Ohio State Opens "African American Male Resource Center"

“Ohio State has taken on a new initiative in further incorporating minority students into college life. The African American Male Resource Center is the first of its kind on Ohio State’s campus that caters specifically to black males, said program manager Eric Troy.

“We want every black male on this campus to know that the resource center exists,” he said.

The center is the result of several focus groups and a collaborative effort with the Office of Minority Affairs. Troy said the focus group found that students were not aware of the Office of Minority Affairs and only used their resources in crisis situations. Troy said the focus group found a growing need to work with black males on campus as well.”

Nationally, of the 1.8 million black men between 18 and 24 - the ages when most of their peers are in college - only one-fourth were seeking higher education in 2004, according to the American Council on Education.”

TheStateOf…Black Males in Higher Education. Applause is due to ‘THE’ Ohio State University for its efforts to recruit and maintain more black men. I’m happy to hear about that. But a small part of me thinks, “shouldn’t we be doing this for ourselves?” In my experience, most black men that didn’t finish college failed to do so because of a lack of financial resources. They simply didn’t have the money. Other guys were too susceptible to the strong influences of drugs and low expectations. At Morehouse, we had a wide range of men, from elite, classically-trained business students to straight-up thugs that slept with pistols under their pillows. In any case, is special attention required for black males in college? Is it fair to other students?