While mere talks of a union between LSU and Baton Rouge Community College were upsetting, LSU Chancellor Michael Martin disregarded LSU students' dignity Tuesday by signing the "Bears 2 Tigers" academic partnership further linking the two schools.
This cleverly titled partnership will allow BRCC students to transfer more easily to the University than in the past.
Along with engineering, the alliance extends simpler transfers in business, science or humanities and social sciences curricula.
Martin approved this collaboration, feeling that students get the "same ... educational challenges" at both schools, and he also has told The Daily Reveille that community college classes were not "watered-down" versions of the University's classes.
From my personal experience, community college classes do not require anywhere near the amount of studying and thinking as the University's classes. But my knowledge came through my summer classes I took at Delgado Community College in New Orleans. So I decided to question BRCC transfer students on how they felt about the academic demand between the two institutions.
Lauren Godfrey, interior design sophomore, said BRCC offered a much easier alternative to LSU and did not feel BRCC offered the same "educational challenges" that Martin claimed it did.
"BRCC was like high school. ... They went through material very slowly," Godfrey said. "LSU is faster and doesn't baby you."
She even went on to say that BRCC teachers would check homework every day.
When I asked her if she thought a partnership was a good thing, Godfrey had mixed emotions.
"[Community college] helps if you don't do well in high school ... but I don't think the people that go [to BRCC] can handle LSU," she said. "Students are [at BRCC] for a reason."
Paul Park, agricultural business sophomore, had similar feelings.
"LSU is much harder ... I basically did nothing [at BRCC] and got a 3.0 [GPA]," Park said.
Though he said BRCC is not on par with the University's standards, he did say BRCC is good for giving students a second chance. He's much prouder to be a Tiger than a Bear.
"The status of being at LSU is better than at BRCC," Park said.
It seems even students who have attended BRCC agree it does not give students challenges equivalent to those at LSU.
Graduating from high school, I know I was proud to attend a university with admission requirements that extended past a $7 fee and submission of my high school transcript (or GED) — BRCC's basic admission requirements. I tried hard in high school and made good grades to get where I am.
Moreover, most of the University's students worked hard to get admitted — separating themselves from those who chose not to work as hard.
This partnership essentially makes putting forth effort in high school a thing of the past. Why try so hard in high school when you can attend BRCC without even an ACT score, then take advantage of "Bears 2 Tigers" alliance? The alliance is giving future students a reason to slack off in high school, knowing that "Bears 2 Tigers" can make admissions easier.
With that said, shouldn't the University reward students who tried hard throughout their academic careers? I think most would agree, but instead the partnership gives the same opportunities to students who did poorly but can make an A in a community college class — not a tough feat.
Again, most of LSU's students made respectable grades before making the choice to attend the University and not a community college. The choice we made on where to continue education says a lot about how we feel about community colleges. We should not want to be on the same level with BRCC — it's insulting.
But way to go. Our higher-ups have accomplished two things: insulting the student body and basically adding another institution to our empire — BRCC.
Chris Grillot is a 19-year-old mass communication and English sophomore from New Orleans. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_Cgrillot.
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Contact Chris Grillot at cgrillot@lsureveille.com
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7 comments
I see this "discussion" as pointless. If anyone that goes to BRCC cannot make it at LSU they wont last long enough for there to be a problem.LSU is a well established college with a long history. A few transfer students won't pose any threat to LSU, unless of course the transfer students run circles around the non transfer students.