Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Education

White Valedictorian Makes Morehouse History

May 12, 2008 04:41 PM ET | Alison Go | Permanent Link | Print

A white college valedictorian is nothing much to blog about, unless he went to Morehouse, the only all-male, historically black college in the country. Joshua Packwood (4.0 GPA) made history as the first white valedictorian in the 141-year history of Morehouse.

Packwood certainly wasn't the school's first white student, but he eventually became an "unlikely ambassador for the school." He was voted dorm president as a freshman and was a Rhodes scholar finalist. He was popular and nicknamed "Tom Cruise," perhaps before there was any debate whether this was a compliment or an insult.

"Josh Packwood is Morehouse," the college's president said in a February speech. "He happens to be Euro-American and brings much appreciated diversity to our campus."

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Reader Comments

Josh Packwood AND Joshua L. Harris

Josh Packwood is an ok guy. U.S. News and World Report, stand corrected. because Packwood is not THE valedictorian of Morehouse, he is the CO- Valedictorian. Another gentlemen with the same first name (Josh L. Harris) also is graduating with a 4.0. Harris should not be overlooked because he ISN'T white.

Both men are outstanding scholars and are mentionable. The president said that "Josh Packwood is Morehouse, " BUT please read the whole transcript. He also said the same thing of 3 other young men attending the school.

Please note, Morehouse is alive and well with its scholarly efforts.Both the valedictorians and the salutatorian are receiving degrees under that Division of Humanities. The top student in the Division of Math and Sciences has a 3.95! I am just saying, there are too many superstars to mention. The president did not try to put Josh P. over any other scholar. He has respect for all of the students scholar or at-risk student.

Besides, Morehouse a challenging curriculum in all diciplines. Josh earned recognition and desires best wishes. Although he still can't throw around the "N" word, and most likely would not choose to, he will soon be a Morehouse Man with all rights and privileges there unto. Rather than question, we of the Morehouse community respect him. We also respect our president.

who cares

who cares

obviously you do

....enough to read the entire article and post on this site.

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About The Paper Trail

Being a college graduate and all, writer Alison Go is uniquely qualified to sift through thousands of student newspaper headlines every day to bring you the latest, most important, or just plain weirdest news from campuses across the country. Heard bigger news or a crazier story? Send tips to papertrail@usnews.com.

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