Taylor Falgout

Dear President Xavier A. Cole,

The day has finally come when you will officially be inaugurated as Loyola University New Orleans’ 18th president. We at The Maroon have been celebrating what you have done here during your past 5 months and as you go on to officially begin this role with the inauguration ceremony, we continue with great excitement and anticipation to see the changes you will make here.

As a Jesuit institution, and as anyone who has spent decades working at Jesuit institutions like you have, there is an understanding present in all aspects of life at these institutions, that we are at kairos: the right time, the critical time, a time for decisive action.

We understand moments that qualify as kairos – a time for action – may be far and few in between, but also that we create these moments for ourselves. It is through a Jesuit education that we learn what it means to know when to act, to know what requires action, and to know how to act.

The most important tenet of any Jesuit education is a desire to foster justice, in massive ways and in minute ways. It is a desire to do good for others. It is the simple, yet monumental idea that all we are called to do here is to love and to serve.

We, at Loyola, have not always done this. There have been times between the administration and the students, the administration and The Maroon, and The Maroon and the students where we have all fallen short in our pursuit of an exemplary level of service to one another. But we’ve kept going, and we have remained till now, and we know now that the question is: what can we do to ensure that we all remain in service to each other?

The Maroon, in remaining to a high standard of ethical and honest journalism, in presenting events factually, in running letters and opinions even when we may disagree with them, and always remembering we are here to serve the community through informing them, will continue to serve the students well.

The administration, in remaining true to an ideal of service, rather than an ideal of funding, in centering the students and student life in everything they do, and keeping informed on student concerns, in part through The Maroon, will begin to again serve the students well.

There have been many, in the student body and The Maroon, who feel we are not cared for by the administration. That we are all simply paychecks for an administration that continues to try to bleed us dry. But we trust that you are going to change this. At this kairos, at this moment which is perfect for decisive action, at this moment brought by fate, but also by your hard work and dedication to service, at your inauguration as the 18th president, we trust that decisive action will be taken.

Being the 18th president of a university is fortuitous. Most college students are 18 when they enter the dorm halls for the first time and make their homes here and their lives change monumentally. We hope that as Loyola’s 18th president, you will make the monumental changes we need to see here for us students going through such changes in our lives.

As someone with two degrees in history, Dr. Cole, you must certainly understand that we must learn from the past and learn well. And some hesitancy remains on our part to celebrate anything to do with Loyola’s administration, as there have been so many issues with people in the administration in the very recent past, and these people remain advising you, Dr. Cole. Some of these people do not have the same experience in Jesuit education as you do, and they certainly do not have an ideal of service as their focus.

But we offer one piece of advice, that in order to stick true to an ideal of service, in order to remain true to the Jesuit values you’ve been educated in, and in order to serve well as Loyola University New Orleans’ 18th President: illegitimi non carborundum, Dr. Cole.

Sincerely,
The Maroon
For a Greater Loyola