5 ways to take advantage of the summer before freshman year

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Stay ahead of the game and prepare for the 'HBCU experience' this fall.
Stay ahead of the game and prepare for the ‘HBCU experience’ this fall.

Once you’ve graduated from high school, summer seems like the perfect opportunity to relax and do nothing before you enter college. Taking time to unwind and hang out with friends and family is important, but you should also consider some simple steps to make the transition into college life easier. Here are five tips to help you prepare for the fall:

• Brainstorm potential careers

Whether you’re looking to develop new political philosophies, communicate your ideas to a mass audience, promote cooperation between different nations, pursue your passion in the arts or something else entirely, it never hurts to get a head start. Parents, teachers, guidance counselors, even strangers on the street have probably told you that it’s OK if you don’t know what you want to major in or what field you want to go into. They’re right. Nonetheless, exploring the possibilities will save you time down the road and get you thinking about your future long before it arrives.

• Take a summer class

Summer vacation is obviously a time for relaxing and taking a break from the seemingly endless school-year workload, but there’s no shame in wanting to get ahead and continue your education year-round. Community colleges usually offer introductory-level courses with cheaper prices than what you’ll pay at the bigger universities you might be attending in the fall. Be careful, though. Before you enroll and pay for a course, check with your university’s academic department to make sure that you can earn credit for it later on. It’s no fun to repeat a course you’ve already taken, and there’s certainly no reason to pay extra money. Your parents will be thanking you later.

Read more here

Top 20 cities for college graduates

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Ranking in the top five cities, New York is 'the Mecca' for college graduates.
New York is ‘the Mecca’ and a social hub for college graduates.

Graduating this May and leaving the yard not sure what to do next? Check out USA Today‘s article on the top 20 cities for college graduates.

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5. Minneapolis

A metropolis with a down-home vibe was exactly what Sarah Cutler was looking for. The senior at Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., grew up in the suburbs of St. Louis, but she always considered herself a big-city girl. So when she was offered an internship at Target last summer in Minneapolis, she jumped at the chance … and fell in love with “The Mini Apple.”

“The people were very kind, very Midwestern and very warm and friendly,” said Cutler, who is moving to Minneapolis in August to be a business analyst for Target. “You don’t have to compromise a big city for stone-cold people.”

Cutler found that she didn’t have to sacrifice her love for the outdoors, either. Although it has a population of nearly 400,000, the city prides itself on its abundance of bike paths, lakes and hiking trails.

With an affordable cost of living, an exceptional transportation system and company headquarters such as Target and General Mills, the city offers a range of opportunities for grads and is an attractive home for 20-somethings.

“I’m looking forward to making a new circle of friends,” Cutler said, “and I think that’s going to be really easy to do in Minneapolis.”

4. Seattle

There’s more to Seattle than the Space Needle and Starbucks.

“A lot of people think, ‘Oh, it just rains all the time,’” said Adam Sherman, a third-year law student at the University of Washington. “But I think when you’re talking to people who actually live here, they get past that rain really fast because of all the other things it has to offer.”

For any graduate who is looking to diversify their life, look no further than Seattle, home to Microsoft and Boeing. The city is a melting pot for a wealth of cultures, boasting museums as well as neighborhoods housing all nationalities.

But, Sherman says, one of the biggest appeals is the affordability. Because Seattle is home to many universities, the food and entertainment is priced toward those on a budget.

Finally, like Minneapolis, the kindness of Seattle residents is an undeniable draw.

“I feel like more here than other places that I’ve been, people are allowed to be who they are,” said Sherman, who has lived in the Seattle area his whole life. “I have traveled around the country a lot, and every time I travel, I love where I am, but I come back, and I’m like, ‘Wow. This is where I need to be.’”

See the full list here

Skylar Diggins Signs With Jay-Z and Roc Nation Sports

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WNBA play Skylar Diggins signs with Jay Z's Roc Nation Sports.
WNBA play Skylar Diggins signs with Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports.

Recently I penned an article about Jay-Z and Roc Nation Sports explaining the multimillion dollar venture and how his agency would be the go to agency for the hottest in the game.

Well add Skylar Diggins to the roster.

The former Notre Dame basketball star was selected third overall in the WNBA draft by the Tulsa Shock.

Today Life and Times welcomed the basketball playing beauty to their elite clientele list.

