At 12 he took up dance, concentrating on
modern, jazz and ballet.
In his late teens, he thought about a job
either in the military or with computers.
However, upon entering Grambling State
University, he decided to pursue mass com-
munications.
“For a while, I didn't know what my pas-
sion was. I was a mass communications
major, but I had no idea what I really want-
ed to do,” Henry said.
“After an internship
one summer I realized
that my creative niche,
along with my person-
ality, could sometimes
be portrayed in the
form of design.”
Now a senior, Henry
is the presentation edi-
tor and page designer
for The Gramblinite, Grambling's campus
newspaper, and a performing arts minor
through dance.
He won two second-place awards, both
for front page design, one at the Historically
Black Colleges and Universities National
Newspaper Conference and the Louisiana
Press Association.
This summer, Henry will work as an
intern at the News-Star in Monroe, La., for a
second year. He will be doing page design
and copy editing.
D4 May 28, 2005
Linda Hobbs
Clark Atlanta University
Linda Hobbs, a senior at Clark Atlanta
University, is ready to dive into the field
of journalism upon graduation.
Growing up in Detroit, the younger of
two daughters,
Hobbs, 21, was raised
by her mother in a
single- parent house-
hold.
“Like any other
household, single or
not, we had our ups
and downs,” she said.
Granted, I didn't have
the most privileged
childhood, but I was blessed, and at an
early age I knew what I wanted to do.”
Hobbs said that while growing up, she
always found inspiration from VIBE
magazine music writer Kevin Powell.
“In middle school I read his article
called ‘Live from Death Row’ in a 1995
issue of VIBE magazine when the whole
beef from Bad Boy and Death Row was
going on.
“The way he was able to put the story
together read like a good novel, but it was
truth and journalism,” Hobbs said. “That
is when I fell in love with music journal-
ism.”
Hobbs has “gotten her feet wet” in the
field of journalism with internships in the
Detroit and Atlanta area such as the
Metro Times, Upscale Magazine and
Detroit Free Press.
Ebony Horton
Stillman College
Ebony Horton, 20, a senior at Stillman
College in Tuscaloosa, Ala., said she
knows her God-given talents and purpose.
“I believe that God gives each and
every one of us a purpose, and that if we
do not do what we are called to do, then
God will give it to someone else.”
An English major and a print journalism
minor, Horton began
writing when the edi-
tor of her high school
newspaper, The Talon,
in Ozark, Ala., asked
her to do a story on the
track team.
Through reporting,
Horton networked and
gained valuable
resources that led to
her becoming editor of The Talon and
receiving several scholarships.
Horton will graduate a semester early
in December. After graduation, she plans
to take a break.
Horton once aspired to be an English
teacher, but has decided against it because
of her passion for journalism.
Ultimately, she wants to teach and
inspire others with her own magazine,
which will target black female teenagers.
When asked the most important thing
she's learned about life, Horton quoted her
mother: “Hurry up … move with purpose,
because a bunch of other people are trying
to get what you want.” And she refuses to
let someone else capture her dreams.
Frenchi Johnson
Savannah State University
If anyone wants to know what the nontra-
ditional college student is like, Frenchi
Johnson, a 24-year-old sophomore mass
communications student at Savannah State
University, might be a prime example.
Although her goals in college, like getting
good grades and graduating, resemble those
of the typical student, her road through life
has been anything but normal.
As a student at
Lakes High School in
Lakewood, Wash.,
Johnson spent most of
her time watching her
brother and sister while
her mother was transi-
tioning out of the mili-
tary and working.
The military has
continued to be a fix-
ture in Johnson's life. Her husband is cur-
rently stationed in Iraq.
“We talk every day because he has a satel-
lite phone,” Johnson said. “This will proba-
bly be the first time we won't talk because
I'm here.”
While in high school, Johnson hung out
with friends whom she, upon reflection,
described as the “wrong crowd.” It was in
high school that Johnson gave birth to her
‘Meeting the artists of New Orleans was my most
memorable and refreshing experience.’
two sons, who are now 6 and 8 years old.
She is proud of her children. Johnson said
she is also proud she inherited some of the
same qualities that her mother displayed
when she was growing up.
“I don't think I've met anyone who works
harder than her,” Johnson said. “There
should have been plenty of times where I
should have given up, but I don't. I just keep
going.”
Sheena Johnson
North Carolina Central University
Sheena Johnson said her friends would
describe her as “bubbly” and someone with
a “kind heart who always has a smile on her
face.”
But when Johnson first stepped into a
newsroom when she was 19, she was not
smiling. She was scared.
“I can't write like they write,” she told her-
self.
It was the beginning of Johnson's journey
with journalism. The
former business major
had just switched to
mass communications
and was writing for
The Campus Echo at
North Carolina Central
University.
That's where
Johnson met Bruce
dePyssler, the newspa-
per's adviser. “He kind of took me under his
wing and showed me the ropes,” she said.
One year later, Johnson had a new take on
tackling stories. She became the Echo's
sports editor and covered sports for the
News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. Her trav-
els in the trade have even allowed her to
interview NASCAR legend Richard Petty.
“Once I'm out on the field, it's like I'm
stepping out of my comfort zone,” Johnson
said. “I'm stepping out of the box.”
The recent graduate is gearing up for her
internship on the metro desk at The Herald
Sun in Durham, N.C.
Titus Ledbetter III
Hampton University
During high school in Germantown,
Md., Titus Ledbetter III thought he had
his career figured out.
“I was all art. I loved to paint and even
took AP (Advanced Placement) studio
art,” said Ledbetter.
Still, something gnawed at him: “a fear
of ending up as a starving artist,” he said.
It left Ledbetter open to other options.
Soon he learned of Carl Bernstein and
Bob Woodward, the
Washington Post
reporters who broke
the Watergate story
that led to former
President Richard M.
Nixon's resignation in
1974.
“During a journal-
ism class my senior
year of high school,
we watched ‘All the President's Men,’
and I was really shocked by the influence
that a reporter could have on the state of
the world.”
With a print journalism degree from
Hampton University in Virginia, he's
ready to have the same kind of impact.
“I would like to be a part of a new cul-
ture of journalists that helps improve the
state of education in the D.C. area.”
Shaka Lias
Clark Atlanta University
It may be easy for some people to become
discouraged when they are met with failure.
However, for Shaka
Lias her drive to suc-
ceed is only fueled by
adversity.
“I get more motivat-
ed when I try to do
something and don't
succeed. It makes me
work that much hard-
er,” said Lias, a senior
PROFILES
Tara-Lynne S. Pixley
at Clark Atlanta University. She is one of 30
students selected to attend the New York
Times Student Journalism Institute for two
weeks during the summer of 2005.
The road to the institute has not been an
easy one for Lias. After not being accepted
for the program last year, Lias remained
confident. “I wasn't discouraged,” said Lias,
who was one of at least four students from
her university who applied for this year's
institute. This year she made the cut.
Lias began writing as a way to articulate
her emotions, after her stepfather died in
1995.
At 25, Lias is already accomplished. She
has interned with the Crossroads News and
worked as a researcher with the “Ryan
Cameron Morning Show” in Atlanta. After
her time at The New York Times Student
Journalism Institute, she will intern with the
Star-Banner in Ocala, Fla.
Robbyn Mitchell
Florida A&M University
“Midget completely full of herself” is
how Robbyn Mitchell chooses to describe
herself. No matter what she is doing, the 5-
foot-2-inch Washington, D.C., native uses
confidence to her advantage.
So it might not be surprising that
Mitchell, a junior at Florida A&M
University, dove into journalism headfirst.
During her freshman year, she was a page
designer at The Famuan. Since then she has
climbed the ranks to become managing edi-
tor. Mitchell described her quick ascension
as “working my way in like a comma -- I'm
everywhere!”
Mitchell originally
wanted to focus on
magazine journalism,
but she quickly con-
cluded that newspaper
journalism was the bet-
ter choice.
“Newspaper journal-
ism became my practi-
cality,” Mitchell said.
After talking with several graduates of
the New York Times Student Journalism
Institute, Mitchell decided to apply. “This is
the place to be,” Mitchell said. “I need to
work on all aspects of journalism. I want to
be 10 times better than I was when I came.”
Mitchell said she hopes to eventually land
a job at a medium-sized newspaper as a
copy editor. “I plan to work my way up the
editor food chain,” Mitchell said.
Becoming a newspaper editor is a lofty
goal, said Mitchell, but she remains opti-
mistic: “I'm still shooting for the moon.”
Tara-Lynne S. Pixley
Florida A&M University
When children are asked “What would
you like to be when you grow up?” the
answers are often police officer, firefighter,
teacher or astronaut. Not for Tara-Lynne
Pixley. Her childhood career choices were
dancer, photographer or marine biologist.
However, after an intense high school
chemistry class, her dreams of studying
whales and dolphins on an exclusive
island with her 10 children soon vanished.
Now, the 21-year-old Atlanta native is
pursuing another love: photography. As a
child, she admired the photos in National
Geographic magazine.
These days she is the
photo editor for The
Famuan, the campus
newspaper at Florida
A&M University in
Tallahassee, Fla., and
will be the copy desk
chief for Journey, the
campus magazine.
Pixley's experience
in journalism has expanded her perception
of photography.
During her junior year, she started free-
lancing for The Atlanta-Journal
Constitution and other media companies.
Though she appreciates photojournal-
ism, she realizes that portrait photography
is her true passion.
Pixley has varied interests, but plans to
focus on her summer internship as a copy
editor for the Daytona Beach News
Journal.
Ayesha Rascoe
Howard Unversity
Being a journalist has always been a
dream for Ayesha Rascoe, but it took
exam results to make her pursuit of jour-
nalism a reality.
“I was in a career class in middle school
and we had to take an aptitude test and one
of the careers, for me
was journalism and it
sparked my interest,”
said Rascoe, a junior
print journalism major
at Howard University.
The 19-year-old
Durham, N.C., native
discovered that she
had a passion for writ-
ing after reading
numerous hip-hop magazines. She chose
to attend Howard, a historically black uni-
versity, because of the school's strong
journalism program and sense of tradition.
