The University has seen much turmoil in the last few semesters.
Budget cuts have threatened our colleges and have even led to the firing of some instructors and the elimination of many classes. Throughout the ordeal, students and faculty have fought for answers as to why cuts are being placed so heavily in the state’s higher education system.
Fingers were pointed at different people, and Chancellor Michael Martin received a great deal of criticism early on. Eventually, however, most pointed to Gov. Bobby Jindal.
Jindal, having the most control over where budget cuts fall, proved to Louisiana citizens he does not care much about higher education in his state. He has ignored the concerns of students from across the state, and he has even gone as far as telling his constituents to stop “whining” about the cuts.
But on Jan. 7, something happened.
Before LSU faced Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl, Jindal told an Aggie joke on national television while sporting a purple-and-gold tie.
And it didn’t stop there — Jindal was also present at the coin toss.
The sight confused me. Did Jindal actually start to support Louisiana’s flagship university? Does he now care about higher education?
But before I answer my own questions, I’ll take a look back at how he has ruined his reputation with the University.
To start, while Martin was experiencing tons of negative backlash because of the threat of budget cuts, Jindal was nowhere to be found.
Fourteen foreign language instructors were fired, and students and faculty became furious. All the while, Jindal had been spending days at a time out of state campaigning for other Republican candidates and himself before midterm elections.
During this time, students began to notice Jindal’s disregard for the University and other state schools.
In October, Student Government President J Hudson wrote a letter to a New Hampshire newspaper asking Jindal to come home. Jindal’s response: a post (which he probably didn’t write himself) on his Facebook page inviting students to join a discussion about higher education.
Students held a protest Nov. 10 at the State Capitol. Hundreds of students from across the state showed up asking for answers — and Jindal.
As you could guess, no one came to give answers.
Some students even marched to the Governor’s Mansion — still no Jindal.
But a few days later, Jindal spent eight days in California and New York promoting his new book.
The semester came to a close with students anxious and still without answers. And then a few weeks later, Jindal appeared at the Cotton Bowl to represent the University in front of the nation.
What the whole appearance boils down to is a public relations stunt. Having Jindal show up to support the University was simply a ploy to revive his tarnished reputation with students in the state.
We can’t let him trick us. Jindal has proven he is simply a narcissistic politician only out for his own personal gain. He has no interest in the students.
Read his Facebook page. Many of the posts serve to promote his book or notify people of his media appearances — not to answer students’ questions.
And on top of that, before his appearance at the Cotton Bowl, Jindal was in Houston at a fundraiser for his re-election.
Would he have even shown up if it weren’t for the fundraiser?
On Jan. 12, Jindal posted on his Facebook page that the cuts are expected to be less than 10 percent — which is good.
But with that possible good news (which we aren’t even sure yet is probable), we can’t let Jindal fool us. He may pretend to support the higher education in Louisiana, but under it all, he has proved he has greater interest in himself.
I might go to an orchestra concert to get extra point in music class, but that doesn’t mean I actually want to be there.
Chris Grillot is a 19-year-old mass communication and English sophomore from New Orleans. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_cgrillot.
 
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Contact Chris Grillot at [email protected]