It’s hard to not recognize the amount of LSU gear worn around our campus. At any other university around the nation this would be a rare occurrence, but around here it’s a daily norm.
For some students it’s seen as part of the culture of Louisiana. For others it’s seen as a form of disrespect, especially student athletes such as Alex Wallace.
Wallace is a junior business management major from Dallas and also a runner for the ULM Track and Field team
“It drives me nuts. I understand that Louisiana’s big team is LSU, but people act like LSU is Louisiana’s only football team. I think you need to support your own school,” said Wallace.
Wallace feels that supporting the university is part of being a student here at ULM.
“You have to be behind your team and support them no matter what,” he said.
Some members of the faculty encourage their students to not attend class wearing other schools’ apparel and to only wear ULM gear.
Professor and head women’s soccer coach Stacy Lamb even includes it in her syllabus at the beginning of each semester.
“Students have come to class, even on test days, and have been asked to leave until they either changed clothes, or turned their clothing inside out so that I could not tell it was another college or university. They even call each other out now before I can say anything,” Lamb said.
Lamb and Wallace feel like wearing ULM gear, instead of other school’s gear, is what binds us together in an “us against them” attitude.
For other students wearing LSU gear on campus isn’t seen as a knock on ULM; instead, it’s just second nature and has been a major part of their lives while growing up.
Student McCall Shirley, a freshman criminal justice major from Francisville occasionally wears LSU apparel to class on campus.
“I think that so many people wear LSU gear at ULM because they grew up cheering for the Tigers. Just because we wear LSU gear doesn’t mean that we aren’t Warhawk fans as well,” Shirley said.
“I am an LSU fan, and always have been, but I chose ULM because I wanted to be a person rather than a number, which is how I would be treated if I attended LSU,” Shirley said.
