Black males must become more involved

A report by the Mississippi College Board says one of the greatest challenges facing college administrators today is the recruitment and retention of black male students.

The report, submitted by the African American Male Task Force, suggests a number of options to try to counter this trend.

I believe the most effective idea in the report is the one suggesting expanding black male students’ involvement in campus organizations and activities.

After all, everyone wants to belong.

To be honest, when I first arrived in Hattiesburg, I was unsure of a lot of things. I was in a new place, away from my family, friends and familiar streets. I was in a small dorm room, sleeping no more than 5 feet away from a complete stranger, and the food was often sub-par at best. I knew a couple of people from high school, but for the most part, I was alone in this new, scary place.

All of that changed when I met the people with whom I would be spending almost all of my time - The Pride of Mississippi.

I had been involved with band since middle school, but the bonds I would form with the people who I met here were unlike any I had before. They became more than fellow band members. They became family.

Getting black males involved in organizations on campus will offer a niche they would not have otherwise had.

As I said before, everyone needs to belong. It’s a basic psychological human need. Being in a club or group of some kind, even just one, can fulfill this need.

Though some of the blame for this can be placed on the organizations, and their lack of publicity, it is not all their fault. We as black men must make an effort to get involved.

Instead of hanging around outside the dorm building at night, go to an interest meeting for a club. There are more than 250 student organizations on campus, from intramural sports to a guitar society. Something will pique your interest.

If nothing does, then try joining something about which you know very little. Maybe you’ll meet a group of people who you enjoy being around so much that you will want to stay, and in order to stay in that organization, you need to stay in school.

Simply by having something to do at night will give black males a reason to stay in school. With nothing to fill that void, hands are idle. Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.

While the report does mention retention as a problem, it also cites recruitment as another major issue.

In this front, I believe the IHL has another good suggestion in its report that can work well. The Life After High School Tours idea is one that I like the best.

This program would send college students, presumably black ones, back to their high schools to encourage the students there to finish their educations.

While it would be nice for Damion Fletcher or Deandre Brown to visit high schools and teach kids about how they can succeed in higher education, I think sending only our sports stars may send the wrong signal.

“You can succeed, but you have to be athletic to make a real difference!”

Do not misunderstand, I am sure these athletes do well academically. In most cases though, their athletic achievements overshadow this fact.

However, young, impressionable minds need to be exposed to more than that. Sending student council president J.R. Robinson, or perhaps a certain writer for the student newspaper could send another signal.

Better yet, send all those students. Send an athlete, a politician, and someone who is involved with another student group. Let the youth make their own choices.

Whatever they do, the college board needs to do it quickly.

According to a study by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, black women are leaving black men behind in college attendance. The study showed that in 2004, women outnumbered men by 14% at predominately white schools and by 12% in historically black schools. This number is shocking when compared to the respective 3% and 6% difference in 1917.

The study also found this gap is continually widening.

However, it can be stopped. Programs like the ones mentioned in the college board’s report can help to encourage young black men into college by showing them that they can succeed if they try.

However, it’s not as simple as only trying. Young black men have to get involved and see they can do something to make a difference.