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Maryland Newsline Friday, Feb. 5, 2010 COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Entertainment icon Spike Lee gave some strongly worded career advice Thursday night to students packed into the Stamp Student Union at the University of Maryland: “I hope when you choose a major it’s not based just on how much [expletive] money you will make when you graduate.” Reminiscing about his undergraduate days at the historically black Morehouse College in Atlanta, Lee told the crowd of several hundred students he initially had no idea what he wanted to study or do. Because he was just “drifting,” he earned C-minus grades his first two years, he said, until he began shooting footage of New York City one summer. He became a mass communications major and was nurtured by a professor who advised using raw footage to create films, he said. “I went from [earning] C-minus to A-plus, because I found something I loved, something that motivated me,” the producer and director said. Advising students to follow their passions, Lee urged students to expose themselves to as many opportunities and subjects as possible and to strive for success.
Touching on education, race and his career, Lee said his two goals as a film producer are to show “an honest portrayal of African Americans in this country and bring in as many people into this industry.” In a casual and comedic tone, Lee described some of the challenges he faced growing up and as one of the first black producers in the film industry. “I was taught by my parents to be successful, that I can’t be like the white kids, but better,” he said. “My mother used to tell me to be 10 times better.” Lee’s talk centered on the idea that education helps erode ignorance and uplift culture. He criticized some black music and films as being degrading and uneducated. “Slavery was not that far back, and our ancestors were thought of as being less than human beings," he said. "We need to think about what our ancestors did.” The lecture, booked by Student Entertainment Events and co-sponsored by the Black Student Union, celebrated Black History Month. | |||||||||||
Sponsors “wanted people to come out and get a full glimpse of an influential African American,” said Black Student Union cabinet member Ike Uzoman.
Students attending appreciated the opportunity.
Freshman neurophysiology major Angela Byrd said she grew up watching Lee’s films and was curious to see what he would be like in person.
“He’s very influential,” said Alexa Pierre, a freshman studying marketing. “I admire his work, because it is very inspirational. I look up to him, and he’s a role model for me.”
Copyright © 2010 University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism