The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

    Love hurts

    In the past, I’ve declared that I don’t care about the environment and that I would choose easy over environmentally-friendly. This week, when I learned someone had carved a heart and initials into Friendship Oak, I discovered a part of me does care about the environment, and there’s a reason why everyone else on campus should care, too. 

    According to the Southeastern website, Friendship Oak has been on campus for over a century and is considered “the iconic symbol of the university’s stability and growth.” Friendship Circle has always been known for its legend, “Those who kiss beneath its boughs one day will share marriage vows.” However, the old-fashioned habit of carving initials in a tree to commemorate a relationship has not been an issue for the university landmark until now. 

    Carving your initials into a tree might seem cool at the time, but it’s doing more harm than good. Tree bark is the skin of the tree. When someone carves into tree bark, it’s much more damaging than a human getting a tattoo. A tattoo is just ink marking the skin; a carving in a tree is taking a knife to its skin. The function of tree bark is to protect the layer of the tree that supplies food, and when the layer of bark is scratched or damaged, it also damages the phloem layer that provides the tree with its nutrients. 

    When you carve into a tree, you are damaging it. Just like if someone is stabbed with a knife, the wound isn’t going to magically heal. When the protective layer is injured, often the inside is injured as well. It takes time for a tree to heal and there’s the risk the wound could get infected and kill the tree. If 50 percent or more of a tree’s bark is damaged, there is a serious possibility that the tree will die. 

    It can be a major pain to repair the bark of a tree. There is no covering it up or removing it. The best options for the tree is to call a tree care professional if 25 percent or more of the tree bark was damaged, and the tree should be treated immediately. According to Gardening Know How, the tree care professional could try “repair grafting” in extreme cases, which can help bridge the gaps between the bark and help the tree live long enough to repair itself. 

    This planet is all we have. The dirt, the grass, the animals, the trees: they are all we have, and once people use up or destroy all the resources, that’s the end of life as we know it on Earth. 

    Many generations of students are returning to campus for Homecoming this week, and they will look fondly on Friendship Oak, still standing tall years after they graduated from the university. If we want to see that symbol of Southeastern still standing another 100 years from now, then it is our responsibility to protect the tree and make sure no one else carves into it. 

    If you want a little piece of yourself to become a part of campus forever, there are ways that do not involve destroying a beloved piece of Southeastern’s history. Alumni, students and others are invited to partake in “Project Friendship.” By purchasing a $100 brick, which can be personalized with a name. Proceeds support the Southeastern Foundation’s Annual Fund, a key revenue source for the university’s academic programs. 

    Instead of harming the trees that make our campus so beautiful, buy a brick or change your relationship status on Facebook. Anyone can be a part of Friendship Circle if they want to be, but please don’t make your mark on campus by making a mark on Friendship Oak. 

     
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