The Value of a Student's Life

A reality check is definitely long overdue at our beloved premiere university in Louisiana.

LSU fans and alumni become outraged when the LSU Tigers’ performance on the football field fails to meet their expectations.  It results in condemnation of the head coach, and if the poor performance continues fans and alumni call for the coach’s head.  This was clearly evidenced by the recent Les Miles firing.

However, when it comes to injurious partying at LSU, apparently no one gives a damn.

A young man died at the hands of fraternity hazing and yet there is no outcry for anyone’s head in the LSU administration.

LSU has a designated office in its administration charged with the over-site of fraternities’ and sororities’ activities, including how pledging is conducted.

Apparently this exists in name only for over the years when serious violations occurred at these organizations it was usually the national chapter that imposed the punitive actions on the campus chapters, not LSU.

The LSU administration appears to have only gotten minimally involved when media outlets exposed the activities or some public display of deplorable events occurred.  If LSU did choose to do anything at all, it simply issued a slap on the wrist along with a media release stating that the violators would be required to attend some type of counseling; no big deal for LSU.

According to recent  media investigations, emails, letters and verbal warnings by alumni had little effect in creating a proactive, regulatory approach for the office charged with the over-site of these organizations.

Someone or some administrative office failed to do its job and holding those accountable in addition to the students themselves would certainly show that LSU is as concerned about the well being of its students as it is about its football performance.

What is equally disturbing is how the public continues to absolve the administration of any responsibility for these incidences. 

Guess the easy way out is to just blame it all on the kids, because we all know, “everyone just loves to party,” especially at LSU.

Sadly, I suspect the reason for this muted public outcry is the notion among many adults that drinking is just a part of the “college experience.”   Drunken behavior has always been acceptable in our society.  Some parents even facilitate teenage drinking in their homes with the excuse that they want their children’s first exposure to drinking to be among family so that they can prepare them for college life, or life in general.

However, the bottom line for all college drinking in Louisiana is the fact that the legal drinking age is 21, and 18-20 year olds may only consume alcohol in an alcoholic beverage outlet if they are accompanied by a parent, spouse, or legal guardian who is 21 years of age or older.  Yet drinking is continually permitted at university-sponsored frats and sororities. 

It’s the coach’s fault when the LSU students lose a football game, but it is totally the students’ fault when underage students binge drink at an LSU sanctioned frat or sorority house resulting in property damage, someone’s injury, or death.

Where is the LSU administrative effort to realistically regulate this irresponsible and often destructive behavior, and where is the alumni and publics’ demand to do so?

Trump Walking in Obama's Shoes

Although President Trump’s loyal supporters would be loathed to admit this, it is becoming more and more apparent that there is very little difference between the governing styles of Barrack Obama and President Trump.

Both presidents were frustrated with a balky Congress and shared a desire to take action when stalemated.   They both challenged lawmakers to step up and pass legislation even if they did not agree with them.

Mr. Trump has concluded that he cannot wait for a Republican Congress to act, so he is using his executive power to accomplish what lawmakers will not, in this case erasing most of the Mr. Obama’s legacy.

Why does this matter?   It matters because once again it shows the hypocrisy of Donald Trump.  Mr. Trump was a harsh critic of Mr. Obama for relying too much on executive power to enact his agenda.  In usual Trump style he cast Obama as some sort of out-of-control executive bypassing the Constitution and Congress to enact his liberal/socialistic agenda. 

However, our new President has now decided it’s okay to ignore both and like Obama is aggressively wielding his own executive pen.

On the campaign trail in February, 2016, Trump repeatedly said, "Obama goes around signing executive orders.  He can't even get along with the Democrats. He goes around signing all these executive orders. It's a basic disaster. You can't do it."

Just substitute the words “Trump” for “Obama” and “Republicans” for “Democrats” in his February quote and you will clearly see the hypocrisy of Trump in his adoption of the Obama-like approach for governing.

“What’s remarkable is how early in his administration President Trump is resorting to executive unilateralism,” said Mr. Galston, a scholar at the Brookings Institution.  “Mr. Obama, by contrast, did not turn to executive power so robustly until later in his eight-year presidency.”

Last Thursday, was the 49th executive order that Trump has signed since coming into office on January 20.  Barrack Obama signed a mere 26 by this time.

Obviously, Trump’s voracious use of executive orders will be heatedly defended by his supporters with the excuse always given, “Well, the previous administration did it, so what’s the big deal?”

The big deal is Donald Trump promised something different, to clean the swamp and govern in a new fashion.  Maybe it’s time to recall the famous Hans Christian Andersen’s story and tell the emperor and his supporters “that he doesn’t have on any clothes,” when it comes to how he governs.  He’s no better than his predecessor.