The University has changed during the past 150 years, but the deep-rooted role of the military hasn’t.
The University’s military traditions were in the spotlight March 18 as the LSU Corps of Cadets marched onto the Parade Ground for the annual Chancellor’s Day Parade, which was part of the University’s sesquicentennial celebration this year.
The Chancellor’s Day Parade is a time to reflect on the military history of the University and for the chancellor to commend ROTC students, said Col. Frederick Guendel, commandant of the Corps Cadets.
“It gives the chancellor an opportunity to support these guys and help connect them across time to the founding of the University in 1860,” Guendel said.
Chancellor Michael Martin said he was honored to pay tribute to the cadets from Southern University’s Navy ROTC and the University’s Army and Air Force ROTC programs.
“I’m proud to have the chance to celebrate the success and commitment of our cadets who are dedicated to their education and our country,” Martin said then.
Martin acknowledged the strong military past at the University and its importance to the University’s character.
“We have a 150-year tradition of service to the country in so many ways, not the least of which is military service,” Martin said.
The Chancellor’s Day Parade has been a part of the University since its inception , said Aaron Looney, an editor for LSU Public Affairs.
The event is co-sponsored by the Ole War Skule, an organization for past members of the University’s ROTC. But the Ole War Skule, also a historic nickname for the University, was a much more exclusive organization when it began in the ’50s than it is now. 
“It was comprised of those cadets who had been on the old campus downtown and then moved to the present campus when it opened,” said Randy Gurie, executive director of the Cadets of the Ole War Skule. “They were looking for some sort of identity in their new environment.”
The Ole War Skule eventually became an advisory group for the University as its members took University administration and faculty positions, Gurie said. Because the organization only accepted cadets from the school’s downtown campus, membership diminished as cadets got older and was down significantly by the ’70s.
The organization resurged in the early ‘90s, and membership to the Ole War Skule was opened to anyone ever enrolled in the University’s ROTC. The organization changed but was still dedicated to supporting the Army and Air Force cadres on campus.
In addition to reviewing the troops, the Chancellor’s Day Parade traditionally included the change of command ceremony for the LSU Corps Commander — a student from either the Army or Air Force ROTC chosen to lead the cadres.
But the change of command hasn’t taken place for several years, said mechanical engineering senior Braden Bawcom, the current Corps Commander. Bawcom said the tradition became a formality and was phased out. Bawcom practiced with the troops for a week for the chancellor’s review, which consisted of cadets standing at attention while a reviewing party walks around the troops.
“It’s a kind of tradition we like to train our cadets to be accustomed to,” Bawcom said.
The program also included a demonstration by the Pershing Rifles, the University’s official colorguard. Gurie said the Chancellor’s Day parade is a way to keep the University’s military roots on the minds of the community.
“It’s like if one of your teachers was trying to ensure you don’t forget a particular thought or idea,” he said. “They would keep it in front of you. That might mean mentioning it to you in class, bringing a placard and putting it on the board or something they hand out. Our idea is to keep the military in front of people.”
Bawcom said the University’s rich military history and large number of ROTC alumni make on-campus military events special.
“It’s really great when you have a lot of former students coming out to support you who have gone through the same experience,” he said. “You don’t really get that at universities where you have a newer ROTC program.”
Contact Ryan Buxton at [email protected]