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PAGE ONE SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
F: Enoch Mobley. Enoch lives at Georgia Segal Hall.
F: What year are you in ?
E: Uh, third.
F: Where are you from ?
E: Live Oak, Florida.
F: Oh! Really ?
E: Yes.
F: Yeah, I've spent a lot of time up in Live Oak. What are you majoring in ?
E: Electrical Engineering.
F: I see. Did you come here right away ?
E: No I, I went to Florida A.&M. two years, and I transferred down here last
September.
F: Um huh. Why did you transfer ?
E: Uh, at, at Florida A.&M. they just had the two year program...
F: Um huh.
E: Uh, in Pre-Engineering where it, uh, get you prepared for the going into
grants, q1d uh, they didn't have the second part of the program so I
transferred down here, since this was-rnear home, you know, and figured I
was able to afford it.
F: Um huh. When you graduated, where did you graduate from Swannee HdIt ?
E: No, Douglas.
F: Oh, that's before they---uh ...
E: Right. Well they uh, started, you know, lately, about a couple of years
before I graduated, but I was elected uh, vice-president of the Student
Council...
F: Um huh. .C /
E: And uh, the vice-president Lucede the president, and becomes president,
you know, so I decided to stay over at Douglas.
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
F: Um huh. When you graduated from high school had you thought of going
anywhere else ? Besides A.&M. ?
E: No I hadn't, uh, I didn't plan to go to schooltcause of my finances...
situation, and I didn't...wasn't aware of the loans and everything that
I could get because of my average, you know...
F: Ur huh.
E: But...uh, my brother he, he say that he would help me. So...I just sent
off and got an application from A.&M., and...
F: What does your brother do ?
E: Well he was in the Army, but by---he's out now. He's planning to go back
to school.
F: Um huh. But while he was in the Army he was going to help you ?
E: Yeah, he was going to help me.
F: Um huh.
E: But after I got in school, you know, I, you know, started getting a loan and
everything.
F: When---when you finished at A.&M. had you thought of going anywhere else
then...besides here ?
E: Uh...I thought about Tuskegee, and Howard, you know...
F: Um huh.
E: I heard they had pretty ---good Engineering Departments there, but uh, uh,
there's that problem of money you know, so I decided that this, this would
be better, you know, because I could go home every now and then, and it
wasn't too much, you know, wouldn't have to pay out of state fees and all.
F: Right. Are you all...do you have any kind of financial assistance here ?
E: Uh, I get the Florida Loan, and for the past two quarters I've been on
a scho---this EOG Plan, you know.
F: Um huh. Is that a loan or a scholarship ?
2
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK -7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
E: It's sort of a scholarship.
F: Um huh. So actually, all the way through school, this is the first
predominately white school that you've gone to.
E: Right.
F: Your first one... Have you found it a lot different ?
E: Yeah, uh, it's different, you know, because the way society is, you know,
and I, I've found out a lot things about whites, you know, that I thought
was different, you know, and I guess they found...
F: Like what ?
E: Uh, well uh, you know, you always say that you can't trust them, you know,
and, you know, some of them they really act like they're sincere, you know,
and some of them, you know, don't. I don't know.
F: What about...how, how basically, is A.&M. different from here ?
E: Well it's predominately black, you know, and this is predominately white.
That's the big difference right there. And you can socialize better, you
know, because...
F: At F.A.M.U. ?
E: Yes. Uh, because there're a lot of black students there, and you can do
things together, you know, whereas, here, you know, it's mostly white students,
you know, and you've got a lot of white students ...uh, don't want to do
certain thing with you, you know. Maybe something like sports or uh, some-
thing like that you know. It's all right you know. dBisraee as far as
going out to the socials, and dances, and movies, and stuff like this, you
know, uh, they don't really, you know what I mean, I guess that the majority
of them don't really go in for this, you know, because the ways they've
been brought up.
F: Um huh. How is social life on campus here ?
