Stereotyping HBCU's

[Nubian]

I attend a Historically Black College in Texas, recently I caught up with some of my former high school classmates and we did the usual catching up, "Where do you go to school", "Are you seeing anyone" yadda, yadda.

Well, when I mentioned what school I attend one of the girls said, and I quote "oooh no I couldn't go there girl, too many Black people(yes she is African-American) I don't know how you put up with it" Needless to say I had a few choice words for her.
First of all I am very proud of my school and this young lady(and I use the term loosely) http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/rolleyes.gif made it seem like I am settling for less. I was recruited and offered scholarships by "Ivy League" schools but I chose the one I did because I felt I would be more than a number to the faculty. While I don't feel I should have to justify my decision to her or anyone else, it still angered me that she thought she was recieveing a higher quality education just because her school is predominantly white. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/frown.gif

Has anyone else out there ever dealt with this type of ignorance?

Luv,
Me

[AKA2D '91]

Hello Ladies of DST:

I would like to respond.

Nubian...I have been there and DONE THAT! It was not friends, but FAMILY. Anyway, I went to an HBCU and my cousin did not. Well, the family members thought that she was ALL that cause of the university she chose to attend. Anyway...I bothered me at first, but I just used it TO MY advantage.

IN 4 years I had become an AKA, and obtained my Bachelor's degree, finished my first year working on my Master's...AND where was she...still at "big league" university just trying to make it!

My thought is..it doesn't matter if you attend THE UNIVERSITY OF TIMBUCKTOO, the money you make in the end will still be GREEN! HELLO!

Press on Sister!

[TX_AKAQT08]

I am proud to say that I have attended the Best HBCU in the Nation and it is also located in TEXAS. Remember this, when you graduate from an HBCU.. there is nothing the world can put before you that you can't handle! So to your friend who is so unaware of what the real world is going to be like. I take my hat off to you because I know you are a SURVIVOR, and trust me you may have to save and re-educate that sister one day.

Keep the Pride Alive!

[dstbrat]

i am on the other side of the coin, i attended a large state university. it should be noted that we endure trials as well regarding our choice in schools. constantly having your blackness questioned is unfair and wrong. being called a sell-out is wrong. many blacks who attend state schools do so because of finances. i know it was cheaper for my parent to send 3 kids to school at a state school than a more expensive hbcu. while, i did't have the 'hbcu experience' i value my undergraduate years dearly. i made great friends, had lots of fun and got a good education. i wouldn't change a thing! i suppose what i am saying is that we need to stop judging one another. people do what is best for them, as well they should.

[This message has been edited by dstbrat (edited August 10, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by dstbrat (edited August 10, 2000).]

[Nubian]

Just to clarify:
I wasn't judging the young lady in my first post based on the fact that that she attended a predominantly white school, I think each individual should make the choice thats right for them, as a matter of fact I STRONGLY considered attending Baylor(predominantly white) before reaching my final decision. However I was slightly (ok, a little more than slightly) upset when she felt the need to belittle my choice, and my people, to justify her own educational choice. I chose what was right for my individual needs, as everyone should, but we all owe it to each other to respect those decisions. I applaud anyone who seeks higher education, but its people like her who make me wonder if its actually working.

Luv,
Me

[This message has been edited by Nubian (edited August 10, 2000).]

[AKA2D '91]

Soror TX:

THE BEST HBCUs are in your neighboring state, LOUISIANA! LOL

They play each other in the BAYOU CLASSIC http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif

[ageniuschild]

I attend a Historically Black College in Texas, recently I caught up with some of my former high school classmates and we did the usual catching up, "Where do you go to school", "Are you seeing anyone" yadda, yadda.

Well, when I mentioned what school I attend one of the girls said, and I quote "oooh no I couldn't go there girl, too many Black people(yes she is African-American) I don't know how you put up with it" Needless to say I had a few choice words for her.
First of all I am very proud of my school and this young lady(and I use the term loosely) http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/rolleyes.gif made it seem like I am settling for less. I was recruited and offered scholarships by "Ivy League" schools but I chose the one I did because I felt I would be more than a number to the faculty. While I don't feel I should have to justify my decision to her or anyone else, it still angered me that she thought she was recieveing a higher quality education just because her school is predominantly white. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/frown.gif

Has anyone else out there ever dealt with this type of ignorance?

Luv,
Me

yes ma'am i have....i ride hard for my HBCUs, I am a proud alum of one and come from a family that attended various fine HBCUs. I've received more flack and suprised stares from people (moreso Black people,...that either went to mid-tier universities or didn't go to college at all the White people are like "oh where is it located?"...the ones that went to school or resided in that state say "oh, ok..i've heard of that school and may ask questions".) when I tell them....yes, i matriculated from an HBCU, yes I did it in 4 years and yes I use my degree daily. I also did my graduate study at a PWI...would I trade that experience, nope...not in a heartbeat. I've also had to show and prove that i received a quality education from my wonderful HBCU and have thought circles around coworkers that snubbed their nose at my degree because i didn't attend a PWI.

I have nothing against PWI's, that just wasn't what I wanted when i was choosing a school. However, I will not let anyone insult or spread falsehoods about any HBCU. Sure some of our schools are in dire need of rehabilitation and that's another matter at hand, but some of the greatest Black minds ever to walk this planet matriculated from HBCUs....so obviously they aren't all that bad.

[Wonderful1908]

Soror TX:

THE BEST HBCUs are in your neighboring state, LOUISIANA! LOL

They play each other in the BAYOU CLASSIC http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif

So true!!! ;)

[ziasha07]

It's funny because as a senior I made my decisions this year. I still receive crap from classmates and friends for choosing an HBCU over a PWI. "You're such a smart girl... etc." Why is it that our schools are seen as substandard? I feel like I/we will receive a more well rounded education (Life experiences outside of the classroom) at an HBCU than I will at a PWI.

[Little32]

When I was choosing my school, way back in the day, I had a guidance counselor tell me that HBCUs were for people who didn't know themselves or their heritage. She told me that I would do better at insert ivy league school here. Later I found out that our school had a relationship with that institution and received some sort of benefit for every student that went there.

HBCUs are wonderful schools were you can receive a wonderful education. They have their advantages and some disadvantages--just like every other school. Anyone who questions the quality of the education that you might receive at such an institution just by virtue of that designation merely demonstrates how they have internalized firmly engrained racist ideologies. Forget them.

[Live_Wire17]

I am proud to say that I have attended the Best HBCU in the Nation and it is also located in TEXAS. Remember this, when you graduate from an HBCU.. there is nothing the world can put before you that you can't handle! So to your friend who is so unaware of what the real world is going to be like. I take my hat off to you because I know you are a SURVIVOR, and trust me you may have to save and re-educate that sister one day.

Keep the Pride Alive!

That's right...if you can survive registration at a HBCU...you can survive ANYTHING! j/k (but serious)

I tell everyone who will listen to me (mostly my students) that I wouldn't replace my undergrad years at an HBCU for NOTHING IN THE WORLD. I went to both types and my HBCU kept me grounded. I hope my kids will have the same opportunity.

Plus...where are you going to find a HBCU football game experience??? You need that in your life.

[Live_Wire17]

Soror TX:

THE BEST HBCUs are in your neighboring state, LOUISIANA! LOL

They play each other in the BAYOU CLASSIC http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif

YUP! Jags baby!!

[AKA_Monet]

That's right...if you can survive registration at a HBCU...you can survive ANYTHING! j/k (but serious).

No if you can survive Morehouse College's "Dr." Gore's Analysis II class where he teaches integrals and get a "passing grade" on his tests, then you can survive anything... ;) :cool: :D

[Wonderful1908]

That's right...if you can survive registration at a HBCU...you can survive ANYTHING! j/k (but serious)



Amen! I am completing my masters at my 2nd SWAC school and about to enroll at a third SWAC school to begin my doctorate program! 3 schools all operating the same! :rolleyes::)

[Lyoness]

I still receive crap from classmates and friends for choosing an HBCU over a PWI. "You're such a smart girl... etc." Why is it that our schools are seen as substandard? I feel like I/we will receive a more well rounded education (Life experiences outside of the classroom) at an HBCU than I will at a PWI.


I went thru this situation when I made the decision to go to an HBCU. My father's family to this day (this was back in '99) still makes comments. "You need to learn how to be around white ppl" Don't go to a N*$#^($ school. :mad: I'm from Indiana... I don't think that's a problem. I got alot of support from my mother, and HS teachers (white). At the time at IU, white supremicists were posting flyers and shouting the n-word at ppl. Sorry, not interested in that game.:rolleyes:

My dad is still angry that I decided to go to an HBCU instead of IU. Still makes snide remarks about my school, my friends and will just break out with "Do you think you would be doing non-pretigious job/grad program/have bad car if you had gone to Ivy League". I'm his only child with a college degree!! :rolleyes: :mad: My family thinks it was a second class education nevermind the fact that I'm one of 5/30 grandkids with a degree. 3/5 of us went to HBCUs. I, like the original poster, was offered admissions to Ivys and didn't go. I have 2 cousins at Univ. and they aren't doing anything significant.. no volunteering, no groups. I don't think they really have mentors or older students to really talk to and get advice. Otherwise someone would have told them that those wrist tattoos weren't a good idea.:rolleyes:

Looking back, one good thing about HBCUs is that you have mentors and continuous encouragement about what black ppl CAN do. You see it everyday in class and those around you. Black ppl studying science, law, business. It's empowering.

But on the other hand, I totally understand not everyone being able to afford it. I know I wouldn't have been able to go w/o my scholarship. But in the end college is what you make of it. Seize every opportunity.

[ziasha07]

Amen! I am completing my masters at my 2nd SWAC school and about to enroll at a third SWAC school to begin my doctorate program! 3 schools all operating the same! :rolleyes::)


I've learned alot already just calling up the three schools I applied to every other day to check up on my paperwork. It paid off too. I got accepted to all three and I learned people skills.

[Wonderful1908]

I've learned alot already just calling up the three schools I applied to every other day to check up on my paperwork. It paid off too. I got accepted to all three and I learned people skills.


Just stay on top of your paper work and you will be okay well even if you stay on top of your paper work you still may have some issues. :rolleyes:

[ladygreek]

That's right...if you can survive registration at a HBCU...you can survive ANYTHING! j/k (but serious).

This takes me back to the day went I when I first took my daughter to Howard. I scheduled myself stay the week at the Howard Inn next to the school. You HU alumni/ae know how long ago that must have been - LOL.

The first day was orientation and getting settled in her dorm room. She, a high school friend of mine whose son was starting there, too, did the obligatory rent the mini-fridge, by bedding and accessories from JC Penny, get cleaning materials, get a fan since there was no AC, etc.

The next day was registration. My daughter was like okay Mom I can handle this you should not have planned to stay so long. When i told her I wasn't leaving early she became a little disgruntled. And the fact that the dorm room looked like crap didn't help her mood.

Well we go to the Admissions Office to make sure all the money is paid so she can register for classes. We stand in a long line and the whole time she is like rolling her eyes with the attitude I can't believe I am here with my Mom--I'm not a child anymore. We finally get to the desk and lo and behold they had no record of my tuition payment--the dorm room payment, yes, the tuition, no. So we were sent over to another line. I am getting p***ed and she is getting scared. We are standing in line and I know I had THE LOOK on my face.

Suddenly a woman came up to us and said come with me and took us out of the line. She said I noticed your Delta necklace. I am a soror, how can I help you? I told her the problem, she searched found the info all in the matter of a few minutes. She then hugged me and told me if we needed anything else just ask for her.

Well, because of the delay, by the time she got to the front of the registration line which had wound around the campus, most of her classes were filled. I went back to the soror in Admissions, she connected me to the then Interim Dean of the School of Communications who was also a soror. Daughter got her classes.

Needless to say she was estactic to have me there the rest of the week. LOL

Hmmmm, I guess this really is more than just about registration at a HBCU. It probably also belongs in the 1913 thread, huh?

[AKA_Monet]

^^^Draw within the lines... The lines are our friends... (mesmerizing and hypnotic tones...)

Also, you all starting these schools, they have a whole new concept of getting financial aid checks!!! While I was not on financial aid, many of friends were. Best you can do is "squeakiest wheel gets the oil first"...

Your classes will include an unlisted class call "Phinagling 101: HBCU Style". Now, if that unlisted class does not teach you about accomplishing your goals in life, you will NEVER learn it...

And don't get me started in the direction of "retention rates" of AfAms at non-HBCU's. Let's just say these schools rates are piss poor too, including Ivy Leagues...

[christiangirl]

Just stay on top of your paper work and you will be okay well even if you stay on top of your paper work you still may have some issues. :rolleyes:

I stayed on top of my paperwork all 4 years and didn't have nearly as many problems as my friends, however my classes were dropped and my loan payment was lost at least one time each. Then, there was the wonderful experience of being told I couldn't graduate because I had 4, count 'em, 4 INCOMPLETES. I looked that woman straight in her face and said, "With all due respect, ma'am, THE DEVIL IS A LIAR." She did the :eek: face at me, but I was so nice about it, she couldn't help but laugh. Turns out my name had somehow been electronically slapped on someone else's transcript. :rolleyes:


I applied only to HBCUs and my parents were thrilled. They were sad that I was going to have to go so far away--my dad wanted me to go to UC Berkeley or Davis so that they could visit me, but I wanted to see some black people! Aside from my family and my church, I never had the opportunity to learn about my own culture (they sure weren't teaching it in school) and interact with people who looked like me. I craved that HBCU experience because, even though my friends were great, we could never really bond on that level. I wanted to be around people who shared my views and experiences, which (admittedly) were minimal. I never knew what it was like to live in a close-knit community who understood each others' struggles and triumphs because we all share the same history. I wanted that more than anything else. At first, it was tough. I wasn't accepted by my peers: many felt that, because of where I'd grown up, I "talked too white" and "acted too white" to be at their school. A surprising number of people told me to "go back with all the other white people." :mad: I almost withdrew 2 months into freshman year! But, my mom refused to bring me home; I had to stay where I wanted to be no matter who said what. And I found A LOT of students who'd come from neighborhoods like mine and were having the same things said to them. Those were my first friends that I made and I definitely made more. I got the experience that I was looking for, in spite of those few hateful people trying to steal my joy. And I don't regret it because you find those types of people at every school, no matter what color the majority is. Now that I've graduated, I'm a little sad to leave that community behind, but I'm definitely more secure in my identity now that my history isn't a mystery. I can maintain that no matter what environment I'm in. I'm glad this thread was bumped because I think we younguns feel better being reminded that this stuff is nothing new!

