Melissa Harris-Perry shared tips on how to be a successful individual at Florida State University on Monday.
The MSNBC contributor, author and professor at Tulane University spoke at the Ruby Diamond Concert Hall as a part of the Golden Tribe Lecture Series.
“Campuses are my comfort zone,” Harris-Perry said.
While Harris-Perry believes classrooms are a “lab of democracy,” she told students that it’s important to have knowledge outside of the classroom as well.
“Get out of the classroom, learn new technology and community partnership,” she said.
Harris-Perry also encouraged students to experience new things.
“We don’t try new things because we are scared to fail,” Harris-Perry said. “I wish we would make the world a little safer for mistakes.”
Chidi Gabriel, a senior senior political science student at Florida A&M from Piscataway, N.J., was encouraged during the lecture.
“Since being in school, I have always been frightened to step out of the box,” Gabriel said. “Perry put into perspective many of the things we discuss in my classes on a daily basis.”
The event was co-sponsored by the Black Student Union on FSU’s campus.
Harold Scott, president of FSU’s Black Student Union, which co-sponsored the event, said the BSU donated $5,000 and spread the word around campus to get people to come to the event.
“I have a lot of followers on social media that attend FAMU, so I pubbed through those to reach that audience so we wouldn’t use FSU students’ A&S fees for pubbing across the two campuses.”
Harris-Perry encouraged students to make a change in society and to not be afraid of what others might say.
“Don’t be afraid to stick up for change,” Harris-Perry said. “Be courageous.”