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
E: Well, not, not too good for me really, because I don't uh, I never tried
to take any whites out you know, but I...live at Georgia Segal, and I go
out with some of the guys sometimes, you know, and there's not too:many
thAe- kids either, you know, and a lot of them, you know, the majority of
them just uh, stay in you know, or keep to themselves, you know, so out of
about 150 or 160 here you only see about...maybe 25 or 35 at a party or
something like that, you know.
F: How did you wind up living at Georgia Segal HallI?
E: Uh, I found out that it was uh, $220 per quarter, you know, for room and
board...
F: Um huh.
E: And that seemed pretty reasonable this close to campus, and my cousin cooks
there, and I, I was living out gAE., behind him with my uncle...
F: Um huh.
E: But it was too far for me uh, to get to campus at night, you know, with-
out paying for a taxi, or having somebody to bring me, you know, and so I
decided that I was going to have to find a place somewhere, you know...
F: Um huh.
E: And so I got a place down there.
F: How do you get along with the kids there ?
4c, LP
E: Uh, they're all right. I don't kmwcaf any trouble I had with them, you know,
and I, I treat them pretty good, and by that way I guess, some of them treat
me pretty nice. A guy was talking with me the other night, you know, he say
that...when...you know, they found out I was going to be living there, you
know, they say they was going to get together you know, and treat me nice
and everything, you know, but uh...but uh...what made me feel, you know, sore 4f
bad you know, because I wouldn't want them you know, to treat me special,
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
E: ...you know, just because I'm black, you know, if that's not the way they
feel about me you see.
F: Um huh.
E: I think that they should show their true feeling, you know.
F: Do you date much ?
E: No, not much.
F: Why is that ?
E: Uh...I don't, I don't have a car, you know...
F: Um huh.
E: And I just never got used to the, you know, walking taking somebody out on
a date, you know. Usually I just uh, like we're having a party or something,
you know, maybe I would get with somebody at a party or something like that.
F: Well did you used to have a car at home ?
E: No, I didn't, but it was a smaller town you know, so you could get around.
F: Um huh.
E: Just by walking.
F: Do most black students date very much on this campus ?
E: Uh...I don't know really. The, the few I know, uh, maybe less than fifty
percent of those, you know, date, you know, And there's a majority that I
don't know, you know, and I don't know what they do, because I never see them.
F: Are there parties and things to go to ?
E: Yeah, they have parties every now and then.
F: Do you usually go ?
E: Usually.
F: Why don't more students date ?
E: Uh, I don't know really. May---might have some special problems, I don't
know.
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
R---I---N---G
F: Hello ? Yes...oh...thankyou.
F: O.K. What kinds of things would you like to see on campus..&that would
give you a chance for more activities ?
E: Uh...it would be nice to have a lot of black kids here, you know, and then
maybe they would bring in black entertainment more often, you know, and,
you know, a lot of kids like this sort of thing, and then plus, you know,
it would be better social life, you know, and then you could have a---a lot
of guys in the same major, you know, and doing the same level of work, you
know, and they can study together...
F: Um huh.
E: And help each other out...
F: How would you bring that about ?
E: Uh...getting more kids here ?
F: Oh...well we're talking about...how would these more people come together
in the same areas. Had you not mentioned something that I thought you
mentioned ?
E: Uh...
F: You're talking about having more black students here ?
E: Right.
F: Oh, I see. O.K.
E: And you know if we had more black students here, there would be a lot of
them entering at the same time, you know, and taking the same courses, and
they can help each other out, you know. It's like I transferred here, and
there's only one other black student that's in, in 'Double E'. Uh...just
about the same level I am...
F: Um huh.
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
E: And, uh, he, he's taken-more 'Double E' courses than I have so far,
because I had to take some Institutions and humanities then. I didn't
take at Florida A.&M., but he still have to take a lot of courses that I
took at Florida A.&M.
F: Yeah. How are you doing in school ?
E: Uh...I have a...my average s under 2. I have trouble studying, really.
F: Why is that ?
