[GroovePhi62]

I'm coming at the perspective of another on this particular subject "The Black Male Athlete". Our role in the collegiate system is the MAJOR reason why alot of these debates are happening today. Up until the 1970's it wasn't a question where the top BM athletes were going to college, Morehouse, MB, JCSU, TSU, NCA&T, GSU, just to name a few. Now it's either the pro's or Notre Dame, MINN, UofI, Duke, UNC, etc. the HWI (historically white institutions) have taken our best and brightest from the classrooms also. As we have become richer and more "valuable" in our adult lives many have forgotten the Hood and taken on the suburban mentality. Alot of us forgot where we came from and have taken on a new meaning of what it means to be Black in America. I myself went also to both Institutions and can say it was like night and day. I was a star track athlete in H.S. and was heavily recruioted by many of the HWI in the country and in the area. But that's not where i wanted to be so I went to and HBCU instead and tried to be a walk on, I was told #1 we don't do Track scholarships and #2 we really don't have uniforms so you have to buy your own. I was like WTF is this! In the same breath the coach with his greasy self said that I would have play football also if I wanted a scholarship for track. Now I know a little bit about NCAA rules and you MUST ALLLOCATE THE SAME AMOUNT OF SCHOLARSHIPS per sport. well at this HBCU and many others they don't. I ended up transferring to an HWI where I was treated like a king for track we ended up winning the NCAA natonal championships and the rest is history. The main problems I see with HBCU' s is that they #1 don't treat the college students as adults and #2 the flaunt this gaudiness in the students face like they are the Sh^T or something. I mean at the HWI I attended I was able to go to the presidents office and eat lunch with him, shoot the breeze and whatever and not because I was an athlete but because he knew I helped pay his paycheck. At the HBCU that was physically impossible, I would get the runnaround and don't even talk about the financial aid office, losing checks, no staff, people putting their friends on the payroll, just straight unprofessional. Now don't get me wrong the HWI had issues also but nothing this severe.

Now lastly to address about whom corporations are going to for recruiting, it's like this, they look at four main things: accredidation, relationship with the company, credit hours taken and past performance of previous alumnus at the company. Now at the company I work for they have basically stopped going to certain HBCU's because of past employee issues (fighting on the job, cursing out the mgr., not showing up to work, etc.). Now I know that those are primarilly independent issues but if you had your own company and this happened would you think twice?

And some advice to anyone at an HBCU now: Find, if you can, the curriculum for your degree that you are majoring in at a major HWI. If they are taking advanced Mth classes and not just the minimum-do that! If the business students must subscribe to WSJ, and one othe financial magazine- DO That!( I just so happen to know those are two things they do at a prestigious HWI on the east coast where the average graduate earns 75k starting). and don't just take the min. credit hours I know you wanna graduate on tim but ain't no shame in graduating in five years.

Good luck my black people and to those at MBC my prayers are with you!