[ageniuschild]

Just stay on top of your paper work and you will be okay well even if you stay on top of your paper work you still may have some issues. :rolleyes:

yes indeed....attending an HBCU forced me to stay on top of my paperwork and document...document...document. i take that skill with me to this very day. my coworker's and supervisors tease me and say..."if ageniuschild doesn't have it filed away in her office, it doesn't exist"

[Senusret I]

It's disappointing how so called "white" schools get stereotyped in reaction to HBCU stereotyping.

[ageniuschild]

It's disappointing how so called "white" schools get stereotyped in reaction to HBCU stereotyping.

true...two wrongs don't make a right. it's only been recently that i've noticed and experienced the stereotyping of Black PWI alum by Black HBCU alum. When I was in school a lot of the Black students from the local PWI ended up hanging out on our campus and there was no tension or issues at hand. We know and realize that we are here for the same thing....to graduate, whether you do it at UVA or VUU is really not important.

Personally, I'm happy when any Black person gets accepted and matriculates from any college or university.

I think the only thing that disturbs me more than anything are the Black people that have the "white is right" mentality in regards to these institutions...whether they are alums of PWIs or may have heard through the grapevine of isolated incidents that occured at HBCUs. All universities have their fair share of problems when you really look at it.

[BlessedOne04]

I feel like I/we will receive a more well rounded education (Life experiences outside of the classroom) at an HBCU than I will at a PWI.

I am not so sure I can agree with you here. I think life experiences are unique to each person. For example I went to predominately Black schools through high school and I loved that experience. However for college I felt as though I needed a change so I went to a PWI and for me it gave me a well rounded education. The reality is that college is what YOU make it and you can learn as much or as little about life anywhere you go. The determining factor is how open or closed you mind is.

I have heard alot of different stereotypes from friends who went to HBCU's. Being smarter, I believed half of what people said! In looking for colleges I went on two college tours, one for HBCU's and one for PWI. There were pros and cons to both. Needless to say that money, Mommy, and level of comfort were what made my ultimate decision.

[ladygreek]

I am not so sure I can agree with you here. I think life experiences are unique to each person. For example I went to predominately Black schools through high school and I loved that experience. However for college I felt as though I needed a change so I went to a PWI and for me it gave me a well rounded education. The reality is that college is what YOU make it and you can learn as much or as little about life anywhere you go. The determining factor is how open or closed you mind is.

I have heard alot of different stereotypes from friends who went to HBCU's. Being smarter, I believed half of what people said! In looking for colleges I went on two college tours, one for HBCU's and one for PWI. There were pros and cons to both. Needless to say that money, Mommy, and level of comfort were what made my ultimate decision.

You have a point. My daughter grew up in MN needed the HBCU experience. I on the other hand grew up in St. Louis, lived in an all Black neighborhood and attended an all Black high school. I needed the PWI experience to understand that not all White folx were like the ones in the Lou.

[ziasha07]

I am not so sure I can agree with you here. I think life experiences are unique to each person. For example I went to predominately Black schools through high school and I loved that experience. However for college I felt as though I needed a change so I went to a PWI and for me it gave me a well rounded education. The reality is that college is what YOU make it and you can learn as much or as little about life anywhere you go. The determining factor is how open or closed you mind is.

I have heard alot of different stereotypes from friends who went to HBCU's. Being smarter, I believed half of what people said! In looking for colleges I went on two college tours, one for HBCU's and one for PWI. There were pros and cons to both. Needless to say that money, Mommy, and level of comfort were what made my ultimate decision.

You have a point. My daughter grew up in MN needed the HBCU experience. I on the other hand grew up in St. Louis, lived in an all Black neighborhood and attended an all Black high school. I needed the PWI experience to understand that not all White folx were like the ones in the Lou.


True true. I've been going to mostly white schools my whole life. HBCU's just seemed like the only option for me. One of my friends is opposite. She's a rising senior who has been going to mostly black schools. She's looking at all PWI's.

[BlessedOne04]

I needed the PWI experience to understand that not all White folx were like the ones in the Lou.

At least you saw white people!! ;)

[IvySpice]

And don't get me started in the direction of "retention rates" of AfAms at non-HBCU's. Let's just say these schools rates are piss poor too, including Ivy Leagues...

I have the greatest respect for HBCU's and the many extraordinary leaders they've produced, but what you're saying about the Ivy League just isn't true. As of 2005, the black graduation rate at Harvard is the highest in the country, higher than any HBCU. In fact, all 8 Ivy League schools have higher black graduation rates than the HBCU with the highest black graduation rate (Spelman).

http://www.jbhe.com/features/50_blackstudent_gradrates.html

[Ms_Audacity]

I attend a Historically Black College in Texas, recently I caught up with some of my former high school classmates and we did the usual catching up, "Where do you go to school", "Are you seeing anyone" yadda, yadda.

Well, when I mentioned what school I attend one of the girls said, and I quote "oooh no I couldn't go there girl, too many Black people(yes she is African-American) I don't know how you put up with it" Needless to say I had a few choice words for her.
First of all I am very proud of my school and this young lady(and I use the term loosely) http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/rolleyes.gif made it seem like I am settling for less. I was recruited and offered scholarships by "Ivy League" schools but I chose the one I did because I felt I would be more than a number to the faculty. While I don't feel I should have to justify my decision to her or anyone else, it still angered me that she thought she was recieveing a higher quality education just because her school is predominantly white. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/frown.gif

Has anyone else out there ever dealt with this type of ignorance?

Luv,
Me

To each his own. I remember when I was a junior in high school and was preparing for college visits and filling out applications and all that jazz....I had a teacher of mine who was a white guy come up to me and tell me that I was too smart to go to an HBCU and that I should go to a PWI so that I could get a better education! I was appalled to say the least! Now I did choose to go to a PWI, but it was definitely not because of that. I love my university and I wouldn't take it back for the world and I had plenty of friends attend HBCU's and I would never say something like that to them! People choose their schools for different reasons, but I think the main one is the name. Some schools look better on resumes to employers than others-- it's sad but true. I interned for a company and I was having a talk with one of the head guys about what he looks for employees and he told me he hires based on your school........PWI (large then small) and then he looks at HBCU candidates...:eek:

[Live_Wire17]

This takes me back to the day went I when I first took my daughter to Howard. I scheduled myself stay the week at the Howard Inn next to the school. You HU alumni/ae know how long ago that must have been - LOL.

The first day was orientation and getting settled in her dorm room. She, a high school friend of mine whose son was starting there, too, did the obligatory rent the mini-fridge, by bedding and accessories from JC Penny, get cleaning materials, get a fan since there was no AC, etc.

The next day was registration. My daughter was like okay Mom I can handle this you should not have planned to stay so long. When i told her I wasn't leaving early she became a little disgruntled. And the fact that the dorm room looked like crap didn't help her mood.

Well we go to the Admissions Office to make sure all the money is paid so she can register for classes. We stand in a long line and the whole time she is like rolling her eyes with the attitude I can't believe I am here with my Mom--I'm not a child anymore. We finally get to the desk and lo and behold they had no record of my tuition payment--the dorm room payment, yes, the tuition, no. So we were sent over to another line. I am getting p***ed and she is getting scared. We are standing in line and I know I had THE LOOK on my face.

Suddenly a woman came up to us and said come with me and took us out of the line. She said I noticed your Delta necklace. I am a soror, how can I help you? I told her the problem, she searched found the info all in the matter of a few minutes. She then hugged me and told me if we needed anything else just ask for her.

Well, because of the delay, by the time she got to the front of the registration line which had wound around the campus, most of her classes were filled. I went back to the soror in Admissions, she connected me to the then Interim Dean of the School of Communications who was also a soror. Daughter got her classes.

Needless to say she was estactic to have me there the rest of the week. LOL

Hmmmm, I guess this really is more than just about registration at a HBCU. It probably also belongs in the 1913 thread, huh?


LOL!! At least she had a room. When my mom drove me from Chicago to Baton Rouge...SU didn't have any record of my room reservation. Needless to say, my mom got all "westside of Chicago" on them and went on to tell them that she DID NOT drive her daughter 900+ miles to leave her here without a room. LOL! I was soooo glad my mama was there because not only did they find me a room but they put me in the upperclassmen dorms which ment 2 things (SU Alum may know what I am talking about)

1. No Curfew
2. No "Mama Boley" (The lady in charge of the girls freshmen dorms)

Thanks Mom!!!;) See LG, 1913 and a Mom...you are the Bomb Soror!;)

[Wonderful1908]

LOL!! At least she had a room. When my mom drove me from Chicago to Baton Rouge...SU didn't have any record of my room reservation. Needless to say, my mom got all "westside of Chicago" on them and went on to tell them that she DID NOT drive her daughter 900+ miles to leave her here without a room. LOL! I was soooo glad my mama was there because not only did they find me a room but they put me in the upperclassmen dorms which ment 2 things (SU Alum may know what I am talking about)

1. No Curfew
2. No "Mama Boley" (The lady in charge of the girls freshmen dorms)

Thanks Mom!!!;) See LG, 1913 and a Mom...you are the Bomb Soror!;)

Not only do I know this situation all to well I am still PO'd. When I was sophmore the day we came to get our rooms we had until like 3pm, I got there at noon becuase I was coming back from home (Califirnia) why when I got there they were like all the rooms are gone. I was like WTH! It took 6 days to get thet foolishness striaght and trust me it took me calling housing being my "mama" to get that resolved! Ahhhhh SU.......

[PrettyBoy]

I pledged and I graduated from Central State University. Across the street from Wilberforce University. CSU was so unorganized that most of the upper classman including me had to stay in hotels. I liked it though, because we had cable, air, and cleaning services.:D

[Live_Wire17]

I pledged and I graduated from Central State University. Across the street from Wilberforce University. CSU was so unorganized that most of the upper classman including me had to stay in hotels. I liked it though, because we had cable, air, and cleaning services.:D

Lucky you.:p

[Live_Wire17]

Not only do I know this situation all to well I am still PO'd. When I was sophmore the day we came to get our rooms we had until like 3pm, I got there at noon becuase I was coming back from home (Califirnia) why when I got there they were like all the rooms are gone. I was like WTH! It took 6 days to get thet foolishness striaght and trust me it took me calling housing being my "mama" to get that resolved! Ahhhhh SU.......

See what I'm sayin. BUT...I wouldn't change my experience at SU for NOTHING in the world and I always tell my students about the importance of a HBCU education. My sister is jealous because she chose U of I Champagne and my brother chose FAMU...oh well...shoulda listen lil girl...:D

[Live_Wire17]

Amen! I am completing my masters at my 2nd SWAC school and about to enroll at a third SWAC school to begin my doctorate program! 3 schools all operating the same! :rolleyes::)

You like punishment...don't you?;)

[Wonderful1908]

You like punishment...don't you?;)

I must, case in point God Love em, I have four classes this summer which started last week:

1.Tuesday drove all the way to PVU and guess what no teacher!
2. Wendeday Drove to the remote site guess what no teacher!
3.Thursday drove back to the remote site, yes a teacher! Moving very fast in statistics but atleast he was there!
4. Monday drove to the remote site teacher was 45 minutes late!

I am going to be honest I am one who appreciated a good class cancellation/dismissal but don't have me drive 60 miles one way and 60 miles back another or waste my time and you ain't there. Gas is high! :mad:

Alas I still love the SWAC! :p:rolleyes::o

[christiangirl]

^^^This story reminds me of something. Why did schools (or at least my school) mandate you wait 10 minutes for a teacher (15 minutes for a professor) before you are allowed to assume class is cancelled and leave? What's more, if the teacher shows up more than 15 minutes late, why are they allowed to shove you back into class and continue? If I'm more than a second late, I get points marked off, or not even allowed into class at all. If they are supposed to lead by example, why can't we say, "Too bad, you're not here so class is cancelled for today?" :mad:


(I know it'd never happen, and there'd be material lost, but it'd be nice. ;))

[Deltaheart]

LOL!! At least she had a room. When my mom drove me from Chicago to Baton Rouge...SU didn't have any record of my room reservation. Needless to say, my mom got all "westside of Chicago" on them and went on to tell them that she DID NOT drive her daughter 900+ miles to leave her here without a room. LOL! I was soooo glad my mama was there because not only did they find me a room but they put me in the upperclassmen dorms which ment 2 things (SU Alum may know what I am talking about)

1. No Curfew
2. No "Mama Boley" (The lady in charge of the girls freshmen dorms)

Thanks Mom!!!;) See LG, 1913 and a Mom...you are the Bomb Soror!;)

I too was a member of the no reservation or no room in the inn. I had to stay at the Bellmont for 3 weeks until students were dropped for non payment. No car (freshmen were not able to have cars on campus), no family (from California) and no room. I had to learn to adapt and adapt quickly. Southern taught me life experiences that I would have never recieved at any other college. I was pretty much sheltered through out my childhood years. The schools i attended were a melting pot. I lacked that Black experience. Although I may have complained about the experience while I was there at SU. I would never give it back. (even the long lines in Seymour Gym through registration)

Much love goes out to HBCU's who are building our youth today......especially go JAGS

[Drolefille]

^^^This story reminds me of something. Why did schools (or at least my school) mandate you wait 10 minutes for a teacher (15 minutes for a professor) before you are allowed to assume class is cancelled and leave? What's more, if the teacher shows up more than 15 minutes late, why are they allowed to shove you back into class and continue? If I'm more than a second late, I get points marked off, or not even allowed into class at all. If they are supposed to lead by example, why can't we say, "Too bad, you're not here so class is cancelled for today?" :mad:


(I know it'd never happen, and there'd be material lost, but it'd be nice. ;))
Find me a school that has that as an official rule. I've never seen it written down. It's one of those unwritten assumption things that everyone operates on.
The only times I've ever had that problem have been on days where the weather was too bad for an individual teacher to get in although school wasn't canceled or some sort of other emergency, car wreck or something. In those situations I don't mind waiting.

