September 8, 2025 • 13 mins
The Strawberry Letter, heard on The Steve Harvey Morning Show, Monday, September 8th, 2025. Subject: "On Campus, Clowning"
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It is time now for today's Strawberry Letter, and if
you need advice on relationships, work, sex, parenting, and more,
please submit your Strawberry Letter to STEVEHARVFM dot com. All
you have to do is click submit Strawberry Letter. We
could be reading your letter live on the air, just
like we're going to read this one right here, right now,
and you never know, it could be yours.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
You never know. Buckle up and hold on tight. We
got it for you here. It is a Strawberry Letter.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Thank you. Nephew's subject on campus clowning. Dear Stephen Shirley,
I'm a single mother of an honor student that got
a full right scholarship to a predominantly white college in
the Northeast. We're southernersed and he was raised us with
Southern manners. He moved into the dorms and found out
he had a black roommate, and he was excited. His
(00:46):
roommate is a Northeasterner and he's a bit rough around
the edges. Within two months, my son used my credit
card to buy new clothes and he no longer said yes,
ma'am when we talked. He said that was slaved and
he wasn't with that. After four months on campus, I
got a call from the hall director at his dorm
(01:07):
because he and his roommate had been smoking wheat. He
said it was the first time trying it, and he
said he couldn't promise that he wouldn't do it again.
He also told me that he'd met a female and
she was mixed. I told him to send me a picture,
and he sent a selfie and she looked all white
to me. He's gotten in trouble for this girl being
(01:27):
in this room after curfew, and all I can do
is tell him to be careful. I didn't prepare my
son for this, but his street smart roommate is more
than happy to pick up the slack for me. He's
usually in the background on the phone, talking loudly and
using profanity while I'm trying to talk to my son.
(01:48):
Even though I felt my son didn't deserve it yet,
his father decided he could have his car on campus.
Two days after he got it, he and the girl
were caught having sex in the car. I let his
father handle that, and all I did was pray for him.
He is on campus clowning, and I don't know what
to do. He's not the young man I raised. His
(02:10):
father has told me it will all be fine as
long as our son's grades don't drop. Is this normal
or should I pop up often to see what he's
up to. It seems to me, Mom, one of the
problems you're having is the fact that he's from the
south and he's up north. Naturally, Yeah, you should worry
about him. You didn't raise them this way. I understand
(02:31):
your concern. I think you did a great job as
a mom and raised your son to the best of
your ability. I mean, there are no manuals, no instructions
on having kids and you know, raising them. We just
do the best we can, and most of the time
we bring them up in the way we were brought up,
or you know, sometimes even the opposite, But most of
the time we've raised our kids like we were raised
(02:51):
and we all want better for our kids, and you
did that. I mean he's an honor student with a
full right scholarship. Very again, I think you've done a
great job. Mom. You're a praying mother, so keep doing
what you're doing. As far as that's concern, and you've
got to stop worrying. I mean, yeah, he's Wilin at
school right now with this girl and in the car
(03:13):
that his father gave him having sex. And you know
what you don't want is for the school to make
any more phone calls. You don't want your son to
lose a scholarship. You don't want your son, you know,
for his grades to drop in all of that. So, yeah,
he does need supervision, but you know that's what kids
do when they go to college. You know, they don't
have that supervision, so they do. While I think it
(03:35):
would help in this situation if his father were more involved.
His father seems to think, ah, it's going to all
be fine, But I do think that his father should
have more of a presence. You know, maybe I don't
know how he was throughout his life. I see now
that he gave him a car to go to school,
but I think that would help if if you guys
(03:55):
had to sit down with your son and try to
talk to him and tell him what's at stake, you know,
what he could possibly lose, maybe he'll listen and you know,
get it together. I think you should talk to your
ex husband or your baby daddy, your son's father about
this because you definitely don't want any more calls from
school or your son to lose his scholarship because he's
(04:17):
up in the north Wiland Steve.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
This is a common problem. Yeah, this is a common letter.
This is a common situation. Take all the surprise out
for those of you that are about to send children
to college.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Take all the surprise out. Oh my god, how could he?
You know?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
He from the south. He done went up to the northeast.
I don't give it. My college was forty miles from
my house. Didn't have a thing to do with hours
of something that would.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Up north right, I.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Went straight buck why farty miles from my house with
all white roommates to the point where after the two
weeks was over, they was down there in line.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
I walked past. I saw them all in line.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
I say, hey, man, what y'all doing down here? They
looked all shame and stuff. They was in the room
change line. I ain't understand that way. I was too
much for them. The black dude was down there being black.
