By Serenity Mayhew, 9th grader, Norwalk High School, and Amanda Fleurancy, 11th grader, Brien McMahon High School
The first school we visited on the 49th Annual College Tour was South Carolina State University. Ashley H. and Arabia S. were our tour guides and they excitedly walked us through the campus, weaving between brick buildings, discussing the culture and architecture of the university.
Their mascot is the Bulldogs, and of course the female teams are called Lady Bulldogs.
South Carolina State University, founded in 1896, is a HBCU (Historically Black College or University) with rich history local to Orangeburg, SC. On February 8, 1968, South Carolina Highway Patrolmen shot three students over efforts by the students to desegregate the local All-Star Bowling Lanes. Every year, students on campus honor the lives of the victims with a vigil at the center of campus. The school also honors the legacy of the victims by creating the Smith Hammond Middleton Memorial Center named after the three men: Henry R. Smith, Delano B. Middleton, and Samuel Hammond Jr.
The Thelma Howard William Rose Garden is a beautiful garden with cherry wood gazebos. We saw bushes and bushes of pink roses and stopped to take a few pictures. Leaving the garden, we continued walking and our guides told us scholarships, grants, and internship checks are disbursed through Lawman Hall. We also learned that the college requires internships for every major. In Turner Hall, education, law, criminal justice, and foreign language majors take their classes. Both of our tour guides were majoring in Biology and encouraged us to pursue pathways in STEM.
At the student center, we met a student named Devon Thompson, a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, who showed us their step routine. He did so well! There’s a lot of representation for Greek life; most students do pledge for a fraternity or sorority during their time at SCSU.
One exciting fact is this May, Senator and Presidential candidate Cory Booker will be the keynote speaker for commencement!
The minimum GPA for acceptance is 2.5 GPA and to enter the Honors program one needs a minimum GPA of a 3.5. The school accepts a SAT range of 1100 to 1200. The minimum accepted score for the ACT is 24.
While walking through campus, we saw students from all over the country and world. Everyone encouraged us to attend SCSU. The number of students currently enrolled is about 2,100, which is almost 300 more students than Brien McMahon High School!
If you’re looking for an intimate, rich in history, and hometown vibe, South Carolina State University might be for you!