Op Ed: HBCU Alums that are T-shirt wearers

[In_The_662]

I tell my frat brothers at homecoming....you come with the drinks etc....instead of buying $200 worth of liquor write a check to the school. We spend money on what we want to spend money on...it's real easy to give back.

It really is.

I have been going hard in our Facebook group about not having to give back the big $5000 donations but $10-$20 a month. If you got 5,000 alums giving back $100/year, it's not huge but it's a start. A Valley alum who worked at the school told us that corporations don't care about the amount but the percentage. If they look at a donor list and see that only 9-10% of your alums are giving back, it's gonna be hard to convince them to write a million dollar check to your school.

But it goes back to the bolded. People spend their money on what they want to. It's hard to tell them what to do with money that they worked for. BUT at the same time, as I have to remind them, you can't let a not-rich alum like me be active in the alumni association and do little stuff out of pocket for the school without seeking recognition but you're making 80-100K a year and not active but complaining about why we are playing North Dakota State. If you bought season tickets like you are supposed to, we wouldn't have to play them.

 

[TSU/BAMA]

I know I haven’t given the PWIs I attended a dime past tuition. Nothing since graduation.

However, HBCUs I never attended ...

I know someone who is like that too. LOL!!!!

 

[BobbyBlueBlamm]

And where did Farrakhan's grandson go to school?

I have seen the NOI working up close and personal. Please do not get me started.

Has absolutely nothing to do with what that man proposed. And the sad thing is I see you and a couple others in here trying to propose the same thing. Smh. Black people always gotta try and reinvent the wheel.

And I have no interest in that man’s personal family doings, I’m only concerned about the viability of what he was talking about in relation to the good of Black people as a whole. I leave the personal feelings stuff to the women.

 

[skyvolt2000]

Has absolutely nothing to do with what that man proposed. And the sad thing is I see you and a couple others in here trying to propose the same thing. Smh. Black people always gotta try and reinvent the wheel.

I think the point he was making is don't lecture to folks and you r not practicing what you preaching.

If HBCU want money-why don't ask your alum why they don't give back and be READY for what they say.

Why are those HBCU basketball whoring themselves to big time PWI for checks? That they get BASHED for on live tv while the PWI who do the same get praise like Butler and UTA do. If money is that much of an issue that you can't play home games in non-conference-stay in STATE. Texas got enough schools for PV & Tx Southern to play.

If I have seen you misused money (hi Howard University)-I am going to hang up the phone when you come calling for money. If you keep having scandal after scandal-don't call me for cash.

Before we even touch the HBCU-we need to look at SELF. Look at who we keep propping up in the community. If you rap, play a sport or a thug-in some communities you are royalty. I can bring in blacks who have successful businesses into certain schools and guess who are the MAIN ones being rude and ignoring them? Not Jose & Maria. Not Becky & Barney. Pookie & Ray Ray & Brenda because they see grown black folks disrespecting those folks.

Same with smart black kids. Many would rather be called every N word and harassed by cops than try to help black folks who don't want help. We won't discuss black public schools.

If it's so bad where are all these so-called black organizations? Who aren't doing runway walks, photo opps and getting fame off the bodies of dead black males. Why are they not getting together and going school by school to fix them?

No HBCU thought of using Ebay or Amazon to sell stuff? Or have events like Fashion shows for a fee that rivals other places? Or called Lavar Ball to have games played at a HBCU? WNBA does it with the Dallas Wings.

 

[BobbyBlueBlamm]

I think the point he was making is don't lecture to folks and you r not practicing what you preaching.

If HBCU want money-why don't ask your alum why they don't give back and be READY for what they say.

Why are those HBCU basketball whoring themselves to big time PWI for checks? That they get BASHED for on live tv while the PWI who do the same get praise like Butler and UTA do. If money is that much of an issue that you can't play home games in non-conference-stay in STATE. Texas got enough schools for PV & Tx Southern to play.

If I have seen you misused money (hi Howard University)-I am going to hang up the phone when you come calling for money. If you keep having scandal after scandal-don't call me for cash.

Before we even touch the HBCU-we need to look at SELF. Look at who we keep propping up in the community. If you rap, play a sport or a thug-in some communities you are royalty. I can bring in blacks who have successful businesses into certain schools and guess who are the MAIN ones being rude and ignoring them? Not Jose & Maria. Not Becky & Barney. Pookie & Ray Ray & Brenda because they see grown black folks disrespecting those folks.

Same with smart black kids. Many would rather be called every N word and harassed by cops than try to help black folks who don't want help. We won't discuss black public schools.

If it's so bad where are all these so-called black organizations? Who aren't doing runway walks, photo opps and getting fame off the bodies of dead black males. Why are they not getting together and going school by school to fix them?

No HBCU thought of using Ebay or Amazon to sell stuff? Or have events like Fashion shows for a fee that rivals other places? Or called Lavar Ball to have games played at a HBCU? WNBA does it with the Dallas Wings.

I know what his point was, and my point remains the same. Now we can keep asking those same questions that you’ve asked in your post, and we’ll be asking em 40 yrs from now, or we can start looking at some realistic solutions.

 

[Fiyah]

They can give $100/yr (less than $20.00/mo). That is the part we don't get. You don't have to be able to give 4, 5, 6 or 7 figures. As they say in church...give as you are able.

Can you imagine 1,000 people giving $100/yr EVERY year? That $100,000 grand would go a long way helping with financial aid.

Exactly, no one is asking for you to give up a lot of money, just give something.

How many of us are financial members of their local and national alumni associations?

It can't cost that much for you to do it.

It really is.

I have been going hard in our Facebook group about not having to give back the big $5000 donations but $10-$20 a month. If you got 5,000 alums giving back $100/year, it's not huge but it's a start. A Valley alum who worked at the school told us that corporations don't care about the amount but the percentage. If they look at a donor list and see that only 9-10% of your alums are giving back, it's gonna be hard to convince them to write a million dollar check to your school.

Yep, that's what our Foundation has been telling folks. It's not all about the amount we get but more about the percentage of folks giving.

 

[the band fan]

Exactly, no one is asking for you to give up a lot of money, just give something.

How many of us are financial members of their local and national alumni associations?

It can't cost that much for you to do it.



Yep, that's what our Foundation has been telling folks. It's not all about the amount we get but more about the percentage of folks giving.

With us, We gotta compete with families, Church and social organizations, etc. before you can even try to get consistent giving. WE want to know where the money is going, etc as all I want is a irs form to prove you got it.

PWC boosters basically are allowing their money to be stolen right under their eyes but they keep doing it.

They pay all this money for a coach and then he sucks so he then gets money to walk without even working. Man basically robbed me blind and we do it it again hoping for a ROI. And that’s not even going towards tickets or tailgating spots.

The non HBCU blacks never really integrate into the culture they chose at the PWC so it’s easy for them to distance themselves. It sounds good for bragging purposes but they never buy in totally.

Look at a Roland Martin..he has to force A&M on us but we don’t care. They never are really appreciated so they run back to us looking for gratification. He accepts those HBCU Classic invites with a quickness.

 

[Storm96]

Yep, that's what our Foundation has been telling folks. It's not all about the amount we get but more about the percentage of folks giving.

At the same time, the Foundation and the University's gonna have to get on the same page when it comes to reporting. All the years that I and others have been donating through the Foundation, its reported as a single donation from the foundation to the university and not individually. That makes the percentage of alumni giving number deeply flawed.

Anyway, this really is a Black thing. Black PWI grads dont give back either. Some Blacks will give faithfully to their crooked pastors but let the University ask for a donation and you get financial aid/housing horror stories from 20 years ago.

 

[2kool]

One thing that us HBCU alumni must do on top of giving is ensuring the next generation of students dont encounter the same struggles we had to put up with. If we know that unpleasantries cause alums not give back, minimize those unpleasantries for the next generation so our schools giving rates improve in the future.

But we as a people are too tied to this flawed notion that the struggles of the past should be the struggles of the future, and we wonder why we STILL dont own or control anything of true value in this country.

 

[The Founder]

If every HBCU Alum gave 5% of their earnings to their school we would not have a problem.

 

[Herbert77060]

Has absolutely nothing to do with what that man proposed. And the sad thing is I see you and a couple others in here trying to propose the same thing. Smh. Black people always gotta try and reinvent the wheel.

