From The Atlanta Journal Constitution:
From his first day at Morehouse College — the country's only institution of higher learning dedicated to the education of black men — Joshua Packwood has been a standout.
His popularity got him elected dorm president as a freshman. His looks and physique made him a fashion-show favorite. His intellect made him a Rhodes Scholar finalist. His work ethic landed him a job at the prestigious investment banking firm Goldman Sachs in New York City.
But it's his skin that has made all of this an anomaly. This month, Packwood is set to take the stage and address his classmates as the first white valedictorian in Morehouse's 141-year history.
The 22-year-old from Kansas City, Mo., will graduate Sunday with a perfect 4.0 GPA and a degree in economics.
He could have gone elsewhere, to a school like Columbia, Stanford or Yale, but his four-year journey through Morehouse has taught him a few things that they could not, and he makes it clear that he has no regrets.
"I've been forced to see the world in a different perspective, that I don't think I could've gotten anywhere else," he said. "None of the Ivies, no matter how large their enrollment is, no matter how many Nobel laureates they have on their faculty ... none of them could've provided me with the perspective I have now."
What I love about this is that a lot of black people are freaking out and going, "Why couldn't a black man have been valedictorian?" Um, perhaps its because they didn't have the highest GPA in the class? Good grief, people, before you freak out realize what a valedictorian is.
Furthermore, someone on
Stereohyped pointed out that this isn't really that rare as the valedictorian at Howard Law last year was a white woman.
Andrew had an interesting take on things. I sent him the link via IM and he said,
I have only one word:
Brandeis.
Explaining,
i wonder if anyone freaked out the first time there was a gentile valedictorian at brandeis
Good call on that one.
While I can see why people might freak out over this, I agree with the people who think it's a good thing. Considering that many HBCU are fighting to keep enrollment up enough to stay open (although, Morehouse/Spelman/Howard/FAMU/etc aren't in dire straits), I think that it's fine.
Besides, it's not like there is an insane rush of non-black students applying to go to these schools. Yes, numbers are up but for all intensive purposes, these schools remain overwhelmingly black. Additionally, as people have pointed out, the graduate programs at HBCU are even more diverse than undergrad.
I turned down quite a nice offer at Florida A&M to attend Williams because the only reason I wanted to go to FAMU was the business program and I wasn't necessarily sure I wanted to major in business. I think there have been transfers from there to Williams. I wonder how many students of color choose to go to Ivies, Stanford, MIT, Williams and top liberal arts colleges after applying to HBCU (although, I didn't apply they recruited me)? It's stupid for any college to turn away any top students, when it is already losing a portion of top high school students to competing schools.
Anyway, Joshua going to Morehouse should be a testament to the great job their recruiters and alumni are doing.
When Packwood applied to Morehouse, he had frequent conversations with George Gray, an alumnus who was a recruiter at the school. Gray was impressed by Packwood's credentials and spent months trying to talk the sought-after senior into choosing Morehouse over other elite schools.
"He had outstanding numbers," said Gray, now director of admissions at historically black Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Ark. "He was the kind of kid we were looking for to be a presidential scholar."
After several conversations, Packwood began to suspect that Gray had no idea that he was white. His suspicions were confirmed when one of Gray's calls caught Packwood in the middle of track practice.
"Don't let the white kids walk you down," Gray quipped.
"Wait," Packwood re-sponded. "You know I'm white, right?"
Silence. Uneasy laughter. Confirmation.
Awkward!
Although, I'm not sure of his exact reasons for choosing Morehouse. However, it's clear why
he wasn't freaking out about attending.
It was not as if this was the first time Packwood experienced life in the minority. He was among the few white students in his class at Grandview Senior High School in suburban Kansas City, Mo. He has mixed-race siblings and his mother was married to an African-American. Packwood's experiences growing up have helped him navigate black culture while remaining comfortable with his own complexion.
Calm down. It's fine. Plus, Joshua seems like a pretty cool guy*.
The best man got it, that's how I look at it," Fears said. "It's about equality here, too. If he wants to come here and make a name for himself, he should be allowed the same types of things we're allowed."
Being surrounded by black men for his undergraduate career has taught him more about diversity, Packwood said.
"I've been here for four years and yet, I cannot give you the definition of black," he said. "I cannot tell you what a black man is. I really learned to look much deeper. It takes a lot of effort to know people."
Congrats, Joshua and -1 for going into i-banking.
*Also, he's not bad looking at all.
(image from the Atlanta Journal Constituion)
For several years, my pal R2 and exchange commentary on the goings on at our respective alma maters (Princeton and Williams). After sending him the 5 billionth email pointing out how "ridiculous" Princeton was (or was it Williams, I forget) and after discovering free municipal wifi is available at my house, I decided to make a chart comparing Princeton and Williams on several levels in order to determine which school is really the most ridiculous.
It should be noted that "ridiculous" can be good or bad. Really, I'm just defining "ridiculous" as "making one go 'seriously?'".
If you know of some other categories that Williams and Princeton can go head-to-head in my never-ending question to determine which of our diplomas is from a more ridiculous place, please leave them in the comments.
| PRINCETON | WILLIAMS | Most Ridiculous
|
| Campus Scandal | Conservative student fakes own beating | Poogate (part 1,2, 3) | Tie
|
Latin name
| Princetoniensis
| Guilielmensis
| Williams
|
Motto
| Under God's power she flourishes | Through the Generosity of E. Williams, Esquire (or Soldier) | Williams
|
Degree
| AB
| BA
| Princeton
|
Endowment Per Capita
| $15.8 billion/6898
(approx. $2.3 million per student)
| $1.63 billion/2049
(approx. $796k per student)
| Princeton
|
Mascot
| Tiger
| Purple Cow
| Williams
|
|
Site of ESPN College GameDay (Football)
| Never
| November 10, 2007
| Williams
|
|
Eliminated Student Loans
| 2001
| 2007
| Princeton
|
|
Debate Program
| American Whig-Cliosophic Society
| Williams College Debate Union
- Defunct due to mismanagement
| Princeton
|
|
Duration of Fall Reading Period
| 9 days
| 2 days
| Princeton
|
|
Duration of Spring Break
| 9 days
| 15 days
| Williams
|
|
First-Hand Celeb Encounter
| "Leelee Sobieski slept on the floor in my room" (R2)
| "Pat Buchanan made an offensive comment to my debate teammate while we were at dinner with him" (Me)
| Williams
|
|
Silly Chant
| Locomotive
- As older classes march by in the P-rade, younger classes greet them by shouting an old, traditional Princeton cheer called a locomotive. The format of the cheer (for the class of 2005, for example) is "Hip! Hip! Rah! Rah! Rah! Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! Sis! Sis! Sis! Boom! Boom! Boom! Ah! Oh-Five! Oh-Five! Oh-Five!". The older class then traditionally returns the locomotive cheer to the younger class.
| "Safety School!" (to amHerst)
| Princeton
|
|
Thesis
| Mandatory
| Only if you're good enough.
And care enough.
| Princeton
|
|
Commencement
| Features Latin salutatory oration | Graduates led in by band of bagpipers and High Sheriff (dressed like Rich Uncle Pennybags aka The Monopoly Man) | Williams
|
|
2004 Commencement/
Class Day Speaker
| Jon Stewart
| David Halberstam
| Princeton
(but both are awesome)
|
|
2007
Commencement/
Class Day Speaker
| Bradley Whitford
| Katie Couric
| Princeton (just barely)
|
|
2008 Class Day/Baccalaureate Speaker
| Stephen Colbert
| Lavar Burton
| Williams
|
|
Biggest Movie Somewhat Recently Shot On Campus
| A Beautiful Mind | The Human Stain
| Princeton
|
|
The Party Scene
| Eating Clubs
| Drinking Games Ban
- Yes, it's okay to drink if you're over 21.
- No, it is not okay to play drinking games if you are over 21.
| Princeton
|
|
Fun Illogically Canceled by the Administration
| Nude Olympics
| - Bring your own booze to Homecoming tailgate
- Drinking games ban
| Williams
|
|
What Happened When Gunther Showed Up
| Drunk People
| Students destroyed the structural integrity of a building
| Williams
|
|
Senior Week Festivities
| Alumni Reunions and then Commencement
Beer Jackets
| Drinking and dancing and stuff. Mainly drinking.
| Princeton
|
|
Reunion Protocol
| | - Might want consider going to zero-year reunion and then every five years
- Buy something purple at Goff's
- Less crazy
| Princeton
|
|
Alumni Who Consider Themselves More Important Than They Really Are
| All
| All
| Tie
|
|
Blog Run By Students/Alums Who Care Entirely Too Much
| IvyGate
| Ephblog
| Williams
|
|
Cost of load of laundry (wash/dry)
| Free
| $2.50
| Princeton
|
|
Ridiculous Paper
| The Daily Prince
| The Record
| Tie
|
|
Strange Reason Classes Are Canceled
| None
| Mountain Day
- Classes are cancelled and everyone goes atop a mountain to sing, drink cider and eat donuts
- Except people who value sleep...all day.
| Williams
|
|
Dining
| If not for eating clubs, it would be physically impossible to feed the entire student body.
| Annual Harvest Dinner featuring whole lobsters for everybody.
| Williams
|
|
Members of My High School Class Admitted
| R2
| Me
| Williams (by far)
|
|
Presidential Alumnus Assassinated En Route to College Reunion
| None
| James Garfield
| Williams
|
|
|
| TOTAL
| Princeton
14
Williams 14
Tie
3
|
|
It appears that both schools are equally ridiculous. Congratulations!
From the AP:
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday almost told German Chancellor Angela Merkel to go to hell, but stopped short of insulting the woman leader on Mother's Day.
Instead he called her a political descendant of Adolf Hitler and German fascism.
Yes, he didn't go there but he went
there.
Wait, what?
...car crashes on final lap at Talladega. Coincidence?
Via Carpetbagger Report:
Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family went down to Alabama to watch the race. Dobson’s wife, Shirley, runs the National Day of Prayer Task Force. A Dobson pal, H.B. London, reports what happened next:
“Sunday was a big day for the NASCAR fans who support the National Day of Prayer Task Force. Driver Joe Nemechek, and the #78 car, won the pole (best qualifying time) and eventually finished in 25th place at the Talladega Super Speedway. It was exciting because the one-car team, owned by the Furniture Row folks, was wrapped in the National Day of Prayer logo and colors. Dr. Dobson held the chapel service before the race.”
Um, H.B., I don’t know how to break it to you, but your car was bathed in prayer — and came in 25th place?
I have not been able to find out how many cars were in the race, but unless it was something like 740, 25th place is pretty lame.
Furthermore, Dobson himself later wrote:
“The car was in the eighth position on the last lap before crashing just a mile from the finish line.”
Jezebel's Slut Machine and her friend, Rich (of the blog FourFour) get high together and answer advice questions in an ongoing feature on Jezebel called Pot Psychology. For some reason I hadn't watched a video until now and I'm so regretting that I didn't watch it earlier. Hi-larious and awesome. Seriously, watch all the videos (it's probably even better when you're under the influence of something but that's just speculation. I'm sober and it's still awesome).
It's no secret that I hate popped collars. A lot.
T-critic is holding a contest to see how many popped collars one person can wear at one time, it's called the Douche Challenge.
This contest was prompted by Attius Apparel's Planet Douche competition where the winner managed to wear 23 popped collars.
Anyway, the winner of the contest gets $100 at Threadless.
Who has that many polo shirts in the first place?
As you may have noticed Andrew and I did not attend Wesleyan. We have never visited the campus (at least I haven't) either. We do, however, love us some Wesleying. Wesleying founders Holly and Ishuku are graduating and the Wesleyan Argus has an article about what's next for the blog. It seems to be in good hands and we wish it the best, although there is one thing from the article that is odd.
many of the core contributors who spend hours every day maintaining the unending flow of information have never even laid eyes on each other.
“I’ve never met Holly,” said prolific Wesleying blogger Ashik “Sheek” Siddique ’10, in reference to Wesleying co-founder Holly Wood ’08. “I’ve run into other contributors in real life and I’ll be like, ‘Hey, I’m Sheek,’ and they’ll be like, ‘Hey, I’m MadJoy.’”
Seriously? How hasn't there been some sort of alcohol-fueled Wesleying gathering? Are you saying that know several Wesleyings (?) as well as some of the writers know each other? WTF?!
Anyway, good luck and congrats to Ishuku and Holly and thanks for Wesleying. I don't know why I read (and comment on!) a blog about a school I don't attend (especially since I've graduated from college) but I do. You are, by far, our favorite blog related to a NESCAC school (including our own ridiculous alma mater). We'll keep reading if you keep writing. Andrew will also keep scooping your writers on the ridiculous shit that happens at Williams until he graduates.
Keep it up, Wesleying!
Wil Wheaton linked to this Madatoms post is entitled Hillary Clinton, Psycho Ex-Girlfriend of the Democratic Party. And it's kinda funny.
It's 2:31 AM. The Democratic Party is sleeping peacefully when it hears its phone buzz on the night stand. It rolls over and sees "Hillary" on the caller ID. It pauses briefly, considering pushing "END" and not dealing with this shit tonight. The thought is appealing but the Democratic Party knows that if it doesn't take this call, another one is only minutes away.
DEMS: ...Hello?
Hillary: Hey baby.
DEMS: C'mon Hillary. Enough with this.
Hillary: Don't you get it? You NEED me.
DEMS: No, I don't. It was fun while it lasted but I'm with Barack now. I made my choice, it's done.
Hillary: You can't really mean that. How can you say that after all the good times we had?
DEMS: To be honest, I started hanging out with you because Bill's pretty awesome.
Hillary: But I'm just like Bill!
DEMS: No, you're not. Bill is charismatic, inspiring, and gets me really good weed.
Hillary: Fuck you. You're elitist!
DEMS: I'm going back to sleep.
Hillary: No, no, wait. I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. Listen... there's still got to be a chance. Remember when people told George W it was all over. When the numbers were against him?
DEMS: Yeah but...
Hillary: Remember?! And remember how everyone said America didn't really want to be with George W? But they stuck it out anyway?
DEMS: Yeah and they're really fucked up now, Hillary.
Hillary: But WE'LL make it work. Forget Barack, baby. Just take me back and we can forget this ever happened.
DEMS: Look, I think you're a really good Senator... let's just keep it that way, OK?
Hillary: ...I'll see you at the convention.
DEMS: No! Hillary I told you...
CLICK
DEMS: Dammit. Crazy bitch.
Hee!
From The Atlanta Journal Constitution:
