This is a challenge. This is a challenge to every one of you Loyola students, especially the incoming 500 or so, who, like me, hark from hundreds of miles away. Every year you trek from Texas, Florida, Guatemala. You drive through plains and mountains, and fly over oceans to come here: New Orleans. Why? Is it the music? The art? The history?
For one reason or another, each and every one of us made the decision to end up here, and to keep coming back. This brings us to my challenge:
Now that you are here, what are you going to do?
I understand that this is a very broad question, so let me explain. New Orleans is a kaleidoscope of personality and culture. It has given refuge to a myriad of people over the centuries, and over the centuries a myriad of people have returned the favor.
So, here we are, the new generation of travelers, and, even though we are new and green, our great patron needs help and it is our turn to return the favor.
As college students, it is easy to become lost in the headlights of hormones and independence, so I hope you will not take this challenge lightly by thinking yourself above temptation or by dismissing it all together.
Upon arrival, you will no doubt gather with your friends at Friar Tuck’s or The Boot. You will hang out at the Fly and chances are high you will take a stroll down Bourbon and Frenchmen Streets. Also, I am certain that none of the previously mentioned activities will hinder your academic performance or punctuality. And, while all of these things, even classes, are OK to get caught up in, it is not OK to just camp out there.
We all like to skim that top, easy layer, but here and now I challenge you to go deeper.
You and I both chose to be here over a middle-of-nowhere town, and that decision has brought us into the heart of a city facing both development and decay. Our presence here comes with a responsibility, and it cannot go unfelt.
All cities have problems and New Orleans is no exception.
Five years later, there is still a need for the rebuilding of the damaged homes, schools and businesses left from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Tutors and after school volunteers are needed to help the ailing school system.
All of these are problems that you, a college student, can help soothe. Plus, not insignificantly, your involvement will allow you to participate in the preservation and appreciation of one of the richest and most unique cultures in this country.
Though our education certainly takes place in the classroom, Loyola is only the mothership. We must take our one-man pods out for a spin every now and again. I guarantee your mind will be boggled by what you experience.
And right there is my challenge to you: don’t just be a college student, be a part of the bigger picture.
There is nothing wrong with being swept up in what that outer membrane has to offer, but, at the end of the day, when we go back to our dorms, who and what do we leave behind?
It is the culture and the people who pour their sweat and dreams for the future into this city every day. It is they who are our hosts and, as Emily Post would tell us, we must remember to be gracious guests.
Erin Clements is a history sophomore. She can be reached at
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