Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, perhaps best known outside of his state for delivering a truly dismal rebuttal to Barack Obama's first State of the Union address back in 2009, has riled up some of his constituents with talk of combining the University of New Orleans and Southern University, which is located within blocks of UNO, into one school and making it part of the Louisiana State University System. Right now, Southern University is part of the Southern System, an HBCU school system.
Jindal's reason for the possible change? Both schools suffer from underenrollment and subpar graduation rates. He recently ordered a study to evaluate the impact of combining the schools. "If this HBCU is allowed to suffer under one Republican governor," Rep. Patricia Smith, the head of the Lousiana State Black Caucus, said to BlackAmericaWeb, "what will it take for other Republican governors to do the same in their states?”
Don't get us wrong; we totally understand the desire to have an HBCU stay an HBCU, but the graduation rate at Southern is 5 percent. Five percent. Clearly, something has gone horribly wrong. Where are the solutions on the other end?
Read more at BlackAmericaWeb.
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Lauren is a former Deputy Editor of The Root.