Howard University Top Questions

Howard is known to be big on fashion. Many people change the way they dress once they get here, and the Yard (the main open area on campus) is said to be a fashion show when it's hot out. Howard students are also generally considered "stuck up" and elitist by people (especially blacks) from the surrounding community.

Speaking of relationships(from a female point of view), which I find to be the very center of conversations these days, Howard is the pinnacle of relationship drama. I think it is imperitive to speak openly about the disdain felt by my counterparts regarding the male population on campus. I have heard soooooo many times, "I'm not messing with NOBODY else but you" or "I'm real... I would never purposely hurt you" and then six months later after you have believed the hype... fed into this Tall Tale fanasy of how it is just you and this boy -that believes himself to be a man,you find you have developed feelings...now all that you hear is "I don't have time for you... I don't do relationships...I don't want a girlfriend. Shit has now become real and this person - whom you have to pray for God's guidance to remember that is also a human being-then bursts the fantasy balloon and you find out that not only has he been with you, but he is with Kelly and Robin and Mike and you are left feeling - the feeling is so very unexplainable that all you think of is Julius Ceasar and the treacherous betrayl of Brutus.

That we are bougie. No one really studies much. It's a big party school. There's always something going on each and every blessed day.

-It's a party school -It has a poppin Homecoming -It's the number one HBCU -It has a strong academic history -It's a top fashion school(based on student body) (I'm sure there are others, but this is what I can think of at the moment)

There are several different stereotypes about Howard and Howard students: 1. People naturally assume Howard is a party school. To be honest the best time to party is in the fall during Howard University's Homecoming. It is most known for having many celebrities and faces among the Howard University crowd and a lot of people do come out to see what's going on at Homecoming. But after that, most student are actually studying, trying to get involved in political issues such as the Presidential Election 2008 or JENA 6 or volunteering to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. 2. Certain people think that if you go to Howard, you are definitely from the DMV (DC, MD, or VA) area. This is not true. Even though I am a DC native and a resident of the state of Maryland, I know more people who are from the Caribbean, New York, California and Texas. Most people who are residents of DC who walk on Howard's campus assume that everyone at Howard is from the DC-area. 3. Some men believe that the women of Howard are stuck up, "bougie" or too fly to get with. As an intelligent woman, I have goals, dreams, and standards. No, I will not get with you if you are not my type (whatever I deem my type to be). But women are selective when it comes to men. If you are not an educated, opinionated man who sets goals and delivers, sure a woman may shut you guys down. But aren't you the same type of brothers that walk and step onto our campus to look at these "fly, fine ass women" that you and your boys drool over? Because we are a diverse campus with different types of styles from different places, you will meet many different types of women that represent every different thing under the sun. I would say we are beautiful, intelligent, and able women who are trying to lead successful lives as we plan for our futures. 4. The Brown Paper Bag test and Light-skinned versus Dark-skinned complexions. Surely race is a number one factor in this country. People love to dismiss this but I don't. Everytime I fill out a government document that requires me to answer what is my ethnicity/racial group, I get frustrated when I check, type or answer Black/African-American. Don't get me wrong, this has helped me when I wanted to get into mostly Caucasian schools such as the University of Maryland, University of Southern California, and Immaculata University (thank you affirmative action and equal opportunity). But I chose Howard. When I walk onto Howard's campus, there is an immediate segregation among our Black sisters and brothers. Maybe. But this stereotype still holds some truth. When determining what organizations you want to join, whether community service, social clubs, state clubs, fraternities/sororities, student government, etc., should there be an exclusion to our different shades of brown? No. In a most recent Hilltop, Howard's daily collegiate publication, two very great writers commented about being black among a diverse population and the 20th Anniversary of Spike Lee's film "School Daze". I read both and was astounded but what both writers commented about: The division of African-Americans on campus due to our socioeconomic statuses and colorism. It got me thinking that as a student body of diverse cultures and different shades of brown, that we need to come together and eliminate the segregation among us. 5. Howard University is like a fashion show; different styles among different groups of people trying to show off and shut down their peers with fashion-saavy attitudes. Well, not entirely true. Sure people do try to look their best as the walk across the yard to see their friends and gradually make it to their class by 12:10. Surely, I am one of them. I am not a deemed fashionista but I do sport my business attire (conservative or casual) faithfully around campus because I am a Business major. But this is what makes Howard special; there is lots of fashion and unique styles around Howard's campus that has everyone asking where'd you get this or how much did you pay for those boots? Surely, we are not rich but there are bargains for looking your