#9 Letter

Dr. Ribeau

Howard University President

Howard University

2400 Sixth Street

Washington, DC 20059

Dear Dr. Ribeau :

My name is Albert Charles Ellis III. I am a freshman philosophy major at Howard University. It has recently come to my attention that my major and many others are under review for closure, consolidation or restructuring.  Although I understand why it is necessary to review all majors to make sure they are still prevalent, I think you should reconsider some of the majors and degree programs up for closure.  

Howard University is known as one of the best HBCU’S in the country. It is where educated African-Americans go to further their knowledge in a wide array of subjects. By taking away some of these majors you are taking away the uniqueness that this university is known for. When I applied to Howard University I did so because of all the majors this university had to offer.  Because there are so many options, it allows the student to broaden their horizons and learn more. When many students come to Howard they realize how many different subjects they can major in. For instance when applying for college I knew I wanted to become a lawyer but I did not know what major I should take to get me there. I knew that a very popular major was political science but I did not want to major in that. As I was researching I came upon philosophy. I did not know what is was before, but the more I read about the major the more intrigued I became. Philosophy teaches analytical thinking and debating skills. It teaches its students how to form a proper argument and how to execute those arguments into statements. A major like this gives students like me an option other than political science. Many other majors that are up for closure are similar to philosophy. They are outlets for students who do not want to take the conventional classes.

            I understand that it is impossible to keep all the majors but if you eliminate all or most of these majors I am sure you will lose many students to other schools that do offer such courses. I would appreciate the opportunity to meet to suggest alternatives and to keep the high quality of education that Howard or a University offer. Thank you for your consideration and I hope to hear from you soon. I will telephone your office in the next week to discuss a possible place and time for a meeting.

Environmental Injustice

     Environmental injustice/racism  is the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards. Ms. Roberts stated that Environmental injustice has nothing to do with the people, but everything to do with policy. Environmental hazards mainly affect  people that live in low-income communities and relates primarily to people of color. The deciding factor in predicting where these  communities are is race. Degradation in these communities is an ever growing issue in America, and is not being addressed by the government or EPA accordingly. Environmental justice demands for freedom from pollution and to have a say on environmental decision making. Asthma, cancer, and ADHD are possible side effects of Environmental degradation in the communities. There was once a study in the 1980's  that said that 1 in 9 people of color lived in toxic polluted neighborhoods. A professor by the name of Dr. Robert Bullard out of Clark, Atlanta University identified this first case of environmental racism and coined the name enviromental injustice. Now fast forward  to the 1990's when Dr. Bullard did the study again the numbers increased to 1 in 4  people of color live in environmentally degraded communities. The community of Mossville, Louisiana that is 5 square miles has 14 industrial facilities that surround the toxic town. Now its not that we don't need to have materialistic items, but cheaper is not always better, styrofoam doesnt break down in land fills, and we must be more conscious in our way of living.