Episode 3: HBCEwww!

Two HBCU grads discuss the current school struggles making the news: Howard University and the unenrolling of incoming students due to their tuition balances, and Tuskegee University and the mandating of student attires.

Part 1 of 2, because we have a lot to say.

#PodcastDrop #Season2 #HBCU #Howard #Tuskeegee #studentloans #studentlife

Music for S1 Ep4 and beyond from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/kick-back
License code: WIW2159A5LBSADR2

The very first 2 episodes feature music from https://youtu.be/_uvz1APvCeM?si=clrAURycB1X0SZFx

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi. Hi. I like how you're waving. Well, thank you guys for listening. Thanks, guys. And you know what it is. This is the Brown Skin Power Half Hour.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Both of them are the HBCUs. Let's just leave it at that.

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Let's just leave it at that, yeah. Um, but we gotta cover it all.

SPEAKER_01 0:35

So from the Howard, Tuskegee, we're gonna be traveling all over the U.S. with this.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

Fun fact, I guess you can call it a fun fact. But before I moved to Charlotte, so when I moved to Charlotte, and you know the famous street, Tuckasiji, I used to call it Tuskegee, but now that I've been here as long as I have, I've been calling Tuskegee University Tucker CG.

SPEAKER_01 1:05

I can see it because looking at how it's spelled.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

Exactly. And it's a Charlotte, maybe it's not just the Charlotte thing, it's just a me thing. Anyway, let's talk about what's going on with the HBCU's job.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

Okay, so we do believe in citing our sources and giving credit.

SPEAKER_00 1:22

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:23

So let's start with the Northeast and Howard. So as you guys know, Howard has been disenrolling students for late financial aid. And New York and Maryland have come to the rescue along with other ones. So um, according to Caitlin Freeman at the New York Times, the article was published yesterday, but it was updated today at 1226. Again, we love to cite our sources, we're not like some people. You know what we mean when we say that. Absolutely. So New Um SUNY, which uh they can now attend a New York State School.

SPEAKER_00 2:10

It's SUNY, which is the State University of New York, and CUNY, which is the city university, City University of New York.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

Yeah, because I'm not going to track it. And you're good. You're good. So that's why, but it does also mention this in the article because they actually talk to disenrolled students in New York.

SPEAKER_00 2:29

Who live in New York, yeah?

SPEAKER_01 2:31

Okay, yes.

SPEAKER_00 2:32

So one of a lot of students a lot of people from New York wanted to go to Howard, yeah. Yeah, um. And still do for some reason. Anyway.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

No, I get it, because it is a you know, it's an Ivy HBCU. It's one of the Ivy. I wouldn't even just say Diddy. It was also it's an Ivy, sort of like Spelman.

SPEAKER_00 2:50

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

So it's an Ivy House.

SPEAKER_00 2:52

Yeah, I get it, I get it.

SPEAKER_01 2:53

So they interviewed Yasmine Payano, Caitlin from the New York Times, interviewed her, and Miss Payano, P-A-Y-A-N-O, had to scramble after being told weeks before the semester was to begin that she no longer had a spot. She didn't know what to do. And the governor, Governor Kathy H-O-C-H-U-L of New York. Okay, I said I yeah, I said I would verify it.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

You're good. You're good.

SPEAKER_01 3:26

Okay, so at the last minute switch, she will be attending Miss Payo will attend the University of Albany in the fall. A last-minute switch made possible after Governor Governor Kathy of New York offered to give disenrolled Howard students expedited late admissions to certain campuses that are part of the State University of New York system and the city university of New York system. Okay. According to a statement from the governor, they earned their acceptance, made their plans, and should be counting down the days until moving. Instead, they are being forced to start over. So you know what's bad when the governor of New York is like Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

