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Bickering never works

The Gramblinite There are many problems at GSU. I will not deny it. I see problems with the website, infrastructure, debris, etc. However, what I don’t see, and what I should see, is cooperation.
It’s been about four years since President Judson has taken the reigns at GSU. Throughout his tenure, he has seen little support from the alumni and city. Many have valid reasons to not support Judson, while others don’t.
Nevertheless, there is a deep and dark divide throughout the GSU community. This divide has only been strengthened through the media and people within the community. Lately, I’ve seen the city of Grambling come under attack more than once.
The Ruston Daily Leader and Monroe News-Star have each thrown their support behind Judson and labeled the city, pretty much, as disgruntled. I was the first to get upset, but then I started thinking, “Are they disgruntled?”
No one can deny the fact that the campus is starting to look better. The campus is also expanding, and a more diverse student population is arriving. One cannot also deny that the University of Louisiana Systems is finally implementing programs at GSU.
There’s a lot of good going on at GSU. The newspaper articles mentioned these things, and it seems like the city is, in fact, disgruntled. However, they did not mention some of the negative things that are going on.
On Judson’s first day, there was immediate shakeup when he fired the athletic director. He also released numerous employees after Hurricane Katrina struck the bottom of Louisiana. There have also been rumors of him allowing former VP Billy Owens to dip into the school’s money.
However, time and time again, GSU has passed the test. The school has had two audits since Judson has been in office, and GSU survived both of them. The media has given Judson a thumbs-up for his job at GSU.
Looking at the papers recently, the city has appeared to fail the test. A recent audit said that the city was in a financial mess, according to the News-Star. Also, Mayor Martha Andrus and Councilman Edward Jones have supposedly made a mockery of the poor students in a recent Daily Leader article.
Looking at today, the bickering that started shortly after Judson got in office has solved nothing. We are seemingly still in the same place when it comes to bickering and no one seems to be moving forward but the university.
The improvements continue to come for the university, yet the alumni and city remains deeply divided within itself. If there are some changes that need to be made at the university, the city and alumni must first come together and stand united.
Until that time comes, maybe both the city and alumni need to help the university continue moving forward as a whole.

Monroe native Darryl D. Smith is a recent GSU mass comm. graduate.