On a clear, hot morning in late September, freshmen from Adjunct Professor Laura Kelley’s class "Indian Tribes On the Bayou” (Honors Colloquium COLQ 1020-07) boarded a bus headed to the Southeastern tip of Louisiana, where an endless network of bayous and tributaries weave their way into the Gulf of Mexico.

Upon arriving in Port Sulphur, Louisiana, Tulane students and faculty joined volunteers from the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL). Together, they moved hundreds of bags of oyster shells into small fishing boats to make the short trip to Grand Bayou Indian Village, home of the Atakapa-Ishak/Chawasha Tribe.

Freshman Kali Lasseigne, who grew up exploring the swamps and bayous of Berwick, Louisiana, immediately noticed something off about this landscape. Exposed roots from erosion and dead trees made the land look almost desert-like. Most notably, “the marsh had big dents in it, as if someone took a bite out of the land,” she explains.

Once stacked together, the bags of oyster shells — products of CRCL’s decade-long recycling program — mimic natural oyster reefs, fighting back against coastal erosion and helping to prevent the “bites” that Kali observed. In Grand Bayou Indian Village, the assembly line started up again, with help from Atakapa-Ishak/Chawasha tribal members, unloading the oyster bags to stack along the shoreline. Several students even jumped in the water, getting thigh-high in the marsh, to lay down the first layer of bags. Professor Kelley noted how, in nearby Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe’s land, she has seen CRCL bags in action, where even after sustaining damage from Hurricane Ida, the reefs were doing what they were meant to do, protect the land. Over time, she explains, “they become almost cement-like. And then baby oysters grow on top of them, so it becomes like a living reef.”

Oyster reefs not only offer storm protection but create habitats for marine life like fish, crabs, and shorebirds. Plus, a single oyster filters up to fifty gallons of water a day, contributing to a healthier gulf while growing nutritious, regenerative food. “Oysters are really the perfect biomaterial,” says Saanvi Nair, a freshman who plans to major in cell molecular biology.

Students like Saanvi and Kali, both on a pre-med track, recognized the benefit of the anthropological (and interdisciplinary) approach of the course. Tribes like the Atakapa-Ishak/Chawasha and the Pointe-au-Chien face interconnected challenges — coastal erosion, overfishing, the after-effects of exploitative mining and oil drilling, man-made and natural disasters — that cannot be siloed into single disciplines. By engaging directly with the people affected, the course creates a holistic framework for understanding complex issues at play. For someone interested in medicine and molecular biology, Saanvi gained perspective on issues of health equity while exploring the connection between history and health.

And the journey out to Grand Bayou Indian Village gave her a much-needed context. “Seeing coastal erosion first-hand and seeing how it affects actual people makes it a lot more tangible,” she shared. “And you just feel more connected to the cause.”

Throughout the rest of the semester, Kelley’s class partners with the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe, designing projects around their needs. This semester, Kelley’s class wrote a French-English children’s book, focusing on the history and culture of fishing and food, that will get published and used at Pointe-au-Chien’s new French-Indigenous immersion school, Ecole Pointe-au-Chien.

“One of my favorite aspects of Native culture (so far) is the idea of stewardship of the land,” shared Kali. “Every Native culture we have learned about — and there have been many — has respected, loved, and tended to the land in a way we simply do not see today.”

Grand Bayou Indian Village sits at the edge of the gulf, one of the only tribal communities accessible exclusively by water. The Tribe first raised their houses when Hurricane Katrina floodwater reached an unprecedented 10 feet; it is now an entire floating village, stilted above the water.

Like the mighty oyster itself, the reciprocal benefits of this small project were manyfold. Oyster bags help preserve an important cultural and historic site.

And, as Kelley points out, with recent storms Helene and Milton fresh on everyone’s mind, “The problems on these frontline communities are not just a problem of Pointe-au-Chien, and not just a problem of Grand Bayou Indian Village and others — it’s an everybody problem, right?”

