Rattlers defend their territory

I’m not sure how many Rattlers will be able to relate to this story. However, it has happened to me once, as well as to people I know.

Usually, a person may be kicking it with a couple of friends from Florida State and comments like, “y’all have that?” or “how do you like Fam?” or “I heard its so ghetto,” will be made by some random Seminole that you don’t know. So, my next comments are for the black FSU student who doesn’t seem to feel that Rattlers are in touch with his/her educational experience.

I have had full scholarships offered to me by other schools: Columbia, Georgetown, Howard, Hampton and Tulane, to name a few. I excelled on the SAT and the ACT, and did very well in high school. This is a background similar to many students at Florida A&M University.

There are many of us who chose to come here, with outstanding pre-requisites before entering college. So the myth of the types of students that come to FAMU is definitely not true.

Secondly, when you read negative comments about FAMU in the paper, it is mostly a far stretch of the truth, meant to bring down the great name of this institution.

Remember, FAMU was recently named college of the year and FSU has NEVER been college of the year. Often times, people seem to confuse money and prestige for quality, but that must not be done when evaluating what a person has “learned” in his or her quest to becoming a valuable citizen.

It was FAMU that opened its doors to most of your parents and grandparents when they sought college education, not FSU.

I say these things to make it known that whenever a person is downing our institution, it is not just FAMU blacks they are talking about.

They are essentially saying that blacks in general cannot run an institution of higher learning.

So I charge the black student body at FSU to stand up against that and preach facts (if you don’t know then come to FAMU and find out) about what FAMU provides, instead of letting people talk down on your own people. I’m not judging or questioning your blackness for going to FSU.

In fact, I understand many of the financial and opportunity dilemmas people are faced with when choosing an institution of higher learning.

However, if you don’t think blacks can run schools, and you think FAMU is just full of ‘ghetto’ people, then please do not show up at any of our parties, homecoming events, festivals, seminars, games, etc. Just enjoy your experience at FSU.

For the students who want to stand against the spread of false and negative publicity of FAMU, I welcome you with open arms.

Jarred Morgan is a third year business administration student from Houston. He can be reached at famuanopinions@hotmail.com