A group of friends await an Uber to whisk them home after a long Saturday night. Suddenly, a figure emerges and approaches the group. The figure barks a command, and one member of the group refuses to submit. Please know that the figure is not the Grim Reaper—but he may as well have been. Unlike the Reaper, this figure’s cloak isn’t made of fabric, but animosity. Unlike the Reaper, this figure wields no scythe, but a 3-4-inch silver blade. Yet, like the Reaper, this figure snatches a life away. This life was the life of Richard Collins III. Collins was tragically stabbed on the University of Maryland’s (UMD) campus. A campus that has allowed mild forms of racism to proliferate and feed jaundiced attitudes, which transform the campus into a …show more content…
It is imperative that President Loh makes this proposal a reality. UMD owes it to Collins, and Bowie State University (BSU). BSU is both where Collins would have graduated from, and the school is a Historically Black College and University (HBCU). UMD has a $280.3 million endowment. BSU has a $22.99 million endowment. These numbers are significant, considering that a school’s endowment is based on donors; who often happen to be alumni. Collins was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Army, and he was airborne certified. In other words, Collins was poised to give back to BSU generously. BSU made an investment in Collins when they accepted him into their institution. Unfortunately, President Loh’s negligence, transformed BSU’s wise investment in Collins into a sunk cost. Funding at HBCU’s is already scarce. Therefore, the success of their students is crucial to the survival of the school. The blade sunk into Collins was also a blade sunk into BSU. While Collins has passed, BSU is on life support, and President Loh should make it his duty to ensure that BSU makes a full