" to determine the full impact of the series, it has become necessary to address the unintended consequences that has arisen early in this initiative.

"We have heard or received emails and calls that range from 'good for UVI,' amusement about the things that people do when they are young, and tolerance and concern of the behavior of young people today, to disappointment, shock, embarrassment for all concerned, disgust, and anger with the institution and the students for showing the vulgar side of life.

"Therefore, I take this opportunity to publicly state that I regret any discomfort the show has caused to our students, faculty, staff, alumni, or supporters.

According to Nielsen Media Research, more than 1.6 million viewers tuned in to watch the series premiere, which featured students Idesha Browne, Devon Luis, Andres St. Kitts and Vanessa Hamilton, all from the Virgin Islands; and Fallon Favors, Krystal Lee, Ja-ron Thompson and Willie McMiller, all from California.

At a March 17 meeting of the trustees, members said they had been notified of the decision to film the show at the university only after Ragster had signed the contract.

"I was absolutely horrified by the program," board member Wesley Williams Jr. told the Daily News. A public university has a role to educate the public as much as its students and not highlight modern society's base instincts, he was quoted as saying.

In addition to the full-page advertisements, Ragster has taken steps to prevent other universities from being presented as UVI has been. In conjunction with presidents from previous universities where "College Hill" was set, JoAnn Haysbert of Langston University and Eddie N. Moore Jr. of Virginia State University, Ragster is seeking a meeting with Viacom executives to discuss how African Americans are portrayed in the media. Viacom owns BET.

"There needs to be some sort of balanced approach in their programming, to include positives along with the negative. Right now, they seem to be only interested in the bottom line," Ragster told the V.I. Source, the student newspaper.

"As a social worker, counselor and someone who attended this university, it’s like the university was our mother and we allowed someone to come in and violate our children," Winifred Anthony-Todman, UVI Upward Bound coordinator, said.

Nicholas Lima, a junior psychology major, said, "The decision of a small group of people is going to affect a large group of people because now when people from the States see the name ‘University of the Virgin Islands,’ they are going to say, ‘Oh, that’s that crazy school!’"

During the fall semester, an Advertising and Promotional Strategy class taught by Lonnie Hudspeth, a business administration professor, undertook a campaign to make the university and the local community more aware of the nature of "College Hill" shows. They used posters, the Internet and the media.

Hudspeth said he was not aware of "College Hill" until students told him that UVI would be its academic setting. Students explained what took place in previous seasons, and that information prompted Hudspeth to incorporate what he called "active learning" to their feelings about the show.

"Our overall intent was to raise the level of awareness to students about the importance of projecting ourselves . . . because the powerful medium called media could project the UVI community in any way they wanted,” Hudspeth said.

Hudspeth picked Ivan Connor, a senior finance major and senior class president, to head the class project. Connor said he was "concerned that UVI would be portrayed in a negative light."

"They had bars, and the university is a dry campus. We don’t have co-ed living as [depicted] in the house. There is no visitation after midnight," he said.

One advertisement said, "Take pride in yourself and your University during this critical time. This may very be a defining moment in the legacy of UVI. The potential influence of this worldwide T.V. series on the image of our university is immense. Exposure of this magnitude can either make or break the image of our university."

“BET represents the merchandising and exploitation of stereotypical and oftentimes destructive behavior of black people for the benefit of profit,” he said.

In the first two episodes, there were displays of nudity and profanity, and sexual overtones. Cast members drank until becoming sick, and dared each other to become nude and to perform sexual acts.

According to Browne, many of the negative comments came because of "the timeline of the show." She said that scenes, specifically those in the first episodes, were not shown chronologically.

"A lot of negative comments that are made are about the timeline. People think everything happened so fast but those who lived in the house know how it happened," she said. "The show isn't about UVI. It's about eight students who live in a house and attend UVI."

"Most of the discontent was generated within the first hour, which was not unexpected . . . in a small community not used to having itself portrayed in any way on national TV,” Patrice Johnson, UVI public relations director, said.

"I am not at all unaware of what large conglomerates are involved in [in seeking] ratings and appealing to audiences, and so I think that BET has met its goal of attracting viewers," Johnson said.

Inquiries about admission to UVI quintupled after the show's premiere, according to Kathleen Pascal, administrative specialist in the admissions office.

"From the moment the show began at 11 p.m., until 5 a.m., students began sending in inquires," she said. "They were amazed that there was a university down here, and many of them said that they saw that thing on BET."

Pascal said that before "College Hill" arrived, she would get 25 inquiries on a normal day. After the premiere that number rose, on average, to 125.

"UVI has an enrollment problem and it brings attention to people who don’t know about UVI,” Dasch Underwood, a graduate student in public administration, said.

She said there was a waiting list of 100 students for the St. Thomas dorms during the fall semester, although the St. Croix dorms had a great deal of room.

"I don’t regret anything. If I could do it again I probably would do it," cast member Browne said. She said she was happy for the opportunity to refine her speaking skills and for the interaction with others.

Johnson, the UVI public relations director, agreed. "What people don’t realize is that we seldom get opportunities here in the territory to interact, observe and be a complete party to the level of professionalism these students have become privy to," she said.

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