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PelicanState87
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| Number of Posts: | 350 |
| Registered on: | 5/4/2024 |
| Online Status: | Not Online |
Recent Posts
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re: LSU votes to bring back Standardized testing today…
Posted by PelicanState87 on 2/27/26 at 12:00 pm to Dingeaux
quote:
I see that it is posted on the advocate. That's good news.
I guess all of the shenanigans that happened at LSu during the fall of 2025 helped bring about this.
It absolutely did. Even black democrats I know were saying LSU was getting too ghetto.
But it may be too late to reverse the ghetto reputation. Too many people now associate LSU with ghetto so this will be interesting. If LSU work hard enough they can fix it but will they?
1
re: LSU votes to bring back Standardized testing today…
Posted by PelicanState87 on 2/27/26 at 8:47 am to AllenTXTiger
quote:
All the rhetoric on this thread reeks of racist epithets. I've heard it said that racism is expensive, but love doesn't cost a thing. No wonder Louisiana is at the bottom of the barrel across the board in this country... it's one of the most racist places on earth.
Though it's our 1st amendment right, which I'm also exercising by calling out the BS thread and all the "good ole baws" on here who are hateful, fearful and lack the fortitude to learn from other that don't look or act like them. Southern exist, because LSU and other like-minded schools were/are institutionally and fundamentally biased to people of color. So either you are or aren't in agreement with policies that separate and segregate human beings, just know that you can't have it both ways when you are cheering for the LSU football team.
This is why the black race is at the bottom and nobody take claims of racism seriously. Standards are seen as racist by too many democrat voting black people. Nobody said they didn't want black people at LSU. We said we want to uphold good cultural, behavioral, and academic standards at LSU. And yes I'm black and I'm saying it but I have HIGH standards for myself. We don't want LSU to be like SU or Grambling, the least desirable colleges in the state, and that's where its headed
re: LSU votes to bring back Standardized testing today…
Posted by PelicanState87 on 2/27/26 at 7:59 am to SludgeFactory
quote:
My daughter wants to go there in a few years. I don't want her to. My son was set to go, but changed his mind after visiting campus multiple times. I was relieved.
I say this as a 2 time graduate of LSU.
Smart kids. Why go when better options exist. The culture is not the same as 20 years ago. Even 10 years ago. My top 2 SEC schools for top notch academics and conservative culture are Auburn and Georgia.
re: LSU votes to bring back Standardized testing today…
Posted by PelicanState87 on 2/27/26 at 7:52 am to r0cky1
If LSU and Baton Rouge wants to save itself this needs to pass. I don't think ya'll understand how serious this is. The demographics and culture can't continue to trend in the direction it's going. LSU is becoming closer to a Southern University South Campus than a real flagship state institution. And I'm sure the professors have taught DOWN to accommodate the influx of students who don't belong. LSU was never known for world-class academics and scholars but it was still very much the best public institution in the state ... today I would say Louisiana Tech is a better academic environment than LSU. Make LSU great again and even better this time. And stop with these stupid woke shite that lowers standards and quality
re: LSU votes to bring back Standardized testing today…
Posted by PelicanState87 on 2/27/26 at 7:48 am to Stexas
quote:
I’m an outlier in that my kids are both currently enrolled at LSU. My oldest scored a 29 on the ACT and has struggled but has maintained about a 3.0 and will graduate this May. My youngest is a terrible standardized test taker and her highest score was a 21. She is finishing up her 2nd year and has had a 4.0 each semester.
Anecdotal but my experience.
What are their majors? We all know some majors are easier than others. And standardized test scores are not the end all be all but they do say something. There are several other variables that matter when it comes to academic achievement.
Who else didn't know Lake Pontchartrain was a top 5 U.S. destination for deadly sharks
Posted by PelicanState87 on 2/25/26 at 4:00 pm
I had no idea. Learned this today by accident. Now I'm more intrigued. I thought it was just a big boring lake with a long boring bridge.
--------------------------------------------------------------
While visiting New Orleans, Louisiana, you might drive across America's largest bridge to reach it from the North Shore. But might you spot pointy dorsal fins sticking up out of the water as you drive? Lake Pontchartrain is an impressive 630-square-foot estuary, known for its unique landscape and the wildlife that thrives in its brackish waters. That includes bull sharks. This body of water is an extremely popular spot for locals to boat, and visitors often rent canoes and paddle boards, too. Many even swim in Lake Pontchartrain, though there are some serious concerns about the water quality, especially after heavy rains. It's not known exactly how many people enjoy the lake, but considering it is close to the state's largest city and tens of thousands of people drive across the causeway every single day, it's safe to say the number is high.
In the summers, it's common for juvenile bull sharks between four and five feet long to visit the lake — though older, larger sharks as long as 6 feet have been spotted, too. Some have even been tagged so that researchers can follow their journeys in and out of Lake Potchartrain. It's not unlikely for people, especially those around the North Shore, near the swimming beach and boat launch in the Seabrook area, or near Goose Point by Fontainebleau State Park, to see them in the water. In 2014, a young child swimming in Lake Pontchartrain was bitten by a shark, but suffered no lasting damage. Almost exactly a century earlier, a teenage swimmer was killed by a shark. Hopefully, you won't have to worry about another attack for another hundred years — but you should still proceed with caution.
Read More: LINK
--------------------------------------------------------------
While visiting New Orleans, Louisiana, you might drive across America's largest bridge to reach it from the North Shore. But might you spot pointy dorsal fins sticking up out of the water as you drive? Lake Pontchartrain is an impressive 630-square-foot estuary, known for its unique landscape and the wildlife that thrives in its brackish waters. That includes bull sharks. This body of water is an extremely popular spot for locals to boat, and visitors often rent canoes and paddle boards, too. Many even swim in Lake Pontchartrain, though there are some serious concerns about the water quality, especially after heavy rains. It's not known exactly how many people enjoy the lake, but considering it is close to the state's largest city and tens of thousands of people drive across the causeway every single day, it's safe to say the number is high.
In the summers, it's common for juvenile bull sharks between four and five feet long to visit the lake — though older, larger sharks as long as 6 feet have been spotted, too. Some have even been tagged so that researchers can follow their journeys in and out of Lake Potchartrain. It's not unlikely for people, especially those around the North Shore, near the swimming beach and boat launch in the Seabrook area, or near Goose Point by Fontainebleau State Park, to see them in the water. In 2014, a young child swimming in Lake Pontchartrain was bitten by a shark, but suffered no lasting damage. Almost exactly a century earlier, a teenage swimmer was killed by a shark. Hopefully, you won't have to worry about another attack for another hundred years — but you should still proceed with caution.
Read More: LINK
re: Southern University takes on low graduation rates: ‘Biggest thing we’ve got to tackle
Posted by PelicanState87 on 2/21/26 at 3:01 pm to Scruffy
quote:
sn’t SU sub-10%?
It is essentially impossible to not improve.
It will never be over 50% which is what's needed to change its academic reputation for the better. SU is the dumping ground for the worse of the worse students. SU used to be a top choice for the best in-state black students, but that has changed ... now it's 1) LSU 2) UL 3) Southeastern ... SU is like last place.
Southern University takes on low graduation rates: ‘Biggest thing we’ve got to tackle
Posted by PelicanState87 on 2/21/26 at 2:56 pm
This won't change. SU graduates rates have been in the pits of hell forever. It's not gonna change. The only way to increase college graduation rates is to increase standards and increasing standards will significantly lower enrollment so it won't happen. And now SU has to compete with LSU for black students. However, LSU is now seen as the more trendy cool "black school". In recent years I've even seen some LSU black students call it a "HBCU". Also it has a much better campus and reputation and LSU black students can just drive to north BR for that real HBCU experience. SU is screwed. There are some very successful graduates that come out of SU but SU will never be taken seriously with its low graduation rate and academic reputation. Even most black students think SU is ghetto and beneath them which is why they are going to LSU making it ghetto and lowering its reputation ... vicious hysterical cycle ain't it
LINK
------------------
Discussions about Southern University’s graduation rates often carry an implied criticism: Students are not finishing because they are not trying hard enough. That assumption is simple, convenient — and wrong.
Southern’s challenge is not motivation. It is time. More specifically, it is the mismatch between traditional college timelines designed for financially supported, full-time students and the realities of students who must work to support themselves and their families.
Only 11% of Southern students in the 2016 cohort earned a bachelor’s degree within four years, according to data reported to the National Center for Education Statistics. The figure alarms policymakers, frustrates administrators and troubles alumni who understand the institution’s impact. But it should not surprise those familiar with the students Southern serves.
Southern is an access institution. It enrolls first-generation college students, low-income students and Pell Grant recipients. Many come from families unable to cover tuition, housing, books, food, transportation and unexpected expenses. For these students, employment is not optional or supplemental. Many are primary contributors to household income, paying rent, utilities and other family expenses.
The four-year graduation model assumes that college is a student’s primary responsibility. For many Southern students, that assumption does not hold.
Working 20, 30 or even 40 hours a week fundamentally reshapes the college experience. Students often reduce course loads to accommodate work schedules. Required classes may fill before they can register. Advising appointments conflict with shifts. Internships are frequently unpaid, making them inaccessible. Summer classes are often replaced with full-time employment. Missing a single prerequisite can delay graduation by a year.
Viewed over time, a six-year path to a degree appears less like failure and more like inevitability.
One factor often missing from graduation-rate discussions is the cost of time. Graduating “on time” is most attainable for students who can afford to treat college as their sole job. Southern students are navigating higher education while managing economic survival, and the standard metrics penalize them for doing both.
University leaders acknowledge the complexity. Chancellor John Pierre has said the issue is multifaceted, noting Southern’s commitment to enrolling students with financial need, limited family experience with higher education and responsibilities that do not pause during exams or semesters. That mission complicates graduation metrics but defines the institution.
Comparisons with peer institutions often lack context. Graduation rates are frequently presented as isolated numbers. Comparisons with Grambling State University, Dillard University or LSU do not reflect how many Southern students send money home, work instead of withdrawing, or stop out temporarily to regain financial stability. The data capture timelines, not persistence.
Southern’s recent $2 million grant to modernize its data infrastructure is a step forward. Early alerts, proactive advising and targeted academic interventions are important, as is the hiring of additional advisers and the rebuilding of in-person academic engagement disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
But data systems alone cannot resolve economic constraints.
If Louisiana expects Southern to improve graduation outcomes, it must reduce the financial pressures that extend students’ timelines. That includes addressing the long-standing funding gap between Southern and LSU, expanding need-based financial aid, increasing paid internship opportunities, providing emergency grants and investing in affordable housing and food security. Retention is not only an academic issue. It is also a labor issue.
The definition of success also deserves reconsideration.
A student who graduates in six years while working, supporting family members, avoiding excessive debt and remaining enrolled demonstrates persistence and resilience. That outcome should not be framed as institutional failure. Southern’s role has long been to create upward mobility under challenging conditions.
The four-year graduation rate should be a goal, not a moral judgment.
Southern’s challenge is balancing accountability with honesty. Improving systems and outcomes matters. But progress requires acknowledging reality. Southern’s students are not disengaged. They are stretched.
Until higher education confronts the financial realities facing working students, graduation rates will continue to tell only part of the story. Southern, operating with limited resources, will continue educating students who take longer paths — not because they wander, but because the journey is harder.
Access and opportunity lose meaning if institutions pretend the distance is the same for everyone.
