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Going to College and Getting
Out
Across the country thousands
of Black students are gearing up for their first year of college, many are
moving from home, whether it is right up the road or hundreds of miles away.
Some will get through their freshman year with ease, and others will barely
make it. Some will party, drink and smoke their way out and a few sistas
will return home for the holiday break, as mamas to be. Unfortunately, many
colleges and universities have long focused on recruiting students into the
institutions, and not on retaining and graduating them. State institutions
benefit the most from enrollment numbers, at they received X amount of
dollars per head count.
For many Black students, whether they attend a historically black
institution, or a predominantly white one, they risk being the least
prepared in terms of surviving and succeeding in higher education. This is
not due to so called poor high school environments, but because some of the
Negroes who work on our college campuses are not committed to seeing our
children succeed, and will not take on the communal responsibility of
putting their arms around a few Black students and helping them avoid the
traps and getting them through the maze of obtaining a higher education.
Black faculty, staff and administrators on white campuses know some of the
pitfalls, as they have likely experienced them. The Black faculty
specifically, should do what I have seen Latino faculty do when freshmen
Latino students arrive on campus; they have an off campus gathering at one
of their homes and immediately began to mentor their students. Sadly most
Black faculty won’t do this unless it is strongly suggested by their
supervisor or a higher up administrator. This is because we are steadily
trying to take on the ways of white folk, and giving up ourselves in the
process.
During my 15 years of experience as a staff, faculty member and
administrator in higher education, I found that when Black folks who worked
on white campus, regardless of title, education level or position, were
actively involved with Black students, specifically serving as a mentor,
seeing them once a week and calling or going to their room if we did not see
them during the week, we were able to save a lot of our babies from going to
the house without a degree. In fact we may have even delayed motherhood for
a few sistas, and fatherhood for a few brothers.
In the event Black students, especially freshmen, are not embraced by Black
faculty, staff, and administrators when you arrive to that white campus or
that black campus (cause I know from personal experience, as well as through
shared stories, that there are some serious Negroes messing up the
environment at our home institutions), I will offer the following advice,
although not new, its always good to know.
1. Remember the true purpose or what should be the true purpose in going to
college (and sistas it is not to get a husband). TO LEARN, STUDY, and
GRADUATE IN LESS THAN FIVE YEARS
2. Party with a purpose and in moderation. Back in my day, the term party
met going into a large dimly lit room with music blasting, paying a dollar
to get in, and dancing (not humping and grinding) until 2 am, and only on
Friday and Saturday nights. Today it may include drinking and smoking. If
you have an urge to drink just to get drunk or smoke just to get high, you
need to get some professional help and you are not mentally ready to attend
college. If you stay up all night and you still have not completed your
homework, it may be likely that it will affect your grades, and if you don’t
maintain a certain grade point average, you are placed on academic
probation, which could mean spending a forced semester out of college.
3. Sistas, remember this motto and pass it on to other sistas. “No glove, no
love”. Brothers, keep your raincoat on hand just in case. I have too many
college friends who were freshmen with me nearly 25 years ago who did not
return after the winter break. Their oldest child is roughly 24 years of
age, and Mama never did complete college.
If while walking across campus you should see a black person, who looks like
they may work there, rather they are carrying a brief case or pushing a mop,
stop and say hello. Introduce yourself and ask if they could tell you about
the campus some day soon. Attend all of the freshmen week activities,
specifically the ones hosted by the Black Student Union or the African
American, multicultural, minority office. Never forget your true purpose for
attending college in the first place, and never, ever forget from whence you
came.
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