In hopes of boosting Morgan State University’s student enrollment, President David Wilson has opted to act on recommendations from the school’s Return to Greatness Committee to provide better equipment, scholarships and practice space for athletes. With these improvements they hope Morgan’s athletes will have a better success rate and that will, in turn, boost student enrollment.
This is perfectly fine, and it can be argued that having a good athletic department would increase overall morale, but what about the rest of the university?
Take, for instance, the School of Global Journalism and Communication (SGJC). What about the labs that journalism students are required to do work in that have little to no working equipment? Or, for that matter, how about the confusing classroom equipment that hardly any professor knows how to work? Why aren’t these things considered a first priority?
Again, nothing against the Bears, but more pressing matters exist and should be at the forefront. MSU students are here to learn first, and unfortunately, these same students have spoken of their own personal experiences in which professors weren’t able to operate needed equipment either due to inexperience or malfunctioning hardware.
“I get called about three times a day,” said Luther Moore, the technician for the SGJC. “Rooms 239, 240 and 202 need the most improvement. Projectors in these rooms are eight years old and need to be replaced.”
Of course, even if all of the equipment were in proper working order, it is only part of the equation. The other, more integral piece is the professors themselves, and even that area is facing difficulty.
The idea that a class can be reassigned to a different professor with little, if any, warning or notification, just doesn’t sit well with some people – students, specifically. While it is a rare and uncommon occurrence, it does happen from time to time, according to Jackie Jones, chair of the Department of Multimedia Journalism.
Everyone who attends a university knows that students are required to take a certain amount of credits in order to make satisfactory arrangements to graduate. But what happens when students are not able to get into the classes they need because of a professor or schedule change? Not only will that be financially draining, but it will also be time consuming and result in both angry students and angry parents because most students are receiving some type of financial assistance.
Instead of worrying about athletics, Wilson needs to get his priorities in order. Sure, sports are good forms of entertainment and some students may be able to make a career out of it later. But what about the journey while a student is on that road? With hardly any working equipment, the lack of professors, and the lack of seats in classrooms, how can students possibly get through their college matriculation successfully?
The things that Morgan State is lacking in are essential. Only a handful of students can depend on athletics to get them through college. Wilson needs to address the issues for the entire student body on campus so that the non-athletic students studying here do not waste time and effort.
