NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — This weekend, the Tennessee State University's (TSU) campus will be a sea of blue and white as the institution celebrates its annual homecoming with a series of exciting events.
Alumni hailing from near and far are joining current students in a week filled with a pep rally, a parade and the highly anticipated football game.
Homecoming week at TSU promises to be a vibrant and fun-filled experience according to Frank Stevenson, Vice President of Student Affairs.
"We have a concert on Thursday, and on Friday, the President's House will host 'Fish Friday,' which is always a big hit," Stevenson said.
The festivities wrap up with the homecoming parade and a football showdown against Norfolk State on Saturday.
However, beneath the surface of this joyful celebration lies a battle that has been simmering for decades.
TSU, like many historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), has been grappling with underfunding issues.
The university is now owed a staggering $2.1 billion in state funding due to decades of financial neglect.
Chandler Cotton, a TSU student and the representative at large for first-year students, expressed the significance of this fight.
"You know, that's my job to ensure that the first-year students are actually having a great first year, and without that $2.1 billion, we don't know what the experience could be," Cotton said. "So, you know, it just makes me fight even more because I'm not fighting for myself, I'm fighting for the generations to come of TSU Tigers."
The situation escalated when the U.S. Department of Education sent a letter to Governor Bill Lee last month, confirming that TSU had been underfunded for at least 30 years and is rightfully owed $2.1 billion in state funding.
TSU students and staff are using the energy of homecoming week to strengthen their resolve in the battle for these funds.
"It just allows us to actually pick the minds of alumni, see certain things we need to say, certain things we do for the $2.1 billion. And to get that back," Cotton said.
While the homecoming celebrations continue, the theme for this year's event is "Through Resilience and Perseverance, We Are One."
It underscores the determination of TSU's students and staff to overcome their financial challenges and ensure a brighter future for the university.
"It doesn't dampen celebration, but it does add to it in terms of the possibilities of what the next homecomings will look like and will feel like with the appropriate funding and monies added to budgets and opportunities," Stevenson said.
The situation extends beyond TSU, as the Biden administration has informed 16 states that they have been underfunding their HBCUs by a collective $12 billion.
TSU could resort to legal action if state lawmakers fail to work out an agreement to return the $2 billion owed to the university.
For more of our previous reports on TSU's battle for proper funding, see below:
