Behind the Ballot | LSU Presidential Symposium

Behind the Ballot

Mark your calendars for “Behind the Ballot: Examining the Influences and Trends Driving Modern Elections,” a two-day presidential symposium scheduled for Oct. 29-30 on LSU’s campus.

This symposium is free and open to the public, and will engage faculty, students, community leaders and elected officials in deep discussions on everything from issues motivating Louisiana voters to exploring aspects of creative elements in campaign art to dissecting the evolving role of media in today’s political world.

Events will run from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day. Highlights include a Secretary of State Candidates’ Forum at 7 p.m. on Oct. 29, held in the Holliday Forum of the Journalism Building, with overflow seating at the Lawton Room in Tiger Stadium. During the event, free parking will be available at the LSU Bookstore in the in the Union Square Parking Garage.

 

Louisiana Secretary of State Candidate Forum
 

Louisiana State SealCandidates for Louisiana Secretary for State will respond to panelist questions. Participating candidates include: 

  • Kyle Ardoin (R), Acting Secretary of State
  • Heather Cloud, (R), Mayor, Turkey Creek
  • Gwen Collins-Greenup (D), Notary public and recent law school graduate
  • Rep. A.G. Crowe (R), Former member of Louisiana State Senate
  • Rick Edmonds (R), State Representative, District 66
  • Renee Fontenot Free (D), Director of the Louisiana Attorney General’s Public Protection Division
  • Matthew Paul Moreau (No Party), Owner, Medical equipment business
  • Julie Stokes (R), State Representative, District 69
When: Monday, Oct. 29, 7 p.m.
Where: Holliday Forum, Journalism Building, reception to follow

Politics (and everything in between) through the eyes of cartoonist Walt Handelsman

Walt Handelsman

Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist Walt Handelsman will discuss politics and humor. After the event, he will sign copies of his new book, “I’m Drawing as Fast as I Can.”

When: Tuesday, Oct. 30, 6 p.m.
Where: LSU Student Union Theater

Publishing Anonymous: Opinion Journalism in a Polarized Age

James Dao

Our keynote speaker is James Dao, New York Times Op-Ed Editor. He will discuss the decision to publish the Anonymous op ed from a White House insider and the many challenges, opportunities  and responsibilities facing opinion journalism today.
When: Tuesday, Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m.
Where: LSU Student Union Theater, reception to follow
 

 

Political Cartoon Contest

Submit your best political cartoon to be judged by Walt Handelsman, two-time Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist at the The Advocate. There are no rules and no restrictions – be as creative as you like. Upload your work by Oct. 26 – winners will be announced during Mr. Handelsman’s presentation at 6 p.m. on Oct. 30.

Submit Cartoon Artwork

Schedule of Events

Additional panelists are still being added. Check back for updates!

Time Forum Title Location Panelists | Speakers Moderator
9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

The Long and Winding Road: History of Voting Rights

French House, Grand Salon

Nancy Isenberg, T. Harry Williams Professor of American History

Raymond T. Diamond, Jules F. and Frances L. Landry Distinguished Professor of Law and James Carville Alumni Professor of Law

Albert Samuels , Chair of Political Science Department, Southern University

Catherine Jacquet, Assistant Professor of History and Women's and Gender Studies

Jonathan Earle, Dean, LSU Honors College

Jerry Ceppos,
William B. Dickinson Distinguished Professor of Mass Communication
9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

Campaigns by Design: A Look at the Creative Elements that Influence Voter Behavior

Design Building Atrium

Bob Mann, LSU Professor of Mass Communication

Lynne Baggett, LSU Professor of Graphic Design

Andrew Kuo, Associate Professor of Marketing, John C. Hamilton Family Developing Scholar & V. Price LeBlanc Professor

Rod Parker,
Director, School of Art
11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Ballots on the Brain: The Psychology Behind Voting Student Union, Castilian Room

Jas Sullivan, LSU Professor of Political Science, Psychology and African-American Studies

Nathan Kalmoe, Assistant Professor, Mass Communication and Political Science

Jenee Slocum,
Director, Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs 
11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Who Run the World? The Rising Influence of Women in Politics Student Union,
Vieux Carre Room

Nichole Bauer, Assistant Professor, Political Communication

Patricia Haynes Smith, Louisiana State Representative-District 67

Rachel Campbell, LSU Student Government Vice President

Paula Davis, Louisiana State Representative-District 69

Stacia Haynie, Interim LSU Executive Vice President & Provost
12:30 - 2 p.m.

