In those seemingly normal 24 hours, 24 football field sizes of Louisiana’s land sinks into the Gulf of Mexico every hour, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. That’s right, hours. Not days, not weeks or even years, but hours.

Louisiana is rich and full of history and culture—French, Spanish, Jamaican, Choctaw, African and many more. We have parishes instead of counties and the cuisine alone is worth the price of the blistering heat and humidity. This is my home.

As much as I say I want to leave this state, I love it unconditionally. Just like the Blue Cross and Blue Shield like to say, “Louisianans are a tenacious bunch.” We have to be. Our home is slipping underneath our feet as we speak, but all we can do is keep our heads up until we drown.

New Orleans is a major port city in the U.S. With over 360,000 residents, it is arguably the biggest too. And in 2010, 8.3 million tourists visited the bayou state, according to Travel Pulse.

Billions of dollars go into Louisiana’s tourism industry, but there will be nothing left to visit if Louisiana doesn’t act fast. Being aware of Louisiana’s doomed future of disappearing is the first step in prolonging it from happening.

Gulf coast erosion is where parts of the shoreline disappear into the ocean. It is caused naturally, but also contributed by humans. I really wish that definition included oil spills but I guess that falls into the ‘human’ category.

Before Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon (BP) oil spill, it was us. We were laying down pipes, building bridges and roads, even changing the direction of the Mississippi River.

Before, the Mississippi River naturally changed course, flooding Louisiana’s wetlands, providing it with minerals and nutrients vital for wildlife. That river fed our coast. The Mississippi River is overdue for a course change and flooding, but it would flood many cities and towns in its path to the Gulf.

We industrialized- it was necessary. But along the way, nature was put on the back burner, and it hasn’t mattered until now.

The many pipelines that lay in bayous and wetlands are killing plant and animal life native to Louisiana. Many migratory birds are dying because of the lack of shrimp and insects they feed on when they reach the coast. Author Mike Tidwell came to Louisiana and wrote “Bayou Farewell” in 2003. One scene in the book brought tears to my eyes and anger to my heart.

A cemetery in Leeville has coffins dropping into the bayou, the corpses floating out into the gulf. The coast has decreased so much that what was once land is now an underwater gravesite.  This is just one of the many cemeteries sinking into the Gulf, and one of the many tragedies Louisiana faces daily.

Coastal Protection and Restoration warns ,“If sustainability is not restored to the coastal ecosystem, land will continue to be lost at a rapid rate, and critical infrastructure will be damaged or destroyed.”

When Hurricane Katrina made landfall in 2005, the coast took a huge blow. And so did the wildlife. And so did the people. Everything and everyone in the Nation suffered, not just Louisiana.

I know as a society, we basically live off oil. Drilling will never stop. Dropping Christmas trees into Bayou Sauvage doesn’t solve the problem either. Conservation and restoration is vital for our planet.

It is looking more like when, not if, Louisiana washes away into the gulf. “Nationally, over the next 60 years, one out of every four homes within 500 feet of the shoreline will be lost to erosion, ” according to Coastal Protection and Restoration.

Those homes belong to families who have spent their lives in the gulf fishing, crabbing and shrimping. It’s in their blood- it’s all they know and it’s who they are.

Whether you are from Louisiana, another state or a country overseas, you are a Warhawk. You have walked along Bayou DeSiard and immersed yourself into Louisiana’s culture. I don’t expect you to donate money to Louisiana’s coastal conservation. I don’t expect you to even care. I just want you to be aware of this tragedy and to cherish this great state while it’s still here. I hope you are.

The past four years have gone by in a blur while at the same time dragging on.  They have been years full of adventure, boredom, excitement, disappointment, happiness and heartbreak.

When all is said and done, I think I can say I’ve made the most of my time here at ULM.  While I had a good ride, there are some graduating seniors who cannot say the same, so here’s a few “nuggets of wisdom,” some reflections on my college experience that hopefully can help you for the rest of your time here.

First of all, get involved on campus. I don’t care if it’s with a fraternity, sorority, CAB, SGA, religious organization or the Harry Potter Society, find somewhere on campus and get plugged in.

You are only going to get as much out of your college experience as you put into it.  College can be a great time to make new friends and have new experiences, but that will never happen if you sit in your dorm room and play video games by yourself all day.

Along that note, get a life and stop studying every waking hour. I know that the test you have in two weeks is important, but you will soon find there is more to life than sitting in the library every night and weekend.

