“Remember, gentlemen, it’s not just France we’re fighting for, it’s champagne!” remarked Great Britain’s WWII era Prime Minister Winston Churchill, shortly before the Allied invasion of Normandy. It could soon be a similar cry heard around campus as students fight not only for the French program, but also for the rich cultural heritage of Southern Louisiana.

For any that might not be cognizant, Southeastern was forced to eliminate its French program due to the recent cuts in budget. Tenured professors have been let go, an almost unprecedented occurrence in higher education, and majors have been forced to rapidly conclude their higher level French pursuits. It is certainly the end of an era and a loss of a great asset to the Southeastern curriculum, which leaves many students affected whether they know it or not.

Most burdened are those that have and might have chosen French as their majors. While those already enrolled in the program will be given a chance to conclude their studies, this is no longer a viable option for incoming students. Southeastern will continue to offer a French minor, but it really is a small compensation. Students moved by the profound beauty of the language and culture will find themselves out in the cold as the program is systematically removed from the selection of courses offered at the university.

And what about the history majors? The students of history are being put at a tremendous disadvantage if they are not allowed to pursue at least the most basic, and hopefully the more advanced, of French courses. History is an activity that requires language skills to match the time and area of study. France was the leading power in Europe from the 17th through 19th centuries, and because of this, the language assumed global importance. The art was French, and so was the law and progressive thought. The Age of Enlightenment was born out of the salons and forums of Paris along with the modern ideals of liberty and equality. So, it only makes sense that to properly study these formative years of our world today, one must speak French.

Political science majors may find themselves out as well. Much of our legal system is borrowed from the French system. In Louisiana alone, we still use a remnant of the old Napoleonic Code. To speak French for these majors is a means of understanding the nature of their studies in an infantile state, a possibility that now no longer exists.

The arts will suffer as well. For years the French have cultivated the modern world with paintings, sculptures, music and poetry. The French even gave the world their own Renaissance, a movement borrowed directly from Italy beginning in the late 15th century.

Perhaps this would not be so egregious a move should it have taken place anywhere other than southern Louisiana. But here, it is almost unthinkable. In many ways our culture is the evolution of the French culture. Certainly there are elements of German, Spanish, English and Portuguese as well, but French is at the forefront. It adorns our street names and monuments. The fleur de lis is plastered around the state. The architecture is heavily French-influenced. Although American first, Louisiana can justly claim France as a mother country, too.

From patois to pâté, escargot to gumbo, the French culture is engrained in the culture of the cultivated world. Who could forget the classic scene in Casablanca where a patriotic fervor moves a crowded bar room to sing “La Marseillaise” juxtaposed against “Die Wacht Am Rhine” in a simple yet moving gesture of defiance in the face of Nazism? The Statue of Liberty – that’s theirs, too. They gave us Voltaire, Descarte, wine, kissing and much more.

To the world, France symbolizes romance. It is the literal incarnation of defiance in the face of oppression. The French spirit is indomitable. It is a proud yet eloquent state which speaks a proud yet eloquent language, a language which is Louisiana’s tangible link to the prestige of her history. It is a shame to have to lose such a link. How long will it be before we are forced to sacrifice more of our history, more of who we are? Innovation is a beautiful thing, but it must never come at the price of the past. One should think that cuts should be made in every area except those which define us as a separate and unique people.

What is more, what will we have to sacrifice next if we can so easily lay our French program to rest? Can we also do without the arts? Perhaps chemistry is not so important. Theatre is already gone. I suppose history is not integral to the progression of the world in the most Spartan of views. How much must we lose before we have lost too much? I believe that that line has already been crossed.

Although maybe we can sleep a little better at night knowing that perhaps we are safer from German invasion, it comes at a very high price, that of our culture and history. It is true that it has been 200 years since the tri-color flag has flown over Louisiana, but still, if in no other way than spirit alone, we are all just a little French.

Vive La France et France pour toujours!