One of the most important tasks that college students face is discerning what exactly they are passionate about. Finding a worthwhile vocation is something that all of us hope for in our pursuit of a more fulfilling and rewarding career. Recently, one Lion discovered exactly what their calling is—serving as a lifelong Devil’s Advocate.
Lou Siffer (CC ‘28) always knew he wanted to work in politics, but it wasn’t until this year that he realized how much he enjoyed playing Devil’s Advocate. “I was in the middle of a class discussion about welfare, and I realized that I could say whatever horrible opinion I want, as long as I say I’m just speaking on behalf of Satan, praise be,” Siffer tells The Fed. “It was really an epiphany for me.”
Since then, Siffer has devoted himself towards advocating for positions so indefensible that only Beelzebub himself could support them. Siffer recounts, “I go into classes I’m not registered for, I plant my ass in a seat, and I put my hand straight up in the air. People need to know that the Devil has something to say, and that I, a nineteen year old man, am his mouthpiece on this mortal plane.” The political science major has gained a reputation for completely derailing Socratic seminars, and for forcing sleep-deprived 18 year olds to disprove his claim that “Sappho would have voted for Trump.”
Siffer has found true meaning and purpose in his role as full-time Devil’s Advocate. “It’s so important to me that the ideology of the Devil is well-represented in the classroom. People think that just because an opinion is dumb, evil, and wrong, it doesn’t have a place in academia. There needs to be a space for ideas that make everything worse for everybody.”
Now, the challenge for Siffer is finding time to further his advocacy work. “It’s a tough balance,” Siffer says, “between this, my academic work, and the six to eight hours a day I spend starting fights on Sidechat. No rest for the wicked, amirite?”
