Alum calls on students to protect HBCU legacy

To The News Argus Editor,

Allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Jaye Cole and I am an alumnus of this esteemed HBCU. I use the adjective esteemed because I am very proud of my matriculation and the resulting degree. But my degree is more than just a SACS approved piece of fancy paper with my name on it; I am a legacy student that chose to follow a rich tradition founded by hard-working black scholars.

I grew up under the academic tutelage of my grandmother, Marguerite Cole, who is now a retired teacher. She spent more than 35 years teaching English - among other subjects - to high school honors students.

She always inspired me to not only be an excellent student, but a quality human being as well. My grandmother received her education and her springboard-start to her career from Winston-Salem Teacher's College.

As a child, when I would view sitcom television shows such as 'A Different World' and 'Living Single', it often evoked questions about success and higher education. I would refer to my grandmother, and she would most certainly always begin her explanation with "well, when you go off to college..." It was never "if"; my grandmother's vocabulary wasn't familiar with such incertitude.

When I became a man, I asked my grandmother about why she was so confident about me pursuing higher education. Her response, to which she solely blamed her beloved State University and her parents, was a philosophy that failure did not exist. It was never a question of "if," it was always a matter of when or where. She went on to say that although she faced rough patches and hardships, both in and outside of the classroom, there was no such thing as losing; as long as she and her classmates were willing to put in the work, their professors were bound and determined to see them walk the stage and inspire their careers.

That same philosophy was woven into my upbringing. It was the mentality that despite social or societal disadvantages such as race, ethnicity, or class, I was destined to be successful. The pride of where I came from and the accomplishments that I have achieved bears the DNA of WSSU.

When it was time for me to "get my education," I could've gone anywhere, but my choice was clear: I was destined to become a Winston-Salem State University Ram.

Today, I am a second-year law student at John Marshall Law School.

I believe it is so important to not discount our institution's heritage and honorable labor. As an alumnus, it is personally disheartening to hear that faculty and administration are contemplating the possibility of removing the Historically Black Colleges and Universities distinction from the school's mission statement. It's more than just a label; the strength and the resiliency of our progenitors are immortalized by these four simple words. In an era when "Separate But Equal" was the law of the land, Slater Industrial survived, giving way to Winston-Salem Teacher's College, which eventually would become recognized as the fine institution that we know today. Through diligent work and faithful prayers of the community and the alumni, yesterday's cloudy dreams have materialized into today's brilliant reality.

I implore each and every reader, alumni, and future graduates, to truly consider what is in a name.

If diversity is indeed the issue, let us begin educating those who desire to attend WSSU right from the beginning; explain what it means to be a HBCU in the mission statement.

With a heritage like ours, I'm certain that any applicant who is unfamiliar with what it is and what it stands for will be even more compelled to attend once he or she has been enlightened. It's much more than color of our skin, but rather it is the content of our character that makes us a Historically Black College or University.

Let us not commit the grave injustice of attempting to rewrite our history and emasculate the culture from which we are hewn.

With everlasting Ram Pride,

-Inc.

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