Spring 2019


www.thehbcuadvocate.com


Your Opinion Matters The Myth Of Meritocracy


meritocracy is a myth. It's not just that our 45th President seems to


lack the ability


to behave himself (witness the attacks on John McCain), read a briefing book, or do his job correctly,


has found a gaggle of miscreants


it's that he to


BY JULIANNE MALVEAUX


He's the man who masterminded the college more


than $25 million


William Singer is going to jail. cheating


scandal, collecting in bribes


between 2011 and 2018 for helping the children of millionaires get into college through what he called "the side door." More than 50 people got caught up in his scam, including a couple of well-known actresses, and some not so well known corporate CEOs who were willing to pay big money to get their unqualified children into elite colleges like Yale, Georgetown, and Stanford. Singer's unsavory antics were outrageous – hiring people to take ACT and SAT scores for young people, photo-shopping photos onto athletic bodies, lying about student's background and athletic prowess. It boiled down to creating opportunity for young people who are already endowed with the blessing of their parent's wealth. It flies in the face of the notion of meritocracy.


entrance-buying deluding


If you are surprised by this scheme, you are


yourself, though. Wealthy people have been buying their children's admission to elite schools for years; they just did it the legal way. They gave substantial contributions to colleges and then asked for a place for their children. Or, they took advantage of the legacy preference (affirmative action for white people) to get their children in. So Singer called himself "the side door" to admissions, with traditional admissions being the front door, and large contributions being the back door. We in the African American community are


clear that the front


door has often either been closed to us or slammed in our faces, while we lack the wealth to enter the back door or side door. The fact that money buys admission, either through the back or side door makes the notion of "meritocracy" a bad joke.


Meritocracy suggests that people hold power (or have access to things like jobs or college seats) because of their ability, but the current leadership in these United States suggests that


make and implement public policy. That


Betsy DeVos (Devoid of


good sense) runs


the Department of Education flies in the face of meritocracy. That the man who lives in the House that Enslaved People Built brought his law-breaking daughter and son-in-law onto his staff as "senior advisors" flies in the face of meritocracy. That the administration is actively seeking appeals court judges whose primary qualifications are their youth and conservatism flies in the face of meritocracy! Alison Rushing, at 37, has not even practiced law for a decade but is now a member of the US Court of Appeals in the 4th Circuit. That court covers North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina and Maryland, and convenes in North Carolina, where Ms. Rushing has not even passed a bar exam. But she has a lifetime appointment to the court! What meritocracy?


The college is a counterpoint cheating to scam the myth of


meritocracy, but African American people are clear that meritocracy has never worked for us. Even those who get


into school "the old fashioned


way," through the front door, come to the door with myriad advantages that many African American students, especially poor, working class and first generation Black students do not have. They've spent hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on prep courses. They've used alumni-rich networks for recommendations and advice. They've taken advanced classes (International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement) that are not available at all schools, especially


inner-city schools. The


playing field has never been level, nor has there ever been a meritocracy!


Here is the real tragedy –


millions of African American young people can't afford to go to college, no matter what their merit or ability. When they graduate, a hostile


job market,


many face and often


experience pay discrimination. Not to mention the fact that even walking while Black might get you shot if the wrong police officer finds your walk "threatening." Meritocracy? Please.


BY JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY


JACKSON, Miss. – More than 20 countries were represented during the 15th International Symposium on Recent Advances in Environmental Health Research that was hosted recently by Jackson State University and that addressed health disparities and other issues.


Among the keynote speakers at the event by the College of Science, Engineering and Technology (CSET) was Dr. Da-Tian Bau. He’s a professor of the Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences at China Medical University in Taiwan. His study on the rate of cancer draws comparisons between the U.S. and Taiwan, which is disproportionately affected by prostate and oral cancers.


This year’s four-day conference also addressed a variety of issues, including


health disparities and


environmental security; environmental toxicology and health-risk assessment; and nanoscience, nanotechnology and nanotoxicology.


Symposium chair Dr. Paul


Tchounwou is a presidential distinguished professor and associate dean of JSU’s CSET. He called the event “a great gathering of minds.”


Aside from the many experts from around the globe, Tchounwou said, “We had more than 50 students presenting their research posters. They were able to interact with experts in their fields who can provide them with some advice to move their research forward. After all, these students are the future.”


Tchounwou added, “The whole


idea about this conference basically is to provide a platform for an exchange of new developments in the field of mental health and public health. We do know that environmental factors impact our health and contribute to health disparities. The disproportionate rate of diseases among minority groups are a result of social, economic and


environmental


from Taiwan, is impacting


said factors communities and prostate the


conditions where they live.” Meanwhile Bau, the professor


cancer in his


nation. “It’s more prevalent because Taiwanese are so shy, especially the elderly. They won’t go to the hospital for a check to see if they suffer from prostate cancer. Even if they know they suffer from prostate cancer, they believe they no longer have a life, so they give up.”


Bau said there’s a high rate of


oral cancer, too, in Taiwan because of tobacco use. He blames poor health outcomes on excessive alcohol consumption and improper oral care, especially when brushing teeth too roughly and causing bleeding and chronic inflammation.


smoking


“We have to educate against and


drinking excessively.


Education has been difficult. This is a smoking culture,” said Bau, recounting the story of a 10-year-old boy with oral cancer whose mother and father sold tobacco products." He said there are alcohol and smoking cessation programs in Taiwan.


Among the oral presentations:


• • •


• •


• •


• • •


Beneficial Effects of Estrogen


Cancer Cell Fusion and Breast Cancer Metastasis


Improving Minority Health and Reducing Health Disparities


Gulf War Illness


Among the student and faculty poster presentations:


Environmental problems in Rankin County, Mississippi


Breaking Barriers: A Food Assessment for Food Justice in West Jackson, Mississippi


Case Study of Storm Surge for Hurricane Irma


Challenges to Make Virtual Teams Work


Geographical Disparity in Emotional Well-Being


• Availability and Quality of Physical Activity Resources in Neighborhood Parks for Pregnant Women and Women of Childbearing Age


The HBCU Advocate 13


JSU's Symposium Brings Nations Together to Address Public Health, Disparities


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