E: Uh...just not used to it for one thing, you know, and it's kind of hard
to get used to studying, you know.
F: Were you a good student at A.&M. ?
E: Well, I didn't study that much, but I kept, I stayed above 2.
F: Um huh. So...what do you think you can do, to like, improve your study
habits ?
E: Uh...if, if uh, I just, let's see, if I had, you know, somebody, you know,
to study with, you know, then maybe we would say...we would study by a
schedule or something like that, you know...
F: Um huh.
E: Then maybe we could help each other out, and explain different things to
each other. Be more interesting, and maybe that would help me, but uh, the
way I study now, I just keep putting it off, you know, until the next day,
and figuring that I have plenty enough time, you know...
F: Um huh.
E: And then...I may study a few days before a test, you know, and have all
the information juggled up together, you know, and write atest and make
a 'C' or 'D' or something like that.
F: Are you doing better this quarter than you've been doing or what ?
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
E: Well uh...as far as studying...I've...I guess this is about the same, I
don't know, as far as studying is concerned.
F: Are you going to be here this summer ?
E: No.
F: What are you going to do ?
E: Uh...trying to get a job. I had filled out an application, and uh, turned
it in to the union and everything.
F: Um huh.
E: And...I was planning on checking on it this week, you know, to see if they
could get me a job, and if not I'll try to get one myself.
F: Where ?
E: Uh...I was going to try to get one around here. Uh, so that I could stay
in the city this summer.
F: Um huh. Why do you want to do that ?
E: Well I...hate moving for one thing, and then if I'll...it's, you know, be
around campus, you know, maybe could come down here, and you know, do some
extra studying or something, you know, while I'm not attending classes.
F: Um huh. How is it in your classes ? How are your classes here ?
E: Uh...in what respect ?
F: Wellk..how do you get along with your professors ?
E: Uh...I get along with them all right. Uh, I usually don't go to them
for anything, you know.
F: You mean outside of class ?
E: Yeah. I don't usually get... And in class they seem to be all right.
F: Um huh. What about the students here ?
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
E: Uh---I---th some---some that I met, you know, they mostly, they're all
right, or seem# to be.
F: Um huh. Have you had any trouble ?
E: No.
F: What about, let's say, with people like uh...secretarial help, and so on
and so forth ?
E: Umm...Well I...I haven't had any trouble with them either.
F: Um huh. Do you know any administrators here ?
E: Uh...let meA ndt really, I know Roy Mitchell, and I'm familiar with some,
uh, people down at the financial department.
F: Um huh.
E: The financial aid department.
F: Are you active in any extra-carricular activities ?
E: No, I'm not really. I'm on the Judicial Board in GeorgiaC6ega
F: Um huh.
E: And I'm a member of the Black Student Union, but I haven't been to a
meeting for some time.
F: Why ?
E: Uh...well uh...last quarter, you know, you know most that they was doing
seems to me was just uh, getting together, you know, and they s---uh,
expressing their vocabulary, you know.
F: Um huh.
E: And I thought this was a waste of time, you know.
F: Why are you a member ?
E: Uh...I, I'm just a member, you know, uh, to find out you know...what you
know, we as a group can do, you know. Uh, they have, you know, solved some
of the problems of society.
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
F: Umh. What kind of things would you like to see the Black Student Union
doing ?
E: Uh, something constructive.
F: Like what ?
E: Uh, maybe doing something in the neighborhood. This Operation Outreach,
that's a pretty good...uh, organization, you know, that they started, and
they started that since uh...after I stopped attending meetings.
F: Um huh. What kind of things is Outreach doing ?
E: They're supposed...uh to be helping......u..students in the...uh...in the
community, you know, and children...
F: Um huh.
E: And they provide jobs for some of the...students on campus...who are not
eitir uh...you know, to bear the financial responsibilities.
F: Um huh. If you like that, why aren't you active in that ?
E: What was that ?
F: Well, I mean, that's a program you, you agree with, you think is a good
thing. why---
E: Right.
F: Why aren't you active in that ?
