refocusing and with that said...

i deleted some posts because they were a bit too frivolous. the focus of this blog was to blog about issues and not do shout outs to each other. that's what our personal blogs are for. now with that said.

Dr. Rivers, our "esteemed" president, has decided in his infinite wisdom and optimum sycophancy, to close the African World Studies Institute. Now a couple of years ago, I would have agreed whole heartedly with his decision. Not now though. The AWSI has brought something good to our campus, most specifically, a sense that we are something worth being educated. I was talking to my godmother and godsister Sunday and they were all for offering classes and not necessarily an entire institute. This I can agree with. Our school needs money. Running a few extra classes with the staff we already have ensures that the students aren't turned into Nazi scholars without an appreciation for all cultures. I know I may piss somebody off with what I'm about to say but, who cares, I'm grown and I have a degree.

There is no reason for anyone who does not have a strong English background to be writing unedited letters to anyone representing anyone other than themselves. One thing I've noticed about students in AWSI is that their communication skills are lacking. Their rhetoric is there but their ability to deliver it in a succint and tolerable fashion is a bit uhm.... well...they need help. And unfortunately I don't think they're getting enough help with being whole students. They're too focused on being "africanized." Here's a thought "We're not African!!" We are black people in America. DEAL WITH IT!! There is nothing wrong with studying the history of the "motherland" but there is definitely something wrong when you cannot acknowledge anything else in the world because you are too African. Africans laugh at us. To them we are lazy, stupid, and disrespectful. Can you blame them? I'm not saying that there isn't a chance that someone could study African history, culture, language, philosophy and not become so enamored with all things African that they decide to move there and live, maybe even change their name. My problem is that same individual could have been helping to save the life of some kid in their neighborhood who can't read and doesn't know that they can do and be better than what they're being progammed to believe. I'm just as revolutionary as the next black girl with an afro but I just don't think that because you're a AWSI major you're somehow more black or more african than I. If the Creator wanted me to be African, I would have been born in Africa and not in Americus, Georgia. I was born Black and categorized as an African American, paying homage to the fact that somewhere down the line, an African woman or man who is related to me made it over the middle passage and walked through fire. Or not. Learn about other things, don't be so close minded that you cannot accept that even though Black people are the bomb, they're black... We are not African. We do things reminiscient of, but we're still Black. You are not the end all be all of the intelligensia because you know a few words and your nomenclature is different. You can't write well enough to be believeable. Not in my world. Studying an Africana based curriculum does not elevate you to a new level of academic prowess. Your classes are just different. Like a Vet Science major and an EET major. What I'm saying is, at the end of the day, what difference does it make if you know all about the civilations of the ancient but cannot differentiate between what's real and what's fodder? If you are so biased that all rhetorical theory gets lost in a sea of propaganda. Invest in a whole education. But back to my point.

Dr. Rivers is making mistakes in order to please the alumni. That is my belief. The Warner Robins campus does not need to be open when all the students enrolled live on the campus of the Fort Valley State University and many do not have cars or friends with cars to get them to Warner Robins. The people on base and in the WR community have chosen Macon State. So be it. Take care of home Larry. We have dormitories that are unliveable, a library that's falling apart, a registration process that models the DMV or the unemployment line in speed. We have unqualified instructors teaching above their pedagogical ability, while those with the skills and knowledge are subjected to teaching lower level courses. Does Larry really want the best and brightest? I don't know. He hasn't shown me anything to suggest that he does. Maybe he's making drastic changes in order to totally revitalize and refocus the University's path and standing, or maybe he's just doing it to death.