[christiangirl]

Find me a school that has that as an official rule. I've never seen it written down. It's one of those unwritten assumption things that everyone operates on.

Administration TOLD us that's the rule, but I've never seen it written down, either!

[Drolefille]

Administration TOLD us that's the rule, but I've never seen it written down, either!
http://www.snopes.com/college/admin/wait.asp

I suspect they just wanted you to show up.

[AKA_Monet]

I have the greatest respect for HBCU's and the many extraordinary leaders they've produced, but what you're saying about the Ivy League just isn't true. As of 2005, the black graduation rate at Harvard is the highest in the country, higher than any HBCU. In fact, all 8 Ivy League schools have higher black graduation rates than the HBCU with the highest black graduation rate (Spelman).

http://www.jbhe.com/features/50_blackstudent_gradrates.html

Soror, based on my assessment of the article, it clearly states the following:

For many years Harvard University, traditionally one of the nation's strongest supporters of affirmative action, has produced the highest black student graduation rate of any college or university in the nation. But for some unexplained and possibly immaterial reason, Harvard slipped to second place in 2004. But now Harvard's black student graduation rate has increased to 95 percent, once again the highest among U.S. colleges and universities.

and

We come now to a most disappointing set of statistics. The graduation rate of African-American students at the nation's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) tends to be much lower than the graduation rate for black students at the nation's highest-ranked institutions. Yet the graduation rate at a significant number of HBCUs is well above the nationwide average for black student graduations, which, as stated earlier, currently stands at an extremely low rate of 42 percent.

By a large margin, the highest black student graduation rate at a historically black college belongs to the academically selective, all-women Spelman College in the city of Atlanta. In fact, the Spelman black student graduation rate of 77 percent is higher than the black student graduation rate at 13 of the nation's 56 high-ranking predominantly white colleges and universities referred to earlier. Spelman's unusual strength shows in the fact that it has a higher black student graduation rate than such prestigious and primarily white colleges as Bates, Colby, Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, Claremont McKenna, and Carnegie Mellon.

Following Spelman in the rankings, the next-highest black student graduation rate among the HBCUs was at Morehouse College and Fisk University. At Morehouse and Fisk, 64 percent of the entering black students go on to graduate within six years. Hampton University, Miles College, Howard University, and Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina sadly are the only other HBCUs that graduate at least half of their black students within six years.

How many non-ivy league schools can compare to those like Harvard? And what actual statistical measurements are they ranking. Those rates of Black students graduating from a "Harvard" percentage compared to those Black students graduating from the highest graduating ranked "Spelman" school. And the numbers for comparison are suspect.

They obtained the data from the NCAA--National Collegiate Athletic Association and analyzed by the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education... I find it extremely convenient for them to obtain and analyze stats from NCAA then say it is Dept. of Education records. Dept. of Ed. does not = NCAA.

At the last 4 universities I worked in 3 states, the retention and graduation rates of all identified African American students had dismal results.

Or, that could be the thing about Harvard, once they admit you, they will make sure you graduate in something... It may not be your first choice in your goal, but you will succeed in something, even though it is "underwater basketweaving".

The HBCU's do not readily pass folks in classes, nor do they care about your ability to pay, on time, even if they have the financial aid check... I know my professors would be flunking entire classes... And don't skip class, or rather don't get caught skipping...

[DSTCHAOS]

Administration TOLD us that's the rule, but I've never seen it written down, either!

The "15 minute rule" is a staple of most college classrooms. But it isn't an official administrative guideline but rather a generic guideline, of sorts.

Instructors have their own guidelines for student attendance and often tell students that they can go by the "15 minute rule" just because it's familiar to most people. Universities don't penalize students at the micro-level of class attendance. Instructors do.

The only time the administration of most colleges and universities have guidelines for class attendance is when it comes to inclement weather and holiday policies.

[CrimsonTide4]

I too was a member of the no reservation or no room in the inn. I had to stay at the Bellmont for 3 weeks until students were dropped for non payment. No car (freshmen were not able to have cars on campus), no family (from California) and no room. I had to learn to adapt and adapt quickly. Southern taught me life experiences that I would have never recieved at any other college. I was pretty much sheltered through out my childhood years. The schools i attended were a melting pot. I lacked that Black experience. Although I may have complained about the experience while I was there at SU. I would never give it back. (even the long lines in Seymour Gym through registration)

Much love goes out to HBCU's who are building our youth today......especially go JAGS

Deltaheart, eh? Introduce yourself if you are a member of DST. We like to know who we're chatting with.

[IvySpice]

First, I have to identify myself as a non-D9 member. I chose this username before I realized that it might be misinterpreted as an AKA or Alpha Phi identifier. So please forgive me if I was misleading; I don't mean to misrepresent myself as a member of your great org.

Second, getting to the point :),

How many non-ivy league schools can compare to those like Harvard?

About 20 of them, according to the article, plus another 12 or 15 small colleges. My original post was responding to a specific statement about the Ivy Leagues that was incorrect. The Ivy League school with the lowest black graduation rate is Cornell at 83%. This is better than the HBCU with the highest graduation rate. Even if you believe that Harvard is handing out degrees in "underwater basketweaving" to all comers, do you believe that about Caltech, MIT, Rice, and Notre Dame, all of which have higher black graduation rates than any HBCU?

My point is this. HBCUs are the best choice for many students for a long list of reasons, many of which satisfied alumni have already pointed out on this thread. But high graduation rates are not on the list. The majority of students at the HBCUs with the highest graduation rates (such as Spelman, Morehouse, Howard, Fisk, and Hampton could go to top-20 PWIs like Harvard if they wanted to, so it really doesn't matter to them that the black graduation rate at fourth-tier PWIs is pitiful. The students we're talking about are choosing between HBCUs and the Ivy League et al., and the Ivy Leagues are doing a very good job of graduating their black students. That doesn't mean it's wrong to choose an HBCU over an Ivy -- it just means that it's wrong to suggest that "piss poor" black graduation rates at the Ivies ought to be a factor in the decision.

I find it extremely convenient for them to obtain and analyze stats from NCAA then say it is Dept. of Education records. Dept. of Ed. does not = NCAA

The NCAA is required to collect and report the data according to guidelines set by the Department of Education. That's why the data can be considered both NCAA and DoE statistics.

http://www.psu.edu/ur/archives/intercom_1998/Nov19/gradrate.html (scroll to the bottom of the page)

Do you have any reason to doubt that the NCAA information is accurate? I trust that the folks at JBHE know what they're talking about.

[DSTCHAOS]

http://www.snopes.com/college/admin/wait.asp

I suspect they just wanted you to show up.

LOL. I advise people to NOT follow snopes' documentation of waiting times based on ranking. It will fail almost everytime. Most instructors don't care about ranking differences when it comes to students. We are at a higher ranking/power differential than undergrads and that's all that matters.

sidebar:
I had an undergrad professor who was late right before a big exam. We waited a while and left. He punished us by first chastising us via email, then at the next class session, and finally refusing to give us an exam review. Some professors will show up late and keep you extra long to make up for their lateness. Students really aren't REQUIRED to stay past the class time. However, I understand how students who don't have another class to attend or work, are afraid to walk out and potentially get penalized. That's bad ethics to try to bully your students and not ASK them if they are able to stay an extra 20 minutes to finish up material.

[KAPital PHINUst]

I pledged and I graduated from Central State University. Across the street from Wilberforce University. CSU was so unorganized that most of the upper classman including me had to stay in hotels. I liked it though, because we had cable, air, and cleaning services.:D

What's up, Nupe? I was a student at Central State for one quarter (Fall '94). Yes, I remember that CSU was very unorganized, and when I had my books stolen, a student body mentality that really didn't promote academics over socializing, AND the fact that I had a 4.0 accum and they weren't gonna give me no scholarship(s), I had to bounce.

I remember the students having to live in hotels in nearby Springfield; I even remember visiting some of the students at the hotels back in '96 (btw, this was because they condemned 5 of the 9 dormitories on campus--the freshmen and upperclass male dorms, the jock dorm, and the nerd dorm).

But fortunately, this didn't sour my perception of HBCUs as a whole; I just realized that I attended a poorly ran HBCU at a bad time.

[DSTCHAOS]

LOL.

[KAPital PHINUst]

sidebar:
I had an undergrad professor who was late right before a big exam. We waited a while and left. He punished us by first chastising us via email, then at the next class session, and finally refusing to give us an exam review. Some professors will show up late and keep you extra long to make up for their lateness. Students really aren't REQUIRED to stay past the class time. However, I understand how students who don't have another class to attend or work, are afraid to walk out and potentially get penalized. That's bad ethics to try to bully your students and not ASK them if they are able to stay an extra 20 minutes to finish up material.

I would recommend this for students who had several cancelled classes by any one professor (especially if you are paying tuition out of pocket).

Ask for a prorated tuition refund for each class session(s) that had to be cancelled by the professor. Why are you paying your hard earned $$ for a professor to NOT show up? That doesn't make sense.

Now back to our regularly scheduled thread....

[Infamous12]

I would recommend this for students who had several cancelled classes by any one professor (especially if you are paying tuition out of pocket).

Ask for a prorated tuition refund for each class session(s) that had to be cancelled by the professor. Why are you paying your hard earned $$ for a professor to NOT show up? That doesn't make sense.

Now back to our regularly scheduled thread....

*wish I would've thought of that*

[DSTCHAOS]

*wish I would've thought of that*


It won't work at every institution. :)

[KAPital PHINUst]

It won't work at every institution. :)

Twist the right person's arm hard enough and long enough, and trust, it'll work at any institution.

If all else fails, bring in the heavy reinforcements:

THE NEWS MEDIA

(after all, colleges are businesses too, you want everyone to know you are getting ripped off, don't you?) ;)

[DSTCHAOS]

Twist the right person's arm hard enough and long enough, and trust, it'll work at any institution.

If all else fails, bring in the heavy reinforcements:

THE NEWS MEDIA

(after all, colleges are businesses too, you want everyone to know you are getting ripped off, don't you?) ;)

Like I said, it won't work at every institution.

UNTIL you jump through those hoops (you said "ask for" like it was that simple). And it still might not work after all of that.

Which is why most students won't ever think of that or won't have the desire to go through with it. Just like why people in the working world often don't complain about unfair practices and being ripped off or discriminated against. Too much intentional bureaucratic red tape. Universities and other businesses do that on purpose and know that people won't jump through those hoops due to time or lack of patience. That's why schools make tons of money off of unreasonable tuition and fee expenses every semester.

[Missam05]

I attend a Historically Black College in Texas, recently I caught up with some of my former high school classmates and we did the usual catching up, "Where do you go to school", "Are you seeing anyone" yadda, yadda.

Well, when I mentioned what school I attend one of the girls said, and I quote "oooh no I couldn't go there girl, too many Black people(yes she is African-American) I don't know how you put up with it" Needless to say I had a few choice words for her.
First of all I am very proud of my school and this young lady(and I use the term loosely) http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/rolleyes.gif made it seem like I am settling for less. I was recruited and offered scholarships by "Ivy League" schools but I chose the one I did because I felt I would be more than a number to the faculty. While I don't feel I should have to justify my decision to her or anyone else, it still angered me that she thought she was recieveing a higher quality education just because her school is predominantly white. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/frown.gif

Has anyone else out there ever dealt with this type of ignorance?

Luv,
Me

Always. As if an HBCU is less than any other school. I've learned to ignore their ignorance. I have what they have (quality education, good paying job, memorable experiences, etc.) and that's all that matters.

[Drolefille]

LOL. I advise people to NOT follow snopes' documentation of waiting times based on ranking. It will fail almost everytime. Most instructors don't care about ranking differences when it comes to students. We are at a higher ranking/power differential than undergrads and that's all that matters.

sidebar:
I had an undergrad professor who was late right before a big exam. We waited a while and left. He punished us by first chastising us via email, then at the next class session, and finally refusing to give us an exam review. Some professors will show up late and keep you extra long to make up for their lateness. Students really aren't REQUIRED to stay past the class time. However, I understand how students who don't have another class to attend or work, are afraid to walk out and potentially get penalized. That's bad ethics to try to bully your students and not ASK them if they are able to stay an extra 20 minutes to finish up material.
Oh yeah, I wouldn't encourage it either. I think it's unfortunate that most teachers don't address what to do if THEY are the late ones in their syllabuses. Most people in my classes can't stay late, and if they drive from 45 miles away only to have a teacher not show up, they're way more pissed than the people in town.
I've always given the 15 minutes (although I know plenty of people who try to follow the rankings and stay a shorter period of time) and it's always been for a good reason, but I hate to see bad teachers abuse a class for it.

