 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
LSU students help Louisiana School for the Deaf celebrate 
These days, Shaun Drinkard and Jonathan Swanson, both students at LSU, are the big men on campus. Not the LSU campus mind you, but big men nonetheless. Instead, the pair, both fifth-year students in landscape architecture, are the toast of the Louisiana School for the Deaf (LSD). The staff there knows them, the faculty adore them, and even the security checkpoint guys-the toughest nuts to crack-offer a friendly wave when they drive through the gates. Why all the fuss? Because in less than a week, the pair helped build a fitting monument to the school's 150 years of existence. To commemorate its 150th anniversary, the Louisiana School for the Deaf, the LSD Foundation, and the LSU student chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects partnered to construct a memorial garden in the area between the auditorium and student center. In all, the space measures roughly 150 feet by 150 feet.  Drinkard and Swanson, along with 10 other students, began construction on the project December 15 and completed it by December 20. "I can't say enough about how professional they've been," said Trish Mann, LSD social worker and director of outreach services. "In our mind, it was going to be a little patio and it turned into this garden space that is phenomenal. Finals (at LSU) ended around the 13th (of December) and you'd think they're going to cut out and go home, but they stayed in Baton Rouge to do this and that says a lot."  When Drinkard and Swanson began the project in late September, they had three designs and a budget of $4,000 to work with. A meeting with representatives from LSD led to the final design, which included thousands of dollars in plants, crushed stone for walkways, equipment, demolition, and restoration. But most, if not all, of the equipment and materials were donated by local businesses such as Prime Equipment and Jim Stone, who donated the crushed granite for the walkways. The greenery-which consisted of Japanese Magnolias, Savannah Hollies, crepe myrtles, and azaleas to name a few-was valued at $3,200. That was donated at a 10 percent discount by a wholesale nursery. "The donations that we received were amazing," Swanson said. "Without being asked to do so, people donated generously, very generously, to this project. (These companies) all saw an opportunity to help some students do something for a local school and jumped on board by doing everything in their power." "Often designers run into the issue of cutting back on the design due to money problems," Drinkard added. "This is a common (problem) that probably would have happened in our design. Thanks to the generous offerings from the companies, we were able to install exactly what we envisioned."  The centerpiece of the garden is the pieces of antique fence aligned along the center walkway. Mann estimates that the fencing dates back to the Civil War period. The students discovered it behind the school and decided to refurbish it and make it part of the new Memorial Garden. Drinkard and Swanson also knocked down and shortened three walls that blocked a large window in the student center. One wall was completely demolished while the other two were shortened and made accessible for displaying sculptures. Finally, the students designated a place near the walls where they will bury a time capsule-a reminder for future students of the school's first 150 years. Contact Josh Duplechain | LSU
University Relations Related Links School of Landscape Architecture |