Cutline: Graduation rates at Louisiana HBCUs
Graduation rates for full-time, first-time bachelor’s degree-seeking students in the 2016 cohort at Louisiana’s four-year historically Black colleges and universities, shown at the four-, six- and eight-year marks. Southern University and A&M College trails most in four-year completion but shows gains over longer timelines, reflecting the extended paths many working students take to earn degrees. Sources: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS).
LINK
------------------
Discussions about Southern University’s graduation rates often carry an implied criticism: Students are not finishing because they are not trying hard enough. That assumption is simple, convenient — and wrong.
Southern’s challenge is not motivation. It is time. More specifically, it is the mismatch between traditional college timelines designed for financially supported, full-time students and the realities of students who must work to support themselves and their families.
Only 11% of Southern students in the 2016 cohort earned a bachelor’s degree within four years, according to data reported to the National Center for Education Statistics. The figure alarms policymakers, frustrates administrators and troubles alumni who understand the institution’s impact. But it should not surprise those familiar with the students Southern serves.
Southern is an access institution. It enrolls first-generation college students, low-income students and Pell Grant recipients. Many come from families unable to cover tuition, housing, books, food, transportation and unexpected expenses. For these students, employment is not optional or supplemental. Many are primary contributors to household income, paying rent, utilities and other family expenses.
The four-year graduation model assumes that college is a student’s primary responsibility. For many Southern students, that assumption does not hold.
Working 20, 30 or even 40 hours a week fundamentally reshapes the college experience. Students often reduce course loads to accommodate work schedules. Required classes may fill before they can register. Advising appointments conflict with shifts. Internships are frequently unpaid, making them inaccessible. Summer classes are often replaced with full-time employment. Missing a single prerequisite can delay graduation by a year.
Viewed over time, a six-year path to a degree appears less like failure and more like inevitability.
One factor often missing from graduation-rate discussions is the cost of time. Graduating “on time” is most attainable for students who can afford to treat college as their sole job. Southern students are navigating higher education while managing economic survival, and the standard metrics penalize them for doing both.
University leaders acknowledge the complexity. Chancellor John Pierre has said the issue is multifaceted, noting Southern’s commitment to enrolling students with financial need, limited family experience with higher education and responsibilities that do not pause during exams or semesters. That mission complicates graduation metrics but defines the institution.
Comparisons with peer institutions often lack context. Graduation rates are frequently presented as isolated numbers. Comparisons with Grambling State University, Dillard University or LSU do not reflect how many Southern students send money home, work instead of withdrawing, or stop out temporarily to regain financial stability. The data capture timelines, not persistence.
Southern’s recent $2 million grant to modernize its data infrastructure is a step forward. Early alerts, proactive advising and targeted academic interventions are important, as is the hiring of additional advisers and the rebuilding of in-person academic engagement disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
But data systems alone cannot resolve economic constraints.
If Louisiana expects Southern to improve graduation outcomes, it must reduce the financial pressures that extend students’ timelines. That includes addressing the long-standing funding gap between Southern and LSU, expanding need-based financial aid, increasing paid internship opportunities, providing emergency grants and investing in affordable housing and food security. Retention is not only an academic issue. It is also a labor issue.
The definition of success also deserves reconsideration.
A student who graduates in six years while working, supporting family members, avoiding excessive debt and remaining enrolled demonstrates persistence and resilience. That outcome should not be framed as institutional failure. Southern’s role has long been to create upward mobility under challenging conditions.
The four-year graduation rate should be a goal, not a moral judgment.
Southern’s challenge is balancing accountability with honesty. Improving systems and outcomes matters. But progress requires acknowledging reality. Southern’s students are not disengaged. They are stretched.
Until higher education confronts the financial realities facing working students, graduation rates will continue to tell only part of the story. Southern, operating with limited resources, will continue educating students who take longer paths — not because they wander, but because the journey is harder.
Access and opportunity lose meaning if institutions pretend the distance is the same for everyone.
Cutline: Graduation rates at Louisiana HBCUs
Graduation rates for full-time, first-time bachelor’s degree-seeking students in the 2016 cohort at Louisiana’s four-year historically Black colleges and universities, shown at the four-, six- and eight-year marks. Southern University and A&M College trails most in four-year completion but shows gains over longer timelines, reflecting the extended paths many working students take to earn degrees. Sources: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS).
re: Record number of LSU applicants, most from out of state
Posted by PelicanState87 on 2/17/26 at 8:54 pm to Macintosh
quote:
What’s the racial demographic of applicants
A lot of mediocre black kids from out-of-state who couldn't get into their flagship public schools. The remedial classes at LSU will be filled to capacity mostly made up of them
re: Debating on the trajectory of Arlington, TX
Posted by PelicanState87 on 2/15/26 at 4:32 pm to nerd guy
quote:
Good news is grapevine and southlake are mostly tapped out for population growth. Not sure about colleyville.
Grapevine is turning into a Hispanic enclave. I hope it still keeps its appeal
re: Debating on the trajectory of Arlington, TX
Posted by PelicanState87 on 2/14/26 at 7:36 pm to TheHarahanian
quote:
This is how Baton Rouge ruined the Shenandoah area. Allowed apartments in an area where they never should have, based on infrastructure requirements, and had the apartments shoehorned in so they backed up to a nice subdivision.
That was the beginning of the end. There are homeless camps in that area now.
Shenandoah is one of the few areas of BR I'm the least familiar with but I agree. I think Shenandoah went down hill first when busing brought more trash from the worst parts of BR to there. A lot of those households couldn't afford private school so they moved to Ascension or Livingston
Woodlawn and Tara used to be decent schools, now I wouldn't send my dog there
re: Debating on the trajectory of Arlington, TX
Posted by PelicanState87 on 2/14/26 at 3:30 pm to Hetfield
quote:
I could detail for you what happened & what is going on but posters like SFP & 4Cubbies would try to get me banned.
I know what's going on. All the good folks are moving further out. Mansfield is next. In 10 years Mansfield and Arlington gonna be much more like a mix of South Dallas and Irving
re: Debating on the trajectory of Arlington, TX
Posted by PelicanState87 on 2/14/26 at 3:24 pm to LSUtoBOOT
quote:
Locusts will always find the healthy crops.
Not always. Arlington was cheap to live for a long time and still is among the cheapest today. Keep things expensive, keep the locusts out. Arlington had way too many cheap apartments in the area ... that'll do it every time. Most of the locust came from those cheap apartments
re: Debating on the trajectory of Arlington, TX
Posted by PelicanState87 on 2/14/26 at 3:19 pm to Cosmo
quote:
I thought Arlington was basically little Guadalajara
That's what I mean by it's turning into Irving lol. Irving used to be a highly desirable suburb. Now that desire part of the suburb is a small portion of the city and undesired parts are the majority.
re: Debating on the trajectory of Arlington, TX
Posted by PelicanState87 on 2/14/26 at 3:14 pm to CajunInVirginia
quote:
Like many metro areas, people who can move out. I lived in North Arlington 2003-2004. Would never move back. My in-laws have left the area as well.
Once the Wholefoods close, North Arlington will officially be done. I'm surprised it's still open
Debating on the trajectory of Arlington, TX
Posted by PelicanState87 on 2/14/26 at 2:48 pm
I was having a debate with someone about the trajectory of Arlington, TX. I thought the Cowboy Stadium and Texas Live! would really catapult the city forward but that hasn't been the case. The quality of AISD was BETTER before those two major things than afterwards. For example, Lamar High School which used to be top tier highly desirable upper middle class high school is now a complete shite show. The median home prices have had very slow growth compared to the suburbs up north. Parks Mall is not what it used to be and gotten more dangerous in the last decade. Outside of the entertainment district, I haven't seen much improvement and growth in the right direction for Arlington.
I personally think Arlington will be the next Irving if you know what I mean. The person I was debating with (Arlington resident) think it's still on the up and up.
What do you think?
