The new Gumbo is terribleSo I go pick up my “free” Gumbo the other day, somewhat unexcited and expecting to get something sub-par to the Gumbos of our parents’ generation, as usual, and I got a random assortment of hippies flipping off the camera on an all black background. If you haven’t picked up your copy yet, I encourage you to do so, not because you ultimately DID pay for it through some arbitrary fee along the line, and especially not for its historical significance, because that obviously went by the wayside a very long time ago, but because of its entertainment value. As I flipped through the pages I found myself thinking I could find more normal people at a Carlotta Street Halloween party. The entire book is dark and ominous looking. Instead of bright, colorful pictures showcasing the beauty of our campus that so many are enormously proud of, we get dimly colored images scattered across a black              background that look like they belong in a Katrina coffee table book. One of my favorites of the many pieces of trash that makeup this awful attempt to show “college life” at LSU is the caption, “Tiger Fans will FUCK you up,” underneath a picture of two fans painted up at a football game. Cool man, you obviously put a lot of thought and effort into your portion of this white trash showcase considering one of the fans pictured has a cross painted on his chest. You totally got your message across to any opposing fans that see it though!My biggest gripe with the new Gumbo is the blatant display of drug use from cover to cover. If I didn’t know any better, I would think the whole campus hung out on State Street passing out acid and talking about what new trinkets they should add to their dreadlocks. Oh, and that no one on campus showered…ever. There is actually an entire two page spread with pictures of pot, pills and ecstasy wafers along with more pieces of drug paraphernalia than the eighteen and over section of the Ra Shop. Whose brilliant idea was it to put this completely relevant section in our yearbook? And better yet, what the hell kind of message were you trying to send?  I guess what sums up the whole mindset and gives a crystal clear look into the lives of the trash that compiled this book would be the “Oops” spread. Apparently, the staff was too stoned or maybe too zoned out thinking about where they were going to score their next hit of acid to realize that they left two pages blank in the middle of the People Section. In my opinion, if they decided to leave it blank they would have had their best idea yet, but unfortunately they thought it would be wicked cool to take pictures of themselves at one of their badass office parties, which looked more like an opium den filled with the people that live in the shanty-towns under I-10 in New Orleans. I can’t even imagine the conversation that ultimately led to those pictures being included in our yearbook.I have always enjoyed looking at the Gumbos of the past, especially those from my parents’ years at LSU, but I hope to God this crap never makes it into the hands of my children. This book will never be displayed or even stored in my house, and I would be completely embarrassed if anyone from another school saw it. Congratulations on ruining what was left of a legacy, and I sincerely hope that none of the Gumbo staff ever include that they had anything to do with creating this garbage on a future resumé. Thanks for nothing. For the record I would have been happier with a bound edition chronicling the happenings on Juicy Campus. At least that shit is funny.Sean Meeksbiological sciences junior—-Contact The Daily Reveille’s opinion staff at [email protected]