After the long-awaited Black Entertainment Television reality show “College Hill” premiered last week, many LSU students were entertained and ashamed at the same time.
“College Hill” is a BET reality show, similar to MTV’s “Real World.” “College Hill” showcases the lives of eight Southern University students on national television.
Many students around campus, thought “College Hill” was a direct attack on the black community.
“I felt so ashamed of Southern University because it put a bad image of African-Americans on national television,” said Sarah Williams, a business law junior at LSU.
Some students believed the show was an inaccurate portrayal of blacks at any university.
“I thought the show was a low budget production and clearly fake,” said Monique Expose. “But it is full of entertainment so far.”
“College Hill” has a cast represented by different social, economic and cultural backgrounds. BET picked the students last year to have their college lives taped.
“I got what I expected from students at Southern University — nothing classy or new, just the normal drama,” said Jayna Mallery, a biological science sophomore.
Students questioned why the university would allow such an embarrassing production to be aired on national television.
“The show represents the type of administrative staff Southern University has because they had to approve the show before being broadcasted,” Mallery said.
Students had questions about the content of the show, but believed this was just the beginning.
While there are students who think the show was an “attack on the black community” and feel that a person’s “dirty laundry” should not be aired on television, there are students who think the show has potential and is really showing the reality of college students’ lives.
“Who hasn’t attempted to sneak into the boys/girls dorm?” said Gabrielle Maple, Southern University Digest editor-in-chief in an editorial on Friday. “What guy hasn’t played two or three girls? Who hasn’t believed they were a little bit better than someone else because they lived in a nice home with rich parents? Who hasn’t professed to be a Bible-toting, in church every Sunday, born-again Christian — while doing God knows what during the week!”
Maple said the show is reality and not everyone is perfect.
“There’s a Kinda, Nina, Shalondrea, Veronica, Gabriel, Delano, Kevin and Jabari on every college campus,” Maple said about the cast of the show.
Although there may be people like the the cast on every campus, some LSU students believe the show adds to the negative stereotype of blacks as dramatic, promiscuous and with bad attitudes.
Sheena Evans and Chantel Brimmer, who are both biological science sophomores, said the show contributes to the stereotype of white America’s portrayal of blacks in America.
Many students said they actually like the show, whether or not the portrayal of blacks and Historically Black Colleges and Universities are negative or positive.
“‘College Hill’ is entertaining, but Tracy and Babyface Edmonds and BET should be ashamed of themselves,” said Pierre Toussiant, an accounting senior.
Teressa Breaux, an English junior, said she was entertained, but was completely in culture shock while watching blacks depicted in such a negative way by a station directed towards the black community.
“But those students decided to put their business on national television, so I can only be entertained and glad it wasn’t me,” Breaux said.
“College Hill” airs Wednes-days at 8 p.m. on BET.