Advantages to a college degree

STUDENTS at historically Black colleges are optimistic about the future and upbeat about their individual progress.

They are, in general, more materialistic than previous generations.

They are also, some say, more sexually expressive than previous generations or, as one Black college newspaper editor says, "more open about sexuality and issues that were previously pushed under the rug."

But most of the new generation of Black college students are committed to the service and struggle missions that characterized the great student generations of the Civil Rights Movement.

These are among the major findings of a round-robin interview with 12 Black college newspapers, eight women and four men. The editors, who were interviewed in June and July, responded to a uniform 18-question survey about issues such as political activism, rap music, sex and civil rights.

Five of the 12 editors said they believe the two major goals of this generation of Black college students are "personal fulfillment" and the "good life," defined roughly as a "good job, good car and good house." Three editors said the "good life" and "freedom" are the two major goals of this generation. Two editors said they believe "religious salvation" is a major goal, coupling it with "freedom" and the "good life."

Asked to respond to the widely reported proposition that this generation is more sexually expressive, six editors agreed with the proposition, two disagreed and four were uncertain. Eight editors said they believe society is more accepting of sexual expression today than it was 25 years ago, and five editors largely blamed the media and the dominant culture for the sexual expression of this generation.

Eight editors said they believed this generation of Black college students is more materialistic than previous generations. Three of the eight said there is, in general, a strong emphasis on the newest clothing and the latest cars. One editor, Bennett Banner's Carah Herring, said all generations are materialistic to a degree, but this generation is more conscious of brand names.

Seven of the 12 editors said they believe this new generation of Black college students is generally politically inactive or apathetic. A majority of the seven said they believe that most students are either engrossed in their worlds, uninterested or believe that political issues do not directly affect them.

Gabrielle Maple, editor of the Southern Digest, said students are active in campus politics, but shun local and national politics. "A lot of students don't think their voices can be heard or their voices make a difference," she says.

Three editors called for more activism.

"I don't think that Black people are as angry as they should be," says Misty Brown, editor of the Lincolnian. "We keep thinking everything is okay, but we still have the highest rates of new HIV cases and the highest incarceration rates, when we are a minority of the population."

Despite the problems, three editors pointed to recent affirmative action protests as evidence of this generation's political activism.

Jonty Leak, acting editor of the Stone, says students, administrators and the Livingstone College community rallied last spring to show their support for affirmative action. So did Howard University students, who marched from their Washington, D.C., campus to the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, where they joined other protestors and students.

"People in our generation care," says Hilltop editor Josef Sawyer. "We just need a reason to care."

Are we gaining ground or losing ground in the struggle for racial equality?

Eight editors said Blacks are gaining ground, but that there are still miles to go. "When I see that there are people like Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice in such prominent roles, I know that we are gaining ground as Black people," says Adafi editor Ruth Caine. But Maroon Tiger editor Christian Nwachukwu Jr. says that having more Blacks in prominent roles is not a measuring stick for equality. "There are still large numbers of African-Americans who are marginalized," says Nwachukwu Jr. "Until those things are corrected, we will never progress as far as we can."

The student newspaper editors appear ready to enter the world. Without hesitation, they rattled off advantages of a historically Black college education, saying they learn more about African-American history, are part of a family and are pushed to the limits.

Spelman Spotlight editor Leigh Davenport says it is refreshing to have teachers who lived through the Civil Rights Movement. "There is so much pride in attending an institution that exists solely to educate Black students," Davenport says.

Gabrielle Maple, who attended predominantly White grade schools all her life before she enrolled at Southern University, says it is invigorating to be around Black peers who share her goals.

The editors were divided on the state of male and female relations. Five characterized relations as poor, six said they are good, but two of the six editors said relations could be better. One editor, Jonty Leak, says relations are excellent, but complained that some men call women pejorative names. "They [Black men] think it is cool and the females are receptive of it, when they should take a stand," says Leak, an African Methodist Episcopal Zion minister.

Eight editors said rappers were either too vulgar, too anti-women or both. But two of the eight editors praised rappers whose songs give positive messages.

An overwhelming majority of editors said leaders with the fervor of Black college students of the Freedom Movements of the 1960s would reemerge. "Our generation is determined to keep the basic freedoms that we have right now. That determination is what will be the driving force to create the next generation of civil rights leaders," says Gramblinite editor Amecia Taylor.

Eight editors said they are optimistic about the future, considering the state of the world and race relations. The remaining four editors are pessimistic. Nine of the editors agreed that this generation is willing and able to defend civil rights gains of the past and will rise to the occasion if needed.

"We are more than able," says JCSU Student News editor Monica Simpson. "The problem is finding the willing people to do so. We have to keep going."

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NAME: Carah Herring AGE: 19 SCHOOL: Bennett College TITLE: Co-editor of The Bennett Banner HOMETOWN: Lansing, Mich.

NAME: Jonty Leak AGE: 23 SCHOOL: Livingstone College TITLE: Acting editor of The Stone HOMETOWN: Chapel Hill, N.C.

NAME: Amecia Taylor (left) AGE: 22 SCHOOL: Grambling State University TITLE: Editor of The Gramblinite HOMETOWN: Kansas City, Kan.

NAME: Sebrina McClinton AGE: 22 SCHOOL: LeMoyne-Owen College TITLE: Editor of The Magician HOMETOWN: Humboldt, Tenn.

NAME: Josef Sawyer AGE: 20 SCHOOL: Howard University TITLE: Editor of The Hilltop HOMETOWN: Columbia, Md.

NAME: Misty Brown AGE: 24 SCHOOL: Lincoln University (Pa.) TITLE: Editor of The Lincolnian HOMETOWN: Charleston, S.C.

NAME: Monica Simpson AGE: 24 SCHOOL: Johnson C. Smith University TITLE: Editor JCSU Student News HOMETOWN: Wingate, N.C.

NAME: Christian Nwachukwu Jr. AGE: 21 SCHOOL: Morehouse College TITLE: Editor of The Maroon Tiger HOMETOWN: Manson, N.C.

NAME: Ruth Caine AGE: 32 SCHOOL: Medgar Evers College TITLE: Editor of Adafi HOMETOWN: Brooklyn, N.Y.

NAME: Gabrielle Maple AGE: 21 SCHOOL: Southern University TITLE: Editor of The Southern Digest HOMETOWN: Baton Rouge, La.

NAME: Leigh Davenport AGE: 19 SCHOOL: Spelman College TITLE: Editor of Spelman Spotlight HOMETOWN: Chicago, Ill.