HBCUs Welcome Record-Breaking Freshman Class Enrollment To Campus This Fall According to HBCU Digest enrollment at the historically Black colleges are on the rise! What does an increase in enrollment mean exactly? For some, it means increased interest in a campus or its degree offerings. But for black colleges, a boost in students could make the difference in a stabilized or downgrade in bond rating, the fine line between hiring or laying off staff, the slim margin between operating on revenue instead of a line of credit, or having full accreditation status versus warning or probation for financial struggles. Central State University CSU welcomed 634 new first-time students this fall, a 22 percent increase from 2015. The enrollment jump coincides with the university’s new initiative to reduce out-of-state surcharges for students from neighboring states by 76 percent. Harris-Stowe State University The Hornets welcomed their largest freshman class in school history, with more than 600 students contributing to a two-year, 50 percent total increase in enrollment. North Carolina Central University The NCCU Campus Echo reports on the school’s increase in students, with focus on the school following a national trend of more women enrolling in college than men. Virginia State University Trojan Land welcomes nearly 1,000 freshman to campus this fall, a 30 percent increase from last year’s class. Shaw University Shaw increased it freshman class to more than 600 students, the largest in six years and part of a reversal of five consecutive years of declining enrollment. Read the entire list HERE .
Drake Might Be Prepping Something Classy For The Texas Folk After releasing the “ Child’s Play” video earlier today, Drake has even more in store for his fans. The Canadian emcee posted a new photo on Instagram to publicize an event going down on Labor Day. The event, titled “Drake Presents: A New Dance Experience,” is scheduled for September 5th from 1opm to 2am. The caption reads: “HOUSTON TEXAS…On September 5th we are giving you a chance to experience something that’s here to stay…THE BALLET…10pm -.” via XXL These days it feels like Drake spends as much time touring as he does posting cryptic messages for fans. The latest entry into the Toronto rapper’s series of mysteries is a poster describing an event set to take place in Houston on Monday (Sept. 5). The first line on the poster reads, “DRAKE PRESENTS A NEW DANCE EXPERIENCE … The Ballet.” Under those words are the date and time for the mysterious event. The caption for Drizzy’s latest Instagram post reads, “HOUSTON TEXAS … On September 5th we are give you a chance to experience something that’s here to stay … THE BALLET … 10 pm.” At this point, it’s safe to say Drake is up to something, or some things. “The Ballet” could be anything from a new video to a song premiere. Whatever this poster is about, we’ll most likely see for ourselves when Monday arrives. Drizzy’s new Instagram post comes just a few days after his latest billboard. This one features an image of his father and a reference to his new whiskey brand, Virginia Black. The “Know Yourself” rapper hasn’t explained any of his billboards, but we think it’s somewhat safe to conclude his newest one is a sort of advertisement. What we’re still really interested in getting to the bottom of is the one featuring the G.O.O.D. Music logo and the OVO owl. About a week ago, a billboard bearing the words “calabasas is the new abu dhabi,” appeared, and plenty of people think it’s a sign that a Drizzy-Kanye West album is coming soon. Of course, Kanye teased a joint project at the OVO rapper’s OVO Fest back in July. “Toronto I got one question for you. Is y’all ready for this album?” Yeezy said to the crowd while motioning toward himself and Drizzy. “I’m not talking about Pablo. I wasn’t talking about Views. I wanna ask y’all right now, are y’all ready for this album?” The mysterious event leaves just enough room for fun and interpretation. I was thinking strip club shenanigans, after all, it IS Houston on a holiday weekend, but hit the comments below and tell me what you think Drake has planned.
Chance The Rapper Offers Words Of Encouragement To Lil Wayne We reported that Lil Wayne sent out some tweets yesterday morning indicating the New Orleans rapper might have truly left the game, for good. While rumors of his retirement had lingered on and off for the past few years, it seems like the stress of his ongoing legal battle with Birdman might’ve been the final straw. Chicago rapper Chance The Rapper offered some words of encouragement to lift Weezy: He added: We need more friends like Chance. Twitter
Pamela Anderson coming out against porn is a bit like Justin Bieber coming out against shirtless photos. Or Chris Brown coming out against violence toward women. Or Milo Yiannopoulos coming out against trolling strangers on the Internet. You get the point. But here’s why we made those hilarious comparisons: Because Pamela Anderson has come out against porn! Typically, when the words “Pamela Anderson” and “come” are in the same sentence, it’s in relation to the star’s active participation in the world of pornography. But not this time around. The busty 49-year old made news on Friday by teaming up with Rabbi Schmuley Boteach to write an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal that warns about the many “addictive dangers of pornography.” Yes, that bears repeating: Pamela Anderson and a rabbit have written an article together in which they explain the dangerous of watching adult movies. In the piece, Anderson and Boteach argue that porn has a “corrosive effect on a man’s soul and on his ability to function as a husband, and by extension, as father.” They continue: “This is a public hazard of unprecedented seriousness given how freely available, anonymously accessible and easily disseminated pornography is nowadays. “How many families will suffer? How many marriages will implode? How many talented men will scrap their most important relationships and careers for a brief onanistic thrill?” The opinion-based article was published mere days after former Congressman Anthony Weiner was caught in his third sexting scandal. As a result, wife, Huma Abedin – one of Hillary Clinton’s closest friends and aides – announced that she is separating from her husband of six years . We only bring this up because Anderson did so. Reads an excerpt of the op-ed: “If anyone still doubted the devastation that porn addiction wreaks on those closest to the addict, behold the now-shattered marriage of Mr. Weiner and Huma Abedin, a breakup that she initiated … in shock at the disgraced ex-congressman’s inclusion of their 4-year-old son in one lewd photo that he sent to a near-stranger.” That’s true. Weiner really did share a photo with some woman online of himself in bed, in his underwear, with an erection… lying next to his child. View Slideshow: 9 Surprising Sex Tape Stars: It’s Not Just Kim! Of course, arguing that a porn ADDICTION can be dangerous is very different than arguing that merely watching porn sometimes can be dangerous. An addiction to anything is bad for you. The actress and the religious figure went on to warn that kids raised in the current digital environment will “become adults inured to intimacy and in need of even greater graphic stimulation. “They are the crack babies of porn.” What can society do about this problem? “We must educate ourselves and our children to understand that porn is for losers – a boring, wasteful and dead-end outlet for people too lazy to rep the ample rewards of healthy sexuality.” The article is noteworthy in general because Anderson made a sex tape in 1995 with then-husband Tommy Lee. She has also graced the cover of Playboy 14 times. She even covered the magazine’s final nude issue in January/February of this year. Does this make Anderson a hypocrite? Or is she saying she’s seen the error of her many naked ways? And where do we draw the line? Anderson is known for wearing VERY low-cut dresses or blouses. Is drawing attention to one’s breasts part of the problem? Isn’t that also putting sexuality out there for kids to see? We’d be curious to see Pamela’s take on this question.
Pamela Anderson coming out against porn is a bit like Justin Bieber coming out against shirtless photos. Or Chris Brown coming out against violence toward women. Or Milo Yiannopoulos coming out against trolling strangers on the Internet. You get the point. But here’s why we made those hilarious comparisons: Because Pamela Anderson has come out against porn! Typically, when the words “Pamela Anderson” and “come” are in the same sentence, it’s in relation to the star’s active participation in the world of pornography. But not this time around. The busty 49-year old made news on Friday by teaming up with Rabbi Schmuley Boteach to write an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal that warns about the many “addictive dangers of pornography.” Yes, that bears repeating: Pamela Anderson and a rabbit have written an article together in which they explain the dangerous of watching adult movies. In the piece, Anderson and Boteach argue that porn has a “corrosive effect on a man’s soul and on his ability to function as a husband, and by extension, as father.” They continue: “This is a public hazard of unprecedented seriousness given how freely available, anonymously accessible and easily disseminated pornography is nowadays. “How many families will suffer? How many marriages will implode? How many talented men will scrap their most important relationships and careers for a brief onanistic thrill?” The opinion-based article was published mere days after former Congressman Anthony Weiner was caught in his third sexting scandal. As a result, wife, Huma Abedin – one of Hillary Clinton’s closest friends and aides – announced that she is separating from her husband of six years . We only bring this up because Anderson did so. Reads an excerpt of the op-ed: “If anyone still doubted the devastation that porn addiction wreaks on those closest to the addict, behold the now-shattered marriage of Mr. Weiner and Huma Abedin, a breakup that she initiated … in shock at the disgraced ex-congressman’s inclusion of their 4-year-old son in one lewd photo that he sent to a near-stranger.” That’s true. Weiner really did share a photo with some woman online of himself in bed, in his underwear, with an erection… lying next to his child. View Slideshow: 9 Surprising Sex Tape Stars: It’s Not Just Kim! Of course, arguing that a porn ADDICTION can be dangerous is very different than arguing that merely watching porn sometimes can be dangerous. An addiction to anything is bad for you. The actress and the religious figure went on to warn that kids raised in the current digital environment will “become adults inured to intimacy and in need of even greater graphic stimulation. “They are the crack babies of porn.” What can society do about this problem? “We must educate ourselves and our children to understand that porn is for losers – a boring, wasteful and dead-end outlet for people too lazy to rep the ample rewards of healthy sexuality.” The article is noteworthy in general because Anderson made a sex tape in 1995 with then-husband Tommy Lee. She has also graced the cover of Playboy 14 times. She even covered the magazine’s final nude issue in January/February of this year. Does this make Anderson a hypocrite? Or is she saying she’s seen the error of her many naked ways? And where do we draw the line? Anderson is known for wearing VERY low-cut dresses or blouses. Is drawing attention to one’s breasts part of the problem? Isn’t that also putting sexuality out there for kids to see? We’d be curious to see Pamela’s take on this question.
It has been proven in a court of law that Jared Fogle participated in a child pornography ring. A little over a year ago, in July of 2015, the former Subway spokesman had his home raided by federal agents, with evidence eventually leading to 14 charges of sex solicitation from minors. In legal documents, Fogle was accused of traveling between Indiana and New York City in order to pay for sex with a multitude of teenage girls between 2010 and 2013. In November, Fogle was sentenced to 15 years in prison , with his attorneys trying to argue (in his favor, mind you) that Fogle was only guilty of “mild pedophilia.” That may be the biggest oxymoron since the term “plastic silverware” or “clothed Kim Kardashian.” In other words: Jared Fogle is a terrible human being. There is no denying this fact. Yet, incredibly, Jared Fogle managed to plummet to a new low this week. RUN, Miss Piggy and Kermit! Run away as far from Fogle as you can! Fogle has actually gone ahead and filed a federal complaint against the parents of an alleged victim who sued the ex-Subway pitchman after he supposedly received secret recordings of her changing her clothes and bathing. Yes, as part of Fogle’s sordid history, he paid for videos and photos of young teenagers in states of undress. Last March, parents of one of these teenagers filed a lawsuit against Fogle for emotional distress. They are seeking $150,000 in damages. In the lawsuit, the parents allege that Russell Taylor – the former head of Fogle’s charity – secretly filmed their underage daughter and other kids while they were changing clothes and bathing at Taylor’s house. He then passed along the footage to Fogle. In a motion filed Thursday, however, Fogle tried to turn the legal tables. He argued that the girl’s parents “through their actions, caused or significantly contributed to the injuries and damages alleged by Jane Doe in her Complaint against the Defendants.” Fogle isn’t denying his heinous actions here. He’s just having the balls to say the parents deserve blame for messing up their child, the one he grossly and illegally ogled. View Slideshow: 20 Celebrities You Probably Want to Keep Away From Your Children Fogle claims the parents were responsible for their daughter’s depression, anxiety and emotional distress due to their “hateful and abusive relationship toward each other, which included, but was not limited to, engaging in frequent fighting and arguing between themselves; abusing alcohol and getting drunk; and engaging in frequent fighting, physical abuse, and arguing with Jane Doe.” He also says these parents’ abuse and neglect caused their daughter’s alcohol and substance abuse, self-mutilation and suicidal thoughts. Earlier this summer, Fogle tried to argue that he isn’t that disgusting of a person. In an attempt to reduce his prison sentence, he filed a document with the U.S. Court of Appeals that claimed he only child porn to one person while in a hotel room. So, come on, he basically said! Give me a break! Fortunately, the judge wasn’t hearing it. He refused to shorten Fogle’s prison term , stating that Fogle clearly has an “obsession with child pornography and having sex with minors.” View Slideshow: 13 Shamed Celebrity Spokespeople This guy sucks so much.
Two Middleton babies are on the way! One will be royal, the other will be a common plebe. OK! Magazine wins this month’s “Weirdest Tabloid Cover Story,” and it’s only September 1st. “Princess Kate & Pippa: We’re Both Pregnant!” The headline declares. “One’s having a boy, one’s having a girl! “Kate Will Be 8 Months Along At Pippa’s Wedding.” Pippa only got engaged to financier James Matthew on July 19th, so being an unwed mother is quite the scandal. “The news is twice as nice for the Middleton family: Sources say that not only is Duchess Kate expecting — her little sister Pippa, is too!” a source allegedly told OK! . “Just a few weeks back, Kate discovered that she’s expecting another little princess, and the buzz in Pippa’s circle is that’s pregnant, too — with a little boy.” The Duchess of Cambridge is mom to two children already – Prince George, 3, and Princess Charlotte, who turned 1 on May 4th. And while Catherine and William are said to want a big family, there has been no official word from the palace on whether she is expecting. In other words, she’s not. 32-year-old Pippa is, of course, aware of the stigma attached to her situation. The source helpfully pointed out that she’ll “now have to endure whispers about whether hers is a shotgun wedding,” which would mortify her mother, Carole. I’m making that up. Carole looks to be a very modern broad and probably supports a woman’s right to get knocked up by a multi-millionaire. No matter! Pipps and Jim are in this to win this, having dated back in 2012, then getting back together this past fall, after she broke up with another fiancier, Nico Jackson. Plus, if all the gossip gets Pippa down, James can whisk her off on his private jet to his family’s hotel in St. Barts. View Slideshow: Pippa Middleton: A History Of The Famous Bridesmaid’s Suitors The source said that the couple is “totally in love, and they were going to get engaged whether she was pregnant or not.” It doesn’t take a super sleuth to figure out that this story is a hot pile of garbage, but it does make for great conversation by the water cool. “Did you hear about the Duchess and her terribly promiscuous sister?” one will ask. “Indeed,” the other will answer. “The unwed one is being brought to court to be publicly flogged. Must go, my horse and carriage is here.” To drive the point home, the only reliable source when it comes to royal pregnancies (not Middleton pregnancies), is Kensington Palace. If royal aides confirm it, only then is it true. Anything in the check-out aisle of your grocery store is just a tall tale. View Slideshow: William and Kate: 16 Times The Tabloids Got It Wrong
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are on the verge of a breakup again, according to a new tabloid report, and you know who is at the crux of it all. In a way, it’s a rehash of a rumor that’s been circulating for months: Despite the fact that his sex scandals have largely blown over, Jim Bob and Michelle are fighting over Josh and heading for divorce. Ironically, Anna Duggar and Josh are on good terms after all this. Anyway, one of the pariah’s parents allegedly does not want anything to do with their first-born, while the other wants him back in the fold. Can you guess which Duggar parent is which? In Touch magazine’s latest cover story features a smiling Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and the “fight that split the family apart,” supposedly. The gossip publication claims that the pair has been at odds, and that while Jim Bob is ready to forgive his son, his wife isn’t so sure. Apparently, the tension has grown so thick that either Jim Bob or Michelle will be moving out of their Arkansas home in the near future. Who will stay and who will leave the compound?! There are only two real possibilities here as we see it: Either the cover above is entirely inaccurate, or Jim Bob and Michelle are doing one heck of a fine job masking whatever tension exists. Just three days ago, he looked lovingly at Michelle in a birthday video message for son Josiah on the family’s official Facebook account. In the clip, Jim Bob extolled the virtues of his 20-year-old son and his “loving spirit towards people” while Michelle glowed by his side. Like we said, they’d have to be really good actors. Jim Bob also gushed over Michelle in a recent anniversary tribute in which he also appeared to shade Josh, casting doubt on this story. For all the recurring talk of the Duggars divorcing , that would come as nothing short of a monumental shock at this stage of the game. Why? Consider the past, present and future … Whatever you think of them personally, the family’s comeback from Josh’s sordid scandals in 2015 has been nothing short of extraordinary. TLC canceled 19 Kids and Counting pretty fast, but after a few months, Jill & Jessa: Counting On was reborn (then renamed Counting On ). View Slideshow: 23 Biggest Duggar Family Scandals: How Low Can They Go?! If you watch Counting On online , the recent pivot toward Jill, Jessa and now Jinger Duggar and Jeremy Vuolo has been very effective. The Duggars are back, and better than ever; Jim Bob and Michelle may be more in the background these days, but they’re not invisible. Nor are they stupid. On the contrary. You might think of their values and lifestyle as incredibly backward, and there’s an argument to be made for that. But they’re not unintelligent. They know what a valuable thing they have going lately and how the money train is back on the tracks following its interim derailment. No way they’re going to risk that. View Slideshow: 13 Reasons Why Anna Duggar Should Leave Josh NOW Besides, have you ever heard of Duggars getting divorced? Do you know what a Covenant Marriage is and what that entails specifically? Exactly. Not gonna be happening. We have little doubt that there are differing opinions about Josh, both in terms of what he did and how do deal with him going forward. They wouldn’t be good parents – or human beings – if they didn’t struggle internally with an issue that’s as complicated as they come. It’s a big leap to go from that to divorce, though, especially given that this is JIM BOB AND MICHELLE DUGGAR we’re talking about. View Slideshow: 13 Things BANNED in the Duggar Family Josh may be the third trail that no one in the family wants to touch, but he’s still family, and we expect things to be more or less status quo. In other words: Keeping the cheater off TLC cameras as long as possible, but slowly reintroducing him into family life on social media here and there. And keeping a close eye on Josh’s flip phone records. You never know what trouble that dude can get into, even on an archaic device.
It’s been a bizarre couple of years for the reality star once known as “Mama June” Shannon. These days, June seems to have dropped the “Mama” from name, and we can’t say we blame her. After all, based on some shocking recent reports, parenting is not her strong suit. First, the world learned that June was dating Mark McDaniel – a man who previously spent ten years in prison for molesting Shannon’s eldest daughter, Anna. (Just let that sink in, even if you’re already aware of it.) Shortly thereafter, June was accused of stealing from Anna . After several weeks of public denials, she confessed and returned the money. Maybe June had to hit rock bottom in order to turn things around. Or maybe in the absence of a camera crew, she realized there’s nothing all that funny about her family’s eating habits. Whatever the case, Mama June has has re-focused on her health and lost a bit of weight. Make that a lot of weight: Yes, it’s hard to believe, but that’s the same Mama June you used to know and somewhat tolerate. It’s surprising that the reality star found time to diet and exercise, what with her busy schedule and all. You know, promoting her upcoming appearance at Larry Flynt’s annual WTF?! Weekend alongside Bubba Sparxxx and porn star Jesse Jane. (Sadly, we’re not joking.) June hasn’t revealed any of her weight loss secrets, but they may be forthcoming. Several outlets have reported that the 36-year-old (yes, she’s only 36) filmed much of her weight loss journey in hopes of landing a reality show. To that, we roll our eyes, but have to say: Would you really expect otherwise? So, the good news is that she lost a lot of weight, which has to be good for her chances of living beyond her 40th birthday. Seriously, she looks great and we’re happy for her, both for the improvement in self-confidence as well as overall cardiac health. The bad news is that she may be back on TV. Call it a slight net positive … or a wash. However you want to score it, you just have to take the good with the horrendously awful when it comes to Mama June. That much we can tell you for sure. View Slideshow: 18 Reality TV Show Families That Make Us Want to Vomit
Things are going from very, very bad to even worse for Taylor Swift. At this point, we all know about the personal drama between Swift and Kim Kardashian . The latter has been taking shot after shot at the singer, painting her as a manipulative liar and trying to ruin Swift’s reputation. There was the videotaped phone call between Kanye West and Swift that Kim released , proving that Taylor gave the rapper permission to diss her in the song “Famous.” And then there was Kim releasing footage of herself slamming Swift via that same track just a few days ago. Take a look below to see what we mean: A video posted by Kim Kardashian Snapchats (@kimksnapchats) on Jul 23, 2016 at 3:41am PDT So that’s been Swift’s personal life over the past several days. And we haven’t even yet mentioned the fact that so many critics think Swift is faking her romance with Tom Hiddleston for public relations purposes. In other words: Taylor really could use a professional win these days. But she just suffered another loss. MTV came out with its nominations for the 2016 Video Music Awards this year and we can already announce that Swift will not take home a single trophy. How can we be so certain? BECAUSE SHE DIDN’T RECEIVE A SINGLE NOMINATION! No big deal, you might say? No conspiracy at work here, you may argue? That could be correct, but consider the following: Swift led all artists with 10 nominations in 2015. She took home the trophy for Best Video. She has debuted three videos off the album “1989” over the past year. The first, for “Wildest Dreams,” actually premiered during the pre-show of the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards. Has it been the most prolific 12 months of Swift’s career? No. But to go from her 2015 haul to zero nominations in 2016? It makes one wonder whether Kanye has somehow influenced MTV producers. Remember, of course, that Kanye interrupted Swift way back in 2009 when she defeated Beyonce that year for the Best Video crown. Might he still hold a grudge against her? View Slideshow: MTV Video Music Awards: Best/Craziest/Most Memorable Moments It seems that way. Beyoncé earned a career-best 11 nominations for her Lemonade visuals this yea, while Adele landed seven nods for her 2015 hit “Hello.” The 2016 MTV Video Music Awards air live from NYC’s Madison Square Garden Sunday, August 28 at 9/8c.
