HOPE CARTER, Reveille Radio News Reporter:
Chancellor Michael Martin and Provost John Hamilton recently spoke of a “covenant” LSU has with students. In light of budget cuts, some students are wondering what this covenant is and if it is being fulfilled. Chancellor Martin explains.
MICHAEL MARTIN (University Chancellor): The very best students in Louisiana and many from beyond the state have chosen to come to LSU because we made a commitment to them when we recruited them that they would get a first class education at a top-ranked university.
CARTER: Student Government President J Hudson recently wrote a letter to Governor Bobby Jindal about the state of higher education. He believes the University is doing its best, but it cannot survive without the help of the state.
J HUDSON (Student Government President): LSU will continue to uphold its commitment but if the state does not uphold its commitment to the students who receive TOPS or that go to this flagship institution, then LSU’s commitment doesn’t mean anything.
CARTER: Hudson says LSU is already feeling the effects of the state’s inability to fulfill its covenant.
HUDSON: LSU is dying, and it’s dying because we’re going to be losing majors. We’ve already lost instructors and professors and faculty and staff.
CARTER: Chancellor Martin says LSU will soon know if it can hold up its end of the deal to students.
MARTIN: I believe the circumstances, if they continue to play out the way that they have over the next six to 10 months, could well put us in a position where we will know, whether we admit it or not, we will know that we are not the institution we pledged to be.
CARTER: Martin says current freshmen may realize within that time they are not getting what they were promised.
MARTIN: By the time they’re juniors and seniors they may have discovered that this is not what they expected at this point in their career.
CARTER: If LSU cannot fulfill its covenant, Hudson says the real issue at stake is the University name in the eyes of employers.
HUDSON: Well, it really does impact whether you’re a freshman, sophomore or a senior or a graduate student, what happens now, because it’s going to hurt you whenever you try to get jobs in the future.
CARTER: Chancellor Martin agrees.
MARTIN: If the rest of the world perceives that LSU is in decline, whether or not the experience has changed significantly on campus, it does impose a cost on students when they graduate.
CARTER: Hope Carter, Reveille Radio News.