The state of Louisiana is known to its residents as a home to a score of unique cultures, traditions and folkways. Whether it is the Cajun Southwest, the jazz of New Orleans or the hard-working Protestant north, every resident of Louisiana would agree the state has much to celebrate.
To outsiders, Louisiana often appears to be among the most backward of states – a fever swamp of racism, poverty and a backwoods mentality that is equal parts “Dukes of Hazzard” and “Deliverance.”
For us, what seems to be gentility and a sort of honest decadence, is to many outsiders the signs of a corrupt political institution masquerading as one of the 50 states. One only need witness the media reaction to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, where Louisiana solidified its image as the most inefficient state in the union.
These views of our state’s alleged incompetence, true or not, affect us all. As students of the Flagship University, which is, according to U.S. News and World Report, a third-tier school, we have to deal with the perception of our own deficiencies in coming from a Louisiana university, regardless of whether or not we were actually born here.
Still, if image is everything, we are losing that war at home. Recent protests of the purple and gold Confederate flag have brought to light the uncomfortable notion of racial disharmony to our campus. As we’ve written before, we support the First Amendment, which includes the right to protest the flag and the right to free speech. Perhaps we were wrong in not pointing out the possible repercussions of the act itself.
The University, as well as the state, is at a turning point. The hurricanes have thrust us into the national spotlight, a place – let’s be honest – Louisiana isn’t often in. What is imperative for us at this University is to shine now in this moment. That may well mean putting aside our political or philosophical differences, studying harder and perhaps avoiding the temptation to act out.
We simply cannot have more cases of people in power, be it certain members of Student Government referred to in the editorial below, or student officials at the law school who send insensitive e-mails to the wrong groups. We rightfully expect our leaders to provide good examples, not to act as if they have not left their high school selves behind.
Indeed, from the most experienced seniors to the youngest freshman, we simply ask that students strive to excel. The eyes of the nation are on us all.