Howard University:Outstripping The Myth

Howard life is much too burdensome for me to endure the plethora of vulgarity aimlessly seeking to find solace. I have persevered for months on end without so much as a faint attempt from the university administrators to recognize nor realize the discombobulated state in which the university structure operates. I am appalled by their behaviors, and am, as of now absolved from any guilt that may have been entrenched within my soul on their behalf. I have submitted my bequest in a sense, on behalf of my family and supporters to no avail. (I sought to reconcile the differences I had with HU, but was blatantly ignored) I refuse to allow myself to continue to be refuted and dismissed. Howard University’s actions toward me are irreprehensible. I am thoroughly sentient of the things that Howard promotes and the things that are concealed. Of those things, some are allowed to come into fruition by God’s leave, and man cannot in his finite mind comprehend them, nor change them. While I down the institution that is Howard, I must with great regard acknowledge the valiant work that some of the professors and students alike, are doing on the daily. Ask anyone who has frequented a classroom, a panel discussion, or just come into contact with Dr. Carr. This is one professor that the students have great reverence for. Dr. Carr is but one of a few brilliant professors I have had the pleasure of learning from. Not only is his student’s love perceptible, it is also understood. Dr. Carr exudes the same love back to his pupils. He oftentimes is quoted as saying, “I learn from you all as well.” 

Throughout my short tenure here on this Earth, I have come to apprehend that you can find some good in everything and every situation, as is the case with my experience here amongst my own people, all of whom are virtually of African descent. However, I would be remiss and rueful if I failed to chastise Howard for its enumerable shortcomings. Many may speculate as to why I am so unrelenting when it comes to my criticism of the university, and I say, it is because I know we can and must do better. Often times because of our feelings of attachment to the university, we tend to overlook its searing faults. However, just as a wife/husband acknowledge each others flaws out of love and for the benefit of them both, we too must recognize and make known the flaws in order for us as a people, and us as a community to advance. Not only are the flaws overlooked, they are purposely concealed from those who need to be made aware. Herein lays our challenge as students. We must, out of love for the university, call for an unequivocal change. There must be a major paradigm shift if we long to witness any improvement. We are walking, in some cases backwards, while peoples of other cultures and ethnic groups are sprinting far ahead of us. We are taking a major “L” as children in this “hip-hop” generation love to phrase it. A very close colleague and associate of mine stated the other day, “That it seems as though we are worse off than we were before.” He was essentially saying that we have regressed. We as a people were making progress gradually, up through the civil rights or what should be known more so as the human rights movement. Yet, soon thereafter, we lost our way. We reverted back to being slaves voluntarily; slaves to money, our passions, pride, and many more enumerable things. We chose to be disenfranchised after we strove so hard for our right to vote and things of that sort. We lost sight of what mattered. Dubois frames it very eloquently in James Anderson’s book, The Education of Blacks in the South 1860-1935. Dubois is quoted as having said, in his address to Howard University in 1930, “Our college man today is, on the average, a man untouched by real culture. He deliberately surrenders to selfish and even silly ideals, swarming into semiprofessional athletics and Greek letter societies, and affecting to despise scholarship and the hard grind of study and research. The greatest meetings of the Negro college year like those of the white college year have become vulgar exhibitions of liquor, extravagance, and fur coats. We have in our colleges a growing mass of stupidity and indifference.” It is tempting to place an exclamation point at the end of Dubois’ quote to emphasize his frustration. This was what Dubois said in 1930, and yet it is still prevalent today, right at this day and time on this campus. I attest to the fact that what Dubois said sixty something odd years ago, has progressed as a problem, and yet and still remains a major hindrance to our community at large. 

We as college students, black college students, have an incumbent responsibility to ourselves, but mainly to our communities to come to college to become educated, and then with education provide for the up lift of society. How then do we explain our, as Dubois put it, “growing mass of stupidity and indifference”? How do we explain our extravagance and infatuation with intoxicants? How do we begin to explain our nonchalant attitude towards reading? How do we explain our contempt and condescending attitude towards our people who are not in college? How do we explain the “othering” that goes on amidst blacks, with the “light skin” vs “dark skin”? How? Are we really that much better because we attend a college/university? That is a trick question, because one cannot lead with the ideology that he is somewhat better, but must step forward with the ideology that he is a reflection of his people and that he is not successful unless his people are as well. 

Remaining slaves to our passions, society’s expectations, and wealth amongst other things will continue to keep us as a people entrenched to the bottom of society’s totem pole. Howard needs to be ushered towards excellence, not minor improvements such as a paved street, or a few computers. Whereas that is a start, do not become complacent or satisfied until excellence is achieved. Excellence not in terms of the past, nor the myth within the name itself, or excellence in societal terms, but the universal excellence that we all can recognize as being innately true. And until that comes into fruition, we should not be satisfied. I am leaving the university after countless attempts to give HU the benefit of the doubt and after many successive concessions, but now I am exhausted and tired of condoning mediocrity. This is my call to the university and community to step your game up. And also a call to the black youth who inhabit this university to improve yourselves! Life is much more than a game. Stop living with the mindset that we play now, work later. We are adults, the times for childish games are done, step up and help improve society. All the alcoholics, weed heads, hoes, nymphs, “players”, party promoters, and others who do nothing to improve the educating of leaders, and are not characteristic of leaders, have no place on a college campus that seeks excellence and need to be removed from this environment. If you are in that category, YOU NEED TO WAKE UP!.. I shall elaborate and expound upon that in further detail at a later date, but for now, I’m done…