I’m expecting big things from Diggins and more from Jay as well.

Four charged with hazing after Virginia State student drowning

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Four men have been charged with hazing following the drowning of at least one Virginia State University student, who was swept to his death as he attempted to cross the Appomattox River as part of an initiation rite, police said on Tuesday.

A second student remained missing on Tuesday, three days after seven male students were pulled down the river by the current as they tried to cross on April 20 as part of their initiation into a group known as “Men of Honor.”

The rest of the men were pulled to safety or drifted to shore, a police statement said.

College hazing has attracted attention since the high profile 2011 death of 26-year-old Florida A&M University drum major Robert Champion during a band trip. That death was ruled a homicide and led to felony charges against a number of band members.

In Virginia, police in Chesterfield County said they charged four men with five counts each of hazing following the drowning of 19-year-old Marvell Edmondson, a freshman at Virginia State University in Ettrick.

Edmonson’s body was recovered on Monday, while fellow freshman Jauwan M. Holmes, also 19, remained missing. Police divers were searching the river for his body.

Read more here.

Watch: Ques Hop with two white members

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZdfbz8ntuk

The white kid got moves. Watch Omega Psi Phi members hop at a college campus.

[The title of the video says “Ques Hop and Stroll with white fraternity” but it seems like they are actually members of the fraternity.]

About Omega Psi Phi:

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. was founded on November 17, 1911, at Howard University in Washington, D.C. and is the first international fraternal organization to be founded on the campus of a historically black college.

Paul Quinn College named Bill Cosby as 2013 Commencement Speaker

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https://twitter.com/michaelsorrell/status/327032374032465920

The cat is out of the bag.

Paul Quinn College recently named comedian and activist Bill Cosby as its Commencement speaker on May 4, at 10 a.m.

Cosby will address the class of 2013 who witness the institution transform academically and physically into a model for other HBCUs and suchlike institutions.

The Dallas Observer‘s Eric Nicholson notes how six years ago “wooing a high-profile commencement speaker” was the least of Paul Quinn’s concerns.

But now with retention rates up at 83 percent and being named the “2011 HBCU of the Year,” Paul Quinn College is experiencing one of the greatest turnarounds in the history of higher education.

Indeed, it is safe to say that the college is “Nation Building.”

Read more here.

About Paul Quinn:

The mission of Paul Quinn College is to provide a quality, faith-based education that addresses the academic, social, and Christian development of students and prepares them to be servant leaders and agents of change in their communities.

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Graduation Rates Increase at HBCUs

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Screen Shot 2013-04-24 at 11.11.49 AMThe nation’s historically Black colleges have shown some of the greatest gains in the graduation rates of African-American students, according to a report compiled by the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education.

The report, which showed sharp increases in student graduation rates between various periods generally ending in the last two years, shows steep gains at a number of the nation’s historically Black colleges, looking at the percentage of students who earn a degree within six years of enrolling.

For example, the graduation rate at Howard University in Washington, D.C., is now 64 percent, compared with 47 percent in 1998. Similarly, at Jackson State University in Mississippi, there was a 17 percentage point gain in graduation levels and an increase of 11 percent at Virginia Union University in Richmond since 1968.

However, the report said that the graduation rate for African-American college students continues to lag behind that of the general population. read more…

Should HBCUs get rid of open admissions?

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Can historically black colleges and universities afford to eliminate open admissions?
Can historically black colleges and universities afford to eliminate open admissions?

Many students at HBCUs are first generation college students who have the opportunity to test their ideas and future objectives after school through direct experience.

During my freshman year at Central State University, I followed my dream to become the nation’s leading tennis reporter/coach, in case my talent on the tennis courts could not take me to South Beach.

Two things can be taken from this: For one, students who are self-prescribed ‘tennis junkies’ actually exist at HBCUs and two; I had the option to test and fail my plan under college world conditions.

More than 2,000 other students at Central State have the same opportunity each year to go to college because of its open enrollment.

Dictionary.com says open admission is a policy of admitting applicants to an institution, especially a university, regardless of previous academic record or grades.

The policy creates equal opportunity for the rich, the middle class and the “have-nots,” to get an education, but what happens when a lifelong source for learning abandons tradition?