I personally think Arlington will be the next Irving if you know what I mean. The person I was debating with (Arlington resident) think it's still on the up and up.
What do you think?
re: Relocating to the Baton Rouge area… what city around BR? (Updated with source on page 5)
Posted by PelicanState87 on 2/11/26 at 8:19 pm to Rabbs and QStick
quote:
You can keep telling yourself that, but you are wrong. All I need to do is watch the videos from Zachary graduation last year to see exactly what you're sending your kids to school with over there.
We get it you likely bought house there recently and trying convince yourself it was good decision, it wasn't. Everyone I know is pulling there kids out of Zachary schools fast. My wife was counselor there about 10 years ago and that place was already on the down swing.
They only have high academic numbers because the only thing they teach is how to test. These kids aren't prepared for next step as well as they would be at other schools. I know this for 100% fact.
Buying in Zachary will be an investment most people with sense will regret ... give it 5 more years and the decline will be solidified. Central will be the only good city left in EBR and that's because Central has a reputation of being racist (it's not) ... it's just a conservative no non-sense type of town. Zachary used to be seen as a racist town and that's when it was at its best but now it's seen as a popular black suburb hence the fast decline. I also think the success of the athletic programs have attracted a lot more lower income black families ... athletic success Central hasn't really seen.
Zachary home-buyers are very offended when you tell them the truth b/c some of them can't afford to leave. They're gonna have to stay and watch the rot in real time LOL. A wise person knows to never buy where the black democrat population is fast increasing and I'm black. Never ... I don't care if they seem to be middle class ... it will surely decline. Sad truth supported by evidence ... it is what it is ... save yourself and BUY wisely next time
re: Relocating to the Baton Rouge area… what city around BR? (Updated with source on page 5)
Posted by PelicanState87 on 2/11/26 at 8:11 pm to Areddishfish
quote:
I don't know how their school scores are so high. Years down the line you find out they were faking scores to secure funds.
Zachary is not a good school. Only a minority of students (mostly white) are doing well there. Don't be fooled by the inflated scores. Louisiana's Board of Education has lower standards b/c the public schools in the state are that bad so that's how Zachary keep getting As. They are the best among the shitty public state schools
re: Saks Fifth Avenue at New Orleans’ Canal Place since the 1980s, to close for good
Posted by PelicanState87 on 2/10/26 at 7:01 pm to MrLSU
Not surprising. NOLA is not headed in a good direction. Maybe this new mayor can help save it a little bit but NOLA really need conservatives to take over.
Heauxs/strippers are saying they not making money anymore
Posted by PelicanState87 on 2/8/26 at 12:19 pm
The recession is here lest there be any doubt. Once the heauxs/strippers start crying and being forced to get regular jobs there's definitely been a shift in the wrong direction. Prostitution is the oldest (possibly most profitable) profession in the world. I make six figures and live within my means better than most and I still don't have as much discretionary income to throw around anymore .... especially at a strip club. It's so bad I basically do all the yard and house work on my own ... I used to can afford to hire help more often but even they gone up in price. Everything keeps going up including my property taxes. We know there is still a "need" from men but they just don't have the money like they used to. I think a lot of men (and lesbians) have moved to OF versus going out to clubs too which hurts the industry. I expect to see more clubs close in the next 5 years.
Only the top 1% of heauxs are making real money ... the rest are screwed right now ... plus the segg market is oversaturated so a correction is needed. Bartending, yoga/pilates instructors, and real estate here they come ... about to be an influx of new faces
LINK
LINK
Only the top 1% of heauxs are making real money ... the rest are screwed right now ... plus the segg market is oversaturated so a correction is needed. Bartending, yoga/pilates instructors, and real estate here they come ... about to be an influx of new faces
LINK
LINK
re: Am I the only one that religiously uses an air purifier?
Posted by PelicanState87 on 2/4/26 at 7:38 pm to Rize
quote:
I run one at night in my bedroom on high. I like the noise it makes.
I love the white noise too. Also the soft ambient light
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