College-Age Theorists?

Upon completing Soul Babies by Mark Anthony Neal, I stand here in awe as I marvel at this spectacle that is black popular culture. Like myself, I'm sure many minorities see the power and influence of their different cultures being downplayed as simply fads and trends within the media. With that comes my question. Where are the theorists? Here we are engulfed in an array of cultures and young people are mainly represented as pop-culture junkies with periodic substantial output. Of course, there are a lot of black scholars and intellectuals, but where are the college intellectuals. Everyday, students are coaxed into believing that a degree is the only thing that certifies them as an authority in their field of interest. Some students also believe that professors are the authority that is there to tell them what to know instead of how to research and critique the information that is already there.

Well, today marks the end of my reign as a bystander. I'm a sociology major so I prefer to stand on the sidelines and critique my surroundings, but now it's time to make a ripple. It's time we embrace that which surrounds us and make our message clear. We hold the key to understanding. Hell, we're paying for it everyday. We must let those around us know that being young is more than just being romantically naive, club hoppin', and trying to simply pass college. Here we are learning about theories and concepts that will guide our careers and we're barely putting our footprints in this pseudo-solid foundation of social acceptance. We can create our own discourse that incorporates the college atmosphere into the equation. We can develop knew ways of understanding the ideologies behind scholars and notable speakers from Kant, to Cornel West, to KRS-ONE. There are endless possibilities. If parents don't understand what we're saying, we'll have to break it down in terms they can understand. This goes for the general public as well. Often times subcultures are very misunderstood because we try to critique them under the lens of mainstream societal thought, but now it's time to stop talking about cultural relativism as if it's some abstract concept. If we wish to understand that which is foreign to us, we have to be willing to embrace new perspectives. We should also want to share unique perspectives as well. In DuBoisian terminology, we need to explore this gift of double-consciousness and realize how vital it is to cultural survival. So, collegiates and hustlers alike, if we wish to make it big in any realm, we must learn how to listen and relate. We can do many things on our own terms, but resources and flexibility make it a lot easier.