It seems as though our bayou’s tranquil waters have been disturbed by the wake makers to the south.
ULL and LSU columnists have taken to throwing punches at our little university.
They called us apathetic. They said we could never instill the same pride in our town as Duck Dynasty. And they even trashed us for simply being in Monroe.
While I admittedly had never heard of “The Vermillion,” I still had a hard time believing that any publication would print that garbage. There is a difference in being witty and just bitter. Ask “The Hawkeye.” We have the awards to prove it.
And though I admire “The Reveille’s” staff for putting out a daily paper while taking classes, I find that they are often stretched for material and will apparently let anyone fill their pages.
Granted these schools have some better programs to boast over us, but so do we: pharmacy, atmospheric science and no school is better at having its budget slashed than us.
And yes, while LSU may inspire dreams of higher ACT scores, ULM enables dreams of higher education.
Our university gives thousands of students from poor, rural north Louisiana the chance at earning a college degree.
“The Reveille” calls us a redneck-filled community college. And while many here may subscribe to that lifestyle, our university is a microcosm just like any other.
But look at me going on and on about LSU, I’ve completely forgotten about the school that started it all, ULL.
Yes friends, apparently, ULM has just found itself in the middle of feud from the south that’s been going on for many years between LSU and ULL.
Now ULL, bitter and misguided because they will NEVER be a flagship school, felt the need to lash out at us because they have to share our system.
But all of this nonsense aside, there is seriously no need to be so petty with each other.
We are all great Louisiana schools. We all serve a function and neither of us would do well at serving each other’s.
I think we are missing the big picture. We should all be working together to make this state the best that it can be. Because we all know that the politicians are doing their best to make universities as ineffective as possible.
We should be working to build a better Louisiana. ULL, all we ask is that you follow the law. Okay, we’re sorry you don’t like it, but we weren’t that crazy about changing our name from NLU. LSU, all we ask is that you don’t lose to Alabama again.
This little drama has already distracted enough columnists. It’s time we put this absurdity to rest once in for all.
Let’s bury the hatchet and move on with our lives. Besides, don’t we all have better things to be doing anyway?
ULM may be a little behind the curve compared to some other schools, but we don’t care what the critics say.
We are striving to make our university better. The mountains we have climbed in the last decade alone is worthy of more columnage than this spectacle.
Nonetheless, I’m reminded of a Cajun poet, Jean Arceneaux. He wrote a poem called “The New Saturday Night Waltz” about the Cajun people and how they’ve lost their culture.
He mentions that today’s Ragin’ Cajuns spend their money on an entry ticket to a football game and that they retain just enough tradition to fill the pages of a tourist brochure.
But what Arceneaux says at the very end can apply to all of us. “The Buddha of Basile was right: the good times are killing us all.”
So keep your knickers in a twist if you want, ULL. Because frankly we just don’t care.
Jimmy - '71 NLU Grad • Nov 16, 2013 at 9:20 am
Questions to ponder:
1. If UL-Monroe (ULM) had its own unique name, and didn’t have to share with UL-Lafayette, would we really care what the Lafayette school called itself?
2. Was the so-called “directional school” name really detrimental to the growth of NLU? NOTE: Another directional school in Hammond has doubled in size since 1980, and has become the 3rd largest school in the state. And numbers are important when you’re battling for dollars.
3. Has the re-branding of NLU as ULM resulted in the growth of the school? NOTE: As NLU, between 1980-1998, enrollment averaged 11,000. The year the school’s name changed, enrollment dropped below 10,000 for the first time in nearly 20 years, and has never reached 10,000 again. Current enrollment is about 8,500.
4. Did the circumstances that resulted in the 1999 name change, pushed through without vote by a small group, alienate a significant number of NLU alums, and affect the level of financial support for the university?
5. Is it time to at least discuss rebranding our university, as a way to unite and grow?
Just some thoughts.
Jimmy - '76 NLU Grad • Nov 17, 2013 at 10:30 am
Sheesh. I don’t even know when I graduated. Should be ’76 NLU Grad. Oops.
Mark • Nov 6, 2013 at 11:01 am
Candidly, there are a number of us who would prefer going back to “NLU”. The university lost some of its identity when the name change happened. It is much like someone who has had one name for years and then decides to change it in middle age. But that is just my opinion.
Quite frankly, if “U La La” wants to make a fool out of itself, then let them. NLU just needs to focus on being the best they can be – not an easy task with Jindal’s efforts at screwing the higher ed system.
I have two degrees from NLU, and am proud of the school I graduated from. I am thankful for the opportunity they gave me a long time ago.
Mark • Nov 6, 2013 at 12:25 am
I am an nlu alumni that has lived in Lafayette for over 17 years now. Im sick amd tired of the hidden agenda and underhanded schemes to try and be known as the university of Louisiana. Your goal is to make ulm look like a satellite. Never gonna happen, ull is your name, chew and swallow. I know most of you will whine and bitch hoping to get your way. But chatter and bickering in a blog will not accomplish anything. Grow up!
Durl • Nov 5, 2013 at 7:12 pm
Dave said “… the only thing they are asking for is to be what they want to be called athletically, UL, Louisiana or Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns.” The last 2 are OK but UL is not. Part of the deal that changed USL to ULL and NLU to ULM was that both schools used the full name. UL violates those rules. It’s the law, so follow it.
Dustin • Nov 5, 2013 at 12:24 pm
Calling the Vermillion’s article “satire” is like calling porn “art”. Keep telling yourself whatever makes you feel better, but no one’s buying it. De la Rosa’s article didn’t attack the issue, it attacked ULM, their students, and their community without provocation from ANY of them. Oh, and yes, while the News-Star printed the first article, if you actually read it, the main people griping about the naming practice are state legislators (trying to drum up some popularity for the upcoming election season), a LaTech alum, and a ULM booster. The only school officials to comment (the ULM President and their football coach) gave arms-length responses that IN NO WAY attacked UL Lafayette. ULM students weren’t even mentioned. The hate feud started when the Vermillion decided to publish de la Rosa’s garbage. In fact, ULM students have been mostly silent on the issue before this article. Skim the comments from the LSU article. Eighty per-cent of the comments are UL Lafayette fans and students (rightfully) bashing the ever loving crap out of LSU’s sorry excuse for a columnist. The other twenty per-cent or so are LSU fans and students that love screwing with UL Lafayette people. ULM students are, for all intents and purposes, completely excluded from the discussion. I’d like to tell you to also check the comments on the Vermillion’s article for ULM students also, but, oh how convenient, there’s no comment section. Also, you guys really seem to misunderstand how quotations work. The “only buy an entry ticket” line was not his opinion, it was the opinion of a poet from Acadiana. Yes, it was from ’78 and it might not be applicable today, but to classify that as an “attack on [your] culture” is butt-hurt on an incomprehensible scale. It would be like your buddy saying, “man you’re getting fat”, then someone else telling you “hey, remember that time your buddy told you you’re getting fat”, and you go bat crap crazy about it. I’m a Cajun through and through, so don’t talk to me about “you have to be a Cajun to get it” because I am and I still don’t get why everyone’s so offended. All in all, I’m not surprised. I’ve come to expect this type of overreaction from the more vocal of the UL Lafayette fan base. It’s really great that you guys are so proud of your school. Regardless if that camaraderie is based on school pride or a hatred of a common enemy, you guys have some of the most passionate and involved fans and students I’ve even seen. Just please don’t jump down everyone’s throats any time someone calls you out for something. Seems to be pattern. I just hope that all of this crap will finally be put to rest.
Dave • Nov 5, 2013 at 11:38 am
UL, UL, UL, UL, UL, UL
Put UL @ Pizz and Moanroe in its place on the 30thth of November….
Geaux “THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA, RAGIN’ CAJUNS”
John Harber • Nov 5, 2013 at 9:22 am
Glad to see Louisiana Tech not mentioned in this. Not saying we’re above it it’s just the La-Tech ULM rivalry was getting pretty one-sided.
Dave • Nov 5, 2013 at 8:21 am
Weak argument all the way around, UL Lafatyette is not trying to be a flagship and they are not trying to change the official name of the university, the only thing they are asking for is to be what they want to be called athletically, UL, Louisiana or Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. No ULL and no UL @ Lafayette. Learn your facts and then rewrite this peice of >>>> article.
Buster • Nov 5, 2013 at 3:01 pm
Dear Dave,
The law that gives ULL the wiggle room to go by University of Louisiana or Louisiana is the same one that prevents them from dropping L from ULL or Lafayette from University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
So please go back to ULL or UL@Lafayette.
Cajun • Nov 5, 2013 at 6:02 am
What the vermillion printed would have been absolutely horrible, I agree, IF they had printed it as an actual news item. If you check out the article carefully, you’ll see it was part of a SATIRE column. Nothing in that article was intended to be serious. It was written to poke fun at the situation, nothing more. Students in lafayette have no problem with ULM (The majority of us weren’t even aware of the name situation or legal guidelines until a few weeks ago).
Mo • Nov 4, 2013 at 11:08 pm
Are you serious right now? ULL didn’t start anything. If I remember correctly, the first article I read on this issue was from one of your very own staff members. I can’t even deal with this petty debate right now.
Queb • Nov 4, 2013 at 11:06 pm
Would just like to point out that the actual start of this mess was an article published in the Monroe Star News. The article published in the UL Vermilion was published under a section called SATIRE, obviously never meant to be serious. It’s obvious that there is only one way to solve this….. at Cajun Field on the 30th of this month……… GEAUX CAJUNS!!!!!!!
Kaleb Hanson • Nov 4, 2013 at 10:55 pm
I just want to say that we have now stated what we believe in: to not care what every one else thinks of us and worry about ourselves. But even when we try and make things better someone always will have ill will to ULM. But as a student of ULM, having a Big 12 band director uncle, and family that loves LSU, yeah we don’t match up in size, money, or area to schools like Alabama or TCU. But what we do surpass many schools in is pride in what we work for and what we all at ULM accomplish on a daily basis with such little supplies. Sure I have had people from ULL, LSU, and Tech call me stupid and say I don’t go to a real university… And to them I say, I’ll just let my Ph.D in Pharmacy speak for me when I accomplish what I have set forth to do.
– A proud WARHAWK
Brennan • Nov 4, 2013 at 10:26 pm
So I have pretty much stayed out of this little petty feud to this point, but I have a major issue with this issue. First of all, don’t try to say UL started this argument. I seem to remember a writer from the Monroe paper being the one with his “knickers” in a twist and starting this little tussle. Next, stop using “they” like we all actually care. There is ZERO reason for me to care at all about your university, or your being upset that we are breaking the law. Also, hypocrisy is claiming another school is “bitter and misguided” about their status while being “bitter and misguided” in your attack on that school. Practice what you preach? My biggest issue, however, is the lack of class and tact on the part of this writer in claiming that Cajuns “merely retain just enough tradition to fill the pages of a tourist brochure.” At this point, I would love to tell Mr. Boyte where to get off, but I’ll retire from this argument with this: attack my superior university all you want, but it is absolutely tasteless to attack a culture that has as much reason to be proud of where they are from as some minority groups do in this country. My ancestors were kicked out of France, imprisoned in British Canada, exiled and rejected from multiple coastal cities in Colonial America, and left to settle (DIE) in the swamps of the lower Mississippi delta, yet they found the land to be very fertile and managed to THRIVE in the very place they were left to die. I am very much offended by your childish bashing of my heritage.
Tami Rolen Tharp • Nov 4, 2013 at 5:31 pm
Well said!
I will share!
Laura • Nov 4, 2013 at 3:03 pm
I think it would do all schools in Louisiana some good to quit manufacturing drama and spend that energy instead figuring out how they’re going to continue to operate after Bobby Jindal finishes his dismantling of the higher education system.
Robert • Nov 4, 2013 at 11:47 am
As an LSU student who is from Monroe, I find all this swiping at each other to be pretty pointless. There’s a few morons on the Reveille who tend to produce unfiltered ignorance in the opinion section every now and then, but with 40,000 students, you’re bound to have some idiots. I think Louisiana’s universities should be less focused on trying to assert school superiority, and more on the budget crisis that is currently gutting all three institutions.
Dustin • Nov 4, 2013 at 10:24 am
First off, great piece. Someone needed to call an end to this crap. However, I take issue with you guys saying that ya’ll got caught up in our “feud”. This whole thing started when some of your legislators and school officials began RIGHTLY pointing out ULL’s abuse of “Louisiana”. Yes, there is and will always be a feud between LSU and ULL (at least until ULL decides to stop whining about flagship status and funding), but this particular feud is your own. With that said, I’m totally with ya’ll. I thought your article was great and that it’s content needed to be put out there. This naming thing is just the newest way ULL has decided to act out, and, just like a cranky toddler begging for attention, the issue really needs to be put to bed.
P.S. de al Rosa’s article in the Vermillion likes to compare your standing in the Sun Belt with theirs, but as far as I can remember, they never beat Bama. Geaux Warhawks!
P.P.S. Bonus points for using the word “knickers”.
Lacey Hundley • Nov 4, 2013 at 6:31 am
That poem was written in 1978…there is TON of revived culture now in 2013 Lafayette. Probably due to people like Jean Arceneaux. You really should visit and find out about our culture yourself. (That is what a TRUE, honest journalist does. It reports what it sees and experiences.Discover the “why”; don’t just wash your hands of it. That’s giving up.)Then you would probably understand why ULL reacts in such a way. Our culture plays a big part in this. Consider us somewhat like a big Greek family. We are so loyal and dedicated to our “family” in the Acadiana/Vermillion area. (And by the way, the Vermillion isn’t just a paper. It’s a river. We didn’t just make that up. It’s THE river that the Acadians/Cajuns lived on which provided the necessities for their survival.)