[christiangirl]

Twist the right person's arm hard enough and long enough, and trust, it'll work at any institution.

If all else fails, bring in the heavy reinforcements:

THE NEWS MEDIA

(after all, colleges are businesses too, you want everyone to know you are getting ripped off, don't you?) ;)

Forget the media...I'd call my daddy. We may not lilke each other, but he'll be there if there's a good fight involved. Most people have big momma tell administration about themselves, but Mommy CG is too nice. All my refunds seemed to straighten out within 24 hours after a call from my daddy. ;)


For real, I see what you mean. I think the administration scared the students into never calling the media, saying we didn't want to be responsible for more negative black images on the news, did we? So, we used to call the campus news station to cover our student protests and we were always able to work out some sort of deal when the cameras were there. However, as of last month, we no longer have a campus television network for "lack of funding." :mad: :mad: :mad: Should've seen that one coming, man...it was only a matter of time.

[AKADIVA12]

This takes me back to the day went I when I first took my daughter to Howard. I scheduled myself stay the week at the Howard Inn next to the school. You HU alumni/ae know how long ago that must have been - LOL.

The first day was orientation and getting settled in her dorm room. She, a high school friend of mine whose son was starting there, too, did the obligatory rent the mini-fridge, by bedding and accessories from JC Penny, get cleaning materials, get a fan since there was no AC, etc.

The next day was registration. My daughter was like okay Mom I can handle this you should not have planned to stay so long. When i told her I wasn't leaving early she became a little disgruntled. And the fact that the dorm room looked like crap didn't help her mood.

Well we go to the Admissions Office to make sure all the money is paid so she can register for classes. We stand in a long line and the whole time she is like rolling her eyes with the attitude I can't believe I am here with my Mom--I'm not a child anymore. We finally get to the desk and lo and behold they had no record of my tuition payment--the dorm room payment, yes, the tuition, no. So we were sent over to another line. I am getting p***ed and she is getting scared. We are standing in line and I know I had THE LOOK on my face.

Suddenly a woman came up to us and said come with me and took us out of the line. She said I noticed your Delta necklace. I am a soror, how can I help you? I told her the problem, she searched found the info all in the matter of a few minutes. She then hugged me and told me if we needed anything else just ask for her.

Well, because of the delay, by the time she got to the front of the registration line which had wound around the campus, most of her classes were filled. I went back to the soror in Admissions, she connected me to the then Interim Dean of the School of Communications who was also a soror. Daughter got her classes.

Needless to say she was estactic to have me there the rest of the week. LOL

Hmmmm, I guess this really is more than just about registration at a HBCU. It probably also belongs in the 1913 thread, huh?

Okay I'm having flashbacks. The Howard University Inn, Dr. Merritt was the Dean of the School of C (as we called it then). Take me back to the early
90s. LOL.

I attended Howard as a grad student, and couldn't understand how students whose tuition was not paid up to date could continue to attend classes. After their tuition was paid they were "validated" and could receive credit for the class. I had come from a PWI and had never seend anything like it.

If I had it to do over again, I probably would have switched the order, HBCU for undergrad, PWI for grad. While I got some of the HBCU experience there was so much more to experience.

[orighu]

This takes me back to the day went I when I first took my daughter to Howard. I scheduled myself stay the week at the Howard Inn next to the school. You HU alumni/ae know how long ago that must have been - LOL.

The first day was orientation and getting settled in her dorm room. She, a high school friend of mine whose son was starting there, too, did the obligatory rent the mini-fridge, by bedding and accessories from JC Penny, get cleaning materials, get a fan since there was no AC, etc.

The next day was registration. My daughter was like okay Mom I can handle this you should not have planned to stay so long. When i told her I wasn't leaving early she became a little disgruntled. And the fact that the dorm room looked like crap didn't help her mood.

Well we go to the Admissions Office to make sure all the money is paid so she can register for classes. We stand in a long line and the whole time she is like rolling her eyes with the attitude I can't believe I am here with my Mom--I'm not a child anymore. We finally get to the desk and lo and behold they had no record of my tuition payment--the dorm room payment, yes, the tuition, no. So we were sent over to another line. I am getting p***ed and she is getting scared. We are standing in line and I know I had THE LOOK on my face.

Suddenly a woman came up to us and said come with me and took us out of the line. She said I noticed your Delta necklace. I am a soror, how can I help you? I told her the problem, she searched found the info all in the matter of a few minutes. She then hugged me and told me if we needed anything else just ask for her.

Well, because of the delay, by the time she got to the front of the registration line which had wound around the campus, most of her classes were filled. I went back to the soror in Admissions, she connected me to the then Interim Dean of the School of Communications who was also a soror. Daughter got her classes.

Needless to say she was estactic to have me there the rest of the week. LOL

Hmmmm, I guess this really is more than just about registration at a HBCU. It probably also belongs in the 1913 thread, huh?


Ah the good ole HU days..... yeah, I remember those days fondly - but i learned alot during those days at registration - patience, negotiating, patience, networking, did i say patience :D

[RitaMae1908]

YUP! Jags baby!!

I'm so glad.. I went to Southern U...da dun da dun da dun da.. I'm so glad.. I went to Southern U...:D


On a more serious note...
I also was accepted to and offered scholarships to several PWI but decided to attend an HBCU. Both my parents are products of HBCUs so I figured if it was good enough for them, why not me? They're both successful and highly respected in their professions. I would not trade my HBCU education or my experiences during my matriculation there for anything, they ultimately made me the woman I am today. I can not say that I would have turned out the same had I chosen to go to a PWI. And contrary to popular belief I was able to find a job soon after graduating!

[ladygreek]

Okay I'm having flashbacks. The Howard University Inn, Dr. Merritt was the Dean of the School of C (as we called it then). Take me back to the early
90s. LOL.
I was talking about Janette Dates. Maybe she was the assistant dean and not interim at the time. But I do know at some point she became interim and is now the dean of the School of C.

My daughter started off in journalism, but the School added advertising her sophomore year, so that is what she majored in.

[AKADIVA12]

I was talking about Janette Dates. Maybe she was the assistant dean and not interim at the time. But I do know at some point she became interim and is now the dean of the School of C.

My daughter started off in journalism, but the School added advertising her sophomore year, so that is what she majored in.

Okay, I didn't read thuroughly because I neglected to see interim. Dr. Merritt was/is a delta and was the dean when I was there. Dang I've aged myself even more. Oh well.

[ladygreek]

Okay, I didn't read thuroughly because I neglected to see interim. Dr. Merritt was/is a delta and was the dean when I was there. Dang I've aged myself even more. Oh well.
No same time period. Like I said Dr. Dates was probably the assistant dean at the time. She is who helped us.

[AKA_Monet]

About 20 of them, according to the article, plus another 12 or 15 small colleges. My original post was responding to a specific statement about the Ivy Leagues that was incorrect. The Ivy League school with the lowest black graduation rate is Cornell at 83%. This is better than the HBCU with the highest graduation rate. Even if you believe that Harvard is handing out degrees in "underwater basketweaving" to all comers, do you believe that about Caltech, MIT, Rice, and Notre Dame, all of which have higher black graduation rates than any HBCU?

Most Ivy Leagues are universities with secondary degrees. They are calculating these numbers from the graduate school education. Most grad schools only admit those students they plan to graduate, period... It does not look good if they flunk students out in grad school. No where in the report I read indicated they only have Undergraduate numbers. So the comparion to HBCU vs. Ivy Leage numbers is unfair, even if we are talking the HBCU that have graduate programs. There are now ~10 schools: Howard, Meharry, Morehouse Med, Atlanta U., FAMU, Bethune-Cookman :eek: :D and I think Virginia Union. There are a few others, but I don't remember off hand. Spelman, since I graduated there and donate all my Alumnae money to, does not have a graduate school...

My point is this. HBCUs are the best choice for many students for a long list of reasons, many of which satisfied alumni have already pointed out on this thread. But high graduation rates are not on the list. The majority of students at the HBCUs with the highest graduation rates (such as Spelman, Morehouse, Howard, Fisk, and Hampton could go to top-20 PWIs like Harvard if they wanted to, so it really doesn't matter to them that the black graduation rate at fourth-tier PWIs is pitiful. The students we're talking about are choosing between HBCUs and the Ivy League et al., and the Ivy Leagues are doing a very good job of graduating their black students. That doesn't mean it's wrong to choose an HBCU over an Ivy -- it just means that it's wrong to suggest that "piss poor" black graduation rates at the Ivies ought to be a factor in the decision.

But based on the total population that the Ivies have and graduation rates they claim in this report do not correlate with the numbers I have read or calculated. Yes, 8 out of 10 are graduating--but out a population of 100 where half drop out? That is an unfair correlation. This was a prospective study, after data was calculated and it was a cross-sectional. A snapshot is showing a pretty picture. But when you make the comparison to non-Af Am students, it is a poorer prognosis for self-ID'ed AfAm students.



The NCAA is required to collect and report the data according to guidelines set by the Department of Education. That's why the data can be considered both NCAA and DoE statistics.

http://www.psu.edu/ur/archives/intercom_1998/Nov19/gradrate.html (scroll to the bottom of the page)

Do you have any reason to doubt that the NCAA information is accurate? I trust that the folks at JBHE know what they're talking about.

These rates are almost 10 years old. How are they significant today? Then they were developed by a nonHBCU school. Yet, still it is used as a marketing tool against HBCU's even if it is subliminal. "We have better graduation rates if you attend here vs. Spelman..." "Blah Blah Blah..."

And people buy into this "excellent education" at a quasi Ivy League school to make a misconceived quota one must fulfill. Well, with marketing and targeting like this without full examination of the data by professionals--and yes, I am one of them, to query significant questions, you dayum right I am not trusting anything these folks say at first glance. Also, I have young people coming to my office constantly crying as to the isolation they feel while attending these schools. No, I don't do these kind of formal research projects, I do more biomedical ones, but I still educate students and am forced to do Black College Professor teaching on these same students that I know still exists in the classrooms at HBCU's...

So, when I recommend schools to high school folks, I ask them, do you want to stay home, or do you want to go away?

[Sugar08]

I was talking about Janette Dates. Maybe she was the assistant dean and not interim at the time. But I do know at some point she became interim and is now the dean of the School of C.

My daughter started off in journalism, but the School added advertising her sophomore year, so that is what she majored in.

Wow, Dean Dates! I was a journalism major at Howard... although I have friends who were in advertising.

[Ceekit]

My undergraduate experience was spent at University of Maryland (Go Terps!!) eventhough it was not my first choice. I thought that I was going to be attending Bowie State University because they were going to give me money for playing basketball. Well, they somehow ran out of money and I didn't see paying to play for them when I could get free tuition at the school that my mom worked at. It didn't matter to me which school I went to, as long as they had my major. However I did attend Bowie for grad school. I did see big difference in the administration and the attitude from the instructors between the schools but I don't know if I was just stereotyping or if it was fact.

[Ceekit]

Most Ivy Leagues are universities with secondary degrees. They are calculating these numbers from the graduate school education. Most grad schools only admit those students they plan to graduate, period... It does not look good if they flunk students out in grad school. No where in the report I read indicated they only have Undergraduate numbers. So the comparion to HBCU vs. Ivy Leage numbers is unfair, even if we are talking the HBCU that have graduate programs. There are now ~10 schools: Howard, Meharry, Morehouse Med, Atlanta U., FAMU, Bethune-Cookman :eek: :D and I think Virginia Union. There are a few others, but I don't remember off hand. Spelman, since I graduated there and donate all my Alumnae money to, does not have a graduate school...



But based on the total population that the Ivies have and graduation rates they claim in this report do not correlate with the numbers I have read or calculated. Yes, 8 out of 10 are graduating--but out a population of 100 where half drop out? That is an unfair correlation. This was a prospective study, after data was calculated and it was a cross-sectional. A snapshot is showing a pretty picture. But when you make the comparison to non-Af Am students, it is a poorer prognosis for self-ID'ed AfAm students.





These rates are almost 10 years old. How are they significant today? Then they were developed by a nonHBCU school. Yet, still it is used as a marketing tool against HBCU's even if it is subliminal. "We have better graduation rates if you attend here vs. Spelman..." "Blah Blah Blah..."

And people buy into this "excellent education" at a quasi Ivy League school to make a misconceived quota one must fulfill. Well, with marketing and targeting like this without full examination of the data by professionals--and yes, I am one of them, to query significant questions, you dayum right I am not trusting anything these folks say at first glance. Also, I have young people coming to my office constantly crying as to the isolation they feel while attending these schools. No, I don't do these kind of formal research projects, I do more biomedical ones, but I still educate students and am forced to do Black College Professor teaching on these same students that I know still exists in the classrooms at HBCU's...

So, when I recommend schools to high school folks, I ask them, do you want to stay home, or do you want to go away?

North Carolina A&T has a graduate school too.

[Ceekit]

I remember two things that bothered my while I was at Bowie. I have one professor tell me that when we take breaks, you should take your stuff with you because people will steal your stuff, and another professor told us that the bookstore prices were high because students were stealing books.

[ladygreek]

I remember two things that bothered my while I was at Bowie. I have one professor tell me that when we take breaks, you should take your stuff with you because people will steal your stuff, and another professor told us that the bookstore prices were high because students were stealing books.Those professors told you the truth. Why did it bother you? It was the same at my PWI.

[Ceekit]

Those professors told you the truth. Why did it bother you? It was the same at my PWI.

I never had that experience at UMCP and I figured that they were making it up. The books were significantly marked up. And I never took my book with me when I went to the bathroom.

