Don’t expect proper delineation on BET

I must do something that I never thought I would do: applaud BET. I have actually found a program on the network that is mildly amusing and borderline innovative.

BET’s “College Hill”, which showcases the lives of eight students from Southern University living in a dormitory, has brought to light an issue that has been plaguing the black community: personal responsibility.

If anyone turned on the tube expecting to find a representation of themselves on “College Hill”, I want them to go to the nearest bridge and jump off of it. The world will probably be better off without their naivety.

Black people should stop looking to people on television to represent us or be our spokespersons. We have to realize that we are individuals with completely different lives. Black people cannot be lumped into one category, so we need to stop trying.

BET, like almost every other network on television, has made generous amounts of money by exploiting black people. In fact, BET may be the top offender when it comes to taking advantage of blacks.

The network has already managed to exhaust their storehouses of people in urban areas, so they have decided to just complete their collection by making sure black colleges and their students are made to look like ignorant peons.

However, the reality remains that BET could not have done this alone. If the ridiculous collection of misfits on “College Hill” did not already attend Southern, BET would never have found them.

It is not necessarily sad that they found some of the most unintelligent people on the campus, but it is sad that they found people who were so consciously willing to cast themselves in a particular light.

Absolutely no one who has ever seen a reality show could be dumb enough not to realize that they would be typecast as the whore or the nerd when their show airs.

However, if I am wrong, I will kindly provide them with a bullet so they can put an end to their ignorance.

Jason E. Hutchins is a junior business administration student from Athens, Ga. He is the opinions editor for The Famuan. Contact him at je_hutchins@hotmail.com.