We at the Maroon aim to act as a mirror of Loyola, reflecting the reality of our university. As with all reflections, it is easy to focus upon and magnify flaws, to dwell on them until you can see nothing else. It is equally important, however, to dwell on our points of pride, and so we must applaud Loyola’s continued devotion to bringing its students quality events at no cost and also urge students to take advantage of these opportunities to expand their horizons.
On Oct. 26, Loyola played host to a symposium devoted to the question of how to reduce New Orleans’ murder rate. On Oct. 24 and 27, the university hosted a conference dealing with the sharp increase in sex trafficking during the Super Bowl. These events deal with serious local issues and help us to broaden our minds, to make us more aware both intellectually and socially. And there are the numerous fairs, concerts and meals that Loyola provides to us, be it Cane’s in the Res Quad or the Country Fair in the Peace Quad last week. These events can range from the inspiring to the entertaining, and each one helps to strengthen the Loyola community and expand the horizons of its members.
These events can be hampered by the sporadic turn-out of students-free food brings us in as thick as flies, while a stale affair can wither and die without proper attendance. But each of these events in some way contributes to the Loyola community and its unique identity as a Jesuit school-an institution which, by its very nature, looks to change the world for the better. They seem thus far unaffected by impending budget cuts.
These events are provided to us free of charge, and many of them are worth attending. There is no obligation to attend every single one – we are all busy, be it with school, work, our friends, our romances or simply the all-too-necessary solitary times we need to recover ourselves. But if it is simple apathy holding you back, shake it off and find something interesting. The university offers us free food, laser tag, fairs, and conferences: it is the least we can do to attend them.
Apathy should not prevent us from enjoying the plethora of events the university offers for our enjoyment. This is a rare time in our lives when an institution is willing to provide us entertainment and edification with no price tag attached – a chance to try new things that would never have crossed our path otherwise.
Every department of this university works to provide quality events – such as the Yamauchi lecture series hosted by the religious studies department or the various events prepared for Third Friday every month. To not attend because we are too busy or too tired is no crime, but to fail to attend due to laziness is a crime against ourselves and against the institution that works to provide them.