Historically black Paul Quinn College in Dallas, Texas got rid of its open admissions policy and saw retention rates shoot up from about 60 or 65 percent to 83 percent and was named the “2011 HBCU of the Year” among other awards and recognition.

PQC President Michael Sorrell cites personalized recruiting like other institutions use to recruit athletes, to “intrusive counseling,” in order to turn things around, according to an article on Diverse Issues.

Other HBCUs have also questioned their open admissions policy.

Miles College in Alabama wanted to create a “more stringent, selective admissions process,” noting how they serve a different “clientele and [are] in a different arena than the past.”

President of Texas Southern University John M. Rudley said a university should not have to accept anybody with a GED.

“That means they didn’t complete high school but they can come here without the same preparation as others and then be expected to compete,” said Rudley.

If HBCUs have stood the test of time by serving disproportionate shares of low-income students, can our much-loved institutions really afford to lose more black youths today if open admission is no longer present?

Tell us what you think and comment below and tweet me your perspective on Twitter: @tommymeade_

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Two Livingstone students stabbed in off-campus incident

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A man with a knife and a broken glass bottle attacked two students Thursday in front of Livingstone College.

Livingstone students Daulon Sampson, 28, and Charles Thomas, 21 were walking back to campus when Jaivon Alonzo Scott, 24 attacked them.

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Salisbury Post:

Sampson and Thomas told police that Scott yelled at them and threatened them, and when he approached them at the gate, he hit Thomas in the face.

Sampson ran over to help, but he fell to the ground when Scott reportedly came at him with the knife. Police say Scott stabbed Sampson in the leg, cutting a gash that was 4 to 5 inches long.

When Thomas turned to leave, Scott ran up to him with a broken glass bottle and hit him with it, according to the police report. Thomas was cut under his lip, and one of his teeth was broken.

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Sampson and Thomas went to a hospital and are recovering from their injuries.

Scott was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

Read more here.

Actor Anthony Anderson Is Talladega College’s Commencement Speaker 2013

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In November, 1867 Swayne School was opened with 140 pupils. Two years later in 1869, the Talladega County Probate Judge lawfully issued a charter for Swayne School to exist as Talladega College. Still, 145 years later, the commitment to education and academic excellence continues.

On Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 12, Talladega College will confer bachelor’s degrees upon its 138th graduating class. The speaker set for that event is television star, actor, comedian and writer, Anthony Anderson. Anderson plays as Detective Kevin Bernard on NBC’s hit series, “Law & Order.” Anderson has appeared in over 20 films. He has had roles alongside actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Eddie Murphy, Jim Carrey, Jack Black, Steve Martin and many more.

Anderson has also starred in his own WB sitcom, “All About the Andersons.” Prior to his NBC appointment, he played a lead character in Fox’s “K-Ville.” He has appeared in many TV and movie hits: “Me, Myself and Irene,” Barbershop,” “Kangaroo Jack,” “Cradle 2 the Grave,” “Scary Movie 3,” “The Bernie Mac Show,” and “Transformers” just to name a few. Anderson also garnered another stint revealing again his comedic side on NBC’s sitcom “Guys with Kids” that debuted last fall. He is an alumnus of Howard University and Hollywood’s High School Performing Arts Magnet program.

The Mother’s Day weekend is full of headline names for graduates, mothers, alumni and guests of Talladega College. Graduates and their families will get to see and hear Anderson in person on Sunday morning at the graduation; but prior to that, celebrations begin Friday night, May 10 with the 6th Annual President’s Scholarship Concert. Courtesy of Talladega College, Frankie Beverly & Maze will come to the Talladega region and entertain an audience at the Talladega Superspeedway Dome. The Friday night concert will also feature a surprise musical guest.

Paul Quinn President Michael Sorrell cites personalized recruiting, intrusive counseling among best practices for HBCUs

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The “2011 HBCU of the Year” Paul Quinn College is experiencing one of the greatest turnarounds in the history of higher education. From increasing retention rates substantially to implementing newly-adopted practices, find out how PQC President Michael Sorrell did it:

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When Michael Sorrell assumed the presidency at Paul Quinn College, one of the first things he did was examine what successful small colleges were doing to achieve their results.

The exploration led him to visit similarly sized institutions throughout the country, from Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., where they “give you one year to prove you can cut it,” to Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash., a school that has a 90 percent retention rate and a high rate of alumni giving.

