We lined up and walked from our classroom to the bust of a man that sits next to a red brick building, looked at him with reverence and asked our teacher,”Whose head is that and where is the rest of him?”The children who asked were my classmates and I when we were about kindergarten. The teacher happily answered as soon as we got to the room, with open ended questions and homework worksheets. This took place throughout my years at Alma J. Brown Elementary school; a week was set aside for the student and staff to recognize who we are and how far we have come. But lately, it seems like this weeklong celebration is out of style. It has been replaced by three short days of freshman convocations and halfway together programs. Children are only ones laying flowers around Charles P. Adams’ bust.
I think it is a shame. I wish people had the same zest about finding out the latest gossip as they did about how and why our institution was founded.
We need to go back to the whole week being set aside for events that promote GSU’s illustrious past. Students, especially in our freshman year, need to have the GSU history imparted to them. Founder’s Week could be a time for them to learn the true history of the university. We could be taken on a tour of some of the buildings and given the history behind the names. Even a tour of the Adams house would suffice.
Being from this area, I admit that I take the history and the school for granted. Every day, I am learning more and more about the school that I did not know.
For instance, I did not know many of the student athletes such as Ernie Ladd and Willis Reed, who had attended Grambling until I overheard someone talking. Many of the buildings that have been torn down. I still do not know why they were named Holland, Knott, and Bowen.
These are things that could be researched by students so that they have a deeper appreciation for this school as a whole.
My mother always says that “Grambling will always be here,” but which “Grambling” will be here? Our school landscape is changing rapidly with the new additions and subtractions of historical buildings. Students do not know about significance of P.B.S. Pinchback or where exactly did we get the name “Grambling?”
This is the information that should come with our packets when we get accepted into the institution. Grambling is living history that needs to be retold to keep the story alive.