Students were greeted Monday with the unfamiliar sight of weekday tailgaters at a time when most would usually be worried about tests.
As we walked past the tents, empty beer cans and half eaten jambalaya, the question on our mind was simply, “Why?”
Why did the University close for a storm officials knew would strike 48 hours before scheduled classes? Hurricane Rita left only moderate damage that was largely concentrated off campus.
The answer University administrators have offered is that they feared Rita would be as catastrophic as Hurricane Katrina. We can accept this answer only to a point.
Despite the denials, the answer closest to the truth seems to be that those in power cancelled class because of the pure logistics of hosting the football game against the University of Tennessee.
This logic is borne out of observing the actions of the administration for the first two scheduled games of the season.
In the case of the first home game, against the University of North Texas, we completely understand why the event was postponed. The University had become a shelter, hospital and a command center for one of the largest natural disaster relief efforts in U.S. history.
The next week brought another home game against Arizona State, the University agreed to move the game to Tempe, Ariz. This, too, was in response to the continuing presence of rescue and recovery efforts centered at the University, and we applaud the administration for its forward thinking in this area.
However, this weekend’s contest against Tennessee was an entirely different matter. If we were unable to have either North Texas or Arizona State play in Tiger Stadium because of the University’s role in relief efforts, how could we have Tennessee play when the University is still operating as a medical center for both Katrina and Rita evacuees?
Even aside from the University’s role in recovery efforts, we are a place of learning – Louisiana’s flagship university. The cancellation only perpetuates the image of LSU as an institution where athletics trump academics and all but solidifies our place in the third tier. How is it that classes could be cancelled because of fears of storm damage, yet a football game, which brings more than 90,000 people onto the campus, allowed to proceed?
We’ve heard the explanations, but frankly, they are questionable.
Chancellor Sean O’Keefe will hold a town hall meeting in Dodson Hall today at 4:30 p.m. We hope he will take the opportunity to address student questions and concerns about the cancellation.
And then there is that one last question – how will the cleanup effort for this campus be complete by the time students pick up this newspaper? Downed branches aside, students will most likely be forced to wade through tailgating debris.
The University administration feared that facility services would be unable to clean up from the hurricane by 7:30 a.m. classes yesterday. So we will expect to see a campus free of broken glass, purple and gold paraphernalia and spilled drinks today.
After all, this was done for the benefit of the student body.