Dear Haley, Kiss Ass

This week Haley Barbour, governor of Mississippi, has proposed merging several of the state-funded universities as an answer to the growing budget constraints. He wants to merge Mississippi University for Women with the much larger Mississippi State University. He also proposed that Alcorn State University and Mississippi Valley State University be merged with Jackson State University.

Really, Haley? You just happen to want to shrink the number of public HBCUs in Mississippi from 3 to 1? And it just so happens to be the one school that has gone back and forth for several years about becoming "The University of Mississippi at Jackson"? Interesting...

Needless to say, students, alumni and even faculty are up in arms, and as an alumna of Jackson State University, I am too. Of course I have nothing against the other institutions (other than the rivalries during football season) but I could not think of a worse thing (other than completely shutting down) for either of these schools. Each institution was set up with their specific purpose. Each has their own unique history and culture that they identify with. Everyone who attended these universities has a special connection with that school. Why should that be taken away from students and would-be students of ASU and MVSU?

 

 

On top of that, the proposed merger just doesn't make good sense to me. If schools need to be consolidated, why not try to find a more reasonable solution? What I would suggest is dividing the state up into either the northern & southern halves or north, central and southern regions. Then, have a set standard that the separate colleges at each university must meet (possibly number of students that graduate from the program?). Leave the top two or three of each program in each region open. 

For example, while JSU's College of Business turns out hundreds of graduates, one of the liberal arts programs may only have a handful of graduates. In comparison, USM may have a great English department but their science department may not be stellar. So in the southern half, there may be one less liberal arts and one less science program due to their discontinuation (temporarily, preferably) at these particular schools. (BTW, this is just an example. I can't speak for the performance of any other university or other programs at Jackson State. The College of Business is, however, on point.) 

Forgive me if I didn't make my example clear. It's early and I haven't had my coffee. 

My point is there has to be some alternative to completely shutting down these universities. Although Haley proposes that the schools will remain open as part of JSU, their unique heritage would be lost. 

I do not believe this will pass. As I stated, many people are upset over this. We have determined that our schools will not go down without a fight. Numerous FB groups have formed, rallies are being planned/held, and a petition has just recently been created. Although this is not the first time an idea like this has been presented to the legislature, never have we been in a position like this where everything is being considered. If there was ever a time to put up or shut up, it's now. 

Jackson fair, Jackson dear

Thee I love, My dear old college home

Thee I love wherever I may roam

Jackson fair, Jackson dear... 

Links:

Petition to stop the proposed merger

Clarion Ledger article on the proposed merger (the comments about us "crying" and not needing HBCUs burned me up! There would be rioting if he even hinted at merging Ole Miss and Miss State!)

Save MS HBCUs

Blacks & HBCUs (Pt. II: Is it the institutions, or is it us?)

Last week I pointed out some of the misconceptions about HBCUs that I have heard purported by blacks. Maybe these ideas were put in their heads by someone who was "guiding" them, perhaps they come from their own experiences or observed experiences or others. More than likely, however, they are steeped in the negative stereotypes that we as Blacks have endured for years.

But what about the numbers? Men lie, women lie, numbers don't, right? *snicker, eye roll*

So do we do worse at our own schools? Well according to some statistics, such as the one from this USA Today article, the percentage of blacks who graduate from HBCUs within six years averages about 37%. Yes, this is a dismal figure. (I won't go into how I don't believe this is a fair or accurate number, since this does not give consideration for students who transfer, whose education takes longer than 6 years for whatever reason, deaths, etc. We'll just roll with the numbers we've got.) However, our counterparts at PWIs don't fair much better. The national graduation rate is only 41%.

So that brings me to another issue: Is it really the institution we attend, or is it us? The "us" that I speak of is the black community as a whole. Those of "us" who have graduated, HBCU or PWI, do we encourage our classmates and those that come after us to continue working towards their degree? Those of "us" who have dropped out or for whatever reason did not graduate, are we planning on pursuing that degree at some point or have we already found gainful (legal) employment? Those of "us" who are in any sort of leadership capacity: are we extolling the importance of higher education and stressing that their are many possibilities and opportunities that become available through education?

How do we encourage young blacks to stay in school? The Root has an... interesting article on "Making School Cool." Is it enough? Is it effective? What more can be done?

And what, if anything, are we doing for our institutions? Many suffer from lack of funding which leads to a myriad of other issues (of which I am honestly just too lazy/sleepy to get into right now). What contributions are we making?

Blacks & HBCUs (Pt. I: Decrying Our Own)

This past weekend I was out with some friends & the conversation turns to someone's boyfriend going to school. The comment was made that her mom "had a fit" when she found out that he originally planned to go to Jackson State. Noses were turned up, comments were made about it being "hood" and "ghetto." (Somehow, I was able to refrain from yelling "Who da f*kk you callin' GHETTO?!?! We're Mississippi's urban university BIIIIITCH!")

Although I basically tried to ignore the comments as ignorance posing as urbanity, I realized that I was somewhat bothered by these comments. No, not just because I happen to be a proud alumni (Go Tigers!!). But because 1) this was not the first time I've heard these particular associates make these comments, and 2) I've noticed quite a few Blacks putting down HBCUs and discouraging young people from attending them. Now, this blog is not to argue the current relevance of HBCUs (maybe another time), but rather to address some of the "reasons" I've heard for the criticism HBCUs.

LOCATION. Yes, many HBCUs are in the "hood." Why? Because they were originally placed in locations where they would be easily accessible to the people who they aimed at educating and assisting. As blacks began to prosper, they moved away, while those who struggled with poverty and the vices that go along with it were left behind. So yes, the neighborhood may be less than desirable. That doesn't make it a scary place. (I wasn't surprised when white coworkers asked me if I was afraid to walk around campus at night; I was surprised when I got the same question from folks who were there on campus whenever there was some big event.) That doesn't even make it a bad place. And if there was really concern about the neighborhood in which these schools are located, why not join in the efforts to revitalize our communities? Oh, it's not your community you say? Your community is gated, huh? Well please note, to some of your neighbors in your gated community, you are still just a nigga with money. Class still has yet to trump race in this country. But I digress.

QUALITY OF EDUCATION. I will admit that some HBCUs do not have the diverse course offerings as PWIs. Shoot, I just made mention of that yesterday when comparing the MBA programs of schools in the Metro Jackson area. However, there is nothing to definitively say that the quality of the classes offered is any better than the comparable classes offered at Black institutions. Where this grossly ignorant statement comes from is beyond me.

DROP OUT RATES. Although I do not have the statistics on this at the moment (but trust, Pt. II with that info is coming soon), I have heard this reason being given as to why students should not attend HBCUs. The whys and hows for this vary, from classes being too hard, to being too easy, to "too many distractions." I don't particularly put too much credence in statistics anyway (because really, you can find stats to support almost any claim you want to make), but I do have a startling statistic for you: 100% of people who don't apply themselves and let themselves get involved in distracting bs DON'T MAKE IT, regardless if the school is predominantly Black, White, Asian or inhabited by some superior alien intelligence. You don't have to be a statistic! What about the thousands of students who graduate from HBCUs each year?

My point is this: Are we so desperate for acceptance and assimilation that we are willing to tear down the very institutions that were established to help build Black people up? In the words of my pastor, "It's a mighty poor frog who can't praise his own pond."

Preach.