Fellow Prairie View students- can we speak candidly for a minute? I have a few concerns to address before I step off my soapbox. We are all young adults, right? You want to be treated as such, right? You want respect? Well, walk, talk, and act the part.This weekend, I saw the most immature, disrespectful, ignorant acts of my life. What was supposed to be a nostalgic, family oriented, excitement-filled weekend ended in a disaster at the homecoming step show and afterparty.
A simple fight ended homecoming week. A fight ended the first homecoming for many freshmen. A fight ended reunions and tailgating for the alumni. What will a fight end next- someone’s life?
There’s a war going on at PV. It is not a war of brain versus brawn. It is a war that needs to be waged mentally and spiritually. It’s a war between man and himself.
Panthers, our mentality as students and respectable adults needs to change. Playtime is over. All the games you played before you came to college must come to an end. The frivolous and childish rivalry between Dallas and Houston (or whatever city you hail from) must cease. No one cares! When you graduate from PV, no employer will care where you were raised; they want to know if you can perform the duties of the job given to you.
Arguments over what “hood” you’re from, the color shirt you wear, who you used to date, who your “boo” is, how tall your “white tee” may be, or what you thought was said about you is irrelevant. You didn’t come to school to fight for your life; you came to enhance it.
The “thug life,” “video hoochies,” and “gangsta” wannabees need to get their acts together. You are embarrassing yourselves, the student body, and your school. These are not the ideals the founders of the university wanted us to embody.
The student handbook lists the ideals for the Prairie View man and woman. It states, ” Deep in the heart of the Prairie View spirit, are embedded ten basic ideals. These ideals include brotherhood, friendliness, honesty, cleanliness, health, respect, responsibility, service, and individual preferences regarding spirituality.”
I can truly say that I have yet to see these characteristics personified in many of the students here. Maybe change will occur before I graduate. If not, idle minds will continue to play in the devil’s workshop and the cycle will go on.