Louisiana vs State

[CajunFun]

Which is easier?

Getting the legislature to treat us correctly

Acadiana seceding and becoming a new state


I vote secession.

The Leg is treating us better all the time. We don't have State's support yet, but there is a growing awareness that we are getting it done, with less resources.

We did well in the last session, look at all the construction in the works... and look at the Lourdes acquisition, which is major, major. As I pointed out when it happened, that is the king pin that pulls our central campuses together, turning a 145 acre campus into 541 acres.

Of course, that enlarged campus snakes a 2-mile gerrymander through town. But we'll gradually acquire property around it, and grow outward.

UL Campuses

Central Campuses
Main Campus 145 acres
Athletic Complex / Cajundome 132 acres
Blackham/Nelson/Intramural 111 acres
University Research Park 148 acres
Lourdes Acquisition 5 acres
SubTotal: 541

Other UL Campuses
Cade Farm Laboratory 600 acres
New Iberia Research Center 100 acres
Lou-Ana Research Property, Carencro 51 acres
Residential properties in Lafayette 11.6 acres
Alternative Energy Research Park, Crowley 5 acres

GRAND TOTAL 1,308 acres

[CajunFun]

If only the ULS BoS could see the bigger picture.

We have been working for many decades to get to where we are. So here's a pressing question: What have we been working for?

To be rid of jerks?

Or just so we can be the new jerks?

We do not like State, and yet we keep trying to beat her, at her game. State is atop the heap, never mind that it's a trash heap.

So what's our game?

What if we went the Cal model, where yes, Berkeley is the main campus, but every school in the UC System is strong and well-funded. Wrap your head around this: 6 of the top 10 public universities in the USA are all University of California schools:
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges...ies/top-public

I mentioned elsewhere that there are severe problems with college rankings, so I don't want to be UC, either. But if we were to see ourselves as, not a 'flagship'— the word has acquired a bad rep— but as a real leader, someone who makes it better for everyone, then maybe we could turn the UL System into a game-changer for the whole state. Maybe we could transform Louisiana from a dung heap into 'a shining city on the hill.'

We can do that only if we first disabuse ourselves of the 'flagship' model.

[CajunVic]

We should listen to what this guy has to say. Honey rather than bitters. Toot our horn rather than address the opposition’s. Continue to be the Leader in innovation, academics, perception and of course in sports.

He has a great message. Let’s not miss it.

[RedTails]

We can do that only if we first disabuse ourselves of the 'flagship' model.

Every ULS institution a king!

[CajunFun]

PS For those who only think in terms of sports, I've visited the trophy rooms at Cal & UCLA. They have more national championships than Carter's has pills.

[CajunFun]

Every ULS institution a king!

What about "Every ULS institution a servant"?

[ZoomZoom]

UL can be the ULS leader without being declared such by edict, just the rest need to buy in somehow.

[cajun4life]

We have been working for many decades to get to where we are. So here's a pressing question: What have we been working for?

To be rid of jerks?

Or just so we can be the new jerks?

We do not like State, and yet we keep trying to beat her, at her game. State is atop the heap, never mind that it's a trash heap.

So what's our game?

What if we went the Cal model, where yes, Berkeley is the main campus, but every school in the UC System is strong and well-funded. Wrap your head around this: 6 of the top 10 public universities in the USA are all University of California schools:
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges...ies/top-public

I mentioned elsewhere that there are severe problems with college rankings, so I don't want to be UC, either. But if we were to see ourselves as, not a 'flagship'— the word has acquired a bad rep— but as a real leader, someone who makes it better for everyone, then maybe we could turn the UL System into a game-changer for the whole state. Maybe we could transform Louisiana from a dung heap into 'a shining city on the hill.'

We can do that only if we first disabuse ourselves of the 'flagship' model.

We need to pump money into the Flagship and the 3 statewide universities and let the rest die.

[CajunFun]

UL can be the ULS leader without being declared such by edict, just the rest need to buy in somehow.

Well, here's how I see it working.

Before 1776, a 'leader' was the person who insisted, "All of you serve me."

After 1776, a new model emerged: "I serve all of you."

So here's the beauty of that model. If we want to be the leader, then we have to serve the state, and the other schools, more than they serve us.

If UNO, or LTU, or McNeese want to be the leader, then they have to do more for us than we do for them.

You can see how that creates a powerful win-win-win situation... and Louisiana improves.

And of most importance to me, you can see how that improves the lives of our children, "these, the least of my brethren."

[Boomer]

We need to pump money into the Flagship and the 3 statewide universities and let the rest die.

.....Who are considered the 3 statewide universities?

[RedTails]

.....Who are considered the 3 statewide universities?

UL, LaTech, UNO.

[CajunFun]

We need to pump money into the Flagship and the 3 statewide universities and let the rest die.

Currently Louisiana is #49 in percentage of college degrees... we even trail Puerto Rico.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...nal_attainment

So I'm not sure that making a college education even harder to get will change Louisiana's fortunes.