I will briefly give an overview of my issues with some HBCUs in general….(I can do better explaining this in person but I will try to summarize it)
In general, I have been pretty unsatisfied with a majority of my experiences as a professional working with HBCUs. I am a recruiter by profession and have spent the last 6 years visiting countless colleges and universities across the eastern coast including some of the more prominent HBCUs.
To be clear, I am not unsatisfied with every HBCU experience just like I have not been satisfied with every non-HBCU experience but from a #s standpoint:
1. There are significantly more non-HBCUs than HBCUs. So the few experiences that I have had with HBCUs are magnified.
2. I am a lot harder on HBCUs because of what they stand for and how some TRY to differentiate themselves from other institutions but don’t live up to the expectations.
My issues colleges and universities (more especially some HBCUs) have been their inability to prepare a majority of their students for post-undergraduate life. Boasting about academic strength (which most can’t) is not enough. From a recruiter standpoint, when I step onto a college campus….I am looking for students that can market and sell themselves which more than half the time has been unsuccessful. Some of my major issues with these institutions have been:
1. Fostering a false sense of confidence amongst students unable to compete in the real world (yet)
2. Preparing their students for academic successes but not transition into the real world
3. Making excuses for students who make haphazard efforts to transition properly from college life to ‘adult’ life.
I often speak of my horror recruiting stories; students thinking pin striped suits/gator shoes are professional outfits, those unable to formulate their thoughts regarding what their career interests are etc.
I understand that there will always be some room for disagreement regarding the effectiveness of these universities and colleges in preparing their students but at some point we have to look at data: how many of you and your friends were/are competitive in the job market immediately after graduation?
The ability to be competitive is not just a matter of being academically competent, it includes how you carry yourself, present yourself, market yourself etc….these factors all add to the total package.
Real Reform:
Morehouse College has recently taken a charge in helping its students prepare for their future by developing an ‘dress code’ for its students.
A review of the dress code (unverified source)
A link to The Maroon Tiger Newspaper of Morehouse College article
Obviously there are mixed reactions to this new policy and please free to share yours but in short…..I SUPPORT IT!!!!
I remember a visit last year to the Atlanta University Consortium (AUC) made up of Clark Atlanta Univeristy, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine and Spelman College (all HBCUs….I did not visit Morehouse Medical School).
I remember walking away saying to myself…I would love to have my sister attend Spelman and I would LOVe to come back and recruit at Morehouse and Spelman. Why? Because walking around these campuses as a recruiter, I got the message. They are about business, they walk like it, talk like it and act like it (for the most part).
The culture at these institutions would have anyone come back and recruit there. At the end of the day, as much as college life is a matter of ‘finding self’, it is more importantly a matter of ‘preparing for future’. A college student’s future might not involve him/her wearing ’suits’ but the mindset of being a ‘professional’ is the same across the board and getting good practice never hurts.
A bigger issue for me is this: Are we at a time when we actually HAVE TO have such policies? Can we not even count on college students to not look like fools with sagging pants and gold grills?
If this is the case then I am afraid, I am very afraid.
If you do not like this policy, here are some options:
1. Don’t send your siblings/children to Morehouse! Education is a choice. For every Morehouse there are significantly more HBCUs out there that do not have such policies or campus cultures.
October 13th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
My apologies…I should have pointed this out but forgot…
there is one part of the rules (as described in the link above) that I disagree with.
The part discouraging the students from wearing women’s garb, purses etc. Clearly, Morehouse is an all male institution and this rule (on its surface) discriminates against gay, ‘feminine’, transgendered men etc.
I have pretty strong views about LGBT issues but I am very clear of separating my personal thoughts from my professional work.
For this same reason, I would not want Morehouse to target this same population. It is taking it too far.
October 14th, 2009 at 10:04 am
I was going to comment on the same rule mentioned above, because it is clearly and indirect shot at the LBGT community, which (although I don’t agree with that lifestyle) is not cool because it is blatant discrimination.
Aside from that rule though, I would definitely be in support of this policy and, as an HBCU graduate, I think it would be in the best intrest of the rest of the HBCU’s to follow suit! Reason being, there’s fine line between “freedom of personal expression” and “over-the-top attire.” I hate to sound like a twentienth century old-skooler but, we go to college to get an education….anything aside from that, while memorable and enhriching, is extra curricular…..INCLUDING being able to “express yourself” through your personal fashion choices…and I think we as college students have gotten away from considering the importance and significance of that because we had so much freedom to do “everything else” in addition to and while working towards our degrees. No, I’m not saying that dressing fashionably or orginially has a tremendously negative effect on a students’ ability to focus on their studies, but I do think, like many other leniencies on college campuses in general, it does attribute in some way to students tendencies to digress from why they are attending college in the first place.
Additionally, it is about time a University put some restrictions and requirements on the way that students dress when in a professional atmosphere! Even when I was in college, it baffled me to see peers of mine show up at a career fair, commencement ceremony, awards banquet, or any other event where it seemed common sense to want to look professioanl and presentable, dressed in sweats,jeans, pajama pants, etc…….(and YES, this includes athletes, because I was one) and have NOONE reprimand them as if it were acceptable! Granted, I WAS guilty of wearing pajama-like (meaning sweats or shorts, a t-shirt and a hoodie) clothing on campus early in the morning, but I can honestly say that I did it because I knew that I could and, had I been told otherwise, then I wouldn’t have, period. So, I guess, as stated in the comment above, the argument can be against both the students for knowing what to do (wear) and not, and also the University for accepting it. Either way, I am most definitely in agreement with this dress code. Kudos to Morehouse.
October 14th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Ummm, to the last points, I think its safe to say that if you want to attend an all male university you shouldn’t have gender issues. I mean being gay is one thing, but if you have gender issues you need to just go ahead and go to a coed school.
I will say this too, on the whole uniform thing. It does make a difference. I HAVE to put on a tie every morning for work, and doing so puts in you in the right mindset to do a professional job. Whether its induced professionalism or not, wearing certain attire sets the expectations for how you should conduct yourself. If parents and teachers won’t set the standard then it is up to school administration to do so. It shouldn’t be necessary, but it is in some cases.
October 26th, 2009 at 11:34 am
i would like to address all those opposing of our, morehouse college, new policy because it is “discriminatory against gays and transgendered students” but the reality is these students who identify with these positions, addressing the students that solely identify as homosexual or “feminine” as stated above, these students are all male and identify as such, there is no discrimination against these students because they are gay so lets stop saying that because it does become a greater issue from that false perspective; your clothing does not determine nor define your orientation, if you are gay are you gay because you put on womens clothing? thats a false identity if that is the case, there is no perscriptive diagnosis provided to the college stating these students will not be able to produce or become a great leader, as morehouse is known to produce, on the basis they are uncomfortable in clothing for males.also knowing the history of the college and its mission is important, a lot of these brothers come to morehouse for ATLANTA and not the rich tradition and nurturing provided at morehouse so it becomes blurry when they become engulfed in the sub-cultures of the city and transcend them into the culture of the campus. transgender students alike are responsible for knowing the institution they have chosen, there is no animosity towards any or none of my brothers alike; i have love for everyone, and in that i feel it is more important to figure out honestly if morehouse is the best choice, being an all male historic institution, rich and set in its own culture and development and leadership building skills for men, if identifying as transgender prohibits any of those, especially when it deals with changing the school for case by case accommodations; we have to really think rationally before we go head into situations, i know morehouse, i am morehouse, sexual orientation is not a determinant of that, what i produce is the etermining factor of that.
March 13th, 2010 at 7:08 pm
If you don’t want to be a Morehouse Man then get the operation and go to Spellman.