On college campuses these days, you'll find all manner of questionable attire. From pajama bottoms to oversized shorts to skirts short enough to leave nothing to the imagination, the college student wardrobe is less than impressive.

At N.C. Central University, Chancellor Charlie Nelms and other campus leaders want to change things by sending a firm message about acceptable dress.

I spoke several students for today's story who said they agreed, at least in concept, with Nelms' desire that they dress better and present themselves in a more professional manner.

Some excused sloppy dress, saying they couldn't afford better clothes.

But others, like stuent Gary Hodges, don't buy that argument.  Hodges has no problem dressing up and doesn’t mind spending a few bucks on nice clothes, either. For business students, spiffy suits are school supplies.

“You can get a suit from a discounter for $50,” said Hodges, a senior who lives in Durham. “Students would spend fifty bucks at the movies and the shopping mall buying stuff they don’t need, so I don’t think it’s a hardship.”

What do you think?

From the weekend: Coverage of N.C. Central University's two-day symposium last week that analyzed the future of the country's black colleges and universities.

Some interesting stuff, including Penn researcher Marybeth Gasman's challenge to HBCUs to step up private fundraising efforts.

Though being more aggressive is a big part of it, Gasman argued that these institutions have historically put far too little infrastructure in place. Invest more heavily, she urged them, in fundraising technology - databases and computer programs that help identify, sort and catalog wealthy alums. It may pay off.

Here's the story.

A two-day symposium on the future of historically black colleges and universities was highlighted today by a spirited presentation from Marybeth Gasman, a University of Pennsylvania professor who focuses her research on HBCUs.

In a wide-ranging report on the ways HBCUs can snag more resources, Gasman prodded the leaders of these institutions to beef up their private fundraising.

Doing so requires a culture shift, Gasman implored, noting that many alums of HBCUs in North Carolina and elsewhere are infrequently, if ever, approached about donating money.

Historically white institutions, in contrast, talk it up immediately.

"You have to instill a culture of philanthropic giving in your students when they are students," Gasman said. "Every student needs to know why they are there, how they got there, and who funded them."

Gasman, who has interviewed hundreds of alums of HBCUs over the years, dispels the notion that African-Americans don't want to give back. In fact, as a racial group, they give more than any other, she said. 

But they have to be approached first.

"If you don't ask, people don't give," she said.

Gasman's panel at the N.C. Central University-sponsored symposium examined funding. Other panels looked at community engagement, leadership, curriculum diversification and student issues.

 Its keynote address was authored Thursday by Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education. He challenged HBCU leaders to play a key role in improving the nation's percentage of college graduates. President Obama wants the USA to lead the world in the percentage of college graduates by 2020.

"That goal is our North Star," Duncan told the hundreds in attendance Thursday. "HBCUs must not just survive, but thrive. Education is meant to be the great equalizer. It shouldn't matter your race or zip code. Equal education is the civil rights fight of our era."

For more on the HBCU symposium, read Saturday's News & Observer.