Another important part of having the best time you can at here at ULM is to have school spirit.  I know that we may not be the biggest or best school in the state, but you should pride yourself on how great our school is for its size.

Go to all of the sports events, not just the football games.  Go crazy for your team, paint your face, dress up in a crazy costume and for the love of all that is good in this world, stop wearing LSU gear around campus.

You go to ULM, not LSU, so show your love to where you go, not where you wish you did.  If you love LSU that much, just go ahead and transfer.

One last thing that can make your time here at ULM is to pursue what you love.  I know your counselor at school told you what major to take that would have the best job prospects, but you need to forget that.

You may get excited for that first paycheck, but in 20 years when you’re miserable and hate going to work every day, what good is that paycheck going to do?

For the most part whatever you study in college is going to be what you do for the rest of your life, so pick something that you love and can be passionate about and then the money won’t matter.

As much as I despise with a great passion the phrase “YOLO,” it is true, you do only live once, but to end my time here at ULM I think I will resort to a quote from the poet Horace, “Carpe Diem.”

Seize the day. Make the most of every day you have here, because after four years the real world comes, knocks on your door and takes you away.

As president of the ULM Student Government Association, I wanted to take the opportunity to address each of you one final time. However, unlike in past times, this time I am able to address you in a more pleasing fashion.

Over this last year, I have been honored and extremely humbled to serve as president of the ULM student body. Although the road has not been easy, I am pleased to announce that through it all, we are ending one of the best years in the history of the SGA.

We, the 2012-2013 SGA, have been very productive this year. We achieved many things throughout the year, and for that I would like to thank all of the dedicated students who worked so hard to make this year great.

However, although the year was indeed filled with a ton of fun and social activities, in my opinion, the three most notable things we accomplished this semester, were updating the SGA constitution and By-laws, which gave freshmen the right to vote, rolling over a significant amount of funds for the next year and passing a referendum that will sustain student life at our great university for years to come.  For that, I tip my hat to you.

Our university administration, faculty and staff all recognize and agree that the students are the people who make this university the great institution that it is. It would have been so easy to save a few dollars and vote against the Student Activity Enhancement Fee, which I remind you will help every student organization on this campus. But our students did not do that, and for that reason, you are each monument builders.

The sacrifices that the ULM student body has made this year will ensure that our campus life remains vibrant for the next generation of our ULM family. I encourage you to take advantage of what this referendum will bring to this university.

Get involved. Being involved on campus has made all the difference in my experience as an undergraduate student, and I am so thankful for what I have learned.

Lastly, I would like to say thank you to every student that supported the referendum, every student that made an informed decision and voted “no,” the 2012-2013 SGA, Laura Knotts and the ULM administration.

Without the work of each of these people, it would have been impossible to achieve what we’ve achieved.

In closing, I would like to share with you that there are many things in my life that I am proud of, and I can confidently say that serving as a representative for the ULM students is at the top of that list.

I would also like to add a special thank you to the ULM student body for the opportunity to serve, supporting me as SGA president and making a sacrifice to support your University.

Sincerely,

Calvin Stafford

SGA President

Chelsea Wyatt strikes one more time, knowing that the English major Taylor Diaz seems very knowledgeable on the nature of sex and making it seem the way I perceive sex is very idealistic, cute. Marrying is not just a “novel concept,” as Diaz said.

It  is the right way, as far as the Bible is concerned. Diaz said, “in the grand scheme of things and in some parts of the world it still isn’t a popular idea.”

Well if Diaz hasn’t noticed for decades now, everything that is popular isn’t always right. It was stated in the April 22, 2013 edition of The Hawkeye that “I was dallying in slut-shaming.” I feel as though she felt offended, if so I do apologize.

What I don’t apologize for is what I am standing for, which is marriage and sex often works better together. I am glad that she finds it funny about my big deal on consensual sex, but in the opinion  section of The Hawkeye, sex is what I chose to write on and what I will stick with.

Diaz also stated it is “two adults enjoying themselves.” I find it hilarious, because not once did she have a purpose stated for the enjoyment. Is she ready to have kids, is she ready to tell her kids in the near future that all the sex that had taken place was pointless and she isn’t married to any of the men she slept with. No, she is not.

Not once in the paper did I make an exception for myself to the rule. Diaz says that my ideas are “romantic idealism” suited for “pastoral poetry” and “out of date.” Well Diaz must definitely be out of touch.

