Answer to "How's Howard going so far?"

My dear, dear folks. If one more person asks me how Howard is going...

Naw, but forreal, I figured I would publish this here so I can answer the question that seems to be on everyone's lips "How's Howard going so far?"

If you're reading this, then you probably know that I'm doing the domestic exchange program and spending the fall semester at Howard University in Washington, D.C. I will return to Columbia in the Spring. So, exactly how is Howard going, you ask?

Generally, the answer is "not well." Now, that is not to say that it is going badly; it just means that it could be better. There are a couple of reasons for this. The main ones are the fact that I miss friends and family back home (Yes, I'm calling NYC home, now.) and I would like to be doing more of my major work at Columbia. Classes here are mediocre; there is significantly less coursework and teachers seem to water-down material and shy away from critical dialogue with their students.

To better illustrate my point about the professors, I will relay one particularly horrifying experience that occurred the other day.

A few weeks ago I was given an assignment in English class to write a 1 -2 page paper. Well, I got it back last week, bleeding, and with a "D" on it. The professor claimed that I didn't understand the assignment and used pronouns incorrectly. What she meant, I am convinced, is that she didn't understand my argument; therefore, in her mind, I didn't understand her assignment.

But anyway, I went to her office hours last week to discuss the grade, and we got into it. I did not walk in there expecting a confrontation, but nevertheless I got one. Essentially, she wanted me to have the attitude of "I got a bad grade, so can I rewrite the paper with the corrections you marked?", but I walked in there with the attitude of "Would you reconsider the grade you gave me? I believe if you read it more carefully my point will be clear to you."

This really pissed her off. She felt as though her authority was threatened by a student who walked into her office questioning her judgement. Whereas, I was simply asking her to engage in a dialogue with me about the grade she had given me on my paper. She was looking for me to passively accept everything she was saying, and she got the opposite. She was visibly frustrated, and by the end of our short meeting, she had kicked me out of her office.

I promptly returned to my dorm room for a "Change of Program" form and went back to her office for her signature. I just had to get out of that class.

Now, I know what you're thinking: "This confrontation could have happened at Columbia. It is unfair to label the institution of Howard negatively because of one crazy individual." I accept this as true, but if I take this experience and add it to all of the other less dramatic ones I am provided with a rather fucked-up view of my "Howard/HBCU experience."

But I'm good. I will make the best of my experience here even though I severely miss those I care about back home. Peace and blessings, folks.