E: Well uh...like I told you, I haven't been to a meeting for awhile, you know.
F: Um huh.
E: Uh, usually I don't know when they have a meeting anyway. They send out a
letter, and it goes to my old address, you know, and I had it changed, you
know, but they're still sending me mail out there, you know.
F: Yeah, you're still getting it out there.
E: Some of it, you know.
F: You said in high school that you were pretty active, l1~yEgyu were
vice-president and president of the student body ?
10
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
E: Yeah.
F: Would you like to be active in Student Government here ?
E: Uh...I don't know, not really. Uh...well in high school, like uh, you
know, I got pretty fed up with it, for awhile, you know, because I was uh...
leading a few people that...and a lot of them, you know, didn't want to do
anything really, and so...what I had was something...sort of like a
dictatorship really, because I would decide what I wanted them to do.
F:: Um huh.
E: Since...you know, they wouldn't respond too-Fmubh.
F: Were there any kind of extra-carriculars that you'd like to be involved in
here ?
E: Here ?
F: Um huh.
E: Uh, I don---I thought about getting in shape for track team. I always
liked the sports.
F: You mean go out for varsity track ?
E: Yeah.
F: What do you run ? /
E: Well, I never ran anything, but you know, I, I believe I can do it, you know.
F: Um huh. What---what do you think you would run ?
E: Uh...I, I don't know. I jus...
F: You didn't run in high school ?
E: No.
F: Did you play any sports ?
E: No.
F: You just sort of feel that you could do it ?
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
E: Right. Well, I was always good at sports. The reason I didn't play them
was because I, I wanted to play football, and my mother wouldn't let me play
football, you know, and so...she wouldn't let me play it, so I didn't play
anything else. I sort of wanted---football to me is sort of a---a start-
ing point, you know, and since I never played that, I never played anything
else. Well I used to play, you know, with the kids on the road, you know,
and stuff like that, and I used to do well.
F: Are you seriously considering going out for track ?
E: Well I thought about it you know.
F: Um huh.
E: I don't know whether I'll decide to do nothing definite.
F: I'm sort of interested in something. What about...how was life---people told
me, that at FAMU, that it's really a lot stricter, because they, you know,
the way people dress,and the kind of things students can do---is that true
do you think ?
E: Stricter ?
F: Yeah.
E: Uh...they don't uh...well when I was up there, just a few, a minority of
the girls had started wearing mini skirts, and stuff of this sort.
F: Um huh.
E: And...they're sort of conservative, you know, they uh, you have to wear
ties, you're required to wear ties at convocations, and things of these sorts,
and uh...just about any big meeting they have, you know, you're required to
wear ties.
-o-
F: Umh... What else ? Do ypu know---can you think of any other differences
there that might exist ?
E: Uh...let me see...well you're required to attend class, uh, all the time,
you know.
12
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
F: Um huh.
E: And if you miss, let me see, I think it was two or three times, you know,
they can boot you out if they want to. And there's---I really can't think
of that much.
F: People told me about t the place, it's similar to sort of the Plaza of the
Americas, what is that called, at FAMU ?
E: Uh, at Florida A.&M. they call it the 'Set', you know, it's not really
nothing of that sort, it's just a street, you know, and it's in front of the
Union, and they sit on each side of the street, you know, and mess around,
you know, and talk.
F: People told me that some of the administrators don't like people hanging
around there like that ?
E: Oh yeah, they don't.
F: What do they do ?
E: Uh...they often try to discourage it, you know, by uh, telling them, you
know, that when they have a meeting or something, you know, they tell them
that they should go to class, you know, and that it looks bad, you know, for
people to be riding through, and seeing the students hanging around out
there all of the time, you know.
F: Why do you think there's a difference, I mean, at this university a lot of
people hang around all the time ? Why do you think there's that difference ?
E: Uh...I don't know really, but I imagine that it would be with, uh, something
of the sort dealing with the idea that black people have about uh, you know,
white people seeing tbt do certain things, you know. They always, some of
them seem to have the idea that white people are always doing something, you
know, all of them, you know, always doing something constructive, and that
they wouldn't be loitering around like that, you know, and a lot of people
have this idea you know.
