Robert Vick, a freshman from New Orleans majoring in entrepreneurship, didn’t need to be asked twice to enroll in a Jackson State University research project to help black male students stay on track for their degree.
Vick was among nearly 100 young, black male JSU students who committed on Thursday, Feb. 27, to the project led by Dr. Rodney Washington, an associate professor and chair of the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education.
“I heard about it through the JSU app. I think it can help us as black males trying to get through school. No other organization that I know of is doing that,” Vick said.
Washington won a 2013 Presidential Creative Award for Faculty and Staff for his research proposal, JSU G.U.Y.S. (Guiding Undergraduates through Yearly Support) Project: A Research-Based Approach to Retaining Minority Male Students in Higher Education. Washington wants students to share their stories about obstacles they’ve encountered that could have discouraged them from continuing their degree.
Washington and volunteers were camped out at the student center for more than two hours, giving away T-shirts and backpacks and encouraging students to sign up for the project.
The increasing decline of African-American male students in higher education has become a national epidemic and one that merits extensive investigation, Washington said.
A 2012 report released by the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education on African-American male success rates in higher education noted that this population has the lowest rates among all genders and racial groups.
“This vulnerable population has been ignored in many aspects,” said Washington.
Washington’s research will evaluate services designed to assist students in their acclimation to higher eduation. It also will analyze cohort data to develop a profile on student risk indicators that would drive changes in the university’s overall operations.
Vick cited peer pressure and the lack of supervision as reasons some students get off track.
“Your parents aren’t on campus pushing you to go to class or do your homework. It’s up to the individual,” he said.
Antoine Blackmon, a senior criminal justice major, volunteered as a mentor for underclassmen. Blackmon said many of the students who arrived at JSU when he did are no longer in school.
Blackmon said he’s faced a number of challenges, including the deaths of his grandparents who were helping to pay for his education.
“I come from low poverty, but that didn’t stop me,” he said. “Even now, getting funding for my education is difficult, but I’m going to continue. It’s all about what you want your life to be.”
Interested students can contact Washington through the JSU Guys Facebook page or by email: jsu.guys@jsums.edu. JSU Guys is also on Twitter.