[Lyoness]

My mom sent me this. It's 2007 and don't forget to read the comment at the bottom. Same thing was going on at IU in 1999 when I almost went.

http://thepost.baker.ohiou.edu/articles/2007/06/07/news/20405.html

[IvySpice]

Most Ivy Leagues are universities with secondary degrees. They are calculating these numbers from the graduate school education.

No, they are not. These are undergraduate numbers, not aggregated across the graduate schools. The link explicitly states that it refers to completion of four-year college degrees:

http://www.jbhe.com/preview/winter07preview.html

Even if you believe that the JBHE is, for some mysterious reason, secretly including graduate school data for the Ivy Leagues, that would not explain why PWIs such as Amherst, Wellesley, Williams, Smith, Hamilton, and Swarthmore, all of which have no graduate programs, all have (much) higher black student graduation rates than the highest-peforming HBCU. Amherst is almost identical to Harvard on this measure.

But based on the total population that the Ivies have and graduation rates they claim in this report do not correlate with the numbers I have read or calculated.

OK, why don't you share the numbers you have read or calculated? What's your source?

Yes, 8 out of 10 are graduating--but out a population of 100 where half drop out? That is an unfair correlation.

What do you mean? This is the number of entering freshman who receive a bachelor's degree within 6 years. If you drop out, then you're counted as not graduating. How is that an "unfair correlation"?

But when you make the comparison to non-Af Am students, it is a poorer prognosis for self-ID'ed AfAm students.

JBHE addresses that issue in the article: it ranks PWIs not only by the black graduation rate, but by the differential between white and black graduation rates. Some PWIs, like Cornell, don't do as well on this measure, but 20 PWIs have a differential of 5 points or less. Mt Holyoke actually graduates its black students at a higher rate than its white students.

http://www.jbhe.com/features/50_blackstudent_gradrates.html

These rates are almost 10 years old. How are they significant today?

No, the JBHE data is from 2005. I cited the PSU page solely to support my point that the NCAA and DOE data are one and the same.

you dayum right I am not trusting anything these folks say at first glance.

OK, then let's keep taking glances. Why is the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education "these folks" and therefore untrustworthy? What do you think their agenda is?

I have young people coming to my office constantly crying as to the isolation they feel while attending these schools.

That's a great reason for those students to attend HBCUs. There are many great reasons. But higher black graduation rates compared to PWIs is not one of them.

[Ten/Four]

No same time period. Like I said Dr. Dates was probably the assistant dean at the time. She is who helped us.

They are both still there, and both are great.

Ladygreek, you are just like my mom. I didn't have any problems with moving in and registration, but with getting one of my grades posted after my first semester. I tried being an adult with the professor, but she took her sweet time posting my grade. This went on for a few weeks into the spring semester. I gave up and finally let my mom handle it. They gave my mom the round around to but she called had Swygert's office directly. That grade was posted within a few days. Come to find out there was a clitch in the computer system (it had just gone online). We left about it now, but I was mad as heck at the time.

There are now ~10 schools: Howard, Meharry, Morehouse Med, Atlanta U., FAMU, Bethune-Cookman :eek: :D and I think Virginia Union. That's old school.:rolleyes:

[Wonderful1908]

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

PVAMU

I try to give my SWAC schools love but this is disgusting!

[DSTCHAOS]

My mom sent me this. It's 2007 and don't forget to read the comment at the bottom. Same thing was going on at IU in 1999 when I almost went.

http://thepost.baker.ohiou.edu/articles/2007/06/07/news/20405.html

I hope these types of relatively rare events aren't why you really went to an HBCU. :rolleyes:

[KAPital PHINUst]

I hope these types of relatively rare events aren't why you really went to an HBCU. :rolleyes:

Co-sign.

One of the few times I agree with Chaos' posts.

[Eclipse]

re: graduation rates of HBCUs vs PWIs...

I know one of the biggest problems at my alma mater when I was a student and now is the cost. Spelman has one of the largest (if not the largest, I can't rmember) endowments of HBCUs, but when you compare it to a school like Emory Univeristy which is in the same city, it is peanuts. As a result, Spelman can't compete with the Emorys and Smiths of the world when it comes to scholarship dollars for deserving students. Those students either beg, borrow and..well, not steal ;) to pay for their freshman year, but then don't have the funds to pay for sophomore year, so they 'drop out' and impact graduation rates. My friends that did not graduate from Spelman, for the most part, did not do so because of the lack of education or their inability to master the classes, but many of them did not because they simply could not afford it. Many went on to graduate from state schools in their homestate.

I hope everyone on this list that is proudly proclaiming their love for their alma mater (especially those that went to HBCUs) are giving something to the school so currents students won't have to say "I would love to go to/stay at Spelman/Howard/Clark/Hampton, etc, but I can't afford to, so I will go to XX School that will give me money. Even $5 means that the % of alumni giving is increased and many major foundations look at that to determine if they will give. For those of us who have fond or not so fond memories of countless hours of standing in lines at registration, give a bit more so the school can upgrade the computers. LOL

[DSTCHAOS]

One of the few times I agree with Chaos' posts.

Aren't I supposed to be on ignore or something?

[KAPital PHINUst]

Aren't I supposed to be on ignore or something?

When you start acting like a Kazodian, you go on ignore. Otherwise, I read you posts like everyone else's.

[DSTCHAOS]

When you start acting like a Kazodian

Interesting, seeing as though I went back and forth with you long before I knew what a KAZO was. :rolleyes:

[KAPital PHINUst]

Interesting, seeing as though I went back and forth with you long before I knew what a KAZO was. :rolleyes:

And have gotten a lot worse as a result of Kazo; evidently birds of a feather flock together (:rolleyes:).

Yes GC, she's crazy about me. There must be something about that Crimson and Cream love :D

(now back to our regularly scheduled thread).

[Low C Sharp]

I know one of the biggest problems at my alma mater when I was a student and now is the cost. Spelman has one of the largest (if not the largest, I can't rmember) endowments of HBCUs, but when you compare it to a school like Emory Univeristy which is in the same city, it is peanuts. As a result, Spelman can't compete with the Emorys and Smiths of the world when it comes to scholarship dollars

Yes, this is a central part of the issue, and your whole post is very wise. Talking about this disparity doesn't have to be read as an attack on anyone's alma mater; it's a call to help the schools you love to do even more for their students. Meeting the financial needs of current undergrads should be the number one fundraising priority for alumni of any school. (As far as I know, Princeton is the only university in the world that meets 100% of its undergrads' financial need solely through endowment funds; every other school relies on donations for some (or all) of its scholarship program.)
________
Paxil attorneys (http://www.classactionsettlements.org/lawsuit/paxil/)

[KAPital PHINUst]

Yes, this is a central part of the issue, and your whole post is very wise. Talking about this disparity doesn't have to be read as an attack on anyone's alma mater; it's a call to help the schools you love to do even more for their students. Meeting the financial needs of current undergrads should be the number one fundraising priority for alumni of any school. (As far as I know, Princeton is the only university in the world that meets 100% of its undergrads' financial need solely through endowment funds; every other school relies on donations for some (or all) of its scholarship program.)

Very much on point, and one of the reasons why I left an HBCU; I was pulling top grades out the gate and I wasn't getting no money. I wasn't going to continue to pay my way through school and excel under those conditions.

btw, true story; I applied for a Central State University scholarship through the Columbus Urban League while attending a community college. I even asked before I applied if I could apply under those conditions (as opposed to being a high school student), and they said yes. Later on my application was denied because, you guessed it, I wasn't a soon-to-be high school grad. I wanted to slap somebody so bad for wasting my time. If the Urban League was paying my tuition I would've stuck it out at CSU for at least a full school year. O well, it's their loss.

[DSTCHAOS]

And have gotten a lot worse as a result of Kazo; evidently birds of a feather flock together (:rolleyes:).

Bless your dumb heart for your attempts at familiarity.

Yes GC, she's crazy about me. There must be something about that Crimson and Cream love :D

(now back to our regularly scheduled thread).

Next time, either agree and save the side comments or don't agree at all.

[KAPital PHINUst]

Next time, either agree and save the side comments or don't agree at all.

Is that an order?

*gives wink, throws the yo, and makes phone gesture, mouthing the words, "I'll call you" :p :D

[DSTCHAOS]

Is that an order?

Yes.

[KAPital PHINUst]

Yes.

*eyes Chaos' full bird colonel insignia on her collar she got from an army surplus store for $4.99 along with with her fruit salad decorated Delta tunic that would put Idi Amin to shame*

Ohhhhhh....gotcha ;)


(ok, I'm done for real now...carry on everyone)

[pinkies up]

I went to both HBCU's and "PWI" as an undergrad and the major difference was the amount of people in HBCU's who had been there FOREVER and were holding about 15 positions. These people were also holding the university back and thus causing students to transfer to more aggressive universities. There is a difference in HBCU's as well. There are two major rivals here in Mississippi and one is on the cutting edge of being a major force to recon with. The other one is located in a sparse area where the resources aren't available to move the college ahead. Many people have argued that the alums have to do their part;however, I feel that HBCU's have been neglected prior to the Ayers Case, and have to fight extra hard to be where Ole Miss and MSU were 20 years ago. HBCU's turn out many graduates who have received QUALITY education. Just because one goes to an HBCU doesn't mean they couldn't get into Harvard or another "PWI". Believe me, they had several choices.

[KAPital PHINUst]

I went to both HBCU's and "PWI" as an undergrad and the major difference was the amount of people in HBCU's who had been there FOREVER and were holding about 15 positions. These people were also holding the university back and thus causing students to transfer to more aggressive universities. There is a difference in HBCU's as well. There are two major rivals here in Mississippi and one is on the cutting edge of being a major force to recon with. The other one is located in a sparse area where the resources aren't available to move the college ahead. Many people have argued that the alums have to do their part;however, I feel that HBCU's have been neglected prior to the Ayers Case, and have to fight extra hard to be where Ole Miss and MSU were 20 years ago. HBCU's turn out many graduates who have received QUALITY education. Just because one goes to an HBCU doesn't mean they couldn't get into Harvard or another "PWI". Believe me, they had several choices.

I believe the key element in all this is to find a QUALITY HBCU. All HBCUs are not created equal and we are doing ourselves a disservice to give someone credence just because they attended an HBCU regardless of the educational quality. I attended what was at that time a piss poor HBCU, but it didn't sour my perception of HBCUs as a whole. I do believe there is a certain unique educational experience you can get at an HBCU, but you must attend a good one to make it fully count.

[DSTCHAOS]

Ohhhhhh....gotcha ;)

Good.

[KAPital PHINUst]

I just got back from the 100 Black Women 2007 Presidents Luncheon (my office bought a table) where the guest speaker was Dillard University president Marvalene Hughes. She gave a great speech on how her tenure as president began one month before Hurricane Katrina and how she managed to perservere and bring back a damaged campus (and dampened school spirit) better than before.

The slide show presentation she presented was very very good. All in all, good speech, good meal, awesome time.

[AKA_Monet]

Coming from an HBCU-attendee family, where my grandfather graduated from Knoxville and became the president of Bethune-Cookman, my parents graduated Fisk, my father graduated Meharry, several cousins graduated FAMU, my in laws graduated from Morehouse and Morris Brown; and I graduated from Spelman, that maybe I actually do know a thing or 2 about collegiate and university funding and education.

It takes a lot to educate people. There are several societal reasons for that, such as slaves not being allowed to read, why? The key to Spelman's education was to teach former children of slaves how to read the Bible and write their families in the North. It is my understanding that Spelman had a "paper bag" test as to who had lighter-skinned features than other darker-skinned individuals. In fact there are reasons why Spelman is named Spelman rather than Rockafeller, since he funded the school.

So, when we think what it takes to fund HBCU's outside of the UNCF, then it has been extremely tough. Yet, we still educated some the most prolific people in history:

Dr. Martin Luther King and the entire King Family
Thurgood Marshall
Mae Jemison - spent some time at an HBCU, 1st Black Female Astronaut
7 affliates of the D9 whose founders attended these schools

So when one belittles and stereotypes an HBCU and does not attempt improvement backed up with money has very little respect in my eyes.

And yes, my husband and I donate large sums to our respective HBCU's...

[ladygreek]

^^^^The best decision my daughter and I made was to send her to an HBCU. When she came home for Christmas break her first year, the change in her was dramatic. She was more self-confident and full of energy for her future after just a few months.

Don't get me wrong--she was a HNIC her PW high school here in MN., but going to Howard and finding out that everyone there were HNICs humbled her and boosted her at the same time.

There is something to be said about walking the halls of a school and seeing historical pictures of accomplished Blacks on the wall, and to walk into a classroom and your prof looks like you. Not to mention the scores of Black students all striving to achieve greatness.

After growing up in Minnesota it was exactly what she needed. It also changed the mind of my mother who would not let me go to a HBCU, because she thought they were inferior.

*sidenote* My step grandmother told me the story of not being accepted to Howard, because she did not pass the brown paper bag test. :(

[christiangirl]

When she came home for Christmas break her first year, the change in her was dramatic.

When my mom came down to surprise me at Thanksgiving, she told me how much I'd changed, too. I was, not ghetto....GHET. TO. Two words. :rolleyes:

[AKA_Monet]

^^^^The best decision my daughter and I made was to send her to an HBCU. When she came home for Christmas break her first year, the change in her was dramatic. She was more self-confident and full of energy for her future after just a few months.

There is something to be said about walking the halls of a school and seeing historical pictures of accomplished Blacks on the wall, and to walk into a classroom and your prof looks like you. Not to mention the scores of Black students all striving to achieve greatness.

Well, if you have EVA gotten caught by one of your professors after skipping his or her class... :rolleyes: ;)

Really, it doesn't suprise me. I am glad you and your daughter were happy with the outcome. It is good to hear such things.

