On 19 May 2008, The Real Lady Veteran <bLobbi.sanchez@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
posted some news:20080520034042.E955C4E4F9@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> On 17 May 2008, moss@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(Moss) wrote:
>>http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/16/white.valedictorian/index.html
>>
>>Story Highlights
>>
>>* Joshua Packwood, 22, will become first white valedictorian of
>>Morehouse College
>>
>>* He turned down Ivy League scholar****p to study African-American
>>studies
>>
>>* Throughout his life, Packwood always gravitated toward the black
>>experience
>>
>>* Packwood: "I don't think ethnicity makes the difference; it's what's
>>in his heart"
>>
>>
>>By Dana Rosenblatt and Don Lemon
>>CNN
>>
>>ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Joshua Packwood knows what it's like to be a
>>minority.
>>
>>This weekend he'll be the first white valedictorian to graduate from
>>the historically black, all male Morehouse College in the school's
>>141-year history.
>>
>>Morehouse, in Atlanta, Georgia, is one the nation's most prestigious
>>universities of its kind. For more than a century, the school has
>>prided itself on personifying the dream of the Rev. Martin Luther King
>>Jr., one o=
> f
>>the school's most notable alums, by producing "Morehouse Men" -
>>intelligen=
> t
>>and successful black leaders.
>>
>>"Because I'm one of the only white students, it's easy to call me 'the
>>white boy,' I'm naturally going to stand out," says Packwood.
>>
>>But Packwood, 22, doesn't stand out solely because he is white or has
>>maintained a 4.0 grade point average. For those who don't know him,
>>what i=
> s
>>surprising is that a Rhodes Scholar finalist turned down a full
>>scholar****=
> p
>>to Columbia University to attend the all-black men's university.
>>
>>This came naturally to Packwood, who attended a predominantly black
>>high school.
>>
>>"A large majority of my friends, like all my girlfriends have been
>>minorities," says Packwood. "So it was very, it was kind of strange
>>that I=
>
>>always kind of gravitated to the black community."
>>
>>Packwood fit in immediately at Morehouse. His charm, movie-star good
>>looks=
>
>>and chiseled physique made him popular among students. He was elected
>>dorm=
>
>>president and to class council during freshmen year - and was a
>>favorite a=
> t
>>campus fa****on shows. White valedictorian makes history =BB
>>
>>He also gained worldly experience studying and traveling abroad.
>>
>>Life hasn't always been easy for Packwood. He grew up in a poor area
>>of Kansas City, Missouri, where he says he found himself gravitating
>>to the black community at a young age.
>>
>>Adolescence was rough. His mother's second marriage to a black man
>>ended i=
> n
>>divorce and family tension forced him to seek refuge with his best
>>friend'=
> s
>>family - who were black and middle-class.
>>
>>The experience of living with his best friend's family had a profound
>>effect on Packwood, who says he saw a "different side of black
>>America."
>>
>>During his teens, Packwood says he got into his share of fights and
>>even landed in jail a few times. Still, his grades were good and
>>eventually earned him a full scholar****ps to Morehouse College and
>>Columbia University.
>>
>>Against the advice of some family members, Packwood gave up the
>>scholar****=
> p
>>to an Ivy League school. He felt the true college experience was at
>>Morehouse - where he believed he would get more than an education.
>>
>>"I gained this interest in African-American studies and I thought that
>>Morehouse would probably be the best experience," says Packwood. "I
>>think of it in terms of 'study abroad.' If I really want to learn it,
>>if I reall=
> y
>>want to understand it - maybe it's best if I immerse myself in the
>>culture."
>>
>>"Mr. Packwood is deserving. He has earned this," says Dr. Robert
>>Franklin,=
>
>>the president of Morehouse. "We are committed to merit, to hard work -
>>no matter who it might be."
>>
>>For the most part, Packwood says the experience among his Morehouse
>>brethren has been overwhelmingly good - with the exception of a few
>>negative comments.