But back to our culture. We are loyal to a fault. And maybe that fault is having a big mouth. But that is no reason to completely take jabs at our culture, heritage, or “lack” of keeping that heritage alive. I encourage you to report what you’ve seen and witnessed. Give Lafayette a fair chance and discover why in the heck we are so ready to defend it and risk professionalism because of it. You can’t miss the culture if you tried. It has seeped into every inch of the land and city, no matter how populated and progressive our city becomes. The camaraderie is apparent and contagious.
Oh, and please let me reiterate: don’t insult our culture, keep the focus on our school’s professionals. Those are your true adversaries. It is quite close-minded to think that one man’s mouth can speak for an entire city, let alone a culture of successive generations.
–Lacey Hundley: Just a girl who grew up in Lafayette, attended ULL, fell in love with a man from Bastrop, graduated from Tech, and now resides in Shreveport. I feel I have a right to speak on the matter.
Please feel welcome respond if you feel lead to.
Cajun man • Nov 4, 2013 at 3:00 pm
Lacey,
I know Garrett personally. And he is the fiercest advocate for Louisiana’s francophone culture that the north part of the state can offer. The guy comes from a historically french family and he even taught himself french to reclaim what was taken from his family. Nothing he said here slights the cajun culture a single bit. And I think reason would suggest that if he’s quoting arceneaux, then he knows quite a bit about the culture and what it’s accomplished I’m the past 30 years. So before you start making assumptions about people whom you don’t know, maybe you’ll do a little research before.
Signed,
A cajun friend
Dustin • Nov 4, 2013 at 4:12 pm
Sure, Lacey, I’ll bite. I’m having a really hard time finding the part where he insults the culture of Acadiana. Is it how he quotes the same poet that you recommended he look further into?…I’d come up with another example but that’s honestly the only one I see in there (and even then it’s a HUGE stretch to call that an insult). Yes, the poem is from 1978, I’ll give you that, but other than that quote, there is NOTHING that speaks to culture ANYWHERE else in that entire article. I mean, I completely agree that Acadiana is one of the most spirited, vivacious, and proud cultures in the entire world…but that has absolutely nothing to do with this article. This article is about a school FINALLY calling for the end to this absolutely useless debate. If you’d like to be infuriated about culture elsewhere, please direct your attention to the sorry-excuse of a newspaper that MY alma mater puts out, which published a piece that bad-mouthed Cajuns last week. Other than that, if you have another argument that is relevant to the topic discussed, I for one would love to hear it. Oh, and just in case you question my standing on this issue:
Dustin: Just a guy who grew up in Lafourche parish, attended LSU, fell in love with a girl from Raceland, graduated from LSU, and is now studying the Louisiana Civil Code at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center.
Katelyn • Nov 5, 2013 at 10:15 am
Lacey, I saw nothing in this article that insulted the “cajun” culture…I’m confused as to why you have gotten so defensive. The writer simply asks that we all work together to make Louisiana schools better and specifically asks that ULL just obey the rules that they have been given (that ULM has also been given, and obey). You seem like a moral, sensible person. That shouldn’t upset you. Your passionate response has confused me because it does not address any issue that was presented in the original article in The Hawkeye.
I have visited Lafayette a couple of times in the last several years and I love it. I have several friends who are students at ULL. It’s a great city that the people take pride in, which makes it a fun place. Sadly, the pride quickly turns into arrogance, and arrogance is a strong repellant.
And for the record, growing up in an area that is notorious for a “big mouth” (your words) is still no excuse to verbally annihilate a fellow university for superficial and trivial reasons. This article isn’t perfect, but I admire the writer for his sensible and professional response to the absolute garbage that The Vermilllion wrote. It shows that it is possible to put aside the bad qualities of one’s regional culture (dumb no-good rednecks or whatever people think of north Louisiana) and act like the educated adults we are. Before you tear apart this student at ULM who politely expressed a desire for reconciliation and unity between our universities, you should probably critique your alma mater for the absolute filth and pointless arguments that they soaked their article with.
These are just my thoughts. I respect you for being so passionate about your city. It is something that is admired and I would like for those of us in north Louisiana. I hope you can understand our frustration at the way we’ve been treated by a fellow university. We should all be proud of our state and respect and help out our fellow universities, not tear them down simply because “it’s part of our culture.” I think as adults we can discern when culture is an important factor and when it should be put aside for professional and moral reasons.