However, while difficult to navigate, the year offered many opportunities for innovation and growth. As disruptive as the impact of Covid-19 has been, LSUS saw record enrollment in the spring and fall, and the university is now the fastestgrowing higher education institution in Louisiana over the last five years.

As our continuing students return to campus for the spring semester and new students join them, there will be a growing sense of optimism on our Northwestern State University campuses in Natchitoches, Shreveport, Alexandria, Leesville, Fort Polk and across the nation.

If planting trees is the ultimate act of deferred gratification, then the 30th anniversary of the first plantings at LSU in Shreveport proves the statement to be true beyond question, and you can prove it for yourself by taking a drive through the campus.

Known affectionately to the campus community as “the Shell,” the structure features concrete seating for up to 2,000 audience members. It is receiving a facelift to transform part of its concrete benches into a more attractive green space. The amphitheater will also be more accessible.

In Berkeley, Calif., masked protesters smashed windows, stormed buildings and set fires recently on the campus of the University of California to shut down a speech by Milo Yiannopoulos, a Breitbart News editor.