I am sure that many of you out there who have been at Grambling for a while are wondering exactly what I am wondering, what happened to GSU?
When I first got to Grambling, even though it was overcrowded and there were an overwhelming number of "thugs" and "hardheads" here at the university, the campus as a whole was still almost completely safe.
You did not have to worry about people stealing your stuff out of your room over breaks or someone breaking into your car at night because the students were more concerned about going to class and partying than trying to bother with anyone else’s stuff.
After hearing about all of the things that have been going on lately, I must say that Grambling is on a fast pace to being shutdown if some major changes are not made sooner, rather than later. Several of my family members attended GSU and they all have told me that Grambling has become more ghetto than any ghetto they have ever visited, and the quality of student that enroll has gone down to next to nothing.
I don’t mean to keep reflecting on the "glory days" of GSU but I just can’t help myself because I know that not more than five years ago Grambling was a great school set in a country atmosphere where the students did not have to worry about getting shot, raped, or stabbed on a daily basis. You could sit on the yard from sun up to sun down and you wouldn’t witness a single altercation the whole time you were out there.
Since I have moved off campus I don’t frequent the yard as much as I once did, but the times that I have made my way to the yard, I have seen a building on fire, witnessed two fights, and observed someone throwing trash out of their fourth story window, to the grounds below.
I really wish that the administration would spend more time ensuring that our campus returns to the safe haven that it once was rather than focussing on how much money they can filter through without getting caught up. I truly know the potential that our beloved GSU has. It easily can again be one of the safer universities to attend in this country.
When I look around and see all of the deteriorating buildings, the enormous potholes, the unsanitary rodents and animals, and the general lack of concern for beautifying our campus, it makes me sad at the same time outraged because I know that something can be done about the current state of Grambling.
I really would like to see a conscious effort being made by not only the administration but also the student body to make GSU indeed, "the place where everybody is somebody," and the campus or the place where everybody feels safe enough to be somebody.
Wendell Graves is a graduate student from Shreveport.