Lagniappe Luncheon: Issues Influencing the Louisiana Voter

Student Union, Magnolia Room

Michael Pasquier, LSU Jaak Seynaeve Professor of Christian Studies, Associate Professor of Religious Studies and History

Sam Bentley, LSU Professor of Geology

Ed Shihadeh, LSU Professor of Sociology

Matt Fannin, Associate Director of Analytic and Academic Programs | Rural Policy Research Institute

Kim Hunter Reed, Louisiana Commissioner of Higher Education

Troy Blanchard, Interim Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences

F. King Alexander,
LSU President
2:30 - 3:30 p.m. From Russia With Love: International Influences on American Elections Student Union, Vieux Carre

Peter Siska, LSU-Shreveport Dean of Arts and Sciences

Len Apcar, Wendell Gray Switzer Jr. Endowed Chair in Media Literacy

Revathi Hines, Alphonse Jackson Endowed Professor of Political Science, Nelson Mandela College of Government and Social Sciences, Southern University

 
2:30 - 3:30 p.m. Hashtag WHAT!? : Social Media and Campaign Advertising Student Union, Castilian Room

Lance Porter,  F. Walker Lockett, Jr. Distinguished Professor and the Director of the Social Media Analysis and Creation Lab

Jeremy Alford, publisher and editor of LaPolitics Weekly

Trey Ourso, Senior Political Strategist, Ourso Beychok, Inc.

 
4 - 5 p.m. The Minority Majority: The Political Power of Underrepresented Groups Student Union, Vieux Carre

Lori Latrice Martin, LSU Professor of Sociology, African and African American Studies

Raymond Jetson, MetroMorphosis President and CEO

Stewart Lockett, LSU SG President

Robert Lancaster, The Judge Earl E. Veron Endowed Professor and The J. Nolan and Janice D. Singletary Professor of Professional Practice at LSU's Paul M. Hebert Law Center"

Dereck Rovaris,
Vice Provost for Diversity and Chief Diversity Officer at Louisiana State University
4 -  5 p.m. Divining Districts: Polling and Forecasting Student Union, Castilian Room

Michael Henderson, Director of LSU's Public Policy Research Lab

Kathleen Searles, LSU Assistant Professor of Political Communication

Joshua Darr, LSU Assistant Professor of Mass Communication

 
5:30 - 6:30 p.m. Does Voting Even Matter? A Friendly Debate Lawton Room, Tiger Stadium

James Stoner, Hermann Moyse, Jr., Professor and Director of the Eric Voegelin Institute in the Department of Political Science

Belinda Davis,  LSU Associate Professor of Political Science

Jonathan Earle,
Dean, LSU Honors College
7 - 8:30 p.m. Louisiana Secretary of State Candidate Forum Holliday Forum, Journalism Building

Participating candidates include: 

  • Kyle Ardoin (R), Acting Secretary of State of Louisiana
  • Heather Cloud, (R), Mayor, Turkey Creek, Louisiana
  • Gwen Collins-Greenup (D), Notary public and recent law school graduate
  • Rep. A.G. Crowe (R), Former member of Louisiana State Senate
  • Rick Edmonds (R), State Representative, Louisiana District 66
  • Renee Fontenot Free (D), Director of the Louisiana Attorney General’s Public Protection Division
  • Matthew Paul Moreau (No Party), Owner, Medical equipment business
  • Julie Stokes (R), State Representative, Louisiana District 69

Questioning panelists will include:

  • Jeremy Alford, publisher and editor of LaPolitics Weekly
  • Jessica Rosgaard, supervising editor and producer for 89.9 WWNO
  • Stewart Lockett, LSU Student Body President
  • Natalie Anderson, editor-in-chief of The Daily Reveille.
Laryssa Bonacquisti, 
senior journalism student, 
LSU Manship School of Mass Communication
8:30 - 10 p.m. Reception Journalism Building Veranda    

Time Forum Title Location Panelists | Speakers Moderator
9:30 - 11 a.m.

