It has been my goal here at The Daily Reveille to try to give a different perspective on the subjects afflicting our minds and our budgets in the daily fairy tale of academic life.
I have mixed feelings sometimes, but should I stop? After all, the chance to come to an American graduate school is a privilege among my fellow Brazilians.
Or, as an LSU student, do I have an obligation to be part of the main discussion of this semester and try to contribute with that outside view?
Why I choose to write (although sometimes I’d rather shut up in the face of ignorance) will need be put straight: Even with budget cuts, the University will still be far superior to the best universities in Brazil — including the one where I took my undergrad classes — in the majority of aspects a university can offer.
This could seem like an attempt to diminish the quality of Brazilian education, but it’s just a reality check and an obvious explanation of why so many international students seek these American fields.
But to be fair, even with poor incentives and budgets, not to mention annual strikes and our own budget crisis, Brazil produces a great deal of qualitative academic knowledge and research.
That’s because you develop a sense of creativity and craftsmanship to make things happen when facing deficient conditions. If there’s something to be proud about my people and my country, it’s their creativity.
It’s easy to understand why people born under dire circumstances will work creatively to defy the poor statistics that typically mar the reputation of such an upbringing.
Creativity is not only a pretty word evoking artistic values. It’s a tool. It’s the sister of resilience.
Being a music student is an even more foreign condition than being an international student.
Many of the discussions about career opportunities, student-professor ratios and statistical data of applied expertise will differ significantly from the mainstream majors.
So I apologize if I have been vague sometimes. It’s my serious belief that a creative impulse followed by the right course of action will dismiss the most precise percentage estimates.
Again, I urge you to take a look on the other side of the border.
We don’t have as many opportunities, and the struggle to succeed is often drowned out by all sorts of problems. Crisis management and endurance have been our thing for decades.
Even if you don’t care, and would rather plug in your iPod and let the University and the world implode, I can assure you there are more LSUs and worlds out there than your self-absorption can ignore.
Marcelo Vieira is a 32-year-old jazz cello graduate student from Brazil. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_MVieira.
 
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Contact Marcelo Vieira at [email protected]