No one asked her to be goaded into feeling ashamed about her sex life in the opinionated section of the paper. It was only a matter of having a chance to share my opinion with the student body. But then there is the positive side, she is correct about one thing, I am not experienced and I am very honored not to be.

But Diaz fell short when she said, “I don’t have the authority to preach on such matters.’’ I actually do, it’s called the 1st Amendment.

I can see that she doesn’t care what people do in their bedrooms but I do. After those few minutes of enjoyment, have you considered the after math and what takes place with the emotional distraction in someone’s life?

Diaz also compares the situation to a car, wise choice. When the car breaks down completely, you will have to replace it. And there are some who still die while wearing a seatbelt, just like kids wearing condoms and still catch the diseases.

So yes, students at ULM with some sense of self-respect for his or her self  I ask again, what will you gain from having sex with so many people?

-Chelsea Wyatt, psychology major

My gut reaction, after being disgusted at all the senseless violence, was hoping that America would be patient, patient with waiting on the authorities to discover who was responsible for the crimes and not rushing to conclusions.

Some say it’s human nature to look for someone to blame. Maybe it is just our desire to assign blame so we can make sure justice is served.

Or maybe that’s just an excuse. Regardless, it would be foolish to jump to a conclusion based off an emotional reaction and without thinking logically.

I know it’s the age of instant updates in news thanks to social media like Twitter, but sometimes we must be patient.

It’s nice that we usually find out about who did what soon after the event—as the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings were identified shortly after the bombing—but that’s not always the case.

Every case isn’t like the 1995 Oklahoma City bombings, where the main perpetrator is caught within two hours of the crime.

When cases are so wide open, and take place in such a public, crowded area, the FBI usually asks for tips from the community as a way to assist them and social media sites often respond quickly.

For instance, sites like Reddit and 4chan responded quickly during the Boston Marathon bombings.

At the beginning of the investigation of the Boston Marathon bombings, the FBI found a picture of a man, in a blue jacket, carrying a backpack resembling one that could’ve contained a bomb.

But it’s not fair to assume he is the criminal yet. It would be a shame to paint someone as a criminal simply because he choose to wear the wrong backpack on Patriots’ Day.

And to Reddit’s credit, there were users who echoed the same thing.

In cases where there is so much mystery, we must learn to wait for the evidence to come in before making assumptions.

Otherwise you’ll be like Erik Murphy, a Fox News guest commentator. Only a few hours after the bombings he tweeted out, “Everybody do the National Security Ankle Grab! Let’s bring more Saudis in without screening them! C’mon! #bostonmarathon.”

This tweet was followed with a response suggesting we kill all Muslims when someone asked him if he was serious.

He later claimed to be joking but based on past history, which includes writing a column called “Yes, Islam is the enemy,” it makes me skeptical.

Not to mention his follow up tweets calling people who defended Muslims “vermin.”

Ever since Sept. 11, many automatically associate bombings with Muslims.

But let’s not forget the 1995 Oklahoma City bombings were carried out by white men. Any race can have terrorists.

So in the mean time, we must try to remain patient amidst terrorism.

I know it’s not easy to wait. And I know we all want to see justice served, but rushing to assign blame never helped speed up any case. Be patient, it can make all the difference.

People are able to look back and appreciate those things that they had, but realize that those things did not make them who they are.

Having “things” does not necessarily make you superficial. People take pride in what they have because they had to work to get it.

There is a saying that goes, “Have your things, but do not let your things have you.” It is important to take pride in what you have, but you should not let that boost your self-worth.

Would you be just as happy if you were the richest man on earth as you would be if you were the poorest man?

Fads and styles are always changing. I think it is cool to look back and see the things you wore 10 years ago and how fashion has changed.

I’m sure that our children will not be wearing all the same styles as we are today.

Some trends are classic and can be recycled. The vintage concept is very popular right now.

We will be able to share our styles with generations to come. It is funny to think about what things will make a comeback 30 years from now.

Life is a growth process. Thirty years from now, you are going to look back over your life and see what you have accomplished.

That is when what you have matters. Not just materialistically, but spiritually and emotionally. Are you happy?

Have you reached the goals you set for yourself when you were in college? Have those goals changed?

For progress to be made in our lives, we have to become better versions of our selves now. When we look back, we want to see that we have more than what we started with.

More love, more joy, more laughter and more success. That is when it matters.

After a private tour of the house, Justin wrote a little note inside of the visitor’s book that read, “Truly inspiring to be able to come here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a Belieber.”

