It really might be time to stop the complaining. Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University might not be the a
five-star hotel with room service delivered by Mila Kunis, but it certainly is not the Motel 6 many students try to make it out to be.
Compare the problems of this university to some of the other schools in Florida and it’s pretty easy to see there isn’t too much of a case for the whiners. We have cracks in our sidewalks, some buildings in need of air fresheners, a few “students” who are probably certifiably insane and we face the same budget cuts universities all over America are faced with.
That’s not so bad when other universities are literally falling apart, shutting down or failing to meet academic requirements (we passed that bar remember?). Last month, members of The Famuan traveled to South Carolina for an
awards ceremony. The difference between what was available to this staff versus what is available at other HBCUs is scary. There are opportunities here that other HBCUs just plain don’t have.
New and renovated buildings are popping up everywhere. The School of Journalism and Graphic Communication is, in many respects, a state-of-the-art building. Business students here actually dress in business attire. We actually have professors of philosophy here. Our school is not perfect. Financial aid could use some tightening and officials tend to pull a ninja act whenever students need to contact them about a mistake they may or may not have made.
But honestly, spend five minutes at Florida State, the school people seem to think is perfect, and they can be just as loony. Florida A&M is being restructured as this article is being written. Some steps are negative, some are positive, but at least steps are being taken at this university. The officials here are not in positions of power because they came into a vacant office and sat down.
They can make our already good university great. The students are going to need to cooperate at some point too. Get involved, raise your voice but always remember, if we are to remain among the best, we need to fully utilize what we have. We really do have a lot.