After growing up in Minnesota it was exactly what she needed. It also changed the mind of my mother who would not let me go to a HBCU, because she thought they were inferior.

*sidenote* My step grandmother told me the story of not being accepted to Howard, because she did not pass the brown paper bag test. :(

How come your mother thought these schools were inferior? Just asking. I really like to know what goes through people's mind when they say such things...

In fact my aunt and uncle were like that, but when my mom came to live with them, she stayed 2 years at a Junior College, then they sent her down to Fisk, where she inevitably pledged the Pi chapter, and met and married my dad... :)

And I did hear of Paper bag tests at Fisk, Spelman and Howard... It all changed in the late 60's, early 70's.

[WenD08]

it's so sad that so many Blacks felt/feel that way about HBCUs. my mother wanted so badly to go to Howard but her father was completely against it. as a result, she supported my brother (a FAMU alum) and i as we applied only to HBCUs. in a way, she got to live through us and went every year to parents' weekend.
if people would only do their research and see that our schools prepare us for life just as PWIs. we need to stop downing what is ours, it's really hurting us:mad::(

[DSTCHAOS]

My parents, brother, and aunts and uncles went to HBCUs.

That doesn't make me feel passionate about HBCUs or lead me to overlook the changes in the caliber of administration and students that even alum from some HBCUs criticize.

If I have a child who wants to attend one, I'd have to see what the particular school is about just as I would for PWIs. It will definitely have to offer more than just being an HBCU, which is enough for some people. I feel that HBCUs have a lot to offer but some of them need to tighten up the academic experience as much as they tighten up their cultural/social experience. If that doesn't apply to any of your HBCUs, don't attach the comment to your ass. ;)

[Eclipse]

It is my understanding that Spelman had a "paper bag" test as to who had lighter-skinned features than other darker-skinned individuals. In fact there are reasons why Spelman is named Spelman rather than Rockafeller, since he funded the school.



Where did you "hear" that Spelman did the "paper bag" test? Based on early photographers of the first graduating class (before it was even "Spelman") there were women of all hues represented (you should be familiar with the picture I am speaking of) I have also seen other pictures from the late 1800s until now and there certainly is not evidence that this was the case. AS a matter of fact, the first African students arived at Spelman in before the turn of the century. Most sub Saharan African would not be able to pass a paper bag test

And what is the reason that Spelman was named Spelman versus Rockefeller? It seems that you tie this to the 'paper bag' test. I am only aware of his desiire to honor his wife and her family after he saw that Sophia Packard and Harriet Giles would "stick" with their mission to educate newly freed slaves in the south. If you have more information, please share!

[DSTCHAOS]

Where did you "hear" that Spelman did the "paper bag" test? Based on early photographers of the first graduating class (before it was even "Spelman") there were women of all hues represented (you should be familiar with the picture I am speaking of) I have also seen other pictures from the late 1800s until now and there certainly is not evidence that this was the case. AS a matter of fact, the first African students arived at Spelman in before the turn of the century. Most sub Saharan African would not be able to pass a paper bag test

And what is the reason that Spelman was named Spelman versus Rockefeller? It seems that you tie this to the 'paper bag' test. I am only aware of his desiire to honor his wife and her family after he saw that Sophia Packard and Harriet Giles would "stick" with their mission to educate newly freed slaves in the south. If you have more information, please share!

I don't know if there was or wasn't one, but to put it in perspective:

Early photos of the "black elite" and of some sororities showed that there were darker hued people as members. But the proportion of darker hued to lighter hued is what the accusation of colorism and intraracial discrimination is based on. So a paper bag test (either literal or figurative) doesn't prevent some darker hued people from getting in and even being photographed.

[Animate]

Interesting. I was having a similar conversation with a friend of mine the other day and lets just say she made me want to punch a whole in the wall. Other than the fact that she couldn't stick to one thing and was jumping all over the place (extremely frustrating), she never had a solid point. She was essentially expecting HBCUs to do things that PWI do with, say a million dollar budget, with one hundred thousand dollars.

[Phrozen1ne]

Well I believe the stereotyping also comes into play when there becomes a pattern of HBCU's not being on their job ( financial aid packets, housing, etc.) I say this do to my experience and those of friends and family members. I started off at a PWI because my mother wasn't trying to send to an HBCU although HBCU's were my first choice. She stated that the world isn't made of just African Americans and that I needed to go to a school that had a diverse student body and that provide "better opportunities :rolleyes:". So I started off at a PWI and eventually got my mom let transfer to a HBCU.

I applied to FAMU and got accepted ( after repeating checking with school when huge amounts of time had passed), got my room assignment, plane ticket to Tallahassee..... A week before I was set to leave something told me to just double check everything and when I called the Financial Aid office I found out that my financial aid have been jacked up and they weren't cooperative with trying to assist me. The funny thing is I have frat that this has happen to also and he had to transfer schools. I ended up back at a PWI (Southern Illinois University in Carbondale after my mom went off on FAMU Chicago style "westside") and obtained my degree there. After that ordeal, during my second semester at SIUC I received a call from FAMU saying they had straighten out my finanical aid and it was a mistake on their part. They stated that if I still wanted to attend the their university I would be able to and I am thinking:eek:.

My point is that I have been on both sides of the fence and I would entertain the opportunity to do my grad program at an HBCU, but as stated in previous post all HBCU's aren't the best, just as all PWI's aren't either. I just dislike seeing HBCU's not on top of their game in every way possible. These schools should mean alot to our community, but they sometimes get tarnished by negative things or people involved at the institution (Morris Brown). As a result parents don't want to send their child and hard earned money to an institution that isn't going to provide the basics.

Now before anyone says these things happen at PWI's too; that may be true, but I can say from my experience it doesn't occur as often. When it does occur it is usually taken care of in a timely manner. Investing in HBCU's is a great start, but there is a need for checks and balances with regard to the people who run the institutions. With all that being said, I still want to pursue grad studies at a HBCU. Not going to let one bad experience change my view!!:D

[ladygreek]

My parents, brother, and aunts and uncles went to HBCUs.

That doesn't make me feel passionate about HBCUs or lead me to overlook the changes in the caliber of administration and students that even alum from some HBCUs criticize.

If I have a child who wants to attend one, I'd have to see what the particular school is about just as I would for PWIs. It will definitely have to offer more than just being an HBCU, which is enough for some people. I feel that HBCUs have a lot to offer but some of them need to tighten up the academic experience as much as they tighten up their cultural/social experience. If that doesn't apply to any of your HBCUs, don't attach the comment to your ass. ;)

I agree totally, which is why we did serious research before we settled on Howard and a few others. After visiting HU, my daught decided only to apply there (which caused me a few stressful moments, I mean only applying to one school.) LOL

[AKA_Monet]

Where did you "hear" that Spelman did the "paper bag" test? Based on early photographers of the first graduating class (before it was even "Spelman") there were women of all hues represented (you should be familiar with the picture I am speaking of) I have also seen other pictures from the late 1800s until now and there certainly is not evidence that this was the case. AS a matter of fact, the first African students arived at Spelman in before the turn of the century. Most sub Saharan African would not be able to pass a paper bag test

And what is the reason that Spelman was named Spelman versus Rockefeller? It seems that you tie this to the 'paper bag' test. I am only aware of his desiire to honor his wife and her family after he saw that Sophia Packard and Harriet Giles would "stick" with their mission to educate newly freed slaves in the south. If you have more information, please share!

I only "heard" of this activity, I did not say it was true. It was a well known fact that Spelman requested "pictures" on their applicants, because I had to submit one in 1986 :eek: Whether that made a different of my acceptance to the school or not, I will never know. Or the fact that I was admitted to UC Berkeley and chose not to attend because I wanted to attend Spelman, who knows?

The Spelman name... Well, let's just say I had Ms. Gebre-Hewitt for English... And she gave us this assignment to determine why Spelman College was named that way. And if you wanted a grade above an F-, you would be one to figure out E-X-A-C-T-L-Y what it was with references. So, somehow, I actually managed to get into Club Woodruff's Special Collections... And I found some books and programmes stating the reason:

Spelman was named as such for Laura Spelman Rockafeller, John D. Rockafeller's wife. John D. Rockafeller provided financial to Harriett Giles and Sofia B. Packard to educate former slaves and children of slaves how to read the Bible and write to their families in the North.

But why honor his wife? My findings in Special Collections:

John D. Rockafeller and his wife, chose to have her family's name, because the Spelman's provided a safehouse for the underground railroad before and during the Civil War.

Yeah, I could have written the paragraph better :rolleyes:, and, what would be my reasons to be an idiot about what I know regarding Spelman College and most HBCU's giving my history here on GC?

[ladygreek]

I only "heard" of this activity, I did not say it was true. It was a well known fact that Spelman requested "pictures" on their applicants, because I had to submit one in 1986 :eek: Whether that made a different of my acceptance to the school or not, I will never know. Or the fact that I was admitted to UC Berkeley and chose not to attend because I wanted to attend Spelman, who knows?

The Spelman name... Well, let's just say I had Ms. Gebre-Hewitt for English... And she gave us this assignment to determine why Spelman College was named that way. And if you wanted a grade above an F-, you would be one to figure out E-X-A-C-T-L-Y what it was with references. So, somehow, I actually managed to get into Club Woodruff's Special Collections... And I found some books and programmes stating the reason:



But why honor his wife? My findings in Special Collections:



Yeah, I could have written the paragraph better :rolleyes:, and, what would be my reasons to be an idiot about what I know regarding Spelman College and most HBCU's giving my history here on GC?
I hear ya. Also the brown paper bag test came into play if your family was not already of a certain "pedigree." That would explain the different hues.

[ladygreek]

I ended up back at a PWI (Southern Illinois University in Carbondale after my mom went off on FAMU Chicago style "westside") and obtained my degree there.
Go Salukis! I am a charter member of the Delta chapter there. Interesting fact. When I attended SIUC, there were over 3,000 Black students there. We functioned like a mini-HBCU within a major PWI. They were kind of scared of us. LOL

[AKA_Monet]

My point is that I have been on both sides of the fence and I would entertain the opportunity to do my grad program at an HBCU, but as stated in previous post all HBCU's aren't the best, just as all PWI's aren't either. I just dislike seeing HBCU's not on top of their game in every way possible. These schools should mean alot to our community, but they sometimes get tarnished by negative things or people involved at the institution (Morris Brown). As a result parents don't want to send their child and hard earned money to an institution that isn't going to provide the basics.

I agree with your statements. I will not excuse Spelman admin for what it did to me personally, but there is a time to let it go and forgive. Reality, most people that work there, have ONLY lived in that area for their entire life and that is the only world they really understand. At PWI's, most of their admin workforce comes from all over the world, literally. So the top down business design is totally different than HBCU's. Because, a HBCU is not getting a whole bunch of well-too-do students, with well-to-do parents--maybe the occassional celebrity or their children... Really, what celebrity has sent their child to Jarvis Christian, Florida Memorial, or Clafin? Really?

Whereas, most PWI's have STRONG student, parental and alumni support... STRONG just for the football games alone--totally SEC vs. ACC in 2007-2008. The Bayou Classic barely broke even--from what I "heard" ;)

Now before anyone says these things happen at PWI's too; that may be true, but I can say from my experience it doesn't occur as often. When it does occur it is usually taken care of in a timely manner. Investing in HBCU's is a great start, but there is a need for checks and balances with regard to the people who run the institutions. With all that being said, I still want to pursue grad studies at a HBCU. Not going to let one bad experience change my view!!:D

I only have several friends that suffered the financial aid drama, but most folks who "master" the art of "finagling 101" at these schools, feel empowered by it. Finagling101 is not fun while one suffers, but this is how HBCU's--literally formed after Emancipation think is the BEST education for BLACK PEOPLE.

I did learn what kind of education I could garner from Spelman even though there was a complete lack of resources.

[Phrozen1ne]

I only "heard" of this activity, I did not say it was true. It was a well known fact that Spelman requested "pictures" on their applicants, because I had to submit one in 1986 :eek: Whether that made a different of my acceptance to the school or not, I will never know. Or the fact that I was admitted to UC Berkeley and chose not to attend because I wanted to attend Spelman, who knows?

The Spelman name... Well, let's just say I had Ms. Gebre-Hewitt for English... And she gave us this assignment to determine why Spelman College was named that way. And if you wanted a grade above an F-, you would be one to figure out E-X-A-C-T-L-Y what it was with references. So, somehow, I actually managed to get into Club Woodruff's Special Collections... And I found some books and programmes stating the reason:



But why honor his wife? My findings in Special Collections:



Yeah, I could have written the paragraph better :rolleyes:, and, what would be my reasons to be an idiot about what I know regarding Spelman College and most HBCU's giving my history here on GC?
When my sister applied to Clark Atlanta in 2004, she asked me why they would want a picture of her, to which I said maybe they wanted to know what you looked like.... The thought did cross my mind that maybe they were admitting people based on looks. A brother told me once that Bennett College, where his sister attended in the 80's or 90's did the same thing.

[Still BLUTANG]

Don't get me wrong--she was a HNIC her PW high school here in MN., but going to Howard and finding out that everyone there were HNICs humbled her and boosted her at the same time.


thank you for stating this! That is one of the experiences I try to convey to people who are stuck in the mindset that HBCUs are for students who couldn't get in anywhere else.

[Phrozen1ne]

Go Salukis! I am a charter member of the Delta chapter there. Interesting fact. When I attended SIUC, there were over 3,000 Black students there. We functioned like a mini-HBCU within a major PWI. They were kind of scared of us. LOL

What's going on fellow Saluki and hats off to you as a charter member!:DThose are women about business down there. We collaborated together for National Aids Awareness week to bring your Soror Rae Lewis Thornton (phenomenal) down to speak, when I was vice pres of the Black Student Union or what is now the Black Affairs Council. You know I had no idea what a saluki was when I first got there. Your right we still think of ourselves as a little HBCU within a PWI and we still have weight on the campus. Enough that we can bring quality programs for AA students to Carbondale. They still scared of us:D, but what we are doing now can't compare to what your generation did when you were there, I seen the pictures, you guys on BUSINESS big time.:cool: Ladygreek are you coming down for black alumni weekend in July??

[Phrozen1ne]

Does anyone know if Morris Brown College is still functioning? I heard they are, but just that enrollment is low. I wonder how long it will take for the school to be restored to its former glory?

[Eclipse]

I don't know if there was or wasn't one,
.

That is exactly my point. I don't either.

[Eclipse]

I only "heard" of this activity, I did not say it was true. It was a well known fact that Spelman requested "pictures" on their applicants, because I had to submit one in 1986 :eek: Whether that made a different of my acceptance to the school or not, I will never know. Or the fact that I was admitted to UC Berkeley and chose not to attend because I wanted to attend Spelman, who knows? ?

I've "heard" it too, usually from folks who either did not get accepted or had some chip on their shoulders regarding our fine alma mater. I honestly don't recall submitting a photo in 1984 when I applied. *shrug* What is the point of recounting something like that when there is really no evidence that it happened? I am sure our Spelman Sister Esther Rolle would have an issue with that.

The Spelman name... Well, let's just say I had Ms. Gebre-Hewitt for English... And she gave us this assignment to determine why Spelman College was named that way. And if you wanted a grade above an F-, you would be one to figure out E-X-A-C-T-L-Y what it was with references. So, somehow, I actually managed to get into Club Woodruff's Special Collections... And I found some books and programmes stating the reason:



But why honor his wife? My findings in Special Collections:



Yeah, I could have written the paragraph better :rolleyes:, and, what would be my reasons to be an idiot about what I know regarding Spelman College and most HBCU's giving my history here on GC?

Yeah, I had Gebre-Hewitt too. The memories....
That is not some obsure fact though. Most Spelmanites should know that part of the Spelman History. I thought you were connecting it to the "paper bag" test and going to repeat another unsubstainated story that I "heard" about how Spelman came to be. I certainly won't repeat it here.


I think we all know that paper bag tests have happened in the past. There is a historic church in Savannah (the name escapes me right now) that had a board next to the door and potential worshippers had to compare their arm to the board to see if they were light enough to come in. I remember visiting that church as a child and being dismayed that I would not have been able to attend that church. It is important to remember from wense we came, but why pass along things that might not be true?

[DSTCHAOS]

I agree totally, which is why we did serious research before we settled on Howard and a few others. After visiting HU, my daught decided only to apply there (which caused me a few stressful moments, I mean only applying to one school.) LOL

She put her faith into HU and got what she wanted. I know people who applied for a faculty position at one university and got it. I, however, need Plan Bs. :o:D

I hear ya. Also the brown paper bag test came into play if your family was not already of a certain "pedigree." That would explain the different hues.

Very true. I forgot about that.

[DSTCHAOS]

That is exactly my point. I don't either.

It looked like your point was that having darker hued blacks present meant there wasn't a paper bag test.

[DSTCHAOS]

When my sister applied to Clark Atlanta in 2004, she asked me why they would want a picture of her, to which I said maybe they wanted to know what you looked like.... The thought did cross my mind that maybe they were admitting people based on looks. A brother told me once that Bennett College, where his sister attended in the 80's or 90's did the same thing.

Quite a few schools (both PWI and HBCU) ask for photos. This allows them to judge you based on your looks and whether they think you'd "fit in" with the campus climate.

There's no other logical explanation for it.

[DSTCHAOS]

Does anyone know if Morris Brown College is still functioning? I heard they are, but just that enrollment is low. I wonder how long it will take for the school to be restored to its former glory?

What was its former glory?

[12dn94dst]

<hijack>
I think requesting a photo is more of a precaution if something happens. The school will have a recent photo of you on file to give to authorities.
</hijack>

[DSTCHAOS]

<hijack>
I think requesting a photo is more of a precaution if something happens. The school will have a recent photo of you on file to give to authorities.
</hijack>


Sure, that may very well be the formal excuse or reasoning given by some schools. But discrimination is based on outcome and not intent. ;)

[12dn94dst]

Does anyone know if Morris Brown College is still functioning? I heard they are, but just that enrollment is low. I wonder how long it will take for the school to be restored to its former glory?

MBC is still in operation with around 50 students. From what I understand they began the accreditation process in October 2006. (according to this (http://www.morrisbrown.edu/MBC_State_of_College_Narrative_3_%203%20071.htm)).

[DSTCHAOS]

Bless their hearts. They are starting from scratch.

You have to either have a lot of faith in MBC's potential or be a .01 GPA student who can't get in elsewhere. My child wouldn't be allowed to waste a degree like that.

[12dn94dst]

Sure, that may very well be the formal excuse or reasoning given by some schools. But discrimination is based on outcome and not intent. ;)

I agree with you. I don't know if that's the reason given or not, and really didn't know the practice existed until today, I'm just sayin'. :)

[Eclipse]

Does anyone know if Morris Brown College is still functioning? I heard they are, but just that enrollment is low. I wonder how long it will take for the school to be restored to its former glory?

Morris Brown is stil functioning, but as you said enrollment is low. They will need to be accrediated again and I don't think they are close to that. It will be a serious up hill battle and with out a steady influx of money, I personally don't see it happening. Shame too. MBC is the only school in the AUC founded by Black people.

[Eclipse]

It looked like your point was that having darker hued blacks present meant there wasn't a paper bag test.

I said :


there certainly is not evidence that this was the case.

To say that there is no concrete evidence that there was a paper bag test at Spelman and here are some examples of students who would not have passed a paper bag test.

[DSTCHAOS]

I agree with you. I don't know if that's the reason given or not, and really didn't know the practice existed until today, I'm just sayin'. :)

I found a 1969 article on this in JSTOR.

There should be more stuff out there, even if schools are better at covering their tracks. :D

[DSTCHAOS]

I said :

To say that there is no concrete evidence that there was a paper bag test at Spelman and here are some examples of students who would not have passed a paper bag test.

Yep.

[ladygreek]

Ladygreek are you coming down for black alumni weekend in July??
Black Alumni Reunion always seems to conflict with the Delta midwest regional conference. I have yet to attend one, although it is planned by my soror. :(

[ladygreek]

Quite a few schools (both PWI and HBCU) ask for photos. This allows them to judge you based on your looks and whether they think you'd "fit in" with the campus climate.

There's no other logical explanation for it.
My first school asked for photos, because they published a freshman facebook and sent it to us before we arrived on campus.

[DSTCHAOS]

My first school asked for photos, because they published a freshman facebook and sent it to us before we arrived on campus.

I know a couple of schools that did a freshman facebook. Those are interestingly pointless. :)

[AKA_Monet]

What is the point of recounting something like that when there is really no evidence that it happened?

I only have personal evidence. It may not be like that for everyone admitted. I concede that point.

In hindsight, in the late 1980's, Spelman barely had the computer support equipment to generated card identification. Spelman did not have a lot of things I had cavalierly thought everyone in America should have. Back then, I was young and naive. That is my personal story.

I thought you were connecting it to the "paper bag" test and going to repeat another unsubstainated story that I "heard" about how Spelman came to be. I certainly won't repeat it here.

Well, yeah, we are passing on some stereotypes about some HBCU that are notorious for have these "tests".

Many people from the Atlanta Metro area have come right out and happily told me all the inadequacies of a Spelman education while I was going there. Their stupid comments made a huge impact when I was harshly treated by the Spelman Admin.

I remember a lot of girls, besides myself, crying profusely due to lack of "social assistance resources"... And I say all this to say in the late 1980's, Spelman Admin. had a piss poor plan for kids in mental/physical trouble. The **** I went thru--let's just say it was paltry after I found out a lot girls had been physically/sexually abused and were trying to slit their wrists.

I think we all know that paper bag tests have happened in the past. It is important to remember from wense we came, but why pass along things that might not be true?

Let me say for the record: A Spelman Education is DIFFERENT from ATTENDING Spelman. My education was MORE that scientific and technical--it was a time of a truly Spiritual rennovation and recreation of myself and my entire world. It took >2 years after graduation for the Spelman-mania to wear off in my hiatus in SoCal. And to this day, I still am nervous when I set foot on that campus no matter what new buildings are there or how beautiful it has become.

Spelman will always be my alma mater, I met some great ladies there who ofter remember me. Spelman did prepare me for my current successes. It would be a lie to for me to say that it did not. And Spelman still is about cultivating women to acheive. And IMHO, Spelman's plan to do that thru alumnae associations is poor. I pay my Alumnae dues and I donate to the funds.

I like to think that I know what it takes to get African American girls to womanhood out of any college. I have been doing it nearly 20 years at all universities I have attended. And on the eve of my professorships at a PWI, I already expect to get routed all the Black kids who are suffering in the sciences, then wondering how I made it...

Well, YOU KNOW Mrs. Gebre-Hewitt, Dr. Bayse, Dr. Rena Jones, HAYLE, Dr. Jann Primus!! You really think they LET me give up on myself? Really? That care can be re-paved.

Even my husband had Dr. Clark, Dr. Mapp, and Dr. Story at Morehouse... Of course his dad paved the course...

[Wonderful1908]

I am sorry but I graduated from Southern and am finishing my masters at PVAMU and for the first time I have no desire to continue my education at a HBCU. I could tolerate the foolishness undergrad at Southern but now that I am a grown women who realizes I am paying for this, I am looking for doctoral programs at PWI's now. I just don't understand why we have to be so unorganized. How hard can it be?

I will spare you the details but I really feel like my masters is a series of power points and take home test (which I do appreciate :)) but the lack of organization is disgusting, the lack of wanting more for the University and the fact that I would work on my doctorate there if someone would just be ORGANIZED! :mad:

[ladygreek]

@ Eclipse,
You sound so defensive. I don't think anyone intended to target Spelman. We all know it is a great school. Heck, my step-grandmother didn't pass the brown paper bag test at Howard. She exceeded all of the minimum qualifications, got positive responses until she had to submit her picture (and back then they were only black and white.) Then came the rejection letter. And she didn't tell me all of this until my daughter applied to HU, because she hoped it still didn't exist. Thankfully it didn't, because my daughter would not have passed the test--okay, maybe barely--she was Minnesota pale when she applied. LOL.

So it was not just Spelman, but I suspect all of the "elite" HBCUs--yanno the Our Kind of People HBCUs. And the fact is, it did exist. The fact that is doesn't now is a positive.

[ladygreek]

I am sorry but I graduated from Southern and am finishing my masters at PVAMU and for the first time I have no desire to continue my education at a HBCU. I could tolerate the foolishness undergrad at Southern but now that I am a grown women who realizes I am paying for this, I am looking for doctoral programs at PWI's now. I just don't understand why we have to be so unorganized. How hard can it be?

I will spare you the details but I really feel like my masters is a series of power points and take home test (which I do appreciate :)) but the lack of organization is disgusting, the lack of wanting more for the University and the fact that I would work on my doctorate there if someone would just be ORGANIZED! :mad:
I hate to say it, but that is the very reason my daughter sought out a PWI for her MBA. She looked at the program rankings and job placement numbers and the only HBCU that was even in the ballpark was FAMU--but it was/is not accredited. (But I still think that it is one of the best B-programs.)

[Eclipse]

I started a message at home this morning before work and my laptop started acting koo-koo!


Their stupid comments made a huge impact when I was harshly treated by the Spelman Admin.

I remember a lot of girls, besides myself, crying profusely due to lack of "social assistance resources"... And I say all this to say in the late 1980's, Spelman Admin. had a piss poor plan for kids in mental/physical trouble. The sh** I went thru--let's just say it was paltry after I found out a lot girls had been physically/sexually abused and were trying to slit their wrists.

I would definately have to agree there! McVicar (is that right?) was not known as a great healthcare facility. A friend of mine (who happens to be a physican now--she of course was premed then) was having major chest pains on afternoon and I called McVicar and they would not come to the dorm--LLC--even though it was right behind the Infirmary. I also remember a girl who everyone knew "threw up" (that's all we knew then--it didn't have a name) and the only thing I knew is that folks tried to get her to eat.


Let me say for the record: A Spelman Education is DIFFERENT from ATTENDING Spelman. My education was MORE that scientific and technical--it was a time of a truly Spiritual rennovation and recreation of myself and my entire world.


Well, YOU KNOW Mrs. Gebre-Hewitt, Dr. Bayse, Dr. Rena Jones, HAYLE, Dr. Jann Primus!! You really think they LET me give up on myself? Really? That care can be re-paved.

Even my husband had Dr. Clark, Dr. Mapp, and Dr. Story at Morehouse... Of course his dad paved the course...

I certainly agree with you on the total Spelman education! I didn't take most of the professors that you mentioned and I think some of them came after my time (like Dr. Primus; I do remember when she made her transition though) I was an Econ major so I tried to stay out of Tapley as much as possible! LOL

[Eclipse]

@ Eclipse,
You sound so defensive. I don't think anyone intended to target Spelman. We all know it is a great school. Heck, my step-grandmother didn't pass the brown paper bag test at Howard. She exceeded all of the minimum qualifications, got positive responses until she had to submit her picture (and back then they were only black and white.) Then came the rejection letter. And she didn't tell me all of this until my daughter applied to HU, because she hoped it still didn't exist. Thankfully it didn't, because my daughter would not have passed the test--okay, maybe barely--she was Minnesota pale when she applied. LOL.

