Defiant Lawmakers, School Officials Vow to Keep SUNO Alive

By John Pope From The Times-Picayune A day after the state Board of Regents voted to consolidate Southern University and the University of New Orleans, a ribbon-cutting ceremony at SUNO on Wednesday turned into a show of determination to keep the school open.After a procession of school officials and legislators had received strong applause for voicing their support of the 51-year-old college, state Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, said, "This definitely sends a message that we will not go quietly into that good night."Even though the regents voted to combine the schools, each house of the Legislature must approve the proposal with a two-thirds vote."Reports of SUNO's demise are definitely premature," said Morrell, whose Senate district includes SUNO. "This is far from decided. It's still an ongoing process."Morrell and the others spoke at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for SUNO's Information Technology Center, a two-story, $2.2 million building on the Lake Campus that rises next to trailers that house offices and classrooms. They were installed after Hurricane Katrina and its floodwaters ravaged the main campus.