Red cups, plates, food and beer bottles strewn everywhere around campus.
These are just some of the horrendous sights we behold every Sunday after a home football game. The main problem here: These “tailgating leftovers” are all over the ground in places where I learn on school days.
I wonder if I’m the only one who recognizes this as an insult to my education?
Am I the only one who feels like setting up a bucket labeled “Budget Cuts: Help Us” so every fan has to drop some cash in before entering LSU’s campus or collecting from each individual tailgate? Am I also the only one who is disgusted at not having one parking spot to choose from in the middle of the day on a Saturday? I can’t be.
I’m not condemning tailgating. I understand this is the South, and we like food, football and frivolous days with friends and family. It’s tradition.
At the same time, there are some untraditional things going on now, and I just cannot logically make the connection between a great football team and a trashed campus.
I understand the increased revenue supports small businesses in the area and whatnot, but do we pretend every Saturday that there are no real problems ahead of the University?
At LSU, you can get expelled for sneaking alcohol into your dorm room, but you also can go outside every Saturday and drink for free around campus at will.
Something about that just doesn’t click.
The camaraderie present among LSU fans and students during tailgating is awesome. The loud music outside of my dorm room from Friday night to the wee hours of the morning is not. The roar from Death Valley throughout games is unforgettable. Random drunken screaming outside my window at midnight after an already hectic school week is not.
Yelling “Tiger Bait” at unsuspecting rivals is classic. Arguing about a parking spot with a rude, drunk old man who is apparently still living in the Antebellum South is not.
I could go on for days, but I’m sure you get the point.
Tailgating is an integral component of college football, especially at LSU. But this does not give people, including students, the right to lose their sense of dignity for a whole day and act like they’re not disrespecting a place that many people strive to take care of, as well as a beacon of education for a whole state.
Keep in mind this is just commentary — there’s no call for action in this article. I see we can’t even protect the historically and nationally significant Indian Mounds from hyperactive kids. How could we possibly stop adults from turning the Parade Ground upside down with filth?
As the adage says, if you don’t respect yourself, others won’t respect you either. This phrase rings true here.
How can anyone take the student body’s demands to save higher education seriously after we allow our campus to be overrun with trash from people who don’t even attend the school? For a top-tier, four-year university, there sure is a lot of high school-esque business going on.
Maybe we can clean our act up before the Legislature does, when the football team will truly be the only reason to step foot on LSU’s campus after the massive reduction of our beloved school’s formerly diverse educational paths and prestige.
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