13
SUBJECT: 7.1OCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
F: Think they would be surprised to come and look at the Plazz2 of the Americas ?
E: Well they shouldn't be, because uh, I knew what was happening all the time.
F: Um huh. Do you come in contact mainly with black students, or mainly with
white students ?
E: Uh, since I've been in---staying at Segal I've mostly been in contact with
white students.
F: Um huh.
E: And foreigners.
F: And, and foreigners ?
E: Right.
F: Do foreign students live there also ?
E: Yeah.
F: Oh, I see. What about, have you had any contact with, for want of a better
term, possibly more militant black students here ?
E: More militant ?
F: Yeah.
E: Uh, what do you mean by more militant ?
F: Well, in other words, it would seem to me that Revr-ai students on this
campus---uh---may sort of resent the fact that you aren't active in BSU,
or something like that. Have you spoken to any people that, you know, come
across that way ?
E: Oh, no...no they wouldn't ...I don't think they would say anything to me
about it, you know, about my not attending, and---they might say something
to somebody else about it, but I think to a certain extent everybody is a
militant. And...maybe that's what they think about me, and that's why
they won't tell me that even if they think that.
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
F: Why is that ? Would you explain that ? I don't understand that.
E: Uh---
F: because I know there are people who have been accused of not caring, not
being black, or this kind of thing.
E: Yeah. Uh...I don't know, I just, you know,sort of been a pretty rugged in-
dividual, you know.
F: Um huh.
E: Coming from Live Oak, and doing a lot of hard work, playing hard, and this
sort of thing, and I come from a neighborhood, you know, where they used to
do a lot of fighting and stuff, and there sort of used to be three 'Jukes'
over there, and there used to be a lot of fighting, and stuff, you know, and
this sort of is part of a part of me, you know. I'm not really violent as
such, you know, I talk kind of violent you know, and I let people know what
I want them to know, you know; but I try to be all right myself. I---
F: Well you say---well go ahead, I'm sorry.
E: And not try to infringe on anyone elses p~ce or nothing like that, and I
wouldn't---on purposely do anything that would make somebody angry with me,
you,know,,.
F: Um huh.
E: But, you know, if anybody says anything to me then I would tell them how I
feel you know, and I guess that's why any of the students here had any---
you know they didn't like it...something because I'm not actively participating
in BSU, then they wouldn't say anything to me about it.
F: What would you say if they did say that ?
E: Uh...I don't know really, I couldn't say that much that, uh...that the indi-
viduals themselves are doing that they could say that they are doing to, you
know, I couldn't see anything that they're doing, not individually.
SUBJECT ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
F: What changes would you like to see here ?
E: Umh..
F: Enoch, our cokes are here.
E: Yeah;
E: More black students, and uh, more---I would like to have uh...a black
instructor in the 'Double E Department', you know, maybe I could talk to
him better you know.
F: Um huh.
E: Because uh, I went...to talk with the guy about a test once, you know, and
the way it seemed, the attitude when you go into a teachers room, and he looks
up and sees you're black is uh, you know, if you ask him a question, you know,
he'll explain to you, you know, what he's really seems to be doing is saying
you know, that I'm not racist, you know, and he seem to be making apologies,
and about how he would take this off for anybody else, you know, and---
F: Umh...
E: Stuff like that.
F: Has that happened more than once ?
E: It had happened a couple of times.
F: It had ?
E: Well it happened any time I, you know, go to another teacher. Any teacher.
F: Um huh.
E: To ask about something.
F: why don't you think that more black students come here ?
E: Uh...well a lot of black students don't go anywhere because uh.i.there not
able to pass there...make a high enough score on there 12th grade test.
F: Um huh.
E: And a lot of them, uh, don't know enough about whites to want to come here,
you know, because they feel like, you know, maybe thee afraid of body---
16
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
E: ---bodily injury, or something like that.