It's bad because it it made so much news, and originally it was over 500 students. Now it's 502. Now, in all fairness, I believe some of them have been reinstated, but my God, I mean, the trauma. The trauma. Like, why would you I wouldn't want to once look, you don't have to tell me twice you don't want me, fine. There are over a hundred HBCUs that will want me. So I I've never been a follower, so that there's that. So if I applied to Howard, got accepted, now you're telling me what weeks before the first day that you that I because either I didn't understand, I can't remember who's at the fault, right? But at this point, I feel like things could have been oh, by the way, allegedly there's a woman on TikTok. I need to find her name and I will find her after the break or during the break. But allegedly there was a either a memo or a a meeting where Howard enrolled too many people. They accepted too many applicants, and they needed a way to read them out, trim, yeah. They needed to trim the fat some kind of way, and that was the way. Allegedly, yeah. We can't see your your your your expression, but yeah, her eyebrow.

SPEAKER_01 5:42

Yeah, we're not, um, yeah. Anyway, but I will tell you, there's also another New York Times article which mentions it was 502 students. Yeah the university said that the students failed to meet payment requirements by a July 10th deadline, which doesn't make any sense that it's gonna be that early.

SPEAKER_00 6:02

Right. It's it's never been that early. Even at the the school I went to, it's never, never like that. Once you're accepted, they're not going to like you really have would have to like have break break you have you had to broke the law or something for you to for them to revoke your application at that point. And you know, it it's I feel so bad because when you're a freshman, you're like 17, 18 years old for the most part, first time out of the house, first time, you know, on your own, doing what we were told is the right thing to do. Respectability politics. Right. Yeah, that's what it is.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

I had to fix mine, like, because I don't know, I mean, not to be too much of a butt. I had to fix mine like a few weeks after my mom died. So she died that May. I had to redo everything. And I really was ready to cuss out the financial aid because I had to redo everything.

SPEAKER_00 6:59

Oh, yeah, that financial is set. Clearly, it sounds like the HBCU. Let's get into it. Okay. The HBCU financial, the ad the whole admin team, even from when I went to school in the 90s, and I heard it was bad in the 80s too, but they needed to, they they have some work to do.

SPEAKER_01 7:20

With all that money you were getting from Jeff Benzow's ex, nobody could update the systems. I'm just saying. I mean, you get millions, billions of dollars from her. Y'all couldn't hire some tech people to fix it.

SPEAKER_00 7:33

Not only that, even if they did, you have a lot of the staff there, they have been there for decades. They're not going anywhere because they're on Easy Street, they're getting a check. This they're at the students are at their mercy and they know it. When they're ready to go to lunch, no matter how long the line is, they're gonna go. They're going to lunch. And I and I understand, I mean, if you work your eight hours, yes, by law, you get your hour. I get that, but it's the first week of school, right?

SPEAKER_01 8:06

You know it's gonna be a disaster. Why aren't there more people on the front line? Even if you hire contract people to help during that time. So again, I'm not even giving them that. And the article I used about the numbers is from the New York Times again, because I have a subscription. It was dated July 25th, 2026. Yep, and the authors are Mark Walker and Emmett Lind Linder. Okay. L-I-N L-I-N-D-N-E-R. So again, we sought our sources. Yes. So, yeah, we were journalist major, so we we have to follow that rule of yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:41

Some of us still believe in that. So, yes. Kudos to you for you know, uh just doubling down on that because yeah, you'd be surprised. But or maybe you won't be surprised.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

We've seen um we know some YouTubers who have gotten sued. Yeah, uh huh. Because yeah, but that's you gotta cite yourself. Now, if they're wrong, they're wrong. We'll apologize if they're wrong, but we at least cited them correctly. We followed the old school rules. Absolutely. So, yeah, there are people doing TikToks about it again, according to the article. Uh, Isabella Williams said in a TikTok video about the enrollment, she said she was supposed to have moved in on in on Saturday. I've never heard of a school. I mean, if you're banned, I get it.

SPEAKER_00 9:27

Well, remember this uh how it is consider well, DC arguably is part of the South, and school starts in August.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

Yeah, but August and this article was like the 25th. Because I remember when I started.

