After the riots at the Capitol on Jan. 6, many of us waited with bated breath for Inauguration Day, hoping for a relatively peaceful transition of power. LSU Interim President Tom Galligan was no exception.
On Tuesday, Jan. 19, the Division of Strategic Communication sent another message in a seemingly endless stream of mass emails, this time linking to a YouTube video from Galligan himself. It was a little under a minute-and-a-half long. After watching the video, I really feel like someone needs to ask the question: why?
The video on the “tradition of the peaceful transition of power on Inauguration Day” was neither educational nor enlightening. Not only did it not really say much about “tradition,” it also didn’t offer any real information on the University’s stance on the riots or what the consequences would be for students who engage in similar acts of political violence in the future.
Despite speaking for nearly a minute and a half, Galligan didn’t say anything of value. A snappy Ronald Reagan quote followed by some quips about American freedom and how our election process is “often emulated by other countries and admired by many people the world over” made up the bulk of his speech, finally ending with what the University presumably felt was a suitable call-to-action and asking that students “…foster greater unity on our campus, in our community and in our country.”
The audience wasn’t given any details or suggestions on how to achieve such unity beyond “reflect[ing] on the actions we can take,” but somehow I doubt that was anyone’s goal in making and releasing this video.
It just feels like a shallow attempt by the University so that it can pat itself on the back for “making a difference” and “mending fences” between students of opposing political beliefs. Clearly, I’m not the only one who thinks that.
Scrolling through the comment section under the Inauguration Day video was a real treat.
Many users pointed out that the video was alluding to the riots without actually addressing them, an obvious move on the University’s part to appease everyone in the community without taking a real stand. Galligan avoided buzzwords and controversial statements, throwing in a Reagan quote to satisfy conservative viewers and a bit about respecting the transition of power for Biden supporters in the audience.
Others called out Galligan’s apparent “virtue signaling,” his seemingly disingenuous or feigned expressions of morality or compassion, as a ploy for him to secure his position as University president.
Regardless of Galligan’s intent, the video didn’t look good. No amount of “good intentions” can come across as anything but shallow in a video with such little substance or real emotions.
I agree that the University should have made a statement for Inauguration Day — just not the one it ended up making. The University — and Tom Galligan — has a platform that reaches beyond the student body, yet continuously fails to make real statements about matters that affect each and every one of us.
When will our administration stop turning a blind eye and actually take a stand?
Marie Plunkett is a 21-year-old classical studies senior from New Orleans.