The Daily Reveille — January 22, 2010

Check Inside For:

A letter from Chancellor Martin addressing budget cuts, athletic spending, page 12.

SPORTS Akiem Hicks leaves University, football team, page 5.

Fashion Fridays Check out the latest trends around LSU campus, page 6

THE DAILY REVEILLE WWW.LSUREVEILLE.COM

Volume 114, Issue 75

Friday, January 22, 2010

TECHNOLOGY

Saints’ Swag

New Orleans team ranks among top 10 in NFL merchandise By Leslie Presnall Contributing Writer

Embarrassed fans who once covered their heads with paper bags now proudly sport black and gold while chants of “Who Dat?” echo across Louisiana. The New Orleans Saints are one game, Sunday’s NFC Championship game against the Minnesota Vikings, from the franchise’s first Super Bowl.

But the team has already finished in the top 10 in the NFL in merchandising sales in 2009 for the first time since the league began recording sales in 1979. The Saints ranked No. 10 in NFL merchandise sales beginning in April, but through December the Saints leaped to the No. 6 spot, according to Reebok, who sells official NFL merchandise. Saints sales increased more than 60 percent since last season, according to Reebok. Quarterback Drew Brees’ No. 9 jersey ranks fourth in sales on NFLShop.com’s top selling jerseys. He trails Minnesota Viking quarterback Brett MERCHANDISE, see page 11

lsureveille.com

Log on to see a slideshow of Saints merchandise.

Moodle to undergo multiple changes Move to provide congestion relief By Jacob Most Contributing Writer

SARAH HUNT / The Daily Reveille

Lafayette residents Carrie Cooper (left) and Lindsay Gomez (right) shop for New Orleans Saints merchandise Jan. 17 at the Nawlins Sports store in the Mall of Louisiana. They both said they have always been Saints fans growing up. Stores struggle to keep merchandise on shelves.

Moodle, the online educational aid software the University has used since fall 2008, is set to undergo multiple changes for the spring semester. The Moodle host server has already been moved to its own cluster for the spring semester, according to the Moodle development advisory committee. The Moodle migration is intended to provide relief to many of the traffic and congestion issues Moodle experienced during the last 18 months, according to the MDAC. Other changes to Moodle for the spring semester will include easier viewing of students’ grades and a printer-friendly course page. All courses will also be automatically added for professors. More faculty use Moodle than used Blackboard or Semester Book, which were online educational aids the University offered before Moodle, said Sheri Thompson, IT communications and planning officer. MOODLE, see page 11

EVENTS

Students experience winter Frosty weather comes to campus By Sabrina Trahan Contributing Writer

The Parade Ground area experienced unusually frosty conditions Thursday, and about 200 students took advantage of this unique opportunity with massive snowball fights. The RHA held their seventh annual Snowin’ in the South, and students quickly engaged in mer-

ciless snowball fights at 8 p.m. Sno-Mobile provided seven tons of “snow” for the program, said Rebecca Morales, RHA president and anthropology junior. “I didn’t really know what to expect, but I’m enjoying it,” said Arianna Guidry, animal science freshman. Some students expected more, and Brittani Taylor, kinesiology freshman, chose not to join the snowball fight. “I’m happy to be here,” she said. “It looks like a lot of fun, but I thought it would be better

than this.” Eric Bergeron, chemistry sophomore, was not a newcomer to Snowin’ in the South. Last year was more outrageous, he said. RHA sponsors the event because “as a student in Louisiana, you don’t get to experience snow. It’s something we wanted to provide students here,” Morales said. The Student Activities Board sponsored the first Winter Wonderland, which allowed University students to ice skate in a small rink on Tower Drive. ICE SKATING, see page 11

ERIN ARLEDGE / The Daily Reveille

Rusty Ware, kinesiology graduate student, (left) and Kristen Vaughn, biology and psycology junior, (right) help Reva Broussard, biology senior, (middle) ice skate during Winter Wonderland on Tower Drive Jan. 21.