“If we don't work together as a community and deal with these things then we're going to get nowhere fast,” Kelley goes on.

“We get a lot of negative news, and it feels very depressing, like we can't do anything about climate change and all the associated problems with it,” Kelley adds. “And then you do something like this, and you think, if we all just did something in our backyard, that little something in all of our backyards amounts to a whole lot of something.”

Service learning is a requirement for all Tulane students, and the Center for Public Service (CPS) works to cultivate lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with CRCL and other community organizations, allowing professors like Kelley to build community engagement into their courses in such innovative ways.

“Of course, this class has made me want to volunteer more,” Kali shared. “Not only do I get to connect with my roots, I get to be a part of something larger than myself, and who wouldn’t want more of that?”

Anyone is welcome to volunteer with CRCL, but as Kelley points out, there’s an even simpler way to help: eat oysters. About 35 restaurants in New Orleans participate in CRCL’s oyster shell recycling project, and by dining there, patrons help return shells to the Gulf to build reefs and breathe life back into the coastline — a win-win for everyone.

Xyy Yang (SLA ’27) took the skills from his coursework in Digital Media Practices (DMP) to football's biggest event, joining the Super Bowl LIX media madness in New Orleans as a production assistant in the days ahead of the game.

The prospective DMP major has spent the last year sharpening his skills in video production with the Dean’s Office marketing & communications team — an experience he says helped prepare him for the high-pressure environment of sports media coverage. Introducing him to the team at Front Office Sports (FOS) was an easy solution that enabled Yang to earn hands-on experience in his field, and he was partially prepared for the pace. Still, with 6,414 accredited members of the media filling the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center — the most ever for a Super Bowl — being exposed to Radio Row was a definite first.

FOS is a media company with over 800K newsletter subscribers, known for publishing off-the-field content at the intersection of sports, business, and culture. Xxy’s PA duties included tasks like set fabrication and production suite setup, as seen in the photos of FOS' "before" rendering as well as the ultimate build. He also logged and organized video assets and jumping in on last-minute edit needs so producers could keep a rolling cadence of social media assets to their fanbase.

"The concept of a media row was something I didn’t know about before. Just the sheer number of media companies there was something astonishing," said Yang. "AP News was just a few steps away from the booth I was working, which was pretty wild, as was the crowd of celebrities. The week started on Monday with the build of Front Office’s set in the Convention Center, so I was able to really experience things beginning from the ground up."

This was a key role in our production workflow. Xyy handled himself in a professional and smart way, and was very well respected and appreciated by our production crew.

-Alan Springer

Xyy's main duties fell under Jon Shames, Podcast Producer for FOS, to help setup a Roland VR-120HD Direct Streaming AV Mixer for use as a backup recording device, as well as to act as video switcher. "I had to troubleshoot issues, such as the stream not showing up on a MacBook, and come up with testing solutions to pinpoint what the issues were. I mainly supported Jon and helped with whatever was needed. He was a force on-site... both with how many people he knew, and all that he was able to recall from memory."

Alan Springer, CEO of Springtime Media and part of the FOS Super Bowl coverage team, commented, “As a PA, Xyy helped our production team set up the wiring and internet, assisted in managing the production schedule, and traveled offsite to get production gear that was needed. He learned the skill set to operate and run our Black Magic audio/video board used to stream the live feed back to our editors in New York.

Read on for more in Xyy's own words, from highlights of his experience, what he learned from producers, and how he will continue to build on this opportunity.

Applicable Skills from Current Courses

In Final Cut Pro Mastery (THEA3910) with Professor Antony Sandoval, I'm learning the ins and outs of professional video editing, and understanding video workflow. With Professor Duane Prefume's Virtual & 3D Filmmaking (DMPC391001) I’m able to experience 3D filmmaking and what it’s like to jump into a whole new world — as well as try my hand at troubleshooting new applications, programs, and tech. And then Glass I (ARST1170) with Professor Christian Stock proved a very valuable endeavor in working as a team under intense heat and pressure.

