I prefer saying “THE” Southern University

Ladies and gentlemen, this is “The Last Ride.” “The Last Hurrah” and other nice cliches that all entail that my time writing in the DIGEST has come to an end. From a lowly staff writer, to the long-tenured “Swami” gimmick, and finally into Editor in Chief of the Jaguar Yearbook, it has truly been an amazing time. So without further adieu, one last shot at print immortality.
As the days count down until the end of my parental unit-mandated five-to-seven-year sentence to an institution of higher learning for committing of the crime of wanting a better life (I’m getting my masters’ degree, that’s why I’ve been here so long), I’m starting to just look back at all the things that have changed not only at the university, but in the world as we all know it. However, sometimes the more things change the more things stay the same.
When I started as an undergraduate at Southern in 1995, the O.J. Simpson murder case was a top story, if not THE top story of the year. Now as I plan to leave, Robert Blake’s murder case is a top story.
There wasn’t much peace in the Middle East during my freshman year, and you bet your bottom dollar that there’s not that much peace in the Middle East in 2002. Bill Clinton had the Whitewater inquiries and an intern serving him under his desk during my first years here, but now almost every elected official on Capitol Hill has an Enron inquiry and some skeletons in the closet (Speaking of Enron, they answered the question of how in the world can a corporation with their name on a major sports team’s stadium go broke).
However, there’s one change I would like to see be made here at Southern University and A&M College besides personnel that should remain nameless at this juncture in time. The change should be made in our great university’s name. Let’s change the system’s name from “Southern University and A&M College” to “The Southern University.” Whenever we go around this great nation of ours and tell someone we’re from Southern, sometimes a person will respond “Southern what?” and looked confused. Sure, there are schools that have “Southern” in their name (Georgia Southern, Southern Mississippi, Birmingham Southern, Texas Southern, Southern Illinois, Southern California, etc.). It just seems to me that there are a lot of schools out there that have “Southern” in their name, but are not THE ONE TRUE SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY. Us Southernites do get a more than a little upset when some Joe or Jane Blow asks us “Southern what?” and we are all but forced to school him/her about the greatness that is THE Southern University.
There are some well-known examples of universities that have “The” in their name. The Ohio State University, The University of Arizona, and The University of Iowa are examples of schools with “The” in the official name. Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, and North Carolina are all university systems with “The” in their official names.
Besides, I’d prefer saying “I am an alumnus of THE Southern University.”