Campus News - Page 449

Ahmed Muhammad becomes first Black male valedictorian in Oakland Tech’s 107-year history

By Devin Fehely Graduation day is always special for high school seniors, but there was just a little extra pride when Oakland Tech held its commencement ceremony Saturday. When Ahmed Muhammad walked up to the microphone, he became the first Black male to ever give the valedictorian address. A straight-A student, star athlete and young entrepreneur, Muhammad had nearly a dozen of the country’s best schools among them Stanford, Princeton and Harvard to just name a few hoping he would attend their university next year. Ultimately, he has chosen to stay close to home and attend Stanford in the Fall

Howard University will name its College of Fine Arts after Chadwick Boseman

By Leah Asmelash Two decades ago, Chadwick Boseman graduated from Howard University with a degree from the College of Fine Arts. Now, that school will bear his name. Howard University announced Wednesday that its newly reestablished College of Fine Arts will be named for the actor, one of its most famous alumni, as the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts. When Boseman attended Howard, the school decided to integrate the College of Fine Arts into the College of Arts & Sciences, to the chagrin of Boseman and other students, the university said. In 2018, the university announced its plans

A police shooting delayed this Black college’s graduation in 1970. Now, those students finally got their ceremony — and an apology

By Leah Asmelash The class of 1970 at Jackson State University in Mississippi finally got to turn their tassels, over 50 years after their initial ceremony was delayed by a police shooting that left a dozen injured and two students dead. In May 1970, two students were killed and 12 were wounded when local law enforcement fired about 500 rounds into a women’s dormitory on Jackson State’s campus, in a shooting that lasted less than 30 seconds, the university said. No police officer was held accountable, the university said. The incident occurred over mounting tension regarding White supremacist violence and

A controversial colonialist’s statue will remain at Oxford University, after college backtracks on removal

By Rob Picheta Oxford University’s Oriel College has backtracked on its plans to bring down a controversial statue of colonialist Cecil Rhodes, deciding its removal would be too complicated and costly, dashing the hopes of students who protested the monument last year. The college’s governing body had previously said it supported taking down the statue, which became the site of demonstrations during the height of the Black Lives Matter protests last year. But it changed those plans on Thursday, despite the members of an independent commission set up by the college supporting a desire to bring down the monument. The

Tennessee State University explores adding hockey programs in what would be an HBCU first

By Wayne Sterling Tennessee State University announced it is exploring adding men’s and women’s ice hockey teams, a development that would make TSU the first of the historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, to do so. TSU, in partnership with the National Hockey League, the Nashville Predators and College Hockey Inc., is conducting a feasibility study on how viable it would be to have hockey at the school. Results are expected late fall. “The idea of establishing a collegiate hockey program at TSU is a tremendous opportunity as the nation’s first HBCU to take on this endeavor,” President Glenda

I scraped by to pay for community college. The US can do more for students

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Opinion by Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez Nearly two decades ago, I was barely scraping by at community college, only able to afford it thanks to Pell Grants and my job as a server. Neither of my parents had graduated from college, and I had been rejected from my dream school, the University of Texas at Austin. It had taken me until 21 to even enroll in community college because of the cost. Eventually I was able to transfer to UT-Austin and now I’m the executive director of the nation’s largest young voter turnout organization, a former US Senate candidate, and a

Duke University’s new athletics director is first woman and person of color to hold that position

By Leah Asmelash Duke University has hired the first woman — and first person of color — to serve as the school’s director of athletics. The university announced Wednesday that Nina E. King would be replacing Kevin M. White, who is retiring in September after 13 years, as vice president and director of athletics. King is currently the school’s senior deputy director of athletics for administration and legal affairs and chief of staff. “I am deeply committed to continuing the strong tradition of academic and athletic excellence at our world-class institution,” King said in a statement. “My priority will be

University cancels $700,000 in debt for graduates affected by pandemic

By Melissa Alonso Delaware State University is cancelling more than $700,000 in student loans for recent graduates hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. DSU will cancel $730,655 for more than 220 people, the school announced this week. “The average eligible student will qualify for about $3,276 in debt relief,” according to the statement from the historically black, public university. “Too many graduates across the country will leave their schools burdened by debt, making it difficult for them to rent an apartment, cover moving costs, or otherwise prepare for their new careers or graduate school,” said Antonio Boyle, DSU’s Vice President

Phylicia Rashad appointed dean of fine arts at Howard University

By Lisa Respers France Howard University announced Wednesday that alunma Phylicia Rashad has been appointed dean of the recently reestablished College of Fine Arts. The “This Is Us” star will begin her role on July 1 and report to Provost Anthony K. Wutoh. “It is a privilege to serve in this capacity and to work with the Howard University administration, faculty and students in reestablishing the College of Fine Arts,” Rashad said in a statement. The esteemed actress graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s in fine arts from Howard University in 1970. She starred as Clair Huxtable in “The

LSU hires new president, first African American for SEC

By Jay Croft Louisiana State University has hired the first African American president in the Southeastern Conference. William Tate IV will begin in July, LSU said on its website. Tate is currently at the University of South Carolina as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, LSU said. “This position is all about what we can do to help students and give people access and opportunity in higher education,” Tate said. “That’s really in my DNA, how do we help people regardless of their background — we find the money, get you here and give you the opportunity to

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