Storm96 said:
Is Tuskeegee's campus better than AAMU? I've been to Tuskeegee before and although it is nice, its not on the level of PV's. It does look better than any other SWAC school I've gone to though.
Interesting question. I've always liked AAMU's campus being from southeast Alabama where there are no hills (hell, one town east of here is called "Level Plains" for crying out loud.), but Tuskegee's campus is so "natural" for lack of a better term. I think this is comparing apples and oranges. From a modern/latest amenities standpoint (please note my reference is the 1980s and other than that just riding around on both campuses and seeing the outward appearance of the campuses since the 80s.) the state HBCUs in Alabama clearly prevail (although I don't know if that is necessarily "better". ASU has more modern buildings, but that campus is not appealing to the eye. AAMU is more appealing not being in a blighted area like ASU).
Tuskegee has added some new buildings and the on-campus apartment fad thing, but Tuskegee, being a national historic site, can't breath (i.e. can't just go build something new on campus) unless it is "ok'd" by the feds/national historic something-or-other blah, blah, and when we do it's usually a rennovation of an existing building that's designated historic. there has been a few new buildings like the hotel and the vet school and Chappy James but the focus at Tuskegee is always to rennovate/preserve as much as possible.
Tuskegee is a historic preservationist's paradise and it has probably maintained more of its original character, look/appeal more so than any other HBCUs (except for the other small private universities like Talladega, Stillman, Tougaloo etc) other than maybe Hampton. I think TU is an ideal small college town campus set in rolling terrain and lots of trees which are more prominent than the buildings on campus, AAMU is the best small metro campus nestled on a hill, very picturesque from a distance, but Tuskegee is like Boston (certain parts of downtown Boston still have all those old churches and buildings from the 1700s, Skegee still has some of the first buildings on campus built by students still in use. this i didn't appreciate while in school, but now i see the historical significance. i mean, you gotta be kidding me; going to class in the exact same building that Booker T. walked through? that is awesome.) where the focus is on history and preservation not so much new builds. I would add that the Chapel is a huge acception to the rule, but now seems to just fit in to the campus even though it looks like something out of a futuristic movie. this thing, built in the 60s(?) was WAAAY ahead of its time. what a masterpiece the Chapel,, oh my goodness.
I think Tuskegee is easily the most charming(you know, the whole ante-bellum/traditional deep south HBCU campus type thing) of the three while if you talk about ASU and AAMU, two state schools, I'd have to give the nod to AAMU. ASU, even as a kid i can remember going up there so much because syblings/parents went there (same with AAMU to a lesser extent, pops went there for grad school so we'd go up there every now and again to see Dr Dawson etc) is brutal. I went to NCA&T and I put A&T and ASU in the same category; functional urban campuses in marginal(A&T) to blighted(ASU) urban environments not appealing to the eye but with a good mix of modern and 40-90s vintage buildings like most colleges. AAMU is ASU but not in a blighted area with more natural surrounding beauty(hills in backdrop) and nice topography (on "the hill") more akin to a Tuskegee which is situated on a transitional mix of rolling black belt prairie land which is near the fall line/piedmont hills region.
