The LSU alma mater. 
For some students, the words are ephemeral, but others take them to heart, excited to show their Tiger pride long past their college days, including one alumna and Baton Rouge resident — Jane Middleton. 
Middleton enrolled at the University in 1937, around the same time as the arrival of the first Mike the Tiger, but the campus offered a college experience much different than the now fast-paced, digital age students find so familiar. 
Cheering on the Tigers at football and baseball games since she was seven years old, the now 94-year-old attended the University to earn an undergraduate degree in English and a master’s in library sciences.
“I wouldn’t have gone anywhere else,” Middleton said. “I love LSU.” 
She carried on about her schooling the same as many students, but as an agricultural and mechanical university, the campus and its students were functioning in a time of war. On the brink of World War II, Middleton’s daughter, Jayne, 64, said all freshman males were required to join ROTC as part of the draft. 
While some students still make the decision to serve their country and remain informed of controversy, the participation isn’t mandatory as it once was, which is a difference reflected by the changing times. The demand to join ROTC wasn’t the only change in the University’s history.
While many new students wander around campus, phone app map in hand, that wasn’t always the case — not because there weren’t cell phones, but because the campus was much smaller. Many of the buildings, dorms and even the current Student Union didn’t find their place on campus until much later. 
With less of a physical campus came fewer students and parking troubles. Unlike most students at the time, Jane had a car and said she spent time driving her friends everywhere or staying at their dorms because she didn’t live on campus. Instead of staking out the nearest parking spot, many students walked wherever they needed to go. 
Just because Jane didn’t live on campus didn’t mean she wasn’t involved. She was a member of Chi Omega sorority, served as the chapter’s president and was on the board to build the sorority’s house. While sorority row is currently home to a large population of Greek women, her sorority had roughly 85 members at the time.
Jayne, who was also a member of Chi Omega at the University, said Greek life and its parties were formal when her mother attended, and many events came with an official invitation. 
“The parties back then were very different,” Jayne said. “They all dressed up for everything, and the guys wore coat and tie or tux for every party. Talk about different.” 
One aspect of the University that’s remained consistently popular throughout the years is its athletics. While football has always seemed to reign supreme, Jane said boxing was also prominent, but it wasn’t her favorite. She preferred attending other sporting events on the weekends or the different parties held in the Huey P. Long Field House, which used to serve as the Student Union.
Jane also met her late husband, Frank W. Middleton, Jr., during her time at the University, which she said was her favorite part of college. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and involved in the Pershing Rifles, a military organization. He left for the war before graduating, but later returned to earn his degree. 
Even though Jane graduated in 1941, she still has a love for the Tigers. She is often a spectator at the baseball team’s games, but that’s not where her dedication stops. Jayne said her mother has attended several BCS National Championship games, bowl games and three College World Series. 
Throughout the years, the University has continued to change and evolve into the school students know today. In light of the recent budget information, it may change even more. Jayne said she’s well aware of the situation and is concerned about the University’s future.
“I think the thing [Jane] and I would say is we’re both concerned about losing faculty, which is going to decrease the quality of education,” Jayne said. “You lose your best faculty because they’re enticed away, which in turn, is going to affect the quality of students.”
The University is different, but that’s true for almost any college campus during the past 74 years. Jane said she felt she grew up with the University changing, the same feeling current students may have years from now.
You can reach Greta Jines on Twitter @TheGretaJines. 

Gallery • 4 Photos

Ronni Bourgeois

Alumnus Jane Middleton holds her graduation photograph from 1941 on Wednesday, April 29, 2015, in her Baton Rouge home.