Students from both Southern University and LSU gathered Sunday afternoon at the Baton Rouge Zoo to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters in what they called “Boo at the Zoo.”
While the event may have been a small one, it represents an idea the Editorial Board believes is a positive step for the two universities.
Southern and LSU are cross-town neighbors that offer top-notch educations to students, but the two rarely interact with each other.
We believe it is in the best interest of both universities to come together more often, especially at a time when cross-town university relationships are receiving negative press in the wake of the brawl between the University of Miami and Florida International University.
Events such as the “Boo at the Zoo” are our opportunity to show the rest of the country that Baton Rouge’s universities are above such petty conflicts.
The two universities have tried to hold events together in the past, such as the ill-fated Salt ‘N’ Pepper event set to be held in April 2005. The event was canceled after allegations were made that it would pose a security problem to unite the two universities in one venue.
We ask both Southern and LSU to work harder to hold events with each other and build a relationship and a spirit of community that will not only benefit the current students of the universities but will also show perspective students that Baton Rouge has a lot to offer on both campuses.
In the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Louisiana showed the rest of the country that, politics aside, our state is composed of a group of people who genuinely care about one another and can come together at even the most difficult of times.
Baton Rouge’s universities need to do the same.
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