College tour offers inner-city youths a better future
Donations to fund 'Get on the Bus' still needed
BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

About 30 students participated in the "Get on the Bus" college tour last year.

LONG BRANCH - For more than a decade, Long Branch officials have been promoting the importance of college education to inner-city youths through the "Get on the Bus" college tour.

The Long Branch Housing Authority (LBHA), in conjunction with the Long Branch Department of Recreation, is hosting the annual "Get on the Bus" college tour next week.

The tour allows high school students in Long Branch and surrounding communities to visit out-of-state colleges, an opportunity most of the students would not have without the program, according to the director of the Long Branch Recreation Department.

"We care about our kids and we want them to know that they have other options than hanging on the corner after graduation," said Carl Jennings in an interview last week.

"There is more than regular jobs at McDonald's and the Home Depot out there," he said, adding, "They can better their lives though education."

The tour will run April 2-6 and will include visits to Lincoln University and Cheyney University, both in Pennsylvania; Norfolk State University and Hampton University, in Virginia; and Morgan State University in Baltimore, Md., according to Jennings.

The idea for "Get on the Bus" was initiated by former LBHA Executive Director David Brown in 1994, according to Jennings, who said that Brown saw a need for local kids to see what college life is like.

"College tours are active among most colleges, and so [Brown] incorporated this program with other college tours," Jennings said.

When Brown left his job in Long Branch to move to another housing authority, Jennings said he did not want to see the program diminished, so the city's recreation department took the lead on the program in 1996.

"It's a great program and we wanted to keep it going," Jennings said.

"This gives kids an option and it lets them know they can go further than the blocks of Long Branch," he said. "College can give them the opportunity to help themselves and to help them help their families."

One problem Jennings said he sees among high school students is their way of viewing education.

"A lot of these kids think education is not cool," Jennings said. "They feel like a sellout if they use proper English.

"But proper English is the proper way to speak. And we get the message out there that just because you go on to get further educated, you are not a sellout," he said.

One success story of the college tour program cited by Jennings is that of Clifton Roach, who participated in the bus tour in 1995.

In a letter he wrote to officials of the program, he called the tour "one of the greatest decisions" he has made.

Roach graduated from Long Branch High School in 1996 and came from a family of 13 children, Jennings said.

Roach wrote, "We got to eat in the cafeteria, tour campuses and mingle with students to get the real students' point of view of college life.

"That in turn opened my eyes to a world I never knew existed," the letter continued. "I saw it on TV shows like 'A Different World,' but now it was actually real to me for the first time.

"Without the college tour to expose us to something outside of [New] Jersey, I know I would not have left to go to school," the letter continued.

"By being away, it exposed me to so many different people and different ways of thinking. I matured tremendously in those years. I am forever grateful," he wrote.

Roach graduated from college and now teaches fifth grade in Miami, according to Jennings, who said Roach 's story is one he shares with tour-goers each year as an inspiration.

In recent years, Jennings said that in addition to Long Branch students, students from New York, North Jersey, Asbury Park, Freehold and Neptune have taken part in the college tour.

Brenda Anderson, LBHA liaison to the tour, explained last week that there are a number of requirements a student must meet to be eligible to participate in the program.

"They must be a high school student, preferably sophomore through senior years," Anderson said. "They have to fill out a form from the guidance counselor, hand in a report and just be doing well in school."

Students must also submit a 350-word essay on why they want to attend college and what they feel they will gain from the college tour, Anderson explained.

The program allows for only 30 students to join the tour each year, and Jennings said in past years they always have about 30 students on the tour.

"This year, we have 30 students right now," Jennings said. "We even had to turn students away this year."

Jennings said he is proud of the success rate he has seen as a result of the program.

"Overall, I would say that 70 percent of all students that go on the tour do go on to some type of further education," Jennings said, "and 90 percent of our seniors go on to college."

The cost of the tour is $400 per student, which covers the cost of transportation, hotel, food, the college tour as well as a harbor dinner cruise and tour of the wax museum in Baltimore.

Last year, the entire tour cost $28,000 and Jennings said in addition to the students' fees, the program is only made possible through donations.

"We are still accepting donations, whether full or partial, for this year," Jennings said, adding, that this year they have received $12,000 in donations with an additional $8,000 still outstanding.

The students will be joined by eight chaperones, including Jennings, Anderson, a Long Branch police officer and a representative from the office of Rep. Frank Pallone (D-12).

For more information on the annual college tour, call the Long Branch Recreation Department at (732) 571-6545.