x-sender: governor.haley@sc.lmhostediq.com x-receiver: governor.haley@sc.lmhostediq.com Received: from mail pickup service by IQ12 with Microsoft SMTPSVC; Thu, 12 Feb 2015 09:07:19 -0500 thread-index: AdBGzTaceJXxiC1lSdi3yDF5ccR7vg== Thread-Topic: South Carolina State University From: To: Subject: RE: South Carolina State University Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2015 09:07:19 -0500 Message-ID: <6786DFD245B3499F8E612C40DDC3C320@IQ12> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: Microsoft CDO for Windows 2000 Content-Class: urn:content-classes:message Importance: normal Priority: normal X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.1.7601.17609 X-OriginalArrivalTime: 12 Feb 2015 14:07:19.0365 (UTC) FILETIME=[36B27750:01D046CD] CUSTOM Dr. Arena Jackson 711 Myrtle Street, NE B Atlanta GA 30308 nauchette@gmail.com EDUC RE: South Carolina State University Dear South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley: My name is Arena R. Jackson and I am writing as a concerned alumna of my dear South Carolina State University and native of South Carolina. Closing the university for one or two fiscal years will not solve anything. Think about the students and what a predicament this would put them and their families in! Do you honestly think that having the students transfer to other schools would be easy? Maybe you think it would be a blessing to them. In my opinion, it would only create further heartache. Students who attend STATE have a deep love for their university. Many of them carry the legacies of their parents, grandparents, and other relatives by attending South Carolina State University. Whether you know it or not, SC State changes many lives for the better. I, like many other alumni, and current students would not trade my undergraduate matriculation at STATE for the world! My beloved institution prepared me for graduate school, which resulted in me earning a PhD in Toxicology, and the real world! Many other alumni have accomplished great things and are succeeding in their fields. Not only does the university have a rich history --- it has a rich present and future, as well! South Carolina State University is the heartbeat and lifeline of the city of Orangeburg. Governor Haley, as a graduate of Orangeburg Preparatory School, you should know that! If the university closes, the city dies! STATE brings in more than an estimated $180 million to the local economy per year! Students are patrons and employees of the businesses. Faculty and staff live and pay taxes in the city and county. Orangeburg is already in dire straits (just drive down Russell St. and look at the downtown district or stroll through the Prince of Orange Mall to have a look for yourself) and a closure of STATE for any time period will devastate it even more. I was born and raised in Orangeburg and spent 4 more years there as an undergraduate at SCSU, so I know what I am talking about. The city's despair is evident when I go back home to visit my parents. No matter how destitute Orangeburg, "The Garden City", becomes I will always love it and want what is best for it! You, as a native of nearby Bamberg, should as well! I urge you to support President Thomas J. Elzey. Pres. Elzey is not at fault here. He has not even been at the university for 2 years. I firmly believe that he is trying to sift through the sand on the beach of issues and solve those problems as best he can. Give him more time, assistance and support, and provide ADEQUATE FUNDING to SC State (that has been cut back for years and years) from the State of South Carolina. I have been beyond disappointed in the politics of South Carolina for as long as I can remember. The state, you as the governor, and some of the other politicians in SC government are constant fodder for the remainder of our great Union, the United States of America. Please do not continue to be the one to drag the state through the mud well into the 21st century. Governor Haley, I believe you have asked the question, "Where are the alumni?". Here I am! Here we are! Here we shall remain! Sincerely, Arena R. Jackson, PhD Native of Orangeburg, South Carolina South Carolina State University Class of 2004