Tidewater Community College: From here go anywhere, but VCU

Katherine Johnson Columnist

Over break, I caught up on a lot of television that I missed during the fall semester. It was no surprise when a commercial came on to promote Tidewater Community College’s transfer program, but what was surprising was that VCU was nowhere to be seen throughout the ad.

Most of the major universities in Virginia were featured in the commercial, with close-up shots of their names on signs held by excited transfer students as they danced around. The ad promoted schools like JMU, ODU, GMU, Virginia Tech, U.Va., Norfolk State, and William and Mary. VCU, however, didn’t seem to make TCC’s cut, or as far as I could see.

All of the universities mentioned, along with VCU, have a guaranteed admissions program with TCC. This means that once a TCC student receives their associate’s degree and a certain GPA, they can transfer to any of the participating universities. So why wasn’t VCU featured in the commercial? Are we not up to TCC’s standards?

A false reputation has depicted us as an arts school, located in the heart of a dangerous city, with a low value for academics. It’s a reputation that’s bandied about at parties, only for us to laugh it off or join in with exaggerated anecdotes. But as students, we know that it isn’t true.

As a university, we should be proud that we are one of the top art schools in the nation because that is undoubtedly a prestigious title to hold.

But prospective students should also know that VCU has numerous programs, and we’re not just an art school. We have thriving disciplinary fields that range from business and sciences to engineering, not to mention our medical campus.

While applying for colleges in high school, I know a lot of my fellow students were deterred by VCU due to a “dangerous” city image. While crimes do occur around campus, I’d like to find a school that doesn’t have crime. Since VCU is intermixed with the city, we have a unique campus setting compared with other universities. We’re by no means any more “dangerous” than ODU, which has seen an increase in robberies around the Norfolk campus, or Virginia Tech with the tragedies that struck the Hokies in recent years.

For some reason, many prospective students view VCU as a school that doesn’t value academics. There may be several factors contributing to this perspective, whether it is our reputation as an art school or the number of applicants accepted every year.

There’s no doubt that we’re not viewed as a prestigious university, such as William & Mary, UVa or Virginia Tech. This doesn’t mean, however, that VCU slacks academically or doesn’t have intelligent students. On the contrary, we have some of the most creative and intelligent faculty and students.

Commercial or not, as students at this institution, we’re responsible for our image. It should be our resolution to bring more positive attention to VCU, especially as students. Acts and omissions like the one made by TCC only add to the misconceptions that plague VCU.

Last year, the university garnered national attention when our men’s basketball team made it to the Final Four. While we still have this attention, let’s make the most of it and let prospective students know how much VCU has to offer and that we’re as credible as any other university in Virginia. CT

Opinions expressed are those of individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Commonwealth Times or Virginia Commonwealth University. Unsigned editorials represent the institutional opinion of The CT.

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