HU Reaction

By: Justin Olumide Senu-Oke
DISCLAIMER: This is the continuation of a note previously posted on Facebook. It may be confusing if you didn’t read the first note.
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That said, you may be wondering why I previously removed this note from Facebook. I’ll explain: After the first time I posted this note, older student leaders demanded that I take it down. I was told that I had the facts mixed up……that I was basically getting in over my head. Ultimately, it was my realization that our 2014 family might be disheartened by this note that most influenced my decision to remove it. I removed the note because I wanted to check my facts to make sure that I didn’t have things mixed up. I also wanted to make sure that 2014 students understood WHY I made this note. I wanted them to understand that I only made it out of love for Howard….love and hope….hope that the Howard experience would once again correspond to Howard’s prestige.
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After removing the note, I agreed to meet with many of the prominent student leaders who wished to discuss my note on a personal basis. Some were helpful and forthcoming with information. One was particularly helpful and even informed me about how to view Howard’s fiscal budget as well as about various sources of money that student government could tap into on behalf of the students. Other student leaders, however, either didn’t really know what they were talking about or seemed to have their own personal agenda. I refuse to allow such agendas halt student advocacy.
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Overall, most of the student leaders that I talked to agreed that my note, in principle, is factual.
As for my comments about the hospital:
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the moderator of the undergraduate trustee debate openly stated that maintaining the hospital posed serious financial difficulties. Nobody argued that statement then (and many of the big student leaders were present. Along those lines, I don’t know why a student leader would insist that I was incorrect in my statements about the hospital when the trustee board itself felt it necessary to debate this issue…..) Finally, I WAS NOT saying that the hospital should not remain open. I was ONLY saying that it’s time that the local government shouldered some of the burden.
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This does not mean that I’m unaware of the fact that the hospital has its own governing board. I know. The decision regarding that split was made by the trustee board 2 years ago. I KNOW!!! That does NOT change the point I’m trying to make
Anyways, I made corrections where I deemed necessary (in the interest of truth and fairness)
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This note is about four things. What Howard used to be, what it is now, how it got that way, and student advocacy. umm…i really don’t care if you disapprove or whatever and you should def write your comments below if you even bother to read this
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WHAT HOWARD WAS
Howard University, founded in 1867 by General Oliver O. Howard, has always been the top HBCU (until very recently perhaps). Howard University has educated some of the best and the brightest African Americans to ever walk the earth including the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall; the first African-American governor L. Douglas Wilder; Nobel Laureate and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison; Savage Holdings LLC CEO and Howard Board of Trustees Chairman Frank Savage; Emmy Award-winning actress Phylicia Rashad; opera singer Jessye Norman; actress, producer and director Debbie Allen; the first African-American president of the American College of Surgeons, Dr. LaSalle Leffall, Jr.; attorney, civil rights leader and Wall St. executive Vernon Jordan just to name a few.
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Howard University has historically been a premier research institution, but more importantly, it has served as a Gigantic force in fighting for human rights. Especially, in terms of its fight to end apartheid in South Africa…..
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But MOST importantly Howard is a school that has always given a first rate education. It still does, but lately some students have not been able to access this education do to administrative troubles
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WHAT HOWARD IS NOW
Howard has evolved into a whole lot of disorder and a whole lot of potential wrapped up in a giant tangle, and it’s hard to sort the good from the bad. Howard has always had administration problems and money problems, but never to the extent that they have reached now.
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Howard’s current predicament summed up in a few quick words: (1) nearly loosing accreditation for the college of Pharmacy, Nursing, and allied health, (2) Moorland Spingarn center coming within the brink of shutting down, (3) five hundred purged students last semester, (4) a severely diminishing reputation, (5) the lowest 4-year graduation rate among universities of Howard’s caliber, (5) horrible internet support system (bison web crashing during registration and howard.edu email system not working), (6) not enough sections for students to register for all required classes (7) HORRIBLY INEFFEICIENT USE OF CURRENT FUNDS
Along the lines of the 7th issue, I can’t stand the attitude that big whigs at Howard give you when you try to affect change. They look at you like a dumb little kid who doesn’t understand economic realities and just thinks money grows on a tree. FUCK THAT. I’m obviously not retarded or I wouldn’t be in college; and I’m certainly not an idiot.