Advice from the Professionals

• “Being a good producer is getting ahead of potential issues before they happen.”
  I was told I was on the right path when, as we were leaving to go to Best Buy around 6pm, I asked security by the entrance if there was a certain time we had to be back in case there was a cut-off for allowing new entrances.
• “Start gaining hands-on experience early.” 
  Others advised me that students should begin building their skills well before their junior or senior years — it makes a significant difference.

Key Takeaways

Listening to professional career journeys was incredibly insightful. Hearing them discuss the people they worked with, which collaborations were successful, which weren’t, and how their paths unfolded — all of it. Each story was packed with valuable lessons, reinforcing that every journey is unique.

The ability to wear many hats is so important! Maybe a team member needs to suddenly be somewhere else on a critical assignment. Being able to step in could mean anything from having to cut and craft footage for social media to working as the video switcher. It not only gives the team flexibility, but everyone works better together when they understand other roles besides their own.

Stay in ongoing communication, and ask questions. For example, communicating to the camera operators current issues or cutting to the other camera so the camera can setup for a close-up shot… then cutting back to that camera with the video switcher. It’s not always going to be the same gear but being able to go into a new environment and problem-solve on the fly in a high-pressure environment can apply to any situation.

Tulane’s Newcomb Department of Music has undertaken its first major curriculum overhaul in decades, responding to the evolving interests of current and prospective students eager to explore and shape the sonic landscapes of daily life. Curriculum innovations include reimagining the jazz studies program as Black American Music (BAM) and introducing a new specialization in Music and Technology (M&T). While working towards these changes, Tulane began to bolster its faculty in BAM and M&T with the addition of acclaimed composer Courtney Bryan, renowned trumpeter Ashlyn Parker, and dynamic percussionist Peter Varnado — enhancing student resources and deepening connections to New Orleans’ vibrant music scene. These efforts are helping Tulane's music program position itself as a national hub for students seeking to merge their passion for music with a forward-looking professional education.

Additional program updates include streamlining the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music into one degree with five possible pathways — allowing students to pursue specific career options that integrate professional areas such as composition, performance, and musical theater, alongside BAM and M&T. In addition, updated core requirements now reflect the diversity of today’s global and popular musical traditions and the transformative role of technology in the music industry.

To further strengthen the music studies, musical theater, and music business offerings, the department recently welcomed internationally recognized ethnomusicologist Ana Maria Ochoa; actor, director, writer, and producer Laura Waringer; and producer and seasoned percussionist Taku Hirano. These professors are leaders within their specialty and are poised to reinvigorate Tulane’s musical legacy.

Launched in the fall of 2024, these reforms are already showing results — with a rise in music majors and minors within just one semester. These positive outcomes are thanks in part to the Department of Music’s faculty working more closely with each student to ensure their success while enrolled and post-graduation.

Ana María Ochoa

Professor

Laura Waringer

Assistant Professor

Taku Hirano

Professor of Practice

What impact does the consumption of true crime have on our understanding of reality? How are male pickup artists linked to internet-trolling incels? In what ways does Kate Chopin use regionalism in her writing? These are just some of the research questions presented by panelists at Tulane’s 3^rd annual English Undergraduate Research Conference, an event that celebrated the depth of intellectual curiosity and opportunity for unexpected ideas in the study of literature.

I had the privilege of acting as a moderator and Keynote Graduate Speaker at this year’s conference, along with some other English graduate students. Presenters represented different years and majors, all linked together by outstanding research papers and creative writing submitted for their English classes. The event is designed to give students of all majors the full experience, complete with lively question-and-answer sessions following their presentations.

While moderating my panel, I had the opportunity to hear from Caroline S. and Petra R., two STEM students who presented completely different pieces linked by their shared contemplation of the nature of reality and truth. Caroline’s piece, a bittersweet exploration of her New Orleanian roots, grounded itself in the universally human desire to understand our families and our pasts. Petra’s research, on the other hand, analyzed how the consumption of true crime as entertainment can skew our perceptions of reality while moving us farther away from our humanity. After presenting their writing, the audience participated in an engaging session of questions and synthesis, ultimately contemplating how our personal mythologies and biases undergird our perception of reality.

Looking back on their joint panel, Caroline stated that “Being able to do this showed me the ability for personal experiences to transcend the personal and have other people connect with that. Then, during our discussion, I had thought, how were we going to connect these things? And somehow we did!” Meanwhile, Petra mused on presenting in general, noting, “I think a lot of times it can be uncomfortable finding the right words that convey what you mean [when put on the spot], but it deepens your understanding and perception of your own writing without even realizing it.”

For my Keynote Address, I shared my Master’s thesis exploring linked themes in Gothic literature and Gothic rock. My fellow Keynotes, Leah-Tim Davant and Alex Gassel, presented a Master’s thesis about regionalism within Kate Chopin’s literature on New Orleans and a Capstone project on how Virginia Woolf’s writing parallels later absurdist ideas in Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus, respectively. Presenting on this range of topics was a chance to show how pursuing graduate studies in English at Tulane empowers students to explore the subjects and ideas that most engage them within the broader curriculum.

What strikes me as the most important and dynamic part of studying English is how each thing we study can be linked to another. Although we tend to view English as solely the study of literature, the field is far more interdisciplinary than just that — consisting of Philosophy, Art, History, and even sometimes delving into the sciences. Undergraduates presented on topics such as the Oura Ring, cyborgs in the modern age, and chivalry in the South. And while the topics themselves seemed worlds apart, each presentation shared a common thread: the desire to bridge personal insight with broader cultural understanding.
 

In the end, what the English Undergraduate Research Conference really shows is how unexpected ideas can come together in powerful ways. Whether a personal narrative centered on our history or research on the ramifications of true crime, each presentation revealed how English isn’t just about literature, but the emotions and ideas that make us human. Presenters proved that curiosity is what unites us all, and it thrives when we push boundaries and share these conversations across disciplines and generations.

The Tulane Conference on Linguistics (T-CoL) is designed to be a conference that, while maintaining high academic standards, is a warm and open place for first-time speakers. Hosted by graduate students in the Interdisciplinary Linguistics Program, T-CoLoffers an opportunity for anyone with an interest in linguistics to network with other scholars, professors, and students in the Gulf South. During the 7th annual conference, which took place in March 2025, scholars presented research on language-made material across 11 sessions.

Over time, writing systems can change drastically for a variety of reasons, including technological innovations, outside influence, and underlying language changes. “We hoped to draw attention to all of the different ways language can be used, whether in education, signage, ancient writing systems, and so on,” said Keara Sparks, T-CoL co-host and president of the Tulane Linguistics Student Association. Speakers also looked at language in the ephemeral, as it becomes the material: visualization and mapping dialects, articulations, vowel formants, and language variation. In other words, the materialization of language itself.

Participation included 17 speakers, mostly coming from the Gulf South, and more than 50 attendees. “It is so nice to have a conference that is centered on linguistics,” one attendant remarked. “It’s nice to get to see everyone face to face and learn about all the different projects we’re working on,” they continued. The event culminated with keynote speaker Dr. Amy George and her talk, “On This Earth Here: Mapping the Universe Across Time, Space, and Languages.” With this presentation, Dr. George took the audience on a brief trip through humankinds’ perceived understanding of the universe through charts, writings, and art of our solar system and other “heavenly bodies,” dating back to the year 161 CE.

The conference was sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Linguistics Program and Graduate Studies Student Association, with support from the Newcomb Art Department. Those interested in presenting or attending next year can email tulanelinguisticsconference@gmail.com to join the mailing list.