When most people think of Langston University, their minds instantly go to the parties and events, rather than the education itself. When I first told people I was enrolling at Langston, their eyes would pop out of their heads, and they would say, “Langston, really?” or they would commonly say, “Be careful out there.” There were very few positive reactions surrounding Langston University that made me ask myself; Is Langston really just a party school and nothing else? Here is how a few Langston students answered this question.
“Langston is what you make it,” said Rain Thomas, a sophomore early childhood education major. “It can be just a party school if you come here just to party and you’re not doing what you need to do, but it also can be something good,” Thomas explains, in her freshman year, she definitely made her Langston experience all about partying, and now she is making it more than that. “Langston really does have young, intelligent, creative-minded black students, and that’s what I love,” Thomas said.
Charles Brooks, a sophomore Psychology major, strongly denied the speculation that Langston was just all about partying. “We have parties, but not as much to say we’re a party school,” Brooks said.
Outside of the party life, Brooks sheds light on the nice campus and the variety of people to make connections with. “We have different clubs, organizations, and events from time to time. It’s really just the people that make your experience.”
Another student named Alyse Cornist, a sophomore agricultural business major, said, “ I don’t think Langston is just a party school; there are definitely a lot of parties, but a lot of activities and organizations like Women of Purpose as well.” Cornist goes on to say how many people don’t know that Langston is home to very smart and kind people, and coming to Langston wasn’t intimidating at all for her, as the students here were very welcoming.
In contrast to the previous statements, Keshayla Galbraith, a sophomore nursing major, said when she first told people she was enrolling in Langston, they said things like, “That’s where the parties are,” or “Langston gets down with their parties.” Galbraith explains that from her perspective, it’s like the parties here never stop.
So we come back to the question, is Langston really just a party school? Coming to Langston was a little intimidating for me personally after hearing the negative reactions of people around me. When I got to experience campus life for myself and not through others’ eyes, I would agree with these students and say Langston is simply what you make it. There are going to be parties at every school you go to, and that is just a part of University life.
Mikayla Suggs
Mikayla Suggs is a sophomore broadcast journalism major. She wanted to write for The Gazette because she enjoys the art of writing and wants to gain experience in writing for a newspaper. Mikayla likes to cover feature stories of all kinds of different people and tell their stories. The work they are doing at The Gazette matters to her because she feels as though there deserves to be coverage of her HBCU and enlighten people on things that don’t commonly get covered. Mikayla’s favorite things to do outside of journalism are reading, listening to music, and just catching up on sleep. If you need to contact her, you can reach her at Mikayla.suggs@okstate.edu.
