Well, well, well. It seems if Gainous doesn’t make any changes by Jan. 1, 2005, that would yield the FAMU Board of Trustees to unanimously agree to renegotiate keeping him aboard ship; he will be fired. It’s almost impossible to reach a unanimous decision.
Gainous has done little to improve the University, but much to destroy the University. In the words of Junior Sen. Tara Crawford of the Student Senate, “I’m sick and tired of the University destroying itself from within.”
I must admit, I’ve never cared too much for the Gainous administration, but I was willing to give it a chance. I gave it chance after chance to show itself worthy of the distinct title of being the leadership of the great Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.
Yet, time after time, it failed me.
When Gainous received his post, immediately a rumor swarmed around campus that Gainous would fire everyone in a position of leadership over an administrative department. A few months later, the rumor began to come to fruition and my beloved Dr. Delores Sloan, was relieved of her duties.
Almost a year later, his firing was complete. (Until the housing incident that caused former Housing Director, Jerry Moore, to lose his post only to find another miscellaneous job on campus.)
During this firing storm, Gainous also initiated the One FAMU program, which was met with strong opposition from the student body. (I know I was one that didn’t agree with the existence of such hollowness.) This program is modeled after the One Florida initiative that Gov. Jeb Bush implemented upon months of inhabiting his office.
It was not a good move.
Also, Gainous decided to change the University motto, from “Excellence with caring,” to “Creating One FAMU.” He also changed the University seal.
What is going on?
It took a little while for me to cool down, but I dealt with it. I let him continue on his mad run to “improve” the University without saying a thing.
Then 2003 rolled around.
I still don’t fully understand why the University was two months late turning in the financial statements, that were apparently inaccurate. A few months later, $3 million of missing University funds just appeared out of the blue.
Seems fishy to me.
Oh yeah, my favorite, the new dance that came out of the Gainous administration. The I-A move up and the I-A move back: Breathe in, breathe out.
Wow, this has been an eventful three years. I remember the second half of my freshman year, one president went out, another president came in. Now it appears history will repeat itself. The University president is being forced out again.
“We should be ashamed of ourselves, for allowing this to happen,” said Trustee Barney Bishop.
Yes, Trustee Bishop, we should be ashamed.
We should be ashamed to have allowed this madness to go on for so long. We should be ashamed for allowing incompetence to be in power for so long. We should be ashamed to just sit by and let the governor appoint the illegitimate league of misfits to hold court at FAMU.
We should be ashamed.
Trustee Bishop also went on to say, on behalf of Gainous that “if all you do is define what’s wrong with the University, then you’ve forgotten what’s right.”
Well, Trustee Bishop, every time someone tries to say something positive about Gainous, something bad almost always follows up.
And now, Sept. 29, 2004, we stand on the edge of a breakthrough. A breakthrough that will hopefully bring about a much needed positive change.
I only hope that FAMU is ready to endure another presidential search and Gainous is ready to buy another house. Maybe the same developer who was represented by Trustee Bishop won’t own the next house Gainous buys.
Coincidence? Possibly.
But, I do hope we have another president before April 30 because, at graduation, I don’t want to shake Larry Robinson’s hand either.
Robyn K. Mizelle is a senior broadcast journalism student from Lake City. Contact her at TheTruthShallRise@hotmail.com.