As a student at NKU from 1996-1999, the Northern was too afraid to tell my story, so I am telling it to this years commencement speaker: Mr. Dean Kamen in hope that he will cancel his visit.

I had returned to college after suffering a heart attack in my police cruiser. In the process I learned that I was Learning Disabled and then only later as a Junior to suffer a stroke.

As an older African descendant in his late 30’s, I was old enough to recognize B.S. when I saw it. That B.S. equaled to about (30) plus disability and civil rights violations.

When the discriminatory conduct was too much too tolerate, I hired an attorney but not before being warned by a faculty member. I was told, if I sued, the school would retaliate.

So, as my father, a man with only a 3rd grade education laid dying of terminal cancer, I was desperately trying to become the first and only male in the Jackson / Redd bloodline to earn a 4-year degree.

I hired the attorney, the school was put on notice and every professor failed me that semester, resulting in delaying graduation until spring. My father dyed that fall.

So, after over (20) plus years and (7) universities later, trying to earn a degree and desperately looking forward to walking down the processional, I instead boycotted the graduation ceremony in protest and no one knew why.

The school has never bothered to talk with me and I still owe the attorney over $10,000 as I continue to make request from other universities to bestow on me an Honorary Degree just so I can enjoy the benefit of the public ceremony that I certainly believe I earned.

After all, I graduated: Spring 1999