With the French program being cut, time is running out for one of its students to graduate. Jerry Parker, a sophomore dual Spanish and French major, is attempting to complete his required hours in two semesters.
The Zachary, La., native is taking 20 hours per semester, with the majority being focused towards his French studies. The average course load for a full-time student is 15, and students must gain special permission to go over 19 hours.
According to Parker, his interest in the language began in high school when his primary Spanish teacher would speak to him in French. Later, he attended a convention that featured French delegates, and his love for the language and its native speakers grew.
“I just started to practice more and get more into it, and this past summer when I went to France, I fell in love,” said Parker. “That’s when I knew I would never change my major, and I would finish French.”
While the French program will be shut down after summer 2011, it will still be available as a minor concentration. Still, if Parker does not finish his studies here, it would either be an expensive next step, or go out of state.
“There is no other place to go,” said Parker. “Probably ULL, if they don’t cut their program, or even if I have to pay a lot, probably LSU. But the way it looks, I should finish, but we don’t know.”
After college, Parker plans to go to grad school or France. He hopes to later take his lingual talents into teaching others or possibly becoming a state worker with the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, which works to keep the Cajun-French and Creole-French heritages alive in the state.
“Personally, I think it’s a shame no one wants to support us,” said Parker. “Our French heritage in Louisiana is so important, and everyone should at least pay respect to the fact that the immigrants that came to Louisiana were originally French. In Louisiana, we are the only bilingual state, being that French is our second language, and people should support that. And that’s not to say everyone should stop doing whatever, but they should pay attention the fact that French is so important and they should try their hardest to conserve our French tradition and keep it strong.”