“You don’t get to Walla Walla by accident,” Sorrell said. “But it was worth the trip.”

After the campus visit, Paul Quinn began to adopt some of the most successful strategies that he discovered, from personalized recruiting like other institutions use to recruit athletes, to “intrusive counseling,” in order to turn things around.

Retention rates at Paul Quinn subsequently increased to 83 percent from about 60 or 65 percent “because we engaged and we intruded,” Sorrell said.

“Some students don’t like it,” Sorrell said Tuesday during a panel discussion held on Capitol Hill as part of the NAFEO 39th National Dialogue on Blacks in Higher Education.

“I don’t like the fact that you don’t graduate,” Sorrell said was his response. “So we’ll see who wins. It will be us.”

Read more here.

About Paul Quinn:

The mission of Paul Quinn College is to provide a quality, faith-based education that addresses the academic, social, and Christian development of students and prepares them to be servant leaders and agents of change in their communities.

Central State President among 30 Ohio presidents in Washington, D.C. for Sen. Brown’s sixth annual college and university presidents conference

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Central State University President Cynthia Jackson-Hammond was among 30 Ohio presidents and other special quest invited to U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-OH) sixth annual college and university presidents conference.
Central State University President Cynthia Jackson-Hammond was among 30 Ohio presidents and other special quest invited to U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-OH) sixth annual college and university presidents conference.

Central State press release

Central State University President Cynthia Jackson-Hammond was among the 30 Ohio college and university presidents in Washington yesterday for U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-OH) sixth annual college and university presidents conference. Brown’s forum – the first of its kind for College Presidents in Ohio – brings together leaders at two two-year, four-year, private, public, and community colleges to discuss shared challenges and goals for students and institutions of higher learning.

“Our sixth annual conference builds on our state’s legacy of linking education with economic prosperity, which in turn creates a stronger middle class. Ohio’s two-year and four-year, public and private institutions of higher education are producing the next generation of scientists and lawyers, mathematicians and teachers. It is their work – and their commitment to strengthening the entire pipeline from cradle to career – that will ensure our economy continues to grow and succeed. That’s why this annual conference is so important,” Brown said.

“This conference convenes college and university presidents to discuss ways the next generation of Ohioans can gain the tools and skills needed to repair our economy and create the innovations that will build 21st century progress. Education is our primary economic engine. That’s especially true for older Ohioans who have been laid off and are now looking for skills to compete in emerging fields. It’s also true for servicemembers who return home and want to start a new career. As a nation, we all benefit when every student has the opportunity to earn a quality education,” Brown added.

Brown has invited several special guests to address this year’s forum, including United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki; U.S. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) – the Chairman and Ranking Members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee; College Now Greater Cleveland CEO Lee Friedman; and members of Ohio’s congressional delegation, including Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11) and Senator Rob Portman (R-OH).

A full list of participants can be found here.

About Central State:

Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, is one of the nation’s oldest historically black universities, with a 125-year legacy of academic and athletic achievements.

Hampton President William Harvey on Plus Loan problem: “We don’t have anybody advocating for us”

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Several speakers at the NAFEO conference recently addressed the PLUS loan problem that caused many students to abandon their studies last fall. Check out some of their responses at Politic 365.

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“This is the worst situation I’ve seen in my 35 years as President,” said Dr. William Harvey, who has been the President of Hampton University in Virginia since 1978, yesterday in Washington DC.  Dr. Harvey is the Chair of President Obama’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

“Some 14,000 HBCU students came to our campuses last year, learned that their Parent PLUS applications had been denied and were sent back home,” Harvey said during a speech at the annual National Association for Equal Opportunity conference (NAFEO) on April 15 in Washington D.C.

Harvey was referring to the problem that hit America’s historically Black colleges and universities disproportionately last fall after the Department of Education changed the way they interpreted ”credit worthiness” and “adverse credit history” for applicants for Parent PLUS loans.  As a result, a spike of PLUS loan denials occurred as colleges prepared for the fall 2012 semester.  Over 14,600 students at HBCUs were declined loans according to HBCU advocates and college Presidents.  The five hardest hit HBCUs can be found here.

Harvey echoed what Stillman College President Dr. Ernest McNealey also told Politic365 this week.  That is, that he could remember no other time when thousands of HBCU students had to leave their studies en masse as they did in the fall of 2012. Several HBCU Presidents stated they only discovered the problem after they noticed a decline in enrollment in August 2012 and began contacting each other.