F: What can be done to get more black students to come ?
E: Umh...I don't know really. I think uh, you could have uh, recruiters, you
know, going to talk with high schools, you know, and maybe they would
consider going here.
F: Do uh...people from the University of Florida come to schools, black
schools, to encourage people now ?
E: Well when I was in uh...school none did.
F: Did people come from any other colleges ?
E: Uh, yes, from some of the black colleges.
F: Um huh. Do you know if people from this college go to other schools...to
encourage people to come ?
E: Black students ?
F: Well, do they go to white schools, to encourage white students to come ?
E: Oh no, I don't, I don't know.
F: Would you encourage black students to come here ?
E: Uh, yes I probably would.
F: Do you know any people back in Live Oak ?
E: White people ?
F: Well no, black students who were considering going to college.
E: Uh...no, not really.
F: Do you get back there very often ?
E: Home ?
F: Um huh.
E: No, not now, not very much.
F: Yeah, I was wondering, it seems to be a problem that a lot of black students
complain about certain things that exist here, and a lot of times they have,
17
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
F: you know, good reason to complain, so there's a paradox involved, because
black students complain about the situation here, but want more black students
to come, so people say, 'How in Hell are you going to get them to come if
you're all the time telling them how bad it is?'
E: Yeah.
F: Do you see that as a problem ?
E: Well it, it could be a problem. Umh...because, you would...oh I don't think
anybody would naturally want to go a place that might be bad off.
F: Um huh. Would you, if you had it to do over again, would you come back
here ?
E: Well if...if I was a just leaving high school, you know...
F: Umhuh.
E: Then probably I would come here from the beginning, you know, and maybe after
being here so long maybe I would be in...formed good study habits by now, or
punched out.
F: well---wher---are you going to live in Geargia S&gal next year ?
E: Yeah, I'm planning to live there.
F: Um huh. What kind of place, if you had your choice, would you like to live ?
E: Uh, I would rather live in an apartment, or something, by myself.
F: Um huh. By yourself ? Or with another student?
E: I'd rather live by myself.
F: Well wouldn't it be good, considering like you said, like if you could
live with another student that was in your same field as you so you could
walk together?
E: Yeah, but I don't know, you know, it's kind of nice you know, if you got a
friend who's kind of nice to go visit him you know...
F: Um huh.
E: Not have him there all the time.
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
F: Are you going to school this summer ?
E: No.
F: You're going to work ?
E: I'm going to try to.
F: Um huh. Are you continuing fianacial aid for the fall ?
E: Yes I'm---I'm going to try to get it, but uh, if I don't bring my average
up this quarter, then uh, I, they might not give it to me.
F: What would you do then ?
E: Uh...I don't know. I'm going to try to save enough money this uh, summer
for a quarter.
F: Um huh.
E: And then maybe that might make me study enough to, uh, get my average back
up, and....
F: Well explain that. You mean if you were paying for it yourself, it would
make you study more ?
E: No.
F: jis, that again ?
E: The fact that...the fact that uh, if I don't get the money...then that means
I won't be in school.
F: Um huh.
E: And I, I want to finish school, you know.
F: Right.
E: But the---I can't uh, see where a grade point average is uh, uh, worth
that much, you know. I...most of the material I go over I understand it,
but I don't spend enough time memorizing, and knowing it thoroughly...
until just about, you know, uh...a couple of days before a test I study and
try to remember all of it you know.
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
F: Um huh.
E: But if I understand it at the time, I feel like I can just study...a day
or two before the test, and remember all of it, you know.
F: Well how did you say that you were going to get your grade point average
up. That's what...that's the point I didn't understand ? You said if you
weren't able to get financial aid, then you said something about, well---
E: Yeah, well if I didn't get the financial aid...
F: Um huh.
E: And...in the fall quarter I would try to bring my grade point average up,
you know, and then maybe they would consider giving me aid for uh, uh, the
winter / spring quarter, and the summer quarter...
