"If you don't believe in the Philosophy of Reparations, you are part of the problem," Tyrone Ferguson said boldly. The big and tall, handsome black male student looked at Professor Donna Stellenbosch and smiled. He seemed absolutely sure of himself. The tall and chubby, red-haired and green-eyed, fifty-something white woman shook her head. A native of Cape Town, South Africa, Professor Donna Stellenbosch is spending a semester teaching at UMass-Boston and it has been challenging to say the least. The wanton liberalism in Massachusetts higher education irks her sensibilities...
"Duly noted," Professor Donna Stellenbosch said, sighing. Tyrone Ferguson smiled smugly and then sat down. He said what he had to say and did not care what anyone thought of him. The other students gathered in the classroom exchanged bemused and perhaps confused looks. Professor Donna Stellenbosch is new to the UMass-Boston campus and the City of Boston itself but she does not seem like the type to tolerate bullshit from students. She kind of looked like the big female lawyer from that old television series The Practice. Professor Donna Stellenbosch means business. Tyrone Ferguson is the kind of brother who likes to skate on thin ice. Why does the professor tolerate his bullshit?
"Fight the power," said Tyrone's classmate and ex-girlfriend Shayna Billings. Tyrone smiled at Shayna as she drew near. Always good to see this cutie. The short, thick and dark-skinned young African American woman bumped fists with Tyrone as they exited the classroom together. Professor Donna Stellenbosch looked at Tyrone and Shayna as they left the classroom with their fellow students. At the start of the semester, Tyrone and Shayna were tight but then they split and somehow remained friends. Some people simply never learn their lessons.
Professor Donna Stellenbosch was the last person to exit the classroom. Walking through the ever-crowded UMass-Boston campus, she headed for the nearby MBTA Train Station. She caught the train headed towards downtown Boston. Upon arriving downtown, the Professor got off at Back Bay Station. The streets of Copley were packed with business people, college students and others. It is one of Boston's busiest streets. The Copley branch of the Boston Public Library is as popular as ever, and the same can be said for the Copley Mall.
"Home sweet home," Donna Stellenbosch said to herself as she headed toward Commonwealth Avenue. In the early 2000s, as a young woman, Donna Stellenbosch once lived on Commonwealth Avenue in a townhouse shared by students from various schools including Bay State College, Fysher College, Suffolk University and Northeastern University. Fast forward a couple of decades, and the student-occupied townhouse was now a real estate company. Bay State College closed a while ago due to bad business and poor management. Donna was renting a room in the building across the street from the now-closed campus. How life changes.
