As the end of the semester approaches, students are beginning to take stock of all that has occurred over the past months. With finals looming, we believe it is best not to look back, but look to the future.
Yes, it is true that much of what happened this semester has been less than great. We saw more than a thousand fellow citizens die in one of the most destructive hurricanes in U.S. history, the repercussions of which we still feel today. This tragedy, with its disruptions and displacements, has shaped our semester more than anything else and will undoubtedly continue to affect us after the end of the semester.
Still, let us look to the future. New Orleans will be rebuilt. The lives lost are gone and not forgotten, but new generations will be born, and the city will rise from the water.
For ourselves and those of us who were not affected except perhaps peripherally by the disaster, today inaugurates dead week, which leads into finals. For some, this means the end of their years at LSU as they pass from active membership into the mist of the past. For those who are graduating, we wish you the best and hope you can return.
 As for the rest of the student body who will be continuing down the line with us, let us make a commitment for next semester – that we will be involved, active students, never shrinking from our duty.
Happy Holidays and good luck.