The Set, a stomping ground for some students at Florida A&M University, has become the centre of a growing controversy.
Located in front of the university’s post office, some students think that their peers may be neglecting the classroom for a social life on The Set.
Myah Clayton, 20, a junior health care management student from Tallahassee believes that students may be losing focus as a result of spending too much time on The Set.
“I believe The Set is a great place for people to mingle but a lot of students prefer to stay on The Set instead of going to class,” said Clayton. “The number one priority should be schoolwork instead of socializing, because The Set is not going to give you a degree.”
While some students believe that schoolwork should be a priority instead of hanging out on The Set, others believe that it is only an attraction to some students.
“I think it’s the younger students that are the ones that skip to hang out on the set,” said Sharday Jones, 20, a senior psychology student from Tallahassee. “The set is usually full of students and sometimes I wonder whether or not they should be in class or not.”
The Set’s history also suggests that it was a place for students to hang out in the past.
“When the dorms were first built, the boys would walk from their dorms across campus to visit the girls in their dormitories,” said Dr. Murell Dawson, Archivist Curator of the Black Archives. “But since they couldn’t get in, they would meet them on the area in front of their dormitories which would later be known as the set.”
Dawson said that all of Martin Luther King Street was referred to as The Set. However, when it was closed down a few years ago, the location in front of the post office became the new meeting place.
From the history of The Set to now, students believe there has not been much of a change. Some students think that The Set isn’t to blame for the decrease in classroom attendance.
Caron Cheeseborough, 20, a junior occupational therapy student from Tallahassee doesn’t believe that students are neglecting their education for life on The Set
“We as students make our own choices,” Cheeseborough said. “We should govern ourselves accordingly because there’s a time for work and a time for play.”
While Cheeseborough believes that students make their own choices, Dominick Ardis believes that time on The Set depends on students’ priorities, and The Set is not a priority.
“Since 1887, FAMU has graduated some of the most top caliber students in the nation,” said Ardis, 20, a junior health care management student from Tallahassee. “There is no reason why The Set should be a hindrance to a student’s pursuit of academic excellence. Why obtain an F in class for poor attendance? You know what you’re here for. Go to class.”
Though some students have different perspectives on the correlation between hanging out on The Set and low class attendance, one thing is certain: The Set has been a mecca for students on FAMU’s campus for years, and will continue to be.