SPEAKER_00 9:41

Right, so set today's Saturday. So she would have been moving in today, right?

SPEAKER_01 9:45

No, this is the article from the 25th.

SPEAKER_00 9:47

Oh, so that's last Saturday. Yes, that's what I'm like. It doesn't make any sense. So that that is the okay, okay, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:53

Yeah, so yeah, I'm sorry for confusing.

SPEAKER_00 9:55

No, you're good, you're good. That that's my bad.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

So according to this article from the 25th, they said last fall, Howard had 2,490, the number of undergraduates, first time in college students. According to the and this was last fall. So if you had almost five, 2,500 students last fall.

SPEAKER_00 10:20

And they had housing issues before, but girl, yes.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

Right, yeah, according to TikToks from those students, they also had uh bodily fluids in the hall. That's another story. So Howard! Yes, Howard. They're people were on TikTok.

unknown 10:37

Oh my!

SPEAKER_01 10:38

Their students were showing it on TikTok. Yes, I'm like, uh, y'all have a lot of stuff to fix, and we will segue into bonnets. And we have some breaking news. Approximately 300 young people remained unenrolled over tuition payments.com. The article is by Jess Arnold. Again, thousands of students began moving in at Howard, but 300 plus first-year students are not enrolled. Um, a few weeks ago, Harvard shared that it had unenrolled about 500 students over unsatisfied tuitions, and there was also various New York Times articles about it. The interim president Wayne A.I. Yes, that's his middle. His middle initials, according to this article, Frederick explained that the university has sent regular updates on payment deadlines, and these students didn't meet them. Some students pushed back saying their financial aid was scheduled to drop after Howard's deadline. And I would think they would know as a college when financial deadlines drop. That y'all should know that, considering how many students are on like financial aid. But anyway, uh the university review many of these cases and end up re-enrolling, only 200 of them, so only like 40%. They have been able to join their peers for the week's role moving rolling move-in schedule, which lasts through the weekend. But they sent this around to what however for these students who still find themselves without a university home, there are schools in Maryland and DC that are opening their doors. This does not look good for higher education, but this is what they want to do. Um so again, according to the article by Miss by Jess Arnold, not sure if it's Mailer, not sure if Jess is Mailer, female, so I'm gonna say. So, tomorrow, to accompany unenrolled Harvest students. So if you know any Harvest students who were part of this 300, please let them know that the application deadline for the University of the District of Columbia is tomorrow. The article does not mention what time, so if you can get it in as soon as you can. I've heard of Morgan, but the other ones are Bowie. Bowie. Oh, it's Bowie. B-O-W-I-E state, Coopin State, Morgan, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shores. The Maryland High Education Commission and the University Systems of Maryland must establish a coordinated process to help affective students identify available programs, navigate financial options, and seek expedited late admissions review at participating USM, I guess, university University Systems of Maryland, institutions with available capacity. And yeah, having flashbacks. My own college is.gov. Again, if you're needing any to um email the Maryland Higher Education Commission. It is O S F, F like Frank, A mail, like mail that you put in the mailbox, dot M for Maryland, H for Hire, E for Edward, C for Commission at Maryland.gov to help find available programs. Unenrolled students who choose to email the Maryland Higher Education Commission will also receive an $800 credit to offset the non-refundable enrollment and housing deposits. The interim president has also um spoke on campus today to greet new students and help with the move-in process at noon. Yeah, he helped with you if you were there. But uh we'll be back with more.

SPEAKER_00 15:40

Hi, I'm Dr. Ty. I'm inviting you or someone you know to Beyond the Letters. I started Beyond the Letters because earning a doctoral, not a doctoral, it's not the finish line, it's the beginning of another chapter. Sidebar, I'm reading a script, as you can probably tell by now. The word or the letters that make up doctoral is highlighted in red. So shout outs to you, Apple, because you get it. Anyway, earning a doctoral degree, it's not the finish line, it's the beginning of a new chapter. So every week on Beyond the Letters, I'll spend just a couple of minutes highlighting women who are writing that next chapter, whether they're applying for a teaching position, surviving exams, defending or figuring out life after graduation. For example, what's something nobody warned you about after graduation? Let me know at Beyond the Letters. You can find us on Facebook and Discord. Email the Thailand Collective at Gmail.com for more info. That's T H E T Y L A N D collective at gmail.com. Bye.

