FAMU Gets On-Campus Barbershop

After more than a year of negotiations, Florida A&M University has a new on-campus barbershop and beauty salon -- the first time in more than a decade that a black-owned business has received a contract to open its doors on campus.

"It has taken a while to get all the details worked out," said Malik Miller, 24, a FAMU graduate and owner of the new business, The Rattler's Edge. "But it is definitely worth every bit of work that everyone's put in."

"We are extremely excited about this," said Vice President Virgil Miller. "Not only does it give alumni the opportunity to start their own business but it also gives us the chance to offer tangible services to the students that they will benefit greatly from."

Malik Miller got the idea for the shop in his freshman year.

"I wanted to be able to get a good cut between classes without having to travel far," he said.

The alumnus had been cutting hair for eight years but said he never knew his dream of an on-campus shop was possible until Andre Hammel, 2002-2003 student government president, was running for office.

One of the items on Hammel's platform was to offer students convenient services through an on-campus hair salon.

"As I traveled to other universities, I saw that a lot of other student unions worked to enhance the quality of life for their students," Hammel said. " I felt that FAMU deserved to have the same benefits."

Miller knew his chance had come when he learned Hammel shared similar views.

"That let me know that my vision was feasible," he said. "I talked to Andre about it and we had some of the same ideas in mind, so I took that opportunity and ran with it."

Adrienne Cheatham and Tiffany Pitts are students at Florida A&M University who write for The Famuan. Cheatham can be reached at [email protected] and Pitts at [email protected].

Posted Jan. 16, 2004