Cutting the ribbon: BASF and LSU are hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new laboratory at the university’s renovated and expanded Patrick F. Taylor Hall. The BASF Sustainable Living Laboratory will be opened to the public during a ceremony taking place at 10 a.m. Thursday in the Cambre Atrium of Patrick F. Taylor Hall, at the intersection of CEBA Lane and Nicholson Drive Extension. An 8:30 a.m. tour is scheduled for the media. BASF, which has a site in Geismar, donated $1 million to LSU’s College of Engineering in 2014 to create a lab that promotes problem-based teaching and research focused on sustainable solutions to global challenges. LSU President F. King Alexander and Tom Yura, senior vice president and general manager of BASF’s Geismar site, will speak at the event, as will other officials.
Fact or fiction: Geaux Vote LSU, a student organization that promotes civic engagement, has created a new website to help online news readers spot fake news. Geaux Vote LSU President Kaylin Parker says in a statement the site is designed to be a tool for readers to analyze the accuracy of online news articles. The site offers advice on how to check the accuracy of stories, such as examining the article’s web address and researching the background of the author. The site is part of Geaux Vote LSU’s media literacy campaign. The organization also is hosting a forum—featuring PolitiFact Executive Director Aaron Sharockman and Len Apcar, LSU’s media literacy chair and a former New York Times editor—at 6 p.m on April 17 at the Manship School of Mass Communication.
Pulled: Pepsi has pulled a new ad featuring “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” star Kendall Jenner after the ad was widely mocked and criticized for appearing to trivialize social justice protests. The Associated Press reports that Pepsi also issued an apology today, saying “we missed the mark.” The ad shows Jenner stepping away from a modeling shoot to join a crowd of smiling, young protesters. The protesters cheer after she hands a can of Pepsi to a police officer, who takes a sip. Some critics say the image of Jenner handing the officer a Pepsi evoked a photo of Black Lives Matter protester Ieshia Evans approaching an officer at a demonstration in Baton Rouge last year. Read more.