While the fact that the only thing Justin got out of touring Anne Frank’s house was hoping she would have been one of his fans made me shake my head in amazement, I wasn’t very surprised.

What did surprise me was the backlash of Beiber fans that responded with tweets such as, “Who’s Anne Frank lol,” “Who’s Anne Frank and why is Justin visiting her house? Why can’t he come to my house “ and “who’s Anne Frank and why is she bullying Justin Beiber.”

I was dumbfounded that such a large portion of America’s teenagers don’t have the slightest clue who Anne Frank is, but then I got to thinking.  As a history major, I have helped many friends study for history classes and while just discussing historical events with friends, I began to realize just how historically ignorant a lot of college students are today.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked questions like, “Oh a history degree, what are you going to do with that,” or “Why don’t you major in something practical and useful?”

These same people always complain about how their history class is stupid or how they can’t believe they have to waste their time in a class learning things they will never use again.

In today’s world of advanced technology and social media, where do the old ways fit in?  Despite what seems to be the popular belief, history still has a place in today’s world.  History is more than a bunch of dates, names and events to memorize.  It is the story of how we got to where we are today.

All of these things we learn in history classes are small little snippets of what makes us human and helps explain why the world is the way it is.  So what makes learning history so important?

First of all, history is still important because it’s so interesting.  Anyone who says that history is boring is a liar and needs to get their facts straight.

For thousands of years, storytelling has been an integral part of human culture all over the world, and what makes a better story than history?  History is full of action, adventure, intrigue, thrills, knights, pirates, ninjas, samurais and spies.

Think of some of the best movies you’ve ever seen. Saving Private Ryan, Gladiator, Braveheart. None of these movies would have been possible without history.

Knowing history can help with your understanding of current events.  Many of the major social and political conflicts around the world stem from events way earlier in history.

For example, a person without an adequate knowledge might have trouble understanding conflicts like that in the Middle East.  However, if you know your history, then you would know that the different tribes of the Middle East have been fighting for thousands of years, so a lot of what is going on today would make more sense.

One final important reason that history is still relevant is so that we can learn from our past in order to better our future. As cliché as it sounds, history does repeat itself and the better we understand the ways that we have messed up in the past, the better we can prevent making those same mistakes in the future.

In the end, it’s all about respecting the past.  Justin Beiber obviously didn’t respect the memory of Anne Frank, but we don’t all have to be like that.  Just remember, it’s impossible to move forward without remembering where you came from in the first place.

Our semester opened with two police officials leaving their offices after being forced on administrative leave, and all the university had to say was no comment.

These gentlemen were the ones who upheld law and order on campus. If there is any evidence of wrongdoing on their parts, the student body has the right to know.

The university was cited with a “D” by the legislative auditor’s office for misappropriation of funds. Where’s the money? And who’s responsible?

The student body has the right to know.

A student was forcibly raped on campus, and the university underplayed the danger by calling it an “off-campus assault.” The suspect in that case would go on to rape another woman, and attempted a third.

In this case the student body definitely had the right to know.

Student Government fumbled the elections, posting campaign videos on the voting site and forgetting a name off the ballot. Will we see reform?

The student body has the right to know.

And now Athletic Director Bobby Staub has resigned after being told by President Nick Bruno that he’d decided to go a different direction.

Athletics has been the most successful under his oversight, including our first trip to a bowl game. Does Bruno want to go in a different direction than victory?

The student body has the right to know.

We have a right to know because we bankroll this university. Our tuition pays 66 percent of the budget at this school. It’s only fitting that the students who pay 66 percent of this university’s budget gets 100 percent of the facts.

Wyatt seems to believe that she has special insight into what the nature of a “true marriage” should compromise. Historically, her romanticized idea of marriage is extremely new—women getting to choose who they want to marry is a rather novel concept in the grand scheme of things, and in some parts of the world, still isn’t a popular idea.

Marriage, until less than a century ago, was more about making political alliances and having babies to cement that alliance. Women were chattel to be traded to these very ends—odds are, they weren’t given the chance to “date themselves” before being sold off to the highest bidder.

Women such as Wyatt and myself are extremely fortunate in that we don’t have to worry about being sold into a marriage by parents, or worse, stoned for having sex outside of marriage or potentially be married off to a rapist in order to preserve the family honor, both of which were Biblical practices.

