A university called UGNO is going to take some getting used to, but I already like it better than doing nothing at all.
Last week a consultant hired by Gov. Bobby Jindal recommended that UNO and SUNO be combined under the name University of Greater New Orleans. The two campuses would remain, but what had been UNO will be a research university; the former SUNO will be a university college responsible for the basic education function.
Most important in the recommendations was that the new university should be under the University of Louisiana system, the board that operates all of the state’s four-year universities except for LSU and Southern. At least under that system the local university will have a chance to be treated as an equal. That would never happen as it is presently structured under the LSU system.
I think the idea has merits and say go for it. (As for the delicate racial question, UNO already has more black students than does SUNO. The best and the brightest are making their way into a multi-cultural world.)
Least important is the acronym; nevertheless, I remain fascinated by it. At first I thought that it sounded too much like “Ugh! No!” but then the UNO baseball caps already have simply "NO" on them. My first choice would be to keep the UNO name, but if inserting that awkward "G" makes it seem like each side is giving up a little, let’s go for it. New Orleans deserves a great public university, and to those who resist it I say, ugh, no.
Krewe: The Early New Orleans Carnival – Comus to Zulu by Errol Laborde is available at all area bookstores. Books can also be ordered via email at gdkrewe@aol.com or (504) 895-2266.


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