My Vote, My Voice: Identity and Intersectionality in Modern Elections

  • The Black Vote: Race, Policy, and Modern Elections (Chris Tyson)
  • She Persists: Women's Movement and Today's Elections (Kathleen Searles)
  • Born [to vote] this Way: Gender Identity and Sexuality (Chris Barrett) 
French House, Grand Salon

Chris Tyson, President & CEO, East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority

Kathleen Searles, LSU Assistant Professor of Political Communication

Chris Barrett, LSU Assistant Professor of English

Summer Steib,
Director of LSU's Women's Center
11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. Geaux Vote Luncheon: Building the Next Generation of Voters Student Union, Magnolia Room

Zoe Williamson, President, Geaux Vote

Clarissa Unger, Young Invincibles

Monturios Howard, student activist

David Goodman, President, The Andrew Goodman Foundation

Louis Gremillion, Hidden Heroes Award Recipient and LSU Graduate Student

Lily Fontenot, Tiger TV
1:30 - 2:30 p.m. Polar Caps and Partisanship: Advocating Science in an Era of Polarization Dalton J. Woods Auditorium,
Energy, Coast, & Environment Building

Peter Doran, LSU Professor and John Franks Endowed Chair of Geology

Prosanta Chakrabarty, LSU Associate Professor Curator of Ichthyology

Becky Carmichael, Coordinator Communication Across the Curriculum (CxC)

Sophie Warny, AASP Professor in the Center for Excellence in Palynology

Chris D'Elia, Dean, LSU College of the Coast & Environment

Philip Bart, LSU Associate Professor, Geology

Ashley Arceneaux, Director of Presidential & Policy Communications
1:30 -  2:30 p.m. Missing Tapes and Deleted Tweets: the Presidential Records Act & Democracy Hill Memorial Library

Edward Benoit III, LSU Assistant Professor & Russell B. Long Professor of Library & Information Science

Zachary Tompkins, Louisiana State Archives

 
3 - 4 p.m. Nike, Pantsuits, and MAGA Hats: Elections and Pop Culture Student Union, Castilian Room

Kenneth Wesley, LSU Instructor of Digital Media Arts and Engineering

Casey Stannard, Assistant Professor of Apparel Design

John Fletcher, LSU Billy J. Harbin Associate Professor of Theatre History

Bryan McCann, LSU Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Cultural Studies

 
3 - 4 p.m. Protecting the Polls: Cybersecurity and Election Integrity Patrick F. Taylor, Greg Elliot Suite, 3107

Larissa Millet, Information Systems Security Engineer for LSU's Stephenson Technologies Corporation

Sweta Ghimire, LSU Computer Science Senior and DEFCON Voting Village Participant

Greg Trahan,
Director of Economic Development, Office of Research & Economic  Development

4:30 - 5:30 p.m. Watchdogs or Attack Dogs: Media's Role in Today's Elections Business Ed Complex Auditorium

Peter Kovacs, The Advocate

Amy Brittain, The Washington Post

Quint Forgey, Politico

Martin Johnson, Dean, LSU Manship School of Mass Communication

Melinda Deslatte, Associated Press

Jim Engster,
President of the Louisiana Radio Network
6 -  7 p.m. Politics (and everything in between) through the eyes of cartoonist Walt Handelsman LSU Student Union Theater Walt Handelsman  
7:30 - 8:30 p.m. Publishing Anonymous: Opinion Journalism in a Polarized Age LSU Student Union Theatre Jim Dao, New York Times Op-Ed Editor, with commentary and conversation from Len Apcar, LSU’s Wendell Gray Switzer Jr. Endowed Chair in Media Literacy  
8:30 - 10 p.m. Geaux Vote Reception LSU Student Union    

Presenter Biographies


 

Questions?
Contact Ashley Arceneaux at ash@lsu.edu or 225-578-0971.