She tells us that, “We [college students] don’t know what the meaning of true love is and you would be lying to yourself if you said you do.” Wyatt at once claims that no college student can understand love, yet here she is delivering a treatise on love and the proper role of sex within. Which is it?

Wyatt seems to be making herself the exception to this rule, or maybe we are just that fortunate to have someone as sagely as her among us. Her ideas about marriage and love are clearly based not in experience, but in romantic idealism better suited for pastoral poetry, which is equally out-of-date.

Of course, we couldn’t have all of this negativity about sex without a little bit of slut-shaming. I find it so funny that she is making such a big deal about consensual sex—she isn’t on a tirade against the evils of rape or pedophilia, but the immorality of two adults enjoying themselves together.

I wonder if she has stopped to think about the fact that not everyone shares her ideas about morality and that many people haven’t built up sex as this monumentally good and paradoxically evil thing in their minds.

Not everyone looks at sex and thinks, “What can I gain from it?”—perhaps people just want to have a good time. I really don’t care what people do in their bedrooms, so long as it is governed by consent and communication.

There is nothing inherently shameful about sexuality and I refuse to be goaded into feeling ashamed because my views do not line up with someone who has neither the experience nor the authority to preach on such matters.

Clearly, I should point out that being sexually active comes with responsibilities in much the same way as driving a car. Students should be given a decent sexual education in order to prepare them for sex, not this abstinence-only tripe that serves no purpose except to keep them ignorant.

You don’t get to drivers’ education and have the teacher tell you not to drive a car—why should you arrive in sexual education and have a teacher tell you never to have sex? Furthermore, students should be aware of the value of communication between yourself and your sexual partner.

Have you been tested? Do you know where to get tested? Can you put on a condom correctly? What type of birth control is best for me? There are many ways that we can keep ourselves safe when engaging in sexual activities, just as wearing a seatbelt makes driving a safer experience.

If you ever have questions concerning these things, I highly advise stopping by the Health Center on campus or visiting their website at ulm.edu/shs/ where you can receive professional and confidential advice.

-Taylor Diaz, English major

However, the simple truth is I voted down the referendum. Why? Well there are many reasons.

The number one reason was because I don’t think SGA has shown they possess the ethical fortitude of one who wants control of who gets extra money.

SGA has assured that the council in charge will deal out the money in a fair way. President Calvin Stafford went so far as to even include “The Hawkeye” in one of his letters to the editor, as though we felt our paper’s funding would come under fire.

Forgive me if his words do nothing to sway me.  How can we trust SGA to be fair with our money when they can’t even be fair with their own elections?

Imagine my surprise when I saw a campaign video supporting the referendum on the ULM website page students were told to go to in order to vote.  I’d like to point out here that SGA did not break any current rules by posting the video.

But posting that video on the landing page is nothing short of electioneering. Just because the rules are not up to date with the technology does not mean the principle doesn’t apply. It would be ghastly if SGA had set up a video near a polling place (something that is against the rules). But there are no rules against it, so why not.

I get it. I understand. SGA wanted to leave a legacy. They wanted to be able to say they did something to benefit the students. And kudos to you all. But it would have spoken volumes about all of you had this referendum been better organized from the start.  Why were senators taking classes on the referendum in the weeks leading up to the vote? Shouldn’t they have already known about it since they passed it and all?

Why was there hardly any debate on the necessity of the referendum?

We go to a university with the only public pharmacy school in the state, but we have no chemistry major. Faculty is being cut left and right. And every college, school and program is taking a hit.

And though all of that is no fault of SGA, was it in good taste to initiate a fee increase on a student body that’s already paying $3 for every $5 in the budget? And for what? So VAPA might get a little more money than the couple of dollars they get now?

If you remember only one thing from this semester let it be that instead of choosing a legacy of uncompromising integrity, SGA decided to institute more fees in hopes of accomplishing where the last two administrations failed—passing something.

If SGA is any indicator of the types of leaders we have coming up in Northeast Louisiana, then God help Northeast Louisiana.

These folks are set to become leaders of the state, and so far the only leadership I’ve seen out of them is when they play follow the leader out of the door after 15 minutes of something that somewhat resembles a meeting.

So President-elect Jana Robinson, can we count on you to initiate some kind of ethical reform of SGA?

Can we look forward to fair elections that not only follow the written rules but the standards of election practices essential to a just democracy?

Can we look forward to meaningful debate in the SGA about things that will affect the students instead of roll calls and social gatherings?

I hope we can.