By: Alex Robinson (’19), Staff Writer
Photos by: Mariah Warner (’20), Staff Photographer
UNC is not Hillman.
It is not Howard, Hampton, Clark-Atlanta, Spelman, Morehouse, A&T, or any of the other HBCUs you’d planned on attending before financial aid packages dropped. In each and every way imaginable, UNC is a predominately white university. And at this point in the game, you’ve realized exactly what that means.
Maybe it was when you bit into your first piece of fried chicken at Lenoir. Or when you read the comments under a Silent Sam article. Or maybe, it was after watching six consecutive Snapchat stories of HBCU swag surfs comprised of more black people than this entire student body.
But at some point between now and freshman orientation, you’ve realized that the black college experience you bought is not what has been shipped to you. You might even want your money back.
The good news? You aren’t alone- this buyer’s remorse is a PWI rite of passage. Adjusting to college life as a black student at UNC isn’t easy, but here’s some advice on how to do it.
“The best thing you can do is network. Someone can help grow you in ways you don’t even know are possible because you’re closing yourself off. Talking to other people who have also failed and bounced back puts you in the mindset you need to make it through UNC.”
-Destiny Talley
Class of 2018
Sociology major, neuroscience minor
“Try to get involved on campus. My involvement helped me to find people who looked like me that I could relate to on a personal level. Open your eyes and your mind up to new experiences and meeting new people. At UNC, all of our organizations that are deeply rooted in black community give me a sense of culture. It’s something that I really appreciate and that my college experience would definitely not be the same without.”
-Xzavian Carter
Class of 2020
Public policy major
“It’s okay to not know where you fit right now. I came in thinking that I knew exactly who I was in my blackness and that nothing would blur or compromise that. But when I got here I realized: A. I’m not necessarily the person that I thought I was and B. The person that I am is actively changing. Rock with the changes as they come, because they’re going to come.”
-Carla Beacham
Class of 2020
Media and journalism major
“You control your experience. Immerse yourself in the aspects of your environment that grow your purpose and peace. Observe the things that do not and then act as an agent of change. Build revolutionary black cohorts. Stay aware and grounded in your needs to feel comfortable as a black student on campus.”
-Daniel Odeh
Class of 2018
Communications major, minors in music and African, African-American, and diaspora studies
“I can assure any black student coming here that there is a group of black students here who you can relate to, identify with, and that you can find and create a family with on this campus. You are valuable on this campus, valuable in the black space, and powerful and necessary in furthering our black narrative on campus.”
-Destiny Guzmán
Class of 2019
Public policy major, socio-economic justice minor
“Don’t have any expectations; just take people as they are. You’re going to find people that you click with and even though the black community is small, you’ll find somebody you connect with within the black community. Just make sure that you find your home and find a place that you’re comfortable with. But don’t expect black people to be how you think black people should be.”
-Deshawn Dazevedo
Class of 2019
Psychology major, minors in history and Spanish for the Medical Professions
“Be open, be prepared, and be weary. Be open to changing what you thought was reality. Be prepared for hard days where you’ll do nothing but study and write papers. And be weary of the disappointments that will come from expecting a dream college experience. And don’t be like Denise Huxtable in season 1, because she dropped out. Stay in school, finish strong, and find your perfect career. You can be undecided- that’s okay, but stay in school.”
-Cameron Ulmer
Class of 2020
Undecided major
So here’s the tea: Whitley was an elitist, Dwayne was a misogynist, Freddie was the worst kind of best friend, and Ron was all of the above.
But they’re characters. Their trials and tribulations have already been written. Their flaws are set in stone and syndicated.
But your plot line is still developing. You hold the power to change your black college experience into the one you expected to receive.
UNC might be a completely different world from A Different World, but every day you have the opportunity to make where you’re going greater than where you’ve come from.
Just remember what you’ve been told.
