BATON ROUGE — A pair of LSU student-athletes will speak to a group of incoming freshman at the STRIPES “Tiger Tailgate Dinner” on Monday between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. in front of the Maravich Center.
Redshirt freshman Tiger basketball player Garrett Temple and sophomore soccer player Elena Sutherland will welcome the incoming freshmen and share their experiences at LSU as students and student-athletes as part of the tailgate party that will show the newcomers what it’s like to be a Tiger.
A defender from Sugarland, Texas, Sutherland started 19 games, playing in all 20, while being named the soccer Freshman of the Year. A member of the 2001 National Championship Olympic Development Team, she is majoring in biological science.
The third member of the Temple family to play at LSU, Garrett earned a redshirt last year but practiced daily with the Tiger team to help LSU prepare for games. The Baton Rouge native follows his father, Collis, Jr., the first African-American to play basketball for the Tigers, and his brother, Collis III, in the purple and gold.
STRIPES, which stands for Student, Tigers, Rallying, Interacting and Promoting Education and Service, is an orientation program coordinated through the Office of the Dean of Students that provides a smooth transition to new LSU students. The four-day program provides newcomers with a better understanding of the university campus.
As part of the program, incoming students are given the opportunity to learn about historical figures and events that have made LSU what it is today. They also find out what it means to be a true Tiger and are exposed to numerous LSU traditions and the unique culture of Louisiana.