“Snapchat me your campus… if it’s cool.” This February, the app SnapChat decided to highlight Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). Instead of giving us the same old facts that we’ve learned since elementary school, SnapChat gave us our own live story. We were able to be a few taps and 10 seconds away from another school.
SnapChat is a video messaging app that was created by three Stanford alumnus. This application allows users to take pictures, record videos, and add text, as well as drawings to send to their friends. But the down part, but others see it as a good thing, the “Snaps,” go away after 24 hours. So what was seen at 8AM on Monday will be gone by 8AM Tuesday morning. But we were able to see melanin pop up every morning from many HBCUs.
HBCU parties, weather, and other various activities or events were highlighted on this story. The schools that were featured on this were Howard University, Tennessee State University, Jackson State University, North Carolina A&T, Spelman College, Morehouse College, Florida A&M University, Clark Atlanta University, Tuskegee University, and yours truly, Hampton University.
We were featured a few times on the HBCU Snap. From one of our plays, to parties, and students just saying “Good Morning.” But the most historical event that happened on campus, SnapChat, and the world, was the very first lacrosse game. Hampton University became the first HBCU to have a D1 lacrosse team and it was huge news. ESPN came to interview the captains, and get coverage of the first game. Because it was on TheShadeRoom, HBCUBuzz, and huge on SnapChat, the team had got many congratulation snaps from the fellow HBCUs.
Another huge event that was on the HBCU Snap was when democratic, presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders visited the Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUC: Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, and Morehouse College). Many students there were “feeling the Bern,” including Morehouse’s chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., as they hopped in support of Mr. Sanders.
This HBCU snap story was a great decision for Black History Month. Although other HBCUs, such as University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State, Winston-Salem State, Grambling State or Alabama State University weren’t included; it was still great to see us come together for such a wonderful story. Now let’s hope that this continues year-round, and not just for one month. Why? Because we have so much to offer and it’s give the younger generations an opportunity to start looking into attending a HBCU.