>>
>>"One guy came up to me and told me -- he didn't like the fact that I
>>was here," recalls Packwood. "He absolutely didn't like the fact that
>>I dated black women."
>>
>>"So I heard him out, and said, 'I appreciate your opinion but don't
>>agree with what you have to say,'...and now we've become, not
>>necessarily close,=
>
>>but very cool," Packwood says.
>>
>>That student, Vinson Muhammad, says he was curious about the reasons
>>why someone like Packwood would choose to attend an all-black college.
>>
>>"I don't necessarily sup****t him being here, but because he's here and
>>we can't discriminate against other races, I sup****t him and his
>>mission to b=
> e
>>successful in life," says Muhammad, a junior. "I just kind of wish he
>>had done it at a different institution."
>>
>>Even though he received the sup****t of school administrators,
>>Packwood's scholastic success did not come without some controversy.
>>When word got ou=
> t
>>that he might become the next valedictorian, some of his classmates -
>>even=
>
>>friends - were admittedly chafed.
>>
>>"They approached me and said, 'Yeah, I have a problem with you being
>>valedictorian. I know you've earned it and even though I know you on a
>>personal level - I like you a lot - but it disturbs me that out of
>>roughly=
>
>>3,000 black men - there's not one that's done as well as or better
>>than yo=
> u
>>academically,' " says Packwood.
>>
>>Still, the majority of students told CNN that he earned his accolades
>>and they stand behind him. Some say, if anything, Packwood's academic
>>success should serve as a lesson to his fellow students.
>>
>>"I think that it should be a wake-up call to an all black campus,"
>>says Muhammad. "At Morehouse we're supposed to be at the top as black
>>men. We only have a few white students and to see a white student will
>>rise to thi=
> s
>>- is something unsettling to me because it shows that we need to work
>>harder."
>>
>>Campus administrators say that black or white, Packwood's experience
>>is consistent with the school's mission: to produce future leaders.
>>
>>"I think some of our alumni are a little nervous about a white student
>>graduating from Morehouse with all of its rich history for producing
>>African-American male leaders. But I don't think it's contradictory at
>>all," says Sterling Hudson, the dean of admissions.
>>
>>Overall, Packwood says his experience is the best proof of Morehouse
>>success, because the school was able to produce a white valedictorian
>>- against the odds. He's eager to quote the school's most notable
>>alums.
>>
>>"What Morehouse stands for at the end of the day, and what Dr. King
>>epitomized, it's not about black or white, it's about the content of
>>[a person's] character," says Packwood. "It's about me, representing
>>Morehous=
> e
>>in that light -- not as a white man or a black man."
>>
>>His experience was so positive that Packwood's younger brother, John,
>>will=
>
>>follow in his footsteps when he enrolls as a freshman at the college
>>next year.
>>
>>Could this type of recruitment signal a new trend for Morehouse and
>>other historically black colleges and universities?
>>
>>"We're not aggressively pursuing white students," says Hudson. "But
>>like every other college, we're interested in diversity. So, if a
>>white student=
>
>>becomes interested in Morehouse - of course we are going to treat him
>>like=
>
>>any other student."
>>
>>For now, Packwood is enjoying his rise to the top. This week, he
>>started his first job with the prestigious investment banking firm
>>Goldman Sachs o=
> n
>>Wall Street.
>>
>>But he'll be back at Morehouse Sunday wearing his cap and gown along
>>with the 500 members of his graduating class. Not as a white man or a
>>black man=
>
>>- but as a Morehouse Man.
>>
>>"The interesting thing about Josh's experience is that he had a full
>>Morehouse experience," says Hudson. "When he marches across the stage
>>on May 18 and receives his diploma, he's going to be a Morehouse Man
>>in every=
>
>>way -- except ethnicity."
>>
>>"I don't think ethnicity makes the difference; it's what's in his
>>heart."
>
> The lower half of 1 black valedictorian is worth 10 complete white
> valedictorians.
Gettin' picky now are ya?
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Gbeyy njnl!
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