Every day nearly 30,000 students roam the aesthetically pleasing superstructure that is UNC Charlotte – what a beauty. What is the most enticing component of the 1,000 acres? Hands down Levine Hall, wait, the Botanical Gardens. Well, the Popp Martin Student Union was ranked sixth most amazing student union in the nation by Best College Values in 2009. I got it! It has to Jerry Richardson Stadium, the $45 million home of 49er Football. Turns out that the most beautiful thing at UNC Charlotte may not be a stadium, residential hall or even a garden. It’s true hidden gem – the African American student leader.
There is 36 percent minority representation - African Americans make up 17 percent of that. Despite being outnumbered, the African American student is far more involved than their white counterparts.
The rise in leadership of the African American student is evident in the SOAR program and the annual Homecoming Royal Court selection.
Student Orientation, Advising, and Registration (SOAR) Program assists first-year students as they transition into UNC Charlotte. Here first-year students meet with an academic advisor, register for their fall or spring semester classes and learn important information about the university and all of the services in place to promote their success. The orientation counselor (OC) plays a critical role in this program. They welcome new students and family members to the university, serve as a peer educators, group facilitators and role models to new freshmen, transfer students, and their families and assist college representatives, in order to help students understand and complete the registration process. An OC is not only the face of their university but in most cases the first individual that most first year students will come into contact with as they embark on their collegiate journey in the Queen City. In the case of UNC Charlotte the average OC is African American. According to the office of New Student and Family Services, the number of African American OCs has made a significant climb. In 2014, African Americans made up of 21% of the OCs; in 2015, 50%; in 2016, 58%, in 2017, 73%. At this rate African Americans will make up nearly 90% of the 2018 OCs. In the words of hip-hop legend Sean ‘Jay-Z’ Carter, “men lie, women lie, numbers don’t.”
Similar trends can also be seen in the selection of the Homecoming Royal Court. Every year the most exceptional and impressive 14 students are chosen to represent the university. According to homecoming.uncc.edu, in 2015 African Americans made up 50% of the homecoming court; in 2016, 64% and in 2017 92%.
According to the Office of Admissions, the total undergraduate population of African Americans in 2015 was 3,782 compared to 18,382 - the combined number of American Indian, Asian, Hispanic, Caucasian and Pacific Islander populations (Caucasian – 13,575).
The compelling force that is the African American student leader is having a perennial effect on the new students. Freshman and mechanical engineering major Jamal Boston felt reassured after seeing more and more people that looked like him.
“At first I was a little hesitant about coming to a PWI, but once I got here all that stuff went out the window. It’s black people everywhere! My orientation counselor, my SAFE mentor, my RA, I mean even the student body president,” said Boston.
Jarrell Anderson, Assistant Director for Peer Mentoring and Engagement, attempted to explain the ‘black plague’ that has been haunting UNC Charlotte for some time now.
“The more students of color that happened start taking an interest in these opportunities, started to get involved and started assuming these positions, we started seeing that same number of white students not participating anymore in those activities. That is something that a lot of my colleagues and I have seen in schools across the nation. So now there’s this epidemic in academia of white flight, especially in white males.”
Junior and political science major Kevin Bostick admits that his circle of friends have also fallen victim to ‘white flight.’
“As a white male on campus I do consider myself pretty involved - Student Government Association and giving tours for the university. At the same time I do know that a lot of my friends don’t really care about student organizations, unless it’s their fraternity or sorority.”
It’s fair to say that the African American student leader at UNC Charlotte has etched their name is history. By the looks of it there seems to be no slowing down.
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