The series that most of us loved being able to relate to,and identify with at different levels will only be seen in syndication. We see the same things with other reality shows that involve college students like MTV's Real World, but when it's a source of entertainment for people of color, other people of color want to bring it down. College Hill has received criticism from the black community. During its fourth season in the Virgin Islands, it caused an uproar.
Alumni and parents sent e-mails and called the university. Radio shows aired discontent over the way the students portrayed themselves. Members of the university's Board of Trustees expressed their outrage over the cast members' behavior and distanced themselves from the decision to allow the show to be filmed at UVI. They advised President Laverne Ragster to apologize to both the university and Virgin Islands communities, which she did in full-page advertisements in the Virgin Islands Daily News and the St. Croix Avis. A board member even at the university stated "I was absolutely horrified by the program. A public university has a role to educate the public as much as its students and not highlight modern society's base instincts," he was quoted as saying. Others on campus also felt College Hill did not accurately represent Virgin Islands students. Also during its second season, the Langston University had made some complaints as well. "We are not denying this type of thing goes on," David Stevens, national president of the Langston University Alumni Association, had said, "but we are questioning what are the motives behind presenting many of the negative aspects without showing the good that goes on." Hudspeth said the show presents stereotypical images of black people. He likened BET to minstrel shows of the early 20th century. "BET represents the merchandising and exploitation of stereotypical and oftentimes destructive behavior of black people for the benefit of profit", he said. Cast member Idesha Browne from the Virgin Island season stated that "everyone has to take into consideration that this is TV." In the first two episodes, there were displays of nudity and profanity, and sexual overtones. Cast members drank until becoming sick, and dared each other to become nude and to perform sexual acts. According to Browne, many of the negative comments came because of "the timeline of the show". She said that scenes, specifically those in the first episodes, were not shown chronologically. "They had to put things together to make the audience watch the show," Browne said. "A lot of negative comments that are made are about the timeline. People think everything happened so fast but those who lived in the house know how it happened," she said. "The show isn't about UVI. It's about eight students who live in a house and attend UVI." Virginia State University, the show's location for the third season, saw a drop in enrollment the following year. While there was a 2 percent increase in out-of-state students, from 1,483 to 1,529, the number of in-state students declined, from 3,572 to 3,343, according to the university’s Web site. "I don’t regret anything. If I could do it again I probably would do it", cast member Browne said. She said she was happy for the opportunity to refine her speaking skills and the interaction with others. This may be why, starting with the fifth season, College Hill is named after a city rather than a university. It's the age old crab in barrel syndrome so we now know who to thank for it's cancellation.
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