I find myself in an awkward position. This past week, I wrote a column entitled “What to do now that the season is over.” In it, I outlined what students of the University should do now that their time would not be consumed by the football team’s quest to win a national championship. I made a joke, saying that students could buy “discounted Les Miles shirts,” assuming like everyone else that Les Miles would return to Michigan. I concluded the column with the remark that LSU would make the title game “if West Virginia and Missouri lose, LSU wins by a large margin, and Jesus comes back.” Well, Les Miles is staying put at LSU. West Virginia lost. Missouri lost. LSU won convincingly, and now we’re in the title game. So I can swallow my pride, accept my imperfection and say that I didn’t believe enough in the Tigers. Or I can stubbornly assert that my remark was prophetic, and Jesus will return within the month. So in preparation for the imminent Second Coming, I think we should ask ourselves why Miles chose to stay at LSU over his alma mater. Perhaps there’s something in his reasoning that can guide us toward salvation. Miles hasn’t really said why he decided to stay, but I hope he saw in LSU what I saw when I transferred: there’s something special about this place. I came to LSU first after having been displaced from Loyola University by Hurricane Katrina. I quickly realized LSU was different. It’s hard to explain, but I think LSU students don’t buy into the nihilism of our age. Most college students, having accepted the precepts of postmodernism, go through their lives believing that humans are little more than glorified animals whose existence is meaningless in a world that is equally meaningless. They believe that things like truth, beauty, community and love are illusions propped up by humanity to avoid the emptiness of their existence. LSU students don’t view life that way. Despite all the absurdity around us, we still manage to find the meaningful good in things. We love our campus. Whether it’s the feel of a crisp winter breeze racing across the Parade Ground, the dawn sunlight dancing across the water of the lakes or stately oaks shading inspiring halls, this campus is full of beauty. We love the community at LSU. People simply don’t file in and out of class; we want to talk with our classmates and find out how they’re doing. With such an environment one can’t help but feel a part of something. Even the students who don’t care about football eventually find themselves wearing purple and gold. You’ll find in your own observations plenty of other wonderful things displayed by the University and the people within these walls. Whatever it is about LSU that you find most important, I think it’s reflected well in the statement Sam gives at the end of “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.” He tells a broken and hopeless Frodo “there’s some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for.” Whereas most people deny the existence of any real good, LSU students seek the good, and they cling to it. Whether it be something as trivial as the football team’s hopes for a national title or something as serious as the welfare of a close friend, LSU students find life to be worth living and enjoy it. Granted, they might not always find it, but the search and hope for finding real happiness is there. This might not seem that revolutionary, but in the insanity of the modern world this one truth is immensely liberating. I found out at Loyola that without this attitude, school and life was miserable. My only goal was to leave to campus as soon as possible. At LSU, I’m rarely cooped up in my apartment. Now, I’m always seeking somewhere on campus to find friends to study or hang out with. My younger sister is in the middle of her college search, and when she asks about LSU, I can honestly tell her with certainty that LSU is a place where she’ll be happy. It’s where she’ll find people who will help her find the good, meaningful things in life so that she can be happy. That’s not common today. It’s an incredible gift LSU has, more important than anything the Flagship Agenda can provide. I think Les Miles realized that, or at least I hope he did. So LSU, keep finding the good things in life and fighting for them. Have a great day.
—-Contact Michael Denton at [email protected]