F: Um huh.
E: Because I'm planning to go the summers until I finish.
F: Yeah. Well why wait until they start to cut it off to start doing better ?
Maybe it would be the best thing for you in the world for them to take the
money away from you, and you know, because obviously I'm sure you can do the
work, and so you know, as soon as they start putting the pressure on you, you
decided you were going to start studying and making better grades.
E: Yeah. Well I'm trying to do better now, but I can't study for some reason.
It's just one of them things, I'm just not used to it.
F: Um huh.
E: And I'll be sitting up trying to study, and can't study, and just quit.
F: What do you do with most of your time ?
E: Uh...usually uh...talking to people mostly...
F: What did you think about when you got the questionnaire ?
E: What did I think about ?
F: Um huh.
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHLNKMAI
E: Uh...nothing really.
F: Had you gotten any before ?
E: Let me see...I got a questionnaire from somebody...I think I had go6ten one
of them before...from somewhere.
F: Um huh. Did you fill it out ?
E: Yeah, I filled it out. I'm trying to think of where I got it from though...
F: Um huh. Why did you fill it out ?
E: Uh...I don't know really. Just uh...seem like the, you know, wouldn't be
nothing wrong in filling it out, you know.
F: Um huh. Do you know any other black students that got it ?
E: The same one that I received before ?
F: No, this one.
E: Oh, this one. Yeah, um huh.
F: You do ? Did they fill it out ?
E: Well I know one guy, he say he got it. Yeah he filled it out.
F: Um huh. Do you think that there are people who won't fill it out ?
E: I don't know.
F: Well what do you think.
E: I, I don't know whether there's any people that ---
F: Yeah, but as a matter of fact less than half of the people filled it out,
so why do you think that they don't fill it out ?
E: I don't know, maybe...you know...uh...people got special reason, you know,
for not doing certain things, you know, and I don't know a lot of the black
kids well enough to know why, you know.
F: Um huh. Would you like to actually get around and meet more of the black
students ?
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
E: Uh...I don't know really, not now.
F: What's you---well when you---you hope to graduate right ?
E: Right,f
F: And you'll be---that'll be two more years right ?
E: Right.
F: What would you do then ?
E: Uh, probably get a job somewhere.
F: Um huh. Are you a 3EG now ?
E: Right.
F: And do you have to have any kind of grade requirement to keep going on ?
Any prerequisite average in 'Double E' ?
E: 'Double E' ? Well I'm three quality points down in there, so I have I have
to make three quality points this quarter to stay in the department.
F: Um huh. Does it like you're going to ?
E: Yeah, I believe I will.
F: That's good. Can you think of any kind of help that you...you could use ?
E: Well uh, yeah. Well I would like to get some help, you know, in---in uh,
working out the problems, you know.
F: Um huh.
E: Uh, they---the teacher is---the teachers make themselves available you know,
any time you know, and---
F: They do ?
E: Um huh. And, and one gave us, gave us his telephone number, and we can
call him at night...
F: Um huh.
E: If we run into any trouble.
F: Do you take advantage of that ?
22
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
E: No, I haven't been.
F: Why ?
E: I don't know, I guess, uh...I don't like to worry people, you know, and I
feel like...maybe if I keep going and asking him questions I might be worry-
ing him, you know.
F: Um huh. But isn't that the job...I mean, especially if they tell you that
if you're having problems to call them ?
E: Yeah. I don't know, that's just the way I was raised, you know, it's sort
of a built in thing, you know...
F: Um huh.
E: And I just feel like if I keep on asking people, you know, questions and
stuff you know, they'll get tired of me, you know; and I wouldn't want that
to happen.
F: So you say you hardly ever call him ?
E: Hardly ever. Well I never called him. They set up two nights a week, you
know, with a graduate student to uh, be there, you know, but they didn't,
when the passed out the sheet for it, you know, they didn't specifically
say that that was what those two nights were for, you know, and I didn't
know what they was for until about...two weeks ago.
F: What did you think it was about ?
