Stereotyping HBCU's

[AKADIVA12]

Originally Posted by ladygreek

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.

[ladygreek]

Originally Posted by AKADIVA12

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.

[orighu]

Originally Posted by ladygreek

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

[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.

[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

[Wonderful1908]

Originally Posted by AKA2D '91

Soror TX:

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

They play each other in the BAYOU CLASSIC

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.

[Lyoness]

Originally Posted by ziasha07

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. 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.

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!! 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.

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.

[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.

[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.

[BlessedOne04]

Originally Posted by ziasha07

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]

Originally Posted by BlessedOne04

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.