Eight students from Southern University are the subjects of Black Entertainment Television’s new reality show, “College Hill,” which premiers tonight at 8 p.m.
BET cameras followed the cast members to parties, football games, Bayou Classic festivities and weekly celebrations at Southern, such as “Get Fly Wednesday,” a student-organized activity that involves strutting in one’s best clothes and engaging in social activities.
Cameras captured cast members pledging greek organizations, dealing with a pregnancy and sexual encounters.
The students were placed in a suite on Southern’s campus in a female dormitory. Arrangements were made through Southern to allow the male cast members to live in the dormitory, Student Government Association President at Southern Wayne Haydin said.
Gina Holland, senior vice president of production at BET, said the producers chose Southern because it best represented the demographic they wanted and because Baton Rouge is a “pretty town.”
LSU was not considered for the location of the show, Holland said. She said they wanted to film at a Historically Black College and University. But future seasons could expand to use universities such as LSU.
Haydin said he believes Southern was chosen for the show because it has the best marching band, participates in the Bayou Classic and it is the best and largest HBCU.
He said he believes the show will have a positive effect on Southern and possibly increase enrollment.
Some Southern students said they are worried that cameras captured too much of the social atmosphere at Southern and not the academic struggles.
The students also said the choice of cast members might leave viewers with a negative view of Southern and other Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Holland said the characters on the show can be found on any college campus. The show was cast so students at LSU and across the nation can relate to the characters and situations, Holland said.
Production said it was important to show the pregnant cast member dealing with her situation because it gives students hope to see someone continuing her education while pregnant, Holland said.
“We believe the show is a hit,” Holland said.
According to a BET press release the cast includes Nina, marketing senior and a cheerleader, described as the “diva of the group” and a “socialite.”
Delano, a mass communication senior, is described as a rapper and actor. According to the Southern Digest, he said he only lled out four pages of the 60 page questionnaire used for casting, but wowed the judges with his charm.
Shalondra, elementary education sophomore, is labeled an instigator and trouble-maker. She deals with her pregnancy on the show.
Kinda, an undecided freshman, is called the “wild child.” According to the Southern Digest, she posed the question “men get their freak on — why can’t I?” In BET commercials for “College Hill,” Kinda unapologetically admits she is referred to as “no-drawers” because of her promiscuity.
Kinda is also the daughter of the dean of the business school at Southern, according to the press release.
“Yes, I will watch it to see how they represent HBCUs,” Netosha MacDonald, psychology junior at LSU, said. “I hope it doesn’t make blacks look bad.”
Crystal Mathews, mass communication sophomore at LSU, said she will watch “College Hill” because watching the Parade of Champions made her interested in Southern.
Ariane Williams, a graduate medical student at Southern, said Southern could be perceived as a “party school” if the social activities were the only thing filmed.