Lions of

Communication
Vo l um e 3 , I ssu e 5• Se p t e m be r 2 5, 2 0 0 9

Toxic Rott rocks
By Courtney McDuff
Southeastern student
In the early 1980s, a new progressive
musical genre began to bloom. In places
like California, New York, Michigan and
Massachusetts, hardcore punk was taking
over the underground music scene. Those
who were tired of endless solos and flowery
lyrics finally had a musical option that was
playable and accessible.
Though certain genres of punk rock have
exploded into the mainstream, hardcore
punk was never thoroughly accepted. Today
however, there is a thriving underground
scene across America, even in places as in-
conspicuous as South Louisiana.
Bands like Toxic Rott, whom “N.O.
Punks” called “one of the most brutal thrash
bands in southeast Louisiana right now,”
know that playing punk rock in an era of
Nickelback is not without its obstacles.
The band has an interesting history of
high times and harsh lows. John Selakovic,
Chris Lambert, Dustin Champagne and
Colin Jilbert met at a show several years
ago in pre-Katrina New Orleans. After the
hurricane, Selakovic, Lambert and Cham-
“We became pretty good friends in
Houston and we knew we wanted to make
music together,” Selakovic, the band’s
singer,said.
In January 2008, after a short hiatus in
South Carolina, Selakovic returned to New
Orleans where the rest of the band had set-
tled. The band enjoyed a period of success,
booking shows in New Orleans, Baton
Rouge and Lafayette.
During this time the band recorded
“Swampland Holocaust,” their full-length
debut album released through Insidious
Records. Toxic Rott started this small, in-
dependent label in New Orleans.
“Basically we promote up-and-coming
bands and help people out with getting their
songs recorded,” Selakovic explained.
One song on the album titled “F-ck
NOPD” reflected the bands’ feelings about
their prior run-ins with the New Orleans
PoliceDepartment.
“The three guys in the band with me
were in a different band before Toxic Rott.
They were playing a show at Checkpoint
Charlie’s one night when someone noticed
a truck was being towed. Turns out it was
the drummer’s. He went out to see what
but somehow four people were arrested, in-
cluding three of the band members” Se-
lakovicsaid.
But it wasn’t long before Selakovic had
his own trouble with the police. In August
2008, Selakovic was arrested for DWI and
spent three months in jail. Selakovic’s in-
carceration didn’t do the band much good.
Selakovic said he spent most of his time in
jail writing songs.
“The band only wrote two songs while I
was in jail,” Selakovic joked. “I was work-
ing harder from the inside!”
The band doesn’t cite any specific group
as a musical influence. The material for
their songs usually draws from the mem-
bers’ life experiences.
“Skateboarding, drinking, police brutal-
ity...that’s where we get ideas for songs,”
Selakovic said.
Outside of the band, Selakovic and Jil-
bert work as stage managers for the local
cover band TheCheeWeez.
Three members of Toxic Rott, Selakovic, Members of Toxic Rott enjoy each other’s
Champagne and Jilbert are working on a company.
side project called Gnarcolepsy. This band
features a more skate-punk sound. While Picture by Courtney McDuff
the idea is in place, the band is still looking

New bill increases aid

pagne coincidentally evacuated to the same
neighborhood in Houston,Texas. was going on and offered to move his truck for a drummer to complete its lineup.

By Valerie Bogard
Washington Square News, NYU
For many New York University students,
taking out loans is crucial.
A proposed bill could lead to more fed-
eral involvement with student loans — an
effort that would provide more government
aid for higher education.
The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibil-
ity Act of 2009 (H.R. 3221) would amend
the Higher Education Act of 1965 and end
a program that gives government subsidies
to private student loan companies. Those
loans would then be handled directly by the
government. The House of Representatives
passed the bill Sept. 17, and the Senate re-
ceived it Sept. 20.
"I'm glad that the government is getting
like a much more direct and efficient way."
The bill will also attempt to simplify the
Free Application for Federal Student Aid
process. The current FAFSA has upwards
of 150 questions about income and assets.
NYU professor Robert Teranishi be-
lieves this is excessive.
"It's been found that much of this infor-
mation has little to no impact on student aid
eligibility," said Teranishi, associate pro-
fessor of higher education and a faculty af-
filiate with the Steinhardt Institute for
Higher Education Policy. "Because of
this, there's an estimated 1 million students
that qualify but fail to submit the FAFSA."
For many students, the reorganization of
FAFSA comes as an overdue relief.
"FAFSA has this strange scale, where it
supposedly 'calculates' how much your
those kids in the middle class spectrum be-
cause FAFSA takes all assets into account,
even the ones that cannot necessarily be liq-
uidated. Thus the 'family contribution'
amount is much higher than the family in
reality can actually contribute."
The Congressional Budget Office esti-
mates that enacting the bill will save ap-
proximately $74.8 billion over the next 10
years. This money can be used to increase
the amount of student aid available and to
invest in education.
College tuition and fees generally in-
crease at more than double the rate of in-
flation, according to the College Board.
"That's a pretty remarkable trend,"
Teranishi said. "Essentially, financial aid
has become a necessity."
The bill increases aid through Pell
loans. There is also an investment of $10
billion in community colleges, as well as an
investment of $2.5 billion in historically
black colleges and universities and other
minority-serving institutions.
Teranishi said this is the first significant
federal investment in higher education
since the G.I. Bill.
Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman
of the Education and Labor Committee, in-
troduced the legislation last July.
"The economic downturn has made an
already tough college affordability crisis
worse for America's students and families,"
said Rachel Racusen, a spokesperson for
Miller. "As President Obama has made
clear, we've got a lot of work to do if we're
serious about building a strong economy for
years to come and reversing the many

