-The Quad and the Inside of the Culture-rich Georgia A&M

By: 353ONLINE

The Quad is a recently developed show that depicts a fictional historically black university in the state of Georgia (Georgia A&M) that has a very scandalous inter-working between the president of the college, the band director, and of course the students. Despite the good ratings that the show has received in the past two years, the show has also gotten a lot of backlash.

Some people, like the longtime president of Hampton University, William Harvey, believe that the show representation will lead people to think that HBCU’s are based primarily around marching bands, marijuana, sex, and alcohol, along with misplaced priorities and no standards of conduct. Almost all colleges and universities vary, but the scandal going on and the life of freshmen that is portrayed in the show can easily be related to any other university, which is why the viewers will not think only HBCU’s are subject to this type of atmosphere and behavior. I do understand Harvey’s perspective because of his position at a major HBCU. He is only trying to prohibit any more negative connotations that may arise, but as a current student all I see when I watch the show is the culture that separates HBCU’s from other colleges and universities. 

By:WXIA Staff

No matter what HBCU you visit, when you step onto the campus, there will be an overwhelming pride and spirit running throughout the campus, and that is because of the hope that HBCU’s have given black people. In fact, I made a direct correlation between Georgia A&M and Lane College; the potential that the students had and the strength of the faculty that helped keep the school going reminded me of my peers and higher ups. 

I also made a personal connection to the characters that came from a rough childhood and continued to push through and make it to college. These little details in the show are what connects its audience and is what separates historically black colleges/universities from the predominantly white universities.

Overall, The Quad is portraying typical struggles that some freshmen college students may go through, as well as the ethical struggles that new faculty and staff may face while working at an university. It is not limiting the nature of a college/university to only HBCU’s. I urge people to tune into the show to get a sense of what any college may be like as well as the spirit of a HBCU.