So it was not just Spelman, but I suspect all of the "elite" HBCUs--yanno the Our Kind of People HBCUs. And the fact is, it did exist. The fact that is doesn't now is a positive.


Ladygreek, you really think I sound defensive? :confused: I certainly don't see it that way. What makes you feel that?

[Wonderful1908]

I hate to say it, but that is the very reason my daughter sought out a PWI for her MBA. She looked at the program rankings and job placement numbers and the only HBCU that was even in the ballpark was FAMU--but it was/is not accredited. (But I still think that it is one of the best B-programs.)

Its rather sad:(

I can say however that their President does seem to be concerned about students. I emailed him and I got a response both times, and Wend. someone personally called to apologize to me I was like whoa! I just have to bad a taste in my mouth. I mean I'm not some chicken head running to the mall with a loan check, 18 year old.

[nonchalant]

I've heard a lot of stereotypes pertaining to the school I attended. I went to Alabama A&M University. A lot of people say they won't go there due to it being extremely ghetto. There have been people killed on campus. I have been told you shouldn't go there unless your major is music or education. I was a computer science & mathematics double major. To be fair, the mathematics department was on point. However, the computer science department sucked. They didn't have enough computers in the classrooms to accomodate the students. Needless to say, I ended up transferring to another school. I love AAMU, but you know your school is ghetto when you chant "AAM, AAM, AAM, AAM, U woooo a booty booty." I still claim being a bulldog, and I still go the homecoming. Also, you know something is wrong when the dancing girls constantly change their name.

"Alabama A&M. Rich in Heritage Divine....."
Normal's Hill brings all types of thrills.

[DSTMystique]

Well, I went to Grambling for undergrad (in the late 80's) and when I got down there (all the way from Michigan), I was so excited to be associated with an HBCU with so much history. My excitement wore off real soon once I saw how money was being mismanaged and how nepotism ran rampant in the administration. Don't get me wrong, I am all for hooking people up, but they need to at least be QUALIFIED for the job.

At Grambling, our President left under strange circumstances and then that started a "revolving door" of Presidents for the next 15 years. Then we all heard about the accredidation fiasco, and Gramblinites know about the "buy a brick" scam leading up to our Centennial.....

Although I love "Dear Ole' Grambling", I look at it totally different now. I went back to homecoming recently and didn't recognize the campus or the atomosphere.

I went to Michigan State for grad school and while the social scene wasn't on and popping, a lot of things were handled differently. I registered in 5 minutes, over the phone. I had housing, I had my stipend/fellowship ready for me when I got there, and on and on and on. But strangely enough, even though I lived in Detroit after I graduated (1 hour away from MSU), I NEVER went to homecoming, but I would go all the way back to Louisiana for Grambling's homecoming or the Bayou Classic. I guess that speaks to the impact that HBCU's have on our lives.

[Wonderful1908]

Well, I went to Grambling for undergrad (in the late 80's) and when I got down there (all the way from Michigan), I was so excited to be associated with an HBCU with so much history. My excitement wore off real soon once I saw how money was being mismanaged and how nepotism ran rampant in the administration. Don't get me wrong, I am all for hooking people up, but they need to at least be QUALIFIED for the job.

At Grambling, our President left under strange circumstances and then that started a "revolving door" of Presidents for the next 15 years. Then we all heard about the accredidation fiasco, and Gramblinites know about the "buy a brick" scam leading up to our Centennial.....

Although I love "Dear Ole' Grambling", I look at it totally different now. I went back to homecoming recently and didn't recognize the campus or the atomosphere.

I went to Michigan State for grad school and while the social scene wasn't on and popping, a lot of things were handled differently. I registered in 5 minutes, over the phone. I had housing, I had my stipend/fellowship ready for me when I got there, and on and on and on. But strangely enough, even though I lived in Detroit after I graduated (1 hour away from MSU), I NEVER went to homecoming, but I would go all the way back to Louisiana for Grambling's homecoming or the Bayou Classic. I guess that speaks to the impact that HBCU's have on our lives.

I agree I loved Southern despite the foolishness, but I also think I could tolerate it at 20 years old. I am almost 30 and I can't deal with that now. I graduate from PVAMU this fall and don't think I will want much to do with the school after I finish which is so sad. HBCU's produce some our brightest and most successful people, but if they want to keep them and bring prestige and class to their schools they are going to have to step up their game!

[NinjaPoodle]

Well, I went to Grambling for undergrad (in the late 80's) and when I got down there (all the way from Michigan), I was so excited to be associated with an HBCU with so much history. My excitement wore off real soon once I saw how money was being mismanaged and how nepotism ran rampant in the administration. Don't get me wrong, I am all for hooking people up, but they need to at least be QUALIFIED for the job.

At Grambling, our President left under strange circumstances and then that started a "revolving door" of Presidents for the next 15 years. Then we all heard about the accredidation fiasco, and Gramblinites know about the "buy a brick" scam leading up to our Centennial.....
Although I love "Dear Ole' Grambling", I look at it totally different now. I went back to homecoming recently and didn't recognize the campus or the atomosphere.

I went to Michigan State for grad school and while the social scene wasn't on and popping, a lot of things were handled differently. I registered in 5 minutes, over the phone. I had housing, I had my stipend/fellowship ready for me when I got there, and on and on and on. But strangely enough, even though I lived in Detroit after I graduated (1 hour away from MSU), I NEVER went to homecoming, but I would go all the way back to Louisiana for Grambling's homecoming or the Bayou Classic. I guess that speaks to the impact that HBCU's have on our lives.

Sister-Greek, could you pm me about the scam. I was there 89-90.

[1908Revelations]

but going to Howard and finding out that everyone there were HNICs humbled her and boosted her at the same time.

There is something to be said about walking the halls of a school and seeing historical pictures of accomplished Blacks on the wall, and to walk into a classroom and your prof looks like you. Not to mention the scores of Black students all striving to achieve greatness.


That was one of the things I loved about attending Tuskegee!!! When I had to transfer I was :mad::mad::mad::mad:x100! But I LOVED being there and knowing that BTW and other influential AfAm's put that school together. I may have lived in the oldest dorm on campus, but I loved every minute of being there.:)

[AKA_Monet]

I agree I loved Southern despite the foolishness, but I also think I could tolerate it at 20 years old. I am almost 30 and I can't deal with that now. I graduate from PVAMU this fall and don't think I will want much to do with the school after I finish which is so sad. HBCU's produce some our brightest and most successful people, but if they want to keep them and bring prestige and class to their schools they are going to have to step up their game!

Well Soror, the trick is that you actually get a graduate degree, presumably a Doctorate+ at a PWI, then you are s'pose to come back!!! :rolleyes: ;)

Spelman has asked be a twice to come back.

My husband has been asked several times to come back.

Neither one of us want to live in Atlanta anymore. Nothing against the ATL, just don't want to live there anymore.

[ladygreek]

Ladygreek, you really think I sound defensive? :confused: I certainly don't see it that way. What makes you feel that?

I don't know. To me it just felt as if you thought people were wrongly attacking Spelman. I'm glad that was not the case, because I think this thread had been very enlightening.

[nonchalant]

That was one of the things I loved about attending Tuskegee!!! When I had to transfer I was :mad::mad::mad::mad:x100! But I LOVED being there and knowing that BTW and other influential AfAm's put that school together. I may have lived in the oldest dorm on campus, but I loved every minute of being there.:)

I love Tuskegee. I feel like an honorary student because I was there so much. "Don't need no competition. All we need is pride, so get on that Skegee train and ride ride ride ride. Get on that Skegee train. Hey Hey Hey!!!"

"The T, the U, S-K-E, the G double E. Tuskegee. Wooo, wooo, woo"

I also love those Gamma Kappa AKAs strutting their stuff by their tree.

[dst2004]

[QUOTE=Live_Wire17;1459376]That's right...if you can survive registration at a HBCU...you can survive ANYTHING! j/k (but serious)

You are so right! I am proud to say that I attended a HBCU as well. I couldn't have made a better choice. While attending college, I made lifetime friends as well.

[Wonderful1908]

Well Soror, the trick is that you actually get a graduate degree, presumably a Doctorate+ at a PWI, then you are s'pose to come back!!! :rolleyes: ;)

Spelman has asked be a twice to come back.

My husband has been asked several times to come back.

Neither one of us want to live in Atlanta anymore. Nothing against the ATL, just don't want to live there anymore.

You know it shouldn't have to be like that! There wa a time I couldn't even go to a PWI in Houston, HBCU's should want to produce more doctors!

[Animate]

I love Tuskegee. I feel like an honorary student because I was there so much. "Don't need no competition. All we need is pride, so get on that Skegee train and ride ride ride ride. Get on that Skegee train. Hey Hey Hey!!!"

"The T, the U, S-K-E, the G double E. Tuskegee. Wooo, wooo, woo"

I also love those Gamma Kappa AKAs strutting their stuff by their tree.

<---------- Tuskegee graduate! :D

[AKA_Monet]

You know it shouldn't have to be like that! There wa a time I couldn't even go to a PWI in Houston, HBCU's should want to produce more doctors!

You are right... But with Affirmative Action, the other schools could dance circles and outcompete us versus when we were segregated. That's a whole 'nother conversation.

The best most HBCU's can hope for is being filters for the larger schools they partner with in the city...

Unless you are Bethune-Cookman that can take an immediate lock on the area. The nearest larger university in it's class is maybe Orlando... But you have University of Florida, Florida State and few smaller schools dotted. University of South Florida and Miami University. Jacksonville, too. And you will be competing against FAMU for dollars. To me, the president of Bethune-Cookman made a very strong strategic alliance making the school a Master's bearing university in Florida. I think it is great and very wise. Not to be biased, but the president before her did not have the foresight. Believe me, I KNOW! :rolleyes:

[Eclipse]

I don't know. To me it just felt as if you thought people were wrongly attacking Spelman. I'm glad that was not the case, because I think this thread had been very enlightening.

I did not feel that people were attacking Spelman, I just hate for misinformation to get out there about something that I love and hold dear. I am sure you understand that. I was just asking for some clarification on the paperbag thing.

[Live2Serve]

"Spelman thy name we praise..."

[NonGreekOne]

i don't think what she said was ignorant. it was just her harsh opinion. some Blacks don't wannabe around all Blacks all the time. i'd prefer a pwi to a hbcu because they're all the south and those southern accents aint the business.
don't feel bad. your degree is just as good as a pwi.

[akadoll1908]

Well, I went to Grambling for undergrad (in the late 80's) and when I got down there (all the way from Michigan), I was so excited to be associated with an HBCU with so much history. My excitement wore off real soon once I saw how money was being mismanaged and how nepotism ran rampant in the administration. Don't get me wrong, I am all for hooking people up, but they need to at least be QUALIFIED for the job.

At Grambling, our President left under strange circumstances and then that started a "revolving door" of Presidents for the next 15 years. Then we all heard about the accredidation fiasco, and Gramblinites know about the "buy a brick" scam leading up to our Centennial.....

Although I love "Dear Ole' Grambling", I look at it totally different now. I went back to homecoming recently and didn't recognize the campus or the atomosphere.

I went to Michigan State for grad school and while the social scene wasn't on and popping, a lot of things were handled differently. I registered in 5 minutes, over the phone. I had housing, I had my stipend/fellowship ready for me when I got there, and on and on and on. But strangely enough, even though I lived in Detroit after I graduated (1 hour away from MSU), I NEVER went to homecoming, but I would go all the way back to Louisiana for Grambling's homecoming or the Bayou Classic. I guess that speaks to the impact that HBCU's have on our lives.


I graduated from Grambling in 2000 and nothing has change since you left!

[NinjaPoodle]

I know, right??? My mother and sister went there and both were :eek::( when I turned down my acceptance.

I turned mine down from Sk'eegee too. I got the same reaction from the HBCU'ers in my fam.

[NinjaPoodle]

some Blacks don't wannabe around all Blacks all the time.

Point taken.

i'd prefer a pwi to a hbcu because they're all the south and those southern accents aint the business.

Could you clarify? If you mean 'All HBCU's are physically located in the south then that is incorrect.

[Little32]

^^Have you read the rest of this person's posts. I am not sure that engagement is wise.

[NinjaPoodle]

^^Have you read the rest of this person's posts. I am not sure that engagement is wise.

I shall take a look.

ETA

Interesting...looks like a
http://mongobarn.nu/20000715/08-troll-after.jpg

[Little32]

LOL! And it's a goth troll.

[NinjaPoodle]

I attend a Historically Black College in Texas, recently I caught up with some of my former high school classmates and we did the usual catching up, "Where do you go to school", "Are you seeing anyone" yadda, yadda.

Well, when I mentioned what school I attend one of the girls said, and I quote "oooh no I couldn't go there girl, too many Black people(yes she is African-American) I don't know how you put up with it" Needless to say I had a few choice words for her.
First of all I am very proud of my school and this young lady(and I use the term loosely) http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/rolleyes.gif made it seem like I am settling for less. I was recruited and offered scholarships by "Ivy League" schools but I chose the one I did because I felt I would be more than a number to the faculty. While I don't feel I should have to justify my decision to her or anyone else, it still angered me that she thought she was recieveing a higher quality education just because her school is predominantly white. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/frown.gif

Has anyone else out there ever dealt with this type of ignorance?

Luv,
Me


When I attended Grambling, I would get asked where I attended school and after I would reply, I would get "Gambling University?"
"Um, no. I didn't stutter, I said GRambling State University."
"Oh. Is that in Texas?"
"No, Northwest Louisiana. Closer to Arkansas."
"Oh. Near New Orleans?":mad:
*sigh*
Ninjapoodle shakes head, turns and walks away...