As we’ve often confessed, analyzing news and issues is a thankless task, insofar as a newspaper’s first obligation is to take the special agenda spin out of press releases, so that readers can ideally read the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And for that reason I was especially concerned that our May 29-June 4, 2002 edition was at the printer when we got “A Communiqué from John C. Brittain,” officially informing us that he had resigned as Dean of TSU’s Thurgood Marshall’s School of Law.

A few hours preceding our deadline, a very creditable TSU insider informed us that Brittain was the latest victim of President Priscilla Slade’s axe and we inadvertently added that hot tip to our article. Since we couldn’t possibly erase the allegation, surely we would have been remiss not to apologize to Slade forthwith for quoting the TSU insider prematurely. Consequently, a few hours after our June 5-11, 2002 edition hit the streets; the TSU insider was on the phone demanding an apology for offering Slade an apology. “You know how they play the game. When a person is forced to resign it’s tantamount to being fired with dignity. Everybody at TSU knows what’s happening and it’s only a matter of time before it becomes public knowledge,” the former TSU official said.
So the question is, did Brittain resign from TSU without pressure, or did Slade force him out? “You were absolutely right that John Brittain was fired. The published resignation was just part of the deal,” said a former TSU official who knows where all of the bodies are buried. The official went on to explain that Brittain was forced out because “The University is ripping the law school off for about $1.5 million. They are claiming that Dutton’s rider (that the law school must receive all it generates and that is appropriated to it) is not a law.” As the plot thickened, I had to call in my investigative reporters, inasmuch as I only agreed to analyze news and issues.

State Rep. Harold V. Dutton, Jr. isn’t one to mince words, therefore he admitted that his rider certainly was not a true bill, but a suggested condition and could be easily circumvented. “James Douglas came to me when he was dean of the law school under President William Harris. Harris was gutting the law school’s appropriations to support his foreign student program,” Dutton revealed during a telephone interview. History-literate readers might remember when Harris tried to turn TSU into an International school to attract students from oil producing nations, at the expense of the school’s “open admission” designation?
Dutton further explained that he placed the rider on the bill that appropriated funding for the law school and the past presidents honored the rider. Apparently the rider is being circumvented by Slade’s administration that is already embroiled in a lawsuit for firing TSU’s police chief Cordell Lindsey. Reportedly Lindsey was fired for investigating a TSU official who has been indicted for allegedly stealing university funds. There possibly could be more indictments when the law school goes up before the American Bar Association this fall to answer why it should not lose its accreditation.

According to a law school student, who is upset that Brittain resigned, the administration was convinced that Brittain would expose those misappropriating law school funds before jeopardizing his career, therefore he was forced out. The new dean, McKen Carrington, a native Nigerian, comes in under a cloud, but that’s another issue we will analyze in the near future. Meanwhile, a TSU alum that was bold enough to sign her name and address applauded AAN&I in an open letter to the editor.

“Dear Mr. Malonson: Thank you for having the courage to expose the things that have happened and will happen at our colleges. The article you wrote recently, ‘TSU Alums Should Follow PV’s Example’ was one of the most insightful and informative articles I have seen in years. It shows that some one is paying attention. There are big problems at Texas Southern University and it is time for the taxpayers, alumni, students, politicians to stop turning their heads in another direction. We all know that the reason this administration is interested in building is because it’s the only way certain members of the board and President Slade can legally get their hands on all of that money TSU has been allotted.

They’re giving contracts to their friends and in turn their friends are filling their pockets. Then they make the community and students feel as though they’re building ‘in the name of growth and progress.’
“Come on, you all are smarter than that. Why do poor students need a recreational facility to the tune of $15 million to $20 million and dorm complexes with lavish amenities when they don’t even have test tubes, microscopes, laboratory equipment, bare necessities, with which to learn and conduct their experiments. Don’t get me wrong, our kids deserve a nice environment in which to learn and develop - but they need the necessary things first and foremost. Faculty has to purchase its own copy paper and chalk. No, they don’t want to tell anybody this - they’re too embarrassed. Yet the president can remodel her office to the tune of $1.3 million and request a house, again under the auspices of ‘A President’s House’ to be built on land that cost $400,000 and a house close to $1,000,000 dollar. People it’s time to stand up and oust this insanity. Priscilla Slade, claims to have improved financial aid and made TSU accountable - that’s only in words.

“Anybody can write a ‘fluffy report’ and believe me they spend a lot of time writing fluff. Slade and her administration has learned that they can intimidate the staff, students and even tenured faculty by threatening their jobs. Financial aid is still in shambles. The students are hidden in a back room in the Bell building during registration so that the media and public don’t see the long lines any more. There have been no improvements made at TSU. They still fumble the financial aid process, they still don’t pay their bills, they still have the lowest graduation rate of any college, Black or White; only a small number of students who graduate from there can find jobs in their field. TSU is a disgrace to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. I know. I attended and worked there for years. Slade has been the worse president to ever step foot on that campus. She lacks vision, image, integrity and scholarship. Her reputation alone should have driven regents in another direction to look for someone more credible and reputable.
“The alumni, community, students and politicians should have called for her resignation a long time ago. The litany of lawsuits forthcoming should anger taxpayers, graduates, friends and students. She tries hard to settle them out of court to keep her scandalous behavior out of the media. The students - are paying ridiculous students fees for services the university doesn’t even offer - I urge you to get a copy of a student’s fee receipt and ask the administration to explain the fees and see what kind of ridiculous answers and justifications they give - that’s if they bother to return your call(s). They’re paying computer use fee (computers never function) building use fee, student center fees, and all types of ridiculous fees for services that don’t even exist. Once you call them on the carpet they rush to put something together - that’s the M.O. of the administration. Show you something, anything, pacify them and they’ll go away - because that’s the way it’s always been.

“The faculty (members) are the laughing stock of their colleagues around the country. They’re petrified of losing their jobs, even though they’re tenured. They can demand that the administration respects them. The administration knows that they are scared to death. There’s no representation of the faculty because their senate chair is ‘in bed’ with the administration due to his own agenda. Wake up TSU students, alumni and former students, community and politicians - Slade’s not even of the community, not of Houston and can care less about TSU. She and her cronies don’t care about educating little Black kids -they only care about putting money into their pockets. You’all have a voice - all you need now is backbone. Stand for something or you all will fall for anything. Kay Hall, Houston, Texas.”