E: I, I thought that...that, that they would be up there those nights for...
have office hours up there for a hour or so. I didn't know it was a help
session. They didn't say that.
F: Um huh. Can you think of anything else that might help ?
E: Uh...no, not really.
F: What are you going to do to change your ways ?
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
E: As far as studying is concerned ?
F: Um huh.
E: Well uh...uh...just try to study I guess
F: Were you a good student in high school ?
E: Well I, I made good grades, you know, I used to pay attention in class,
and of what was going on.
F: Um huh. Wha---about what was your average in high school ?
E: Uh...I don't know really. It was between 3.5 and 4.0, something like that.
F: That was---you were a very good student in high school then.
E: Right.
F: What about at A.&M. ?
E: Well...I did all right in Pre-Engineering, you know...
F: Um huh.
E: The courses that was dealing with Engineering, and my overall average was
about...2.5...2.65 you know...
F: Um huh.
E: Then I transferred here. But in Pre-Engineering as such I had, uh, better
than a 3.0 average.
F: Did you study much at A.&M. ?
E: Well I studied mostly Engineering courses, but the other things that didn't
interest me too much, I didn't spend too much time on.
F: Did you study more there than you do here ?
E: Uh...no, not really. I've studied about the same.
F: But...doing it is just harder here ?
E: Well, up there, uh, they grade on a curve a lot, you know,.,
F: Um huh.
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
E: And so...if they was grading on a curve here, then probably I would be...
well I...you know, they got so many kids here, you know, that a lot of them
got good study habits and everything, so they couldn't grade on the curve
here. See up at the A.&M. they might have a small percentage of the class
with good study habits, you know, and they study, and you know, Atsmnrrtir
pace, and then just grade on the curve...from there.
F: Um huh. Do you think you're going to get a degree ?
E: Yeah, I think I will.
F: They have a lot of really good students over in Engineering don't they ?
E: Yeah.
F: And the really good ones really put in a lot of time...I know it takes an
awful lot of time for Engineering students, because they're constantly
going hours and hours...Iiliirediwith-one, you know, he was up all the time
doing the problems and so on...
E: Yeah. Well I don't mind studying that, you know, but reading this material
for Institutions and Humanities, you know, that takes you a lot of time, you
know...
F: Um huh.
E: And a lot of this stuff I'll be reading I don't like it anyway, you know,
and that's got a lot to do with why I don't study...until the last minute.
F: Woul---would you like to take any Black Studies Courses ?
E: Uh, not right now I wouldn't.
F: You'd rather just concentrate on Engineering anyway ?
E: Yeah. Uh, well, my...in the fall quarter I'll just be taking Engineering
Courses, and maybe I, I'll do better, you know.
F: Um huh. Have you done o.k. in all your Engineering courses so far ?
SUBJECT: ENOCH MOBLEY BLACK 7A
INTERVIEWER: FREDRICK SHENKMAN
E: Well here I haven't. I'm taking my first one, the introduction to 'Double
E'.
F: Um huh.
E: And I haven't done well on the three tests that we had. I, I got 'Ds' on...
you know, a 'D' average, and I was doing all right on my home work, but the
...uh...you know, I understand what's going on, you know, but I just don't
study that enough to remember all the formulas and things. What---I know
at A.&M., you know, in Physics or something like that, you know, the guy
used to put a lot of formu;as on the board, you know, and you didn't have
to remember them. You just uh...if you knew how to work the problem, then
you just look up on the board and find the...uh...formula that you needed.
F: Um huh.
E: And you could...uh...know it whether the formula...uh...the teacher would
know you knew the material by, you know, using the right formula.
F: Right, but here you have to memorize the formula also ?
E: The formula also, right.
F: Yeah, I'm not very good at that.
E: Well it don't take that much, but you know, I just...just don't study that
much.
F: It looks like you're going to have to.
E: Yeah.
F: Because they're not going to change that---
E: ---Right---
F: ---Engineering College are we ? Well---
END OF INTERVIEW
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