Katrina L. Rogers: Concerns over HBCUs not valid

Published November 2, 2007

U.S. News & World Report recently released a list of the top 50 Historically Black Colleges and Universities. As no surprise to many, Spelman College was ranked No. 1.

If you're not familiar with HBCUs, they're just what they say they are; colleges and universities that were founded, specifically, to educate former slaves, the children of former slaves and other African Americans shortly after the Civil War. According to the U.S. Department of Education, there are 103 HBCUs on American soil. Many are located in the South, but there are several in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and the north/south border state Maryland.

In recent years, people have questioned the need for schools geared toward black students. With segregation being over, or at least Jim Crow being deemed illegal, people don't see the need for schools that cater to a specific race.

Another argument that opponents of HBCUs have is that in the "real world" young adults likely won't have the opportunity to surround themselves by only people like themselves. They go on to say there is no diversity on a "black campus" and that you have to learn to get along with all types of people in order to become successful in life.

As the product of an HBCU — I graduated from Spelman — I can say that although those concerns might be sincere, they are not valid. While growing up, I've been the only black student in my entire grade. I know how it feels to be around people who might not be able to relate to you on, at least, some unspoken level.

There is something comforting about retracing the steps of your ancestors and continuing the legacies they created when they had no other options. I chose to attend my alma mater, not specifically because it was a black school, but because it offered me a very rich history of women who have made positive impacts on society.

I was never deluded into thinking I could run away to a small campus and forget all about racism, sexism, misogyny and other ills of the world; though I must admit that being a double majority, if only for a small amount of time, was quite ... freeing.

Despite the fact that I was free of racism and sexism, race, sex and pursuing an advanced education were about the only constants on campus. I went to school with the siblings of all-star athletes, people who grew up on food stamps, children of mega Hollywood stars and students whose parents didn't have more than a middle school education but were determined to insure their children would have better lives.

African Americans, like any other group of people, aren't all cut from the same cloth. While in school, I met a number of people with whom I shared very little background. Diverse does not begin to explain the collection of women who matriculated with me.

Not only did I learn a lot about myself, I learned a lot about other people and formed a better understanding of how the world works. That lesson is much easier when you have professors and classmates from all over the world: Africa, Asia, Europe and South America were some continents represented on campus; there were dozens of countries.

I completely understand that an HBCU education isn't for everyone, but if it's something someone is considering, I highly recommend the journey.

Web site's classified advertising goes overboard

Published October 28, 2007

Thanks to the World Wide Web, many things in life have gotten a little easier. You don't have to go to the mall anymore because many stores have Web sites from which you can shop directly. Who needs a library when all the information of the world is accessible via your laptop?

And now the Internet, specifically craigslist.org, makes it much easier for people to sell and buy sex. Craigslist is an online community that dedicates pages to some of the more populated cities in the world. One feature of Craigslist is free classified advertising. A number of people use the site to sell or donate puppies, old appliances, instruments and sex.

On the page dedicated to the Shreveport metro area, there's a link for erotic services. Under that, you can select if you are interested in women for men, men for women, men for men or women for women and 17 other male, female, transsexual combinations.

Recently, prostitution via Craigslist has made headlines across the country. Two women were arrested in Slidell in connection with using the site for illegal activity.

Other men and women take the traditional approach to the service and police are cracking down.

Kacee Hargrave, public information officer for the Shreveport Police Department, says 90 percent of prostitution arrests are related to drugs, usually by trading sex for drugs.

Men and women with numbers from Fayetteville, Miami, Texarkana, Houston, Dallas and Lafayette make trips to Shreveport-Bossier City to meet up with clients.

And for those at risk for becoming infected with AIDS/HIV, the Philadelphia Center provides an outreach program.

Although the Philadelphia Center does not specifically target commercial sex workers for its HIV prevention education, Director of Prevention Sylvia McIntyre says if workers for the center see women out working, they'll give them information and condoms.

"Our street outreach is for anyone and everyone who's on the street. We don't limit our resources to just commercial sex workers," McIntyre said.

According to its Web site, one of the goals of the nonprofit organization is to "prevent the spread of HIV by educating the public with regard to how HIV is contracted and how its transmission may be avoided."

They also offer free HIV and other STD testing.