Rewind to April 2005. I know, ages and ages ago. Back then, a lot of people believed that America would never elect a black president. High school students were still barred from Facebook. And I was desperately trying to make a final decision about where to go to college.
I had narrowed myself to three choices: the University of Chicago, Tulane University and dear old Saint Louis U. After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I (or, rather, daddy) ruled out Chicago-just too expensive. Then I vetoed SLU-why would I go to a mediocre Catholic institution in my boring hometown? Thus I opted for Tulane, which promised academic adventures in an exotic locale. Dreaming of spicy andouille sausage and wild nights in the French Quarter, I paid Tulane my deposit and packed my bags for the Big Easy.
A few days later, however, I was driving on Interstate 55 and passed by the Anheuser-Busch complex in Soulard. I looked up and, peering at those noble Clydesdales and feeling moved, I abruptly changed my perspective and my plans. (I swear that I’m not making this up.) Screw New Orleans-I would remain loyal to the burg of my birth and stay in the Lou. This misunderstood, neglected city wouldn’t lose me as it had lost so many others. Thus I decided to suck it up and to go to SLU, despite all my reservations.
During these last four years, I’ve often wondered whether or not I had made the right choice. As I had expected, I was often quite frustrated-frustrated by fiendish administrators, dense classmates and frequent institutional hypocrisies. Yet I was also surprised by how much I grew to love the place, and, as I consider my fast-approaching graduation, I am surprised by how much I will miss.
I’ll miss, for instance, the Jesuits, who have been perhaps the best models of personal integrity and lived values I’ve ever personally encountered.
And I’ll miss the neighborhood. Not only is it home to Pappy’s Smokehouse, the region’s greatest BBQ joint, but also no shortage of drug addicts, panhandlers and the poor. They help me to see clearly.
I’ll also miss this publication, The University News, a beast that has devoured countless hours of my college career and shat them out as so many sheets of ink-splattered, largely unread newsprint.
Much like this city and this University, the paper is somewhat misunderstood and neglected, and people often don’t give it a chance. But I’ve come to love it. I love it for its nearly 90-year tradition of scholastic journalism, for the meaningful role it plays in campus life and for the interesting characters it attracts.
My years at this University have been far from perfect. But I know what I would say if I could cross that eternity that separates me from the 18-year-old boy who had just reluctantly decided on SLU. I’d tell him about the Jesuits and the crack whores, let him in on a few of The UNews‘ inside jokes and then say, “You made the right choice.”
Ian Darnell is a graduating senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is the News Editor for The University News. He intentionally ends sentences with prepositions.