And I have no interest in that man’s personal family doings, I’m only concerned about the viability of what he was talking about in relation to the good of Black people as a whole. I leave the personal feelings stuff to the women.

Good for you

 

[Tpop33]

One thing that us HBCU alumni must do on top of giving is ensuring the next generation of students dont encounter the same struggles we had to put up with. If we know that unpleasantries cause alums not give back, minimize those unpleasantries for the next generation so our schools giving rates improve in the future.

But we as a people are too tied to this flawed notion that the struggles of the past should be the struggles of the future, and we wonder why we STILL dont own or control anything of true value in this country.

So how do you fix this?
My major issue was like most, the financial aid office. And the issue was more the people than the process. Now I've been to a PWI before and I did not have that issue there. Hell even the registration office staff was more pleasant to deal with compared to AAMU and I've heard stories about white parents going off on the staff at the PWI.

 

[Fiyah]

If every HBCU Alum gave 5% of their earnings to their school we would not have a problem.

No one is even asking for 5%, what about .05%...something.
Our schools retention rates are hurting bad too because a student can't pay a deposit or they have a ticket from the previous semester and can't pay it. So they end up getting dropped from school for non payment of fees and end up leaving.

 

[2kool]

So how do you fix this?
My major issue was like most, the financial aid office. And the issue was more the people than the process. Now I've been to a PWI before and I did not have that issue there. Hell even the registration office staff was more pleasant to deal with compared to AAMU and I've heard stories about white parents going off on the staff at the PWI.

The next time you attend an alumni chapter meeting, request your chapter invite the directors of financial aid, registrars, admissions, etc to speak at separate meetings (or via conference call if not local). Ask them their customer service strategy. Ask them what are they doing to ensure a smooth process for students. Ask them are they adequately staffed.

If they do not comply or give the indication that they don't care or need more resources, go over their head and make demands of their superiors. If university leadership doesn't want to comply, go over their heads until you get what these students deserve. Plain and simple. We all learned this method as students, right?

If your chapter leadership gives the indication that they don't want to do things like this, vote their asses out. Plain and simple.

Our alumni associations should be the conduit for positive change at our schools. We have to stop just cutting checks for access and perks (neither of which are of any beneficial value).

Just one man's opinion...

 

[JSUTigers1877]

Its not all on the faculty and staff regarding the issues of financial aid, registering , and admissions. A lot of it can be attributed to our lack of knowledge concerning the process involving paperwork and what needs to be done. The student needs to educate themselves and seek out help if possible. Also, you have a lot of parents who don't understand the process so they get frustrated along with their kids and leads to complaints.

 

[TSU/BAMA]

Anyway, this really is a Black thing. Black PWI grads dont give back either.

I think you are right on this.

 

[Bighead]

Over a year ago, I told y'all about my days at Blue Cross Blue Shield in MS. White kids with degrees got jobs as Analysts, which started at $38K. Black kids with degrees were sent to the call center which started at $26K. And when I say Black graduates, I mean JSU, Alcorn and Valley as well as Southern Miss and MS State. The white grads came from USM and State, but also MS College and Belhaven, who didn't even have accredited schools of business at that time.

Furthermore, I said the Analyst role "started" at $38K. However, those newly graduated white workers were brought in north of $40K. Black employees who were promoted to Analysts after years of working their tails off were given the $38K. So even in the same role, we still made less than our White counterparts....assuming they had not been promoted to being your boss in the same time frame. Because they also got promoted faster.

Now that was just at one employer. So just imagine the income disparity between a graduating class at a PWI and a graduating class at an HBCU. Over a 20-year period, you're talking millions of dollars of disparity. And we haven't even touched on the generational wealth that they have access to while we don't.

So the state of the HBCU represents the state of Black America as far as I'm concerned. And, yes, the institutions themselves need to be held accountable. Be more transparent. Be more intentional with your gifts. Be more creative in how you go about fundraising. I have to say I'm proud of what JSU did last week with its annual day of giving. The University raised over $100K in a 24-hr period (OK, a 48-hr period LOL). So I know it can be done.

This is all I am saying.

We can't continue to be fed this old mind-set about why we don't give back, when the truth in most cases, most blacks that come from HBCUs can't give back.