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First, there are ways to raise money that are not being taken fully advantage of. I mean, Howard alumni hold BILLIONS of dollars of wealth. The problem is this: many of them don’t want to donate without knowing exactly which program their money is going to (we need less disorder and more transparency). Also, many alumni feel like Howard has little respect for alumni and as such refuse to donate. Other alumni do not donate because when they were students at Howard, the university never implanted in them, a sense that they should give back later. WE NEED A BETTER ALUMNI RELATIONS PROGRAM. This program should not only encompass current alumni, but also the future alumni (current students!!!!!!!!!). If it doesn’t nurture the roots, the tree won’t grow!
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Second, even without raising more money…..Howard can, at the very least, use the money that we do have more efficiently. There are millions of improvements that can be made which do not cost money. For example, the email system could be switched to google documents with the click of a button. It would be free and the email system would actually work. As another example, Howard could increase coordination between webmasters and department chairs to ensure that the information on howard.edu (in terms of recommended course schemes and other important information) corresponds with realities on the ground. It should never say that you need to take COURSE X on howard.edu, when in reality you need to take COURSE Y. There are many more examples but I don’t want this to get too long.
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HOW IT GOT THIS WAY
You can point to a bunch of causes for Howard’s current predicament. You can say that it is all caused by the last president of the school, H. Patrick Swygert…..You can say that it is caused by the fact that the Howard University Hospital drains up roughly 30% of the University’s 235 million yearly government funding (this is arguable….different sources will tell you different things; BUT THAT JUST REINTERATES MY POINT ABOUT THE LACK OF TRANSPARENCY)……You can say that it’s caused by the sharp tuition discount (the difference between Howard’s tuition and the much more expensive tuitions at white school of equal caliber)……You can say it’s caused by the fact that Howard, unlike many other schools, allows deferred tuition payments…..You can say it’s caused by a million different things, but ultimately it comes down to ONE major thing.
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It is the CULTURE of apathy that infects our school.
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There are people who are currently being payed to address most of the issues that the school is facing but they are simply not doing the best job that they can do. Real talk….
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And what’s up with the attitude that Howard needs to foot all the cost of running the Howard Hospital? Considering that ever since the main DC hospital such down, HUH has shouldered much of the city’s medical burden, the mayor’s office needs to work so that the DC area (which benefits the MOST from the Howard Hospital) is contributing equally to that hospital. It’s unacceptable that Howard is going down the drain partially because it has to run the hospital almost entirely on it’s own. The big whigs at Howard need to wake up, use their influence, and CHANGE this ASAP.
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In the interest of fairness I’ll say this: the university is taking certain steps to improve some of the technical difficulties that Howard now faces. First, Howard will spend roughly one million dollars on ISAS renovation next year. Hopefully, the computer labs will be in a better condition and better staffed. Maybe the dorm computer labs will open! Second, the school will spend roughly two million dollars on library renovation next year. Third, the school will be spending 3 million dollars on lab renovations and 2 million dollars on classroom renovations. Also, apparently, there is a new chief operating officer being appointed to address some of the issues related to disorganization in the A-building. I hope that he will be effective. If so, then maybe we won’t have some of these problems.
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STUDENT NON-ADVOCACY
When i think of student advocacy, the first picture that comes to my mind is the protest back in the golden days of Howard. Like, in 1989, when Howard students forced a school president out and succeeded in having more African American Studies classes incorporated into the curriculum. It seems like, in those days, student advocacy actually existed.
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In my mind, many elements of student government have sunk into a state of COMPLAINING BUT NOT CARING enough to really work hard for change.
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UGSA has hit an all-time low. The main problem is this: most people view UGSA as a stepping stone. They look at it not as a method of changing Howard, but rather, it is viewed as leverage to get into social organizations. Once they make these organizations (or don’t make them), they stop working hard. Others simply view UGSA as a method of padding their resumes. They NEVER work hard.
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One of the biggest problems with UGSA lies in the fact that too little emphasis is put into legislation and too much emphasis is put into programming.
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UGSA has potential, but until it becomes: (1) more about legislation and less about programming, (2) more used as a method to change Howard and less about using it as a stepping stone, (3) more filled with EDUCATED members (people who are willing to work to learn more about Howard everyday), (4) more open and transparent (perhaps some of the assembly meetings could be posted on the HU TV station), (5) better Public Relations to promote the things that UGSA does do well.
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This is NOT a personal attack on anyone. If you’re skit/lazy then yupp, I’m callin you out. Work harder! But if you’re there representing and doing work then your not getting called out. I commend you. Thanks!
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But if you are lazy, and this makes you angry, then fuck ya! Ur cheating the students! Get your time in the A-building up. Learn how it works. Be in there. That’s where the fight is.