SUNO/UNO Merger Hearing Planned Thursday

A judge is hearing arguments Thursday in a lawsuit seeking to stop any effort toward consolidating Southern's New Orleans campus with the University of New Orleans.

District Judge Tim Kelley has scheduled a Thursday hearing in the case.

The Board of Regents hired a consultant to look at a possible merger of the historically black SUNO campus and the largely white UNO campus. Gov. Bobby Jindal asked for the study.

A group of Southern University students is requesting an injunction to end the merger efforts until the Regents board is reworked. Lawyer and former state Sen. Cleo Fields is arguing the board makeup is unconstitutional because it doesn't adequately represent black and female Louisianians.

Jindal has denied the merger study has anything to do with race or politics. He says the schools might be able to better serve students with shared resources.