Now that 100k (48 hours) now just imagine if there was a project or something (off-campus dorms) now next month come back with another fund-raiser etc.

Or that 100k can go into something along the lines of new street pavement, lines in the road around campuses. Something tangible and innovated so that the ppl that donated can actually see where that 100k went towards. Or better yet, you do this 10x and you at a 1 million. A milli, hell, let's build something now that we can make generate a revenue flow back to the university.

Now that's how the PWIs operate.

100k should be used to make another 10- 100ks

It's still F JSU (lol) but mane that's good to be able to raise 100k, Maybe some new lights around campus, or something,
That 100k could be used for leverage to get a bigger loan to create new dorms off campus or on campus, more amenities for the student or something

 

[The Founder]

No one is even asking for 5%, what about .05%...something.
Our schools retention rates are hurting bad too because a student can't pay a deposit or they have a ticket from the previous semester and can't pay it. So they end up getting dropped from school for non payment of fees and end up leaving.

Preach....

 

[Bighead]

I would go on, how many of these black mega churches giving back to our HBCUs?

We give to the church but are they giving back to our schools and putting together projects for the schools to be built.

Like man it's time out for the sh1t.

The church is one of the wealthiest places in the black community, some are doing better than HBCUs, let that sink in.

All these games we play and get drugged by 100 points in sports, shouldn't even be played if churches (mega ones) gave back, we started doing our parts, visions are laid out, and I"m not talking about 8-10 projects on some dayum white poster boards.

Go to the alum, at Homecoming at halftime and announce this is what we are doing, building a brand new union or creating a bowling and drinks/wings establishment on the west side of campus, we need 200k to so do. Shid one school raised 100k in 48hrs, this can be done

Now you got a place for students on campus to go and hang out, buy drinks, bowl and watch the boxing match.


We gotta start streaming our games, we gotta start creating our own little HBCU world that lifts each school. Like dayum lol, it's not that dayum hard

 

[Storm96]

Its not all on the faculty and staff regarding the issues of financial aid, registering , and admissions. A56 lot of it can be attributed to our lack of knowledge concerning the process involving paperwork and what needs to be done. The student needs to educate themselves and seek out help if possible. Also, you have a lot of parents who don't understand the process so they get frustrated along with their kids and leads to complaints.

I 've observed that alot of issues with housing and financial aid is due to the students' missing deadlines or failing to submit required paperwork. But in this age of no accountability, they and their parents blame the school instead of accepting their own role in the matter.

 

[jag4life]

I 've observed that alot of issues with housing and financial aid is due to the students' missing deadlines or failing to submit required paperwork. But in this age of no accountability, they and their parents blame the school instead of accepting their own role in the matter.

This is true and it not new to this era. It was the norm when I enrolled in college 27 years ago.

SU has a housing paperwork party set up for later this month to encourage students to meet the application deadline.

 

[Storm96]

This is true and it not new to this era. It was the norm when I enrolled in college 27 years ago.

SU has a housing paperwork party set up for later this month to encourage students to meet the application deadline.

True, but the difference is that with the internet/websites these days etc there really is no reason that students/parents aren't aware of deadlines. You don't have to thumb through handbooks or physically go to offices to obtain information these days.

 

[Cis-BrothaB]

I wonder what role of folks graduating with a bunch of student loan debt plays in the lack of giving? Some may feel resentment in giving just based on that alone.

 

[Bighead]

The thing is, we got ppl in these positions that can barely work a FB page trying to conduct business.

Some are set in their old ways and hadn't did anything but plant a tree in the ground around the campus in 20 plus year of them being in position and it's sad as fuk.

Burnt out ass folks mane, can't progress with the mentality we have in these positions. Smh.

You get 10k, you're supposed to know how to flip that into 20-30k. No reason for a school to be in debt and getting shutdown. Relying on white mom and white daddy money, man we gotta get off that sht1 frfr.

You don't see your local cac private HS that's getting 10k a semester struggling and sh1t.

 

[the band fan]

True, but the difference is that with the internet/websites these days etc there really is no reason that students/parents aren't aware of deadlines. You don't have to thumb through handbooks or physically go to offices to obtain information these days.

folks would have a heart attack going through those old days when you had to do everything by feet, hands and brainpower. College research was the Baron's yellow book