The tragic death of Madison Brooks should not go unheard

could say to the family that would bring her back, and there are no words that could be said to take away that pain.

Your life is not guaranteed.

In this modern world, we’ve been blessed with lives that, on average in America, last almost 80 years.

Madison Brooks wasn’t so lucky.

All deaths are tragic. The depths of pain and grief experienced by each and every death are immeasurable, and each year, unfortunately, some of those deaths are by those taken before their time.

What makes the death of Brooks so horrid is not just the shortness of her life but the shockingly vile and evil way it was taken from her. Grief cannot even begin to describe what her family must feel.

There are no words you

What we are now left with are a few questions and reflections which are necessary in order for LSU to move forward from this incident.

Why have we allowed a culture that breeds crime, evil and debauchery to bear the name of our mascot and so close to our campus?

How many shootings, how many women sexually assaulted and how many dead pledges are necessary for the problem to be realized?

Tigerland has been a factory for much evil. We all know this, and we’ve known it for a long time.

Any long-time LSU student has heard the stories. Another sorority girl drugged. Another fight in the parking lot at Fred’s. Gunshots on Bob Pettit Boule - vard.

The question is, how long can one sit back, so painfully aware of what needs to change before it’s changed?

The culture of LSU is vibrant, and our togetherness is unlike many universities in the nation. During tailgating season, tens of thousands of people flock to campus. We unite each year to enjoy our lives, short though some may be.

Why don’t we come together for good and address what we all know has been a stain on the legacy of this university?

Brooks should not have had to die for this truth to be realized, and the tragedy of her passing will serve as a testament to the inaction of LSU officials to address the budding criminal culture of Tigerland.

Those who prey on young women who have had too much to drink have found themselves a field of easy targets in the many bars of Tigerland. This isn’t the first time something so shockingly vile and evil has happened, and to our collective grief, it will likely not be the last. But that does not mean we cannot do something about this.

A strong message was offered from President William Tate IV via an email on the subject spoke to this feeling.

“It is time for action. One place to target our attention is the very place where this encounter began,” Tate said.

Tigerland has long served as a place to relieve stress and to enjoy the togetherness of the student body. The primary product served in these places of business is one of indulgence, but when distributed by careless hands with a culture so brazen and irreverent of the safety of young women, it becomes a poison that leads to primal behavior which is often violent, destructive and horrific when left unchecked.

These places leave it unchecked.

Those who serve individuals and see these events week after week show a callous disregard for the safety of their patrons and do a dishonor to the bartenders who wish to facilitate the relief of others by valuing that five additional dollars in profit over the lives of those they serve.

This problem of individual carelessness is more than just a problem of one individual; it’s a problem of the entire institution. Young girls should not live in fear for their life at LSU, and Brooks’s tragic death should not be in vain, which leaves us with one simple question.

What is LSU going to do about it?