Last week, LSU fans had an emotional few days after the death of the University’s beloved mascot, Mike VI.
Editors Note: This article is part of a Head-to-Head. Read the opposing opinion here.
Earlier this month, the University announced Mike’s battle with cancer would soon come to an end. His veterinarian Dr. David Baker warned everyone the tiger had one to two months to live.
People were shocked and saddened that less than two weeks after the announcement Mike was euthanized.
Many students grew to love and adore Mike. He received many visitors from near and far — people that came to visit campus and students that would pay him a quick visit on their way to class.
Having a live mascot is a University tradition unique to our campus. Caging one of the fiercest felines that lives steps away from the PMAC and Tiger Stadium makes bringing opponents to our home even more exciting. It gives students a sense of pride and joy.
Mike the Tiger has been an LSU tradition since Oct. 21, 1936. Most alumni don’t know the University without the tiger.
This is an incredibly hard loss, especially as we prepare to play Ole Miss, Alabama and Florida.
Passing by Mike’s empty habitat will be emotional, but maybe it’s best it stays empty.
It’s hard to imagine the University without Mike the Tiger, but it’s an option that needs to be thought out thoroughly and answered, with all emotions put aside.
There’s already a petition going around with more than 100,000 signatures to make Mike VI the University’s final live mascot.
People, including myself, want another Mike because of the tradition and pride he brings to the university. However, PETA’s message to the University makes me think maybe we’re being selfish.
“This sad day could mark a kind new beginning for LSU, where sensitive, intelligent tigers have been reduced to game-day props for decades,” PETA said in response to the death of Mike.
Although Mike is much more than a gameday prop, they have a point. I’m no expert, but it seems cruel to keep an animal on a college campus.
The message concluded with, “PETA is calling on the university to honor Mike VI’s legacy by making him the last live mascot to be locked up in captivity and paraded around an unruly stadium. The last thing LSU should do is condemn yet another tiger to a lifetime of exploitation.”
It’s hard not to take into consideration the message of an organization whose name stands for “People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.”
Maybe it’s time to put our feelings and personal satisfactions aside and put the actual animal into consideration.
The opinion of people against the continuance of the live tiger tradition may not matter anyway, as the University is already searching for Mike VII. However, it’s still something to think about — do you believe it’s best for the University to obtain another tiger that will be kept in lifelong captivity?
Clarke Perkins is a 20-year-old political science junior from New Orleans, Louisiana.
