Maintaining Structure on The Hill

While researching my school in the archive, I came across a few stories that struck my interest. The stories had a common theme of Alabama A&M having a tight structure when it came to handling it’s students. According to James Roberson and Sylvia Bozeman, Alabama A&M ran a very structured campus in the 1960’s. I‘m sure this was the case prior to 1960 as well. They might argue that the rules set in place were overkill. For example, they had a long standing rule that students needed to be on campus by 6 p.m. daily. This rule along with other rules were changed with the influence of former student James Roberson. He organized a strike to get the message across to administration. In my opinion, the rules were overkill, but I have no doubt that the students best interest were taken into consideration when implementing the rules. The history that I was hearing reminds me a lot of Alabama A&M today. We have a lot of rules and procedures set in place to keep us in good health, and ensure our safety. Some students feel that the rules are extremely conservative. Being that I am an upperclassman now, I have a different perspective than I once had. At one point in time, I’d be discouraged about the rules too, but now I see things differently. I am glad and appreciative that our administrators take time to make sound decisions to keep students safe.