“I love Howard Unversity because of
my fellow students; they are very diverse
and extremely intelligent,” Rascoe said.
Rascoe is serious about her education
and future career, to which her 4.0 GPA is
a testament. And as campus editor for The
Hilltop, Howard's student newspaper, she
spends long hours in the newsroom.
“Even though it's like a full-time job,
I'm dedicated because this is what I want
to do with my life,” Rascoe said. “It’s a lot
of time, but in order for me to achieve my
goals it's very necessary.”
Besides being a reporter and freelance
writer for magazines, Rascoe also hopes
to start a magazine that caters to young
African-American women and is similar
to Essence magazine.
Rascoe said she believes her experience
with the The New York Times Journalism
Institute will further her love of journal-
ism.
“Getting accepted to the institute was
definitely a form of validation for the
work that I was doing,” Rascoe said. “And
it just let's me know that I need to work as
hard as I can while I'm here.”
Rebecca Roussell
Dillard University
Rebecca Roussell is an only child. Yet she
has 66 sisters from whom she can draw
strength and inspiration. She recently inher-
ited several new family members when she
officially became a member of Delta Sigma
Theta, a historically black sorority built
upon the ideals of scholarship, service and
sisterhood.
The 20-year-old managing editor of
Dillard University's Courtbouillon newspa-
per could not have been more excited when
describing her feelings about her sorority.
“I fell in love with sisterhood and the
service of the organization and formed a
bond with 66 other women,” Roussell said
with a smile. “I always wanted someone
who I could call my sister or brother. … I
love it to death.”
Though the
Marrero, La., native
spends much of her
time working to
strengthen the commu-
nity, she also makes
time to practice her
craft as a journalist.
The senior mass com-
munications student
said journalism is the ideal profession for
her because it allows her to provide a voice
for the voiceless.
Roussell said she is not a fan of for idle
conversation. Instead, she prefers to use her
time wisely.
“Anybody can gossip,” she said. “But it
takes a special person to formulate ideas into
stories that are of public interest.”
In time, Roussell said she believes she
will make her mark in print journalism and
eventually make her way into the homes of
millions as a TV personality working for
either MTV or BET. She lists her parents as
the inspiration who carry her through life
and the force that keeps her on track.
“I always looked up to my mother,”
Roussell said. “She always used to say that
whenever one door closes there always is
another open door or opportunity.”
NYT Student Journalism Institute
Diamond Washington
Florida A&M University
When it comes to her career choice,
Diamond Washington is at a fork in the
road.
Even though
Washington is
studying journalism
and says she
believes she prac-
tices the craft well,
her real passion is
interior design.
“Interior design is
the thing I think
about before I go to
sleep,” said Washington, a senior at
Florida A&M University.
“I plan to attend graduate school and
focus on interior design and be a jour-
nalist on the side.”
The Miami native admitted that she
is sassy and outspoken, but in a good
way. She said these are the characteris-
tics of a natural team leader.
“I can't think of any situation where I
followed someone else,” Washington
said, without sounding arrogant.
Washington enjoys treating herself
monthly to different magazines such as
Elle and InStyle. That is why it is so
fitting that she is the new life and
styles editor for Journey magazine at
FAMU.
“I plan to bring more appeal, more
fashion,” Washington said.
“The magazine is great on content,
but it needs a certain appeal to draw the
reader,” she said. Washington said she
would like to cover the type of feature
stories that traditional newspapers
won't.
Some have suggested that she take
her love for interior design and com-
bine it with journalism.
“I do not think that will happen,”
Washington said. “I have a passion for
one and I enjoy doing the other.”
Jessica Young
Spelman College
Jessica Young wants to be president
-- of her college, that is.
The senior philosophy student at
Spelman College has a love so strong
for the institution that she molds her
life by its credo: “To whom much is
given, much is required.”
To start, Young became a pioneer in
journalism.
Because of her persistence, the his-
torically black college for women will
offer paid positions at the school's
newspaper, the Spelman Spotlight, for
the first time in campus history.
“I felt there really should have been
an incentive,” Young
said.
Through the rela-
tionship she devel-
oped with the presi-
dent of the Student
G o v e r n m e n t
Association, Young
made it happen,
along with other
changes.
“I’ve made a constitution, bylaws,
and rules and regulations,” Young said
proudly. “Because we will be getting
paid, I had to build some kind of struc-
ture.”
Young was eager to make her mark
on the newsroom at Spelman. The only
job open was business manager, so she
took it. She also did some reporting,
and it was not long before she became
managing editor, another step toward a
bigger goal: becoming editor in chief.
The Atlanta native said her father,
who reported and produced news for
CNN, sparked her interest in journal-
ism. She started college at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, but transferred to Spelman, where
she has furthered her passion.
“Going to Spelman was, by far, the
biggest decision I had to make,” Young
said. “At Spelman, I figured out what I
wanted to do with my life.”
To Young, journalism is an outlet to
use her knowledge and resources to
make a difference.
“Being a journalist is almost the
most significant part of communicating
anything to a community.”
Spelman has given Young her pur-
pose and success. And she plans to give
back in a major way.