“The approval rate at Tuskegee University for Parent PLUS loans plummeted from 55% last year to 23% this year,” Tuskegee President Dr. Gilbert Rochon told Politic365 yesterday. “The only way we were able to stay ‘evenboard’ with that debacle was to disgorge half a million dollars from our base budget into Perkins Loans,” Rochon added. “But that’s not a sustainable situation,” he concluded.

Read more here.

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PBS Documentary ‘The Central Park Five’ tackles issues of race and blame

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Need something to watch with a little substance? Check out The Central Park Five documentary and let us know what you think.

About The Central Park Five:

A new film from award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns, tells the story of the five black and Latino teenagers from Harlem who were wrongly convicted of raping a white woman in New York City’s Central Park in 1989. The film chronicles The Central Park Jogger case, for the first time from the perspective of these five teenagers whose lives were upended by this miscarriage of justice.

Watch full film here

CP1 CP2

U.S. Senators discuss concerns and challenges on future success of North Carolina’s HBCUs

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Fayetteville State University Chancellor James Anderson took part in a summit with U.S. Senators Kay Hagan and Richard Burr today on ways to strengthen the state’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Chancellors and presidents representing several of the state’s 11 Historically Black Colleges and Universities met with congressional leaders about concerns and challenges. The senators used the summit as an opportunity to receive input on important education and workforce development issues.

“I’m grateful for this opportunity to hear directly from chancellors and presidents from North Carolina’s HBCUs so we can continue taking steps to make these outstanding colleges and universities even stronger,” said Hagan in a press release. “The feedback and suggestions I received today will be invaluable in assuring that our HBCUs can continue to offer the very best education possible for students in North Carolina.”

Anderson commended Hagan for her support. Hagan has supported key investments in HBCUs and minority-serving Institutions to renew, reform and expand programming to ensure that students have the support they need to stay in school and graduate, the release stated. She has also led her colleagues in pushing to maintain funding for HBCUs.

“Once again senator Kay Hagan has evidenced her support for HBCU’s by hosting the Chancellors and Presidents Summit at the U.S. Capitol,” stated Anderson. “She encouraged a frank discussion about critical issues that will have a significant impact on the future success of North Carolina’s HBCUs.”

Read more here.

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Spelman Dropping Athletic Dept for Wellness Program

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The softball bats and golf clubs have been stored away. All is quiet, too, at the basketball gymnasium, the volleyball courts and the soccer field.

Only the tennis team endures at Spelman College, and after the Great South Athletic Conference tournament the last weekend of April, it will also be done. Then Spelman, a historically black women’s college with alumnae who include former slaves and a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, will become the second college in the last decade to leave the N.C.A.A.altogether, the other being the New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn.

Officials at the college, whose 2,100 students make it the size of some high schools, decided last year to eliminate the athletic department. The college had 80 athletes spread across seven sports, but the athletic budget was roughly $900,000 for the 2012-13 academic year — from an overall operating budget of roughly $100 million.

“I was startled,” Spelman’s president, Beverly Tatum, said. “It seemed like a lot of money for 80 students.”

The highly unusual move by Spelman comes when few institutions seem to be able to resist the lure of intercollegiate sports, even as one scandal after another has tarnished the reputations of universities throughout the country.

The decision to shut down Spelman’s athletic program followed the announced intention of several colleges to leave the Great South, meaning the conference would have too few members to remain viable. For Spelman, joining another conference would have meant incurring higher travel costs, making improvements to the college’s athletic sites and fielding teams in additional sports.

While watching a basketball game in the Jaguars’ 62-year-old gymnasium, where a shorter-than-regulation court has necessitated a waiver from the N.C.A.A., Dr. Tatum began to wonder what the players would do for exercise after their eligibility expired.

Dr. Tatum had become alarmingly aware of data showing that young black women were prone to diabetes, heart disease and other ailments linked to poor diet and exercise. Observing candles being lighted on campus at 10-year reunions in memory of alumnae who had died was chilling and revealing.

A remedy seemed obvious: disband N.C.A.A.-level sports and reallocate the money devoted to them toward establishing a wellness program that could take advantage of the college’s gym, courts and fields.

Read full article at nytimes.com