Somebody told me, when you go to Kent State, you're
gonna have these three white roommates. It's gonna be culture
shock for who it for me? So lady, I'm sorry,
(05:46):
you know he went to an all white university up north,
and then he's got excited when he found out his
roommate was black. Great, he's a bit rough around the
edges here, hood boy. Within two months, my son had
used my credit card to buy new clothes and he
no longer said yes, ma'am when we talk. He said
that was slave talk and he wasn't with that. That
(06:10):
would have gotten my lips swollen up to the size
of my head. I said yes, ma'am to my mama
till she passed. I don't know where slave talk came from.
This way, this way, you're gonna talk to your mama.
Now you call the slave talk or whatever you want to,
but that's why we're doing it. So just us better
get the slaves. That's what't don't come in here with
(06:34):
that message.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
We come back out straighten. This whole let out very.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Easy, all right, Steve, Thank you. Coming up at twenty
three minutes after the hour, part two of Steve's response
to the letter for today on campus Clowning. We'll be
back right after this. You're listening Steve Hardy Morning Show.
The leaves are changing. It's getting cool, and that means
(07:01):
fall respiratory seasons here, so we should do everything we
can to help protect ourselves, especially since our immune systems
weaken as we age. Vaccines help train and strengthen your
immune response to fight off certain respiratory illnesses like flu, neumacaco, pneumonia, RSV,
and COVID nineteen. Ask your doctor which vaccines you need
and visit vaxassists dot com. That's vaxassists dot com to
(07:24):
schedule one or more of vaccines today sponsored by Pfizer.
All right, come on, Steve. Let's recap today's strawberry letter.
The subject is on campus clowning.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
This lady's upset because she didn't sent her son to
college up north, all white University of full ride scholarship.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
He's an honor student.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
He gets excited because he has a black roommate, and
then he walks in and the black moon mate has
been a bad influence on him. So you think you
think is because you from the south and you to
send him up north. Like I said, I was forty
miles from my house and the same thing ain't happening here,
and they ain't had nothing. I went to college up
north and was in northern or from the south, so
(08:05):
I am this letter. But you know he said, you said,
when y'all talk, he don't say y yes, ma'am no
more because he say that slave talking.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
He ain't with that.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Well, okay, I don't know who you think paying for
all this help, you better get the slavery. After four
months on campus, I got a call from the hall
director in his dawn because he in his roommate had
been smoking weed. Oh lord, Now he said it was
his first time. But then he also told you he
can't promise you he ain't gonna do it again. So
(08:38):
now you little boy up there smoking weed. A lot
of people smoke weed. That's common. Mostly everybody in my
college smoked it. Yeah, it's all right, he'll be all right. Okay,
So now he's smoking weed, and he finished smoking again.
He also told you that he met a female. She
was mixed. You told him to send you a picture.
He sent you a selfie. She looked all white. To me,
(08:58):
it's because she is. She's white, mixed up with the
black dude, which is your son. That's what he meant
by mix She has mixed feelings about race. That's what
he meant about mixing. That's okay, he's dating a white girl.
That ain't no big deal. He's gotten in trouble for
this girl being in his room after curfew, and all
I can do is tell him to be careful. Yes, ma'am,
(09:20):
that's all you can tell me. I didn't prepare my
son for this, but his street street, street smart roommate
is more than happy to pick up the slack for me. Well,
let's thank God for the for the roommate. Then see
you mad at the roommate. But you just said he
picking up slack because you didn't prepare your son for
none of this. Matter of fact, you sheltered him, and
(09:43):
thus the problem we have. You have a sheltered child
that the winter college and now he get to do
like he wanted to do. You cannot shelter these children, folks,
because when you let them out the gate, when you
do open the gate, they gone. You ain't gonna be
able to find him in the field when you keep
him locked in. I had a partner named Butcher Boy.
When he got to college, he was everything whoa this
(10:07):
boy was man, he's a well he went to Central
State movement with to Kent State. Going to see him
was wonderful. Then he went to Ohio State. I just
loved going to see this boy. He had so much
stuff going on, the girls that was in his room.
I just was just thanking the Lord for him. Anyway,
he's usually on the background of his phone talking loudly
(10:28):
and using profanity while I'm.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Trying to talk to my son. This is the roommate.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
And even though I felt my son didn't deserve it yet,
his father decided he could have his car on campus.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
That was a mistake.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Two days after he got it, he and the girl
were caught having sex in the car. Well, okay, what
did you think he was gonna do with the car? See,
in college, it ain't just a car. It ain't just transportation.
(11:02):
It's a motor inn harb, it's a motor en. It's larger,
it's everything. I let his father handle that, and all
I did was pray for him. There you go, he's
on campus clowning, and I don't know what to do.
(11:23):
This is not the young man I raised. It is
it is a young man you raised. Except you raised
him and you sheltered him. So now this is what
this is what you This is the result of the sheltering.
See when you ain't there to watch him. He get
to do what he want to do. So he been
thinking all this stuff while he was in high school.
He just got a chance to do it now. And
he like white girls too. He knew that back in
(11:46):
high school. He went right on up there and got anymore.
Ain't nothing wrong with that. Let that boy live. It's
gonna be all right.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Huh.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
His father has told me it all be fine as
long as our son's grade don't drop. Now that's where
the daddy wrong at, because you don't think your graves
going to take a drop. You saying the mistaken about
this right now? You all out here having sex in
a car, smoking weed. All this is too new to you.
You don't even know how. He don't even know how
to place this stuff into proper order. He having sex,
he got breaking curfew, smoking weed, cussing. He don't like
(12:19):
slave talk no more. You ain't, yes, ma'am. At first
report card y'all got, could you send it to me?
Because I promise you he Jay, he ain't nothing but love.
Steve Harvey.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
You want to see his gpa. Yeah, it's gonna be bad.
It's gonna be bad for a minute.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
Then he gonna get hisself together when you see his
future slipping out the butter. So he's gonna go through
this phase, he's gonna get in a little bit of trouble.
He might even get on academic pro. But just hard
to go from honor roll to academic pro. It was
very easy for me. I was a C student in
high school. He immediately went to a very low D
in college. Immediately that immediately I went to a very
(12:59):
low in college. Fought like a dog. You well, I'm
just who this letter is. Yeah, tell you Shire College.
You got to get that academic probation put on you
for you make the jests. You realize you ain't coming back.
They put it on me so many times. Finally they
(13:19):
just sent a letter to the house say hey man,
please please don't bring you up.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Thank you. Please leave your comments on Today's Strawberry Letter
on Instagram and Facebook at Steve Harvey FM and check
out the Strawberry Letter podcast on demand as well. You're
listening to the Steve Harvey Morning Show
It is time now for today's Strawberry Letter, and if
you need advice on relationships, work, sex, parenting, and more,
please submit your Strawberry Letter to STEVEHARVFM dot com. All
you have to do is click submit Strawberry Letter. We
could be reading your letter live on the air, just
like we're going to read this one right here, right now,
and you never know, it could be yours.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
You never know. Buckle up and hold on tight. We
got it for you here. It is a Strawberry Letter.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Thank you. Nephew's subject on campus clowning. Dear Stephen Shirley,
I'm a single mother of an honor student that got
a full right scholarship to a predominantly white college in
the Northeast. We're southernersed and he was raised us with
Southern manners. He moved into the dorms and found out
he had a black roommate, and he was excited. His
(00:46):
roommate is a Northeasterner and he's a bit rough around
the edges. Within two months, my son used my credit
card to buy new clothes and he no longer said yes,
ma'am when we talked. He said that was slaved and
he wasn't with that. After four months on campus, I
got a call from the hall director at his dorm
(01:07):
because he and his roommate had been smoking wheat. He
said it was the first time trying it, and he
said he couldn't promise that he wouldn't do it again.
He also told me that he'd met a female and
she was mixed. I told him to send me a picture,
and he sent a selfie and she looked all white
to me. He's gotten in trouble for this girl being
(01:27):
in this room after curfew, and all I can do
is tell him to be careful. I didn't prepare my
son for this, but his street smart roommate is more
than happy to pick up the slack for me. He's
usually in the background on the phone, talking loudly and
using profanity while I'm trying to talk to my son.
(01:48):
Even though I felt my son didn't deserve it yet,
his father decided he could have his car on campus.
Two days after he got it, he and the girl
were caught having sex in the car. I let his
father handle that, and all I did was pray for him.
He is on campus clowning, and I don't know what
to do. He's not the young man I raised. His
(02:10):
father has told me it will all be fine as
long as our son's grades don't drop. Is this normal
or should I pop up often to see what he's
up to. It seems to me, Mom, one of the
problems you're having is the fact that he's from the
south and he's up north. Naturally, Yeah, you should worry
about him. You didn't raise them this way. I understand
(02:31):
your concern. I think you did a great job as
a mom and raised your son to the best of
your ability. I mean, there are no manuals, no instructions
on having kids and you know, raising them. We just
do the best we can, and most of the time
we bring them up in the way we were brought up,
or you know, sometimes even the opposite, But most of
the time we've raised our kids like we were raised
(02:51):
and we all want better for our kids, and you
did that. I mean he's an honor student with a
full right scholarship. Very again, I think you've done a
great job. Mom. You're a praying mother, so keep doing
what you're doing. As far as that's concern, and you've
got to stop worrying. I mean, yeah, he's Wilin at
school right now with this girl and in the car
(03:13):
that his father gave him having sex. And you know
what you don't want is for the school to make
any more phone calls. You don't want your son to
lose a scholarship. You don't want your son, you know,
for his grades to drop in all of that. So, yeah,
he does need supervision, but you know that's what kids
do when they go to college. You know, they don't
have that supervision, so they do. While I think it
(03:35):
would help in this situation if his father were more involved.
His father seems to think, ah, it's going to all
be fine, But I do think that his father should
have more of a presence. You know, maybe I don't
know how he was throughout his life. I see now
that he gave him a car to go to school,
but I think that would help if if you guys
(03:55):
had to sit down with your son and try to
talk to him and tell him what's at stake, you know,
what he could possibly lose, maybe he'll listen and you know,
get it together. I think you should talk to your
ex husband or your baby daddy, your son's father about
this because you definitely don't want any more calls from
school or your son to lose his scholarship because he's
(04:17):
up in the north Wiland Steve.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
This is a common problem. Yeah, this is a common letter.
This is a common situation. Take all the surprise out
for those of you that are about to send children
to college.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Take all the surprise out. Oh my god, how could he?
You know?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
He from the south. He done went up to the northeast.
I don't give it. My college was forty miles from
my house. Didn't have a thing to do with hours
of something that would.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Up north right, I.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Went straight buck why farty miles from my house with
all white roommates to the point where after the two
weeks was over, they was down there in line.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
I walked past. I saw them all in line.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
I say, hey, man, what y'all doing down here? They
looked all shame and stuff. They was in the room
change line. I ain't understand that way. I was too
much for them. The black dude was down there being black.
Somebody told me, when you go to Kent State, you're
gonna have these three white roommates. It's gonna be culture
shock for who it for me? So lady, I'm sorry,
(05:46):
you know he went to an all white university up north,
and then he's got excited when he found out his
roommate was black. Great, he's a bit rough around the
edges here, hood boy. Within two months, my son had
used my credit card to buy new clothes and he
no longer said yes, ma'am when we talk. He said
that was slave talk and he wasn't with that. That
(06:10):
would have gotten my lips swollen up to the size
of my head. I said yes, ma'am to my mama
till she passed. I don't know where slave talk came from.
This way, this way, you're gonna talk to your mama.
Now you call the slave talk or whatever you want to,
but that's why we're doing it. So just us better
get the slaves. That's what't don't come in here with
(06:34):
that message.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
We come back out straighten. This whole let out very.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Easy, all right, Steve, Thank you. Coming up at twenty
three minutes after the hour, part two of Steve's response
to the letter for today on campus Clowning. We'll be
back right after this. You're listening Steve Hardy Morning Show.
The leaves are changing. It's getting cool, and that means
(07:01):
fall respiratory seasons here, so we should do everything we
can to help protect ourselves, especially since our immune systems
weaken as we age. Vaccines help train and strengthen your
immune response to fight off certain respiratory illnesses like flu, neumacaco, pneumonia, RSV,
and COVID nineteen. Ask your doctor which vaccines you need
and visit vaxassists dot com. That's vaxassists dot com to
(07:24):
schedule one or more of vaccines today sponsored by Pfizer.
All right, come on, Steve. Let's recap today's strawberry letter.
The subject is on campus clowning.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
This lady's upset because she didn't sent her son to
college up north, all white University of full ride scholarship.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
He's an honor student.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
He gets excited because he has a black roommate, and
then he walks in and the black moon mate has
been a bad influence on him. So you think you
think is because you from the south and you to
send him up north. Like I said, I was forty
miles from my house and the same thing ain't happening here,
and they ain't had nothing. I went to college up
north and was in northern or from the south, so
(08:05):
I am this letter. But you know he said, you said,
when y'all talk, he don't say y yes, ma'am no
more because he say that slave talking.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
He ain't with that.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Well, okay, I don't know who you think paying for
all this help, you better get the slavery. After four
months on campus, I got a call from the hall
director in his dawn because he in his roommate had
been smoking weed. Oh lord, Now he said it was
his first time. But then he also told you he
can't promise you he ain't gonna do it again. So
(08:38):
now you little boy up there smoking weed. A lot
of people smoke weed. That's common. Mostly everybody in my
college smoked it. Yeah, it's all right, he'll be all right. Okay,
So now he's smoking weed, and he finished smoking again.
He also told you that he met a female. She
was mixed. You told him to send you a picture.
He sent you a selfie. She looked all white. To me,
(08:58):
it's because she is. She's white, mixed up with the
black dude, which is your son. That's what he meant
by mix She has mixed feelings about race. That's what
he meant about mixing. That's okay, he's dating a white girl.
That ain't no big deal. He's gotten in trouble for
this girl being in his room after curfew, and all
I can do is tell him to be careful. Yes, ma'am,
(09:20):
that's all you can tell me. I didn't prepare my
son for this, but his street street, street smart roommate
is more than happy to pick up the slack for me. Well,
let's thank God for the for the roommate. Then see
you mad at the roommate. But you just said he
picking up slack because you didn't prepare your son for
none of this. Matter of fact, you sheltered him, and
(09:43):
thus the problem we have. You have a sheltered child
that the winter college and now he get to do
like he wanted to do. You cannot shelter these children, folks,
because when you let them out the gate, when you
do open the gate, they gone. You ain't gonna be
able to find him in the field when you keep
him locked in. I had a partner named Butcher Boy.
When he got to college, he was everything whoa this
(10:07):
boy was man, he's a well he went to Central
State movement with to Kent State. Going to see him
was wonderful. Then he went to Ohio State. I just
loved going to see this boy. He had so much
stuff going on, the girls that was in his room.
I just was just thanking the Lord for him. Anyway,
he's usually on the background of his phone talking loudly
(10:28):
and using profanity while I'm.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Trying to talk to my son. This is the roommate.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
And even though I felt my son didn't deserve it yet,
his father decided he could have his car on campus.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
That was a mistake.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Two days after he got it, he and the girl
were caught having sex in the car. Well, okay, what
did you think he was gonna do with the car? See,
in college, it ain't just a car. It ain't just transportation.
(11:02):
It's a motor inn harb, it's a motor en. It's larger,
it's everything. I let his father handle that, and all
I did was pray for him. There you go, he's
on campus clowning, and I don't know what to do.
(11:23):
This is not the young man I raised. It is
it is a young man you raised. Except you raised
him and you sheltered him. So now this is what
this is what you This is the result of the sheltering.
See when you ain't there to watch him. He get
to do what he want to do. So he been
thinking all this stuff while he was in high school.
He just got a chance to do it now. And
he like white girls too. He knew that back in
(11:46):
high school. He went right on up there and got anymore.
Ain't nothing wrong with that. Let that boy live. It's
gonna be all right.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Huh.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
His father has told me it all be fine as
long as our son's grade don't drop. Now that's where
the daddy wrong at, because you don't think your graves
going to take a drop. You saying the mistaken about
this right now? You all out here having sex in
a car, smoking weed. All this is too new to you.
You don't even know how. He don't even know how
to place this stuff into proper order. He having sex,
he got breaking curfew, smoking weed, cussing. He don't like
(12:19):
slave talk no more. You ain't, yes, ma'am. At first
report card y'all got, could you send it to me?
Because I promise you he Jay, he ain't nothing but love.
Steve Harvey.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
You want to see his gpa. Yeah, it's gonna be bad.
It's gonna be bad for a minute.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
Then he gonna get hisself together when you see his
future slipping out the butter. So he's gonna go through
this phase, he's gonna get in a little bit of trouble.
He might even get on academic pro. But just hard
to go from honor roll to academic pro. It was
very easy for me. I was a C student in
high school. He immediately went to a very low D
in college. Immediately that immediately I went to a very
(12:59):
low in college. Fought like a dog. You well, I'm
just who this letter is. Yeah, tell you Shire College.
You got to get that academic probation put on you
for you make the jests. You realize you ain't coming back