Abita gives Louisiana flavor

rid of the middleman for dealing with
loans," Melanie Bradshaw, College of Arts family can contribute," CAS sophomore Grants and Perkins Loans and helps to keep trends that threaten our competitive future."
and Sciences sophomore, said. "It seems Marina Lee said. "This scale is awful for interest rates lower on students' subsidized

By Alecia Jenkins
Southeastern student
It’s a hot summer day in Louisiana and
there’s a party going on. The crawfish are
boiling and people are sitting back, relax-
ing with a cold Abita Beer. The water used
to brew the beer comes directly from an
artesian well in Abita Springs, Louisiana,
hometown of the brewery.
The Abita Brewing Company started in
1986, brewing 1,500 barrels its first year. It
now brews around 80,000 barrels of beer
every year. The people who keep the brew-
ery running take great pride in their beer.
They have the beer making process down
to a science and practice it as an art form.
Everything matters; the taste, the smell, the
color, even the way it pours.
“I enjoy working here because it is con-
different to do everyday,” said Carl Mc-
Daniels, the brewery’s electrician.
One of their more famous beers is Abita
Amber, a Munich lager with a hint of
caramel flavor and an amber color. Abita
Amber was the first beer brewed at the
brewery and is their best selling beer today.
“I like brewing Amber the best because it
has a distinct aroma that you can smell
throughout the entire plant, more so than
any of the other beers,” said Ryan Acker-
man, a brewer at the Abita Brewing Com-
pany.
Another one of their popular beers is
Purple Haze, an American wheat beer made
with raspberry puree. The raspberry gives
the beer a slight purple color, a raspberry
scent and a good taste. Many people like to
have Abita’s Purple Haze after a meal as a
dessert beer.
chocolate taste and deep chocolate color is
also a product of the Abita Brewing Com-
pany. Turbodog was originally brewed as a
specialty beer but its popularity grew and
accumulated a huge fan base, so it became
one of the brewery’s staple beers as well as
one of its best selling.
The Abita Brewery also brews seasonal
beers, such as Christmas Ale, a dark ale
with a spiced flavor. This recipe changes
slightly each year, adding to its uniqueness.
Andygator is also a favorite among Abita
Beer fans. It contains a higher alcohol con-
tent than its other beers, 8% by volume and
is sold as one of Abita’s new Big Beers, in
a 22 ounce bottle. Andygator is a dopple-
bock or double bock, meaning a double
beer. This brew has a flavor on the sweet
side due to its low content of hops, which
causes the bitter taste in beers.
Abita’s Root Beer, is a refreshing treat.
Abita Root Beer differs from other root
beers because it is sweetened with pure
Louisiana cane sugar, instead of high fruc-
tose corn syrup, giving it an old time flavor.
The Abita Brewing Company offers
tours of its facilities free of charge, taking
about an hour. The company allows people
to see the various equipment and processes
that keep the brewery running. Visitors are
also invited to a tasting room, where they
can sample every available Abita Beer at
the ‘pour your own’ beer bar.

Lions of Communication
stantly expanding and there is something Turbodog, a dark brown ale with a For those who aren’t beer drinkers,

This newspaper is a joint project of Southeastern Louisiana University classes in Mass Communication and Journalism. Southeastern is not responsible for the veracity of the information or the views expressed by the authors.
Articles may be reprinted or distributed without permission if authors are given a byline or appropriate acknowledgment. Clara Mae Wells, Esther Ellis, Angela Fontenot, and Christopher Robinson were the editors and layout de-
signers for this edition.