LANGSTON -- Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is making headlines again after calling historically black colleges “pioneers in school choice.”
But for local HBCU Langston University, choice was not why the school opened in 1897.
“That one application made a huge difference in my life,” said senior Omolola Hassan.
For Hassan, Langston is home.
But getting there came down to difficult choices.
“I didn't know where I wanted to go to school honestly, I just started applying and going wherever God led me,” she said.
The Dallas native found herself at Langston – Oklahoma's only historically black university – that felt more like home than a college campus.
“We feel that difference. Like we feel the love,” she said.
DeVos' comments about HBCUs as a school choice have come under fire.
Officials say that's because history says something different.
“We weren't born out of school choice. We were born because there were no choices for people of color,” said Langston Vice President Mautra Jones.
Formed in 1897, Langston gave african-americans a place to learn when they weren't welcome elsewhere.
It's something administrators believe Secretary DeVos is still learning about.
Today, the school is a choice for all.
“There are no limits. There are no boundaries. So we focus on that every single day,” said Jones.
The proof, she says, is in the students.
“That speaks volumes to me that 26 percent of our student population are a different ethnicity than African-American,” she said.
Hassan will graduate in May, but knows she'll leave Langston in good hands with those who also chose to be part of its history.
“I just want Oklahomans to know just down the street is an amazing university,” she said. “Anyone can come here and be successful and thrive.”
Langston President Dr. Kent Smith traveled to Washington, D.C. this week to participate in President Trump's HBCU Roundtable to improve relations with historically black universities.