SPEAKER_01 17:11

Hey everybody, it's Anita from the Brown Skin Power Half Hour. Have you been listening to a podcast in thought? I could have added something to that conversation. Well, this is your invitation. Ty and I are looking for guests to join us on upcoming episodes, and here's the best part. You only need about 10 minutes. Seriously, you don't have to be famous, you don't have to have a huge following, and you definitely don't have to be an expert. If you've got a story, a unique perspective, a lesson you've learned, or even an opinion that'll make us laugh or think. Around here, we believe some of the best conversations happen with everyday people. That's what makes us this po that's what makes this podcast special. We talk about life, relationships, careers, culture, current events, and all those moments that make us say, whew, I've been there. So if you've ever been waiting for a sign, this is it.

SPEAKER_00 18:01

This is Ty, and listen, don't overthink this. We're not looking for the perfect speakers. You heard, Anita. We're looking for real people with a story that can make someone laugh or think or just feel that togetherness, if you will. We love to hear from you. I'm not gonna hold you if you're looking for a podcast with a million followers or even a thousand followers. We're not the one for you right now. But that's fine. But here's the real flex. Here's a flex. You can say you went on a podcast that is played on Amazon, Spotify, iHeart, and many other places, right? But those are like the big three, I guess, right? Anyway, reach out to us, the Thailand Collective, that's a T-H-E-T-Y-L-A-N-D collective at gmail.com. Uh, when you see us in the social media street, you can leave a comment or send us a DM. We just might be talking to you next. You never know. So come on. Bye.

SPEAKER_01 19:22

Yes, because um, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:24

And but you know, before we get to the point, um y'all have some bigger fish to fry because allegedly the same lady who shared about the Howard meetings, she has a source, a reliable source that has revealed to her, right? And this is all this is all on TikTok if you want to find it. But according to her, and I'm going to find her um information because she is a wealth of information for those with parents and for and students who are thinking about going to going to college. Um, yeah, so to Skeevy, they're having a lot of dorm issues, from what I understand. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:10

Mine had dorm issues to the point I'm like, you so you spent $6,000 on palm trees in front of the admissions building, but there's no soap in the bathroom. Uh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:19

Oh, you're talking about the hand soap. Yeah, that's that's very, you're nodding your head. Yeah, that's very problematic because yeah, that's the least you can do is add soap in the dispenser. But let's talk about bonnets because okay, I'll just say this for me, for me, unless there's an emergency, I don't want to go outside with a bonnet. Because you just never know who you're gonna run into. Too many people have phones, too many people, you know, will drive. It's always when you look your worst, right? Somebody from two years ago you ain't seen a long time, or you know, someone that you're affiliated with, whatever. Maybe you don't okay, so the argument thing can be, I don't care, I'm doing me. Okay, gotcha. We didn't make the rules, right? So you have to decide do you want to play the game? And that and that means you have to follow the rules. But you know what? I'm jumping ahead of myself.

SPEAKER_01 21:27

I I was just thinking, this is the South, yeah, and you know the rules. Black or white, again, as somebody born and bred in Georgia, yeah. Black or white, you do have that level of you have to look the certain when you get a certain age, because sometimes I'm like, I'm in my forties. I've had times when I'm like white.

SPEAKER_00 21:46

Yeah, but you you still understand you're indoctrinated. If you are going to work in certain places, if you're going to church in certain places, if you are going to be a part, if you're going to the club, right? Yeah, there's certain there's dress codes everywhere.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

Yeah, I totally agree.

SPEAKER_00 22:05

But having said that, I don't think I agree with them enforcing this. But again, I'm jumping the gun because I want you to read the story for those who by the time this comes out, you may have forgotten what happened.

SPEAKER_01 22:21

Okay. So again, this is another New York newspaper. This case, it is the New York Post. The article was written by Adam Silverstein, and it was published today, August 1st, 2026, at 4:59 Eastern Standard Time. 4.59 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Again, we believe in citing our sources. So students at Alabama's Tuskegee University will be required to wear a business suit when arriving on campus this semester under a strict new dress code that also bans certain headwear. Sparkling sparking a heated debate online. Students must arrive on campus with a business suit and proper shoes for a business meeting. They unveiled the policy last week in a message from President Dr. Mark Brown to students and parents. Or to or the cafeteria. According to him, the goal here is not meant to restrict you from enjoying the Tuskegee experience, but to prepare you with a solid foundation for the workforce you will enter once you leave Tuskegee. I agree and disagree. On one hand, I understand. But workforce now, if you've worked in an office in the past ten years Well.

SPEAKER_00 24:01

I feel like I'm changing my stance as I stand here because um they're students, right? They're not going to work, right? Um, they're spending all their money that they have trying to along with loans for the most part to let's keep it a buck, but they're spending all of their time, their work, they're focusing on work. And some of these classes start at 8 o'clock, which means you at 7.

SPEAKER_01 24:33

I had one at 7 a.m.

SPEAKER_00 24:35

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 24:36

Because I was late and rolling. Well, I was late and rolling for that class. That is crazy.

SPEAKER_00 24:40

And but that no, that's even worse. But that means you're getting up super early to have breakfast, right? You gotta go to the calf.

SPEAKER_01 24:48

Assuming the cafeteria is open that early.

SPEAKER_00 24:50

If it's open that early, right? You gotta do that. And let's keep it a book. We're, you know, partying late at night the day before. So when you roll out of bed, that is what's happening. You're rolling out and you're rushing to class. I get it. I get all of that. Um but why not? Because there's so much casual wear that you can wear when you are running out the door. There's so and and and it's still cute. You know what I mean? It's still cute. You I mean, are they banning baseball caps as well? Hey y'all, it's Ty. I want to jump back in here to tell you about Scholarship College Mama on TikTok. That's Scholarship College M A M A on TikTok. She has a wealth of information for students, incoming students, and even high school students who are college bound. Um, anyway, I wanted to share a couple of things that she um shared in you know, in the wake of everything happening in um at Tuskegee and at Howard. Um, so let's begin with Tuskegee. Okay, so um she found someone at Tuskegee um to share what's missing in the conversation. Um she called it the do-rag debate. Um the students' voices are missing um in that conversation. And so what happened is that uh we had a um, I think her name is uh or his name is Aiden Bass. Uh he is at a conference currently. This is mind you, we're recording this. Um by the time you hear this, you're it's probably gonna be um uh a week ago. But anyway, um Aiden Bass is a junior at Tuskegee, and he's currently at a conference for his internship, and he's wearing a suit. Um, in fact, most of the people he knows there are, you know, in suits. They're in business attire for this internship. Now, he's saying that um the way that they dress, it wasn't stopping anything as far as gaining internships or any other opportunities. Um, he went on to say that Tuskegee has always had a dress code. So what are we even complaining about on social media? I don't know. Um he's been voicing frustrations um regarding how his peers have been portrayed online and that this should have never been publicized, not to this um magnitude, anyway, um, because it's bringing false in a false interpretation that they don't care about how they're being presented and how they're portrayed um in professional and public environments.

SPEAKER_01 28:00

Thanks for listening to the Brown Skin Power Half Hour. I'm Anita.

SPEAKER_00 28:04

And I'm tying. Guess what? We're at 30 minutes, y'all, so you have to come back to listen to the rest of HBCU, and yeah, you know, I came up with that title, and I can because I graduated from an HBCU now would.