{"id":1391,"date":"2012-10-18T21:47:31","date_gmt":"2012-10-18T21:47:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/?p=1391"},"modified":"2012-10-18T21:47:31","modified_gmt":"2012-10-18T21:47:31","slug":"its-not-all-about-the-party-celebrate-by-giving-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/2012\/10\/18\/its-not-all-about-the-party-celebrate-by-giving-back\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s not all about the party, celebrate by giving back"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
GIVE BACK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Diamond Jenkins<\/strong>
\nBlue and White Flash\/ Associate Editor<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jackson State University\u2026 \u201cThee I love my dear old college home!\u201d<\/p>\n

This phrase will resound all over campus during Homecoming Week at Jackson State University.\u00a0 Many successful alumni will be here celebrating tradition and reconnecting with friends and loved ones. My question to those returning to Tigerland is, \u2018Are you giving back to the university that gave you so much?<\/p>\n

Now is the time for all students, especially graduating seniors, to think about how they will support the university when they\u00a0 become alumni.<\/p>\n

It is nothing new to hear alumni gloating about how \u201ctheir\u201d football team will win the homecoming game, but what have you done for the team? I believe great alumni should be trained! This will leave prospective graduates with potentially one of the most positive experiences they have before leaving the school and entering into the real world.<\/p>\n

According to \u2018DiverseEducation.com in its Voluntary Support of Education report,\u00a0 among historically black colleges and universities, donations provided by alumni have decreased by 6 percent. Nationally, alumni participation declined from 11.9 percent to 11.7 percent. The average alumni donation for non-HBCU\u2019s graduate was $1,195 compared with $475 for HBCU graduates.<\/p>\n

Terry Woodard, the national president of the JSU Alumni Association expressed the importance of Jackson State alumni giving back.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I believe that it is always good to give back to the university. We should want to be interested into giving back to our own,\u201d said Woodard. \u201cAnd even outside of homecoming, we should all give back, because Jackson State University has given to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are many ways to give back to the university.\u00a0 Institutional programs and organizations like the Miss JSU Queens Campaign and The Blue Bengal Association collect money from alumni and others with the sole purpose of helping students financially.<\/p>\n

The Voluntary Support of Education report also revealed that while alumni giving declined, charitable donations for both traditionally White institutions and historically Black colleges and universities both saw significant gains in private giving via foundations, corporations or religious organizations. Donations reached a record-breaking $29.75 billion.<\/p>\n

Hearing statistics like these should make you wonder. How does this make us look? While you alumni are screaming \u2018thee I love, my dear old college home,\u201d and attending every homecoming party and event, we what to say, \u201cShow us the money!\u201d<\/p>\n

Freshman biology major Francine Jackson from Detroit, Mich. said, \u201cMy parents went to Jackson State University therefore, I understand the importance of alumni giving back. Alumni [like my parents] receive so many benefits to just coming from this institution, why not give back to the place that you got your great education from?\u201d<\/p>\n

There are many different avenues to take when trying to give back to your institution of higher education:
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 Lead, lend a helping hand
\n\u2022\u00a0 Hire other alumni for internships or jobs
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 Share Your Expertise
\n\u2022 Refer prospective high school students to JSU by communicating
\n\u2022\u00a0 Give what you can.<\/p>\n

I am challenging you to involve yourself in charitable giving on behalf of Jackson State University to help develop the next generation of leaders.<\/p>\n

You can get involved with giving back to JSU by visiting http:\/\/www.jsunaa.com. So for all Jackson State Tigers, do not forget where you came from and give back to JSU.\u00a0 Happy Homecoming!<\/p>\n

The views expressed in the commentary are those of the writer(s) and in no way represent the views of The Blue & White Flash.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Diamond Jenkins Blue and White Flash\/ Associate Editor Jackson State University\u2026 \u201cThee I love my dear old college home!\u201d This phrase will resound all over campus during Homecoming Week at Jackson State University.\u00a0 Many successful alumni will be here celebrating tradition and reconnecting with friends and loved ones. My question to those returning to Tigerland […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1391","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-opinion"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1391\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}