LSU Atlanta

Many students are in a frenzy trying to fulfill all of their end of the year responsibilities. But one freshman is getting ready to take it easy.

Mike VI, who replaced the late Mike V in 2007, will enjoy his summer being lazy.

Rob Craig, executive director of Great Cats of Indiana where Mike VI was adopted, said the Siberian-Bengal mix will be able to handle the sweltering temperatures of the Louisiana summer.

Students returning in the fall can expect improved parking on campus.

Gary Graham, director of the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation, said when the fall 2008 semester begins in a few months, the University will have up to 800 new parking spaces.

While students scramble with last-minute exam preparation, acting Chancellor William Jenkins is working to keep the University's momentum going until his replacement moves into office.

Jenkins assumed administrative duties Feb. 1 after former Chancellor Sean O'Keefe's resignation Jan.

After months of ironing out kinks with the new first-year residency requirement, the Department of Residential Life has made a final list of exemptions for the policy.

First-year students who are part-time students, over 21, married, living with a parent or the legal guardian of a dependent child are automatically exempt from the residency requirement.

As the end of the school year approaches, Gary Graham, director for the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation, said Easy Streets has been an overall success.

Easy Streets and the gates were implemented at the beginning of this school year to make the campus more pedestrian friendly, he said.

The University will draw up plans during the summer for increasing enrollment to about 30,000 students for the fall semester.

Jim McCoy, vice provost of Enrollment Management, Planning and Policy, said the enrollment goal will be reached through recruitment of in-state and out-of-state students.

Follow all the big stories since the beginning of the 2007 academic year in this interactive graphic.

Former LSU quarterback Ryan Perrilloux's college career, which has seen more time linked to disciplinary issues than playing time, came to an end Friday morning when he was dismissed from the team for failing a drug test, a team member confirmed Friday.

LSU coach Les Miles announced Perrilloux's dismissal in a news release.

In January, the LSU football team won its third national championship, sending the campus and state into frenzy.

But several lesser-known sports also had career seasons this year, including soccer and gymnastics, who had the best seasons in the history of their respective programs.

The LSU football team rang in 2008 in style, topping Ohio State in dominating fashion en route to its second Bowl Championship Series trophy in five years.

And Tiger fans did not have to wait long before they could celebrate the success of the team once again - this time off the field.

This spring's Groovin' on the Grounds impressed students with a lineup including Ingram Hill, Matt Wertz, Greg Talmage, Chamillionaire and Wyclef Jean.

The event was hosted by Students On Target, a branch of Student Government that encourages students to make positive choices regarding alcohol.

Baton Rouge's shopping landscape has drastically changed during the past year with the addition of new shopping centers and retail stores.

Centers such as Perkins Rowe, Towne Center and the Boulevard at the Mall of Louisiana have provided Baton Rouge residents with new places to shop, eat and live.

The present could not be a better time for students interested in purchasing new Baton Rouge music.

Bones, Harlan and Man Plus Building are just a few of the local bands releasing new albums this year.

As co-owner of Northgate Tavern and previous active member of Baton Rouge's own Judge Genius, Sam Terito has seen both sides of the coin for the past four years.

1. To fail is human; to win, divine.

2. The difference between paying for a Blimpie sub at the Student Union with a meal transfer and being forced to pay with other means is bacon and heat.

3. I need to take typing classes. Some people talk way too fast for me to get it all in my blog.

From an outside perspective, the 2007-2008 school year wasn't anything spectacular.

There were no outrageous scandals or unheard-of events. Nothing earth shattering occurred. There are only a small, handful of headlines most of us will carry with us for the rest of our lives.

We young voters don't get a lot of respect. 

"Young voters are lazy," we are told. Try telling that to a student during finals week.

"Young people don't know how the real world works," they sneer. With grade-school students more tech savvy than parents these days, there is reason to doubt this too.

STUDENT BIKERS NEED SAFETY ADVICE

Attention Student Bikers:

This is you: Biking with no helmet, messenger bag slung over one shoulder, pedaling fast in your flip-flops down the sidewalk along Dalrymple.

This is me heading north on Highland Road: I've got the light.

LSU junior quarterback Ryan Perrilloux has been dismissed from the football team, coach Les Miles announced Friday

"Ryan was given every opportunity to be a part of this football team," Miles said in a news release. "In the end, he didn't fulfill his obligation as an LSU student-athlete.

Spray paint is his medium, and the city is his canvas.

Saul Cruthirds remembers stealing a notebook from a locker in high school and filling page after page with words and graffiti-style drawings.

The University alumnus is one of only a handful of graffiti writers in Baton Rouge.

The state House Criminal Justice Committee approved a widely-debated gun bill with an 11 to 3 vote Thursday after three hours of discussion.

House Bill 199, introduced by Rep. Ernest Wooton, of Jefferson, Plaquemines and St. Charles parishes, would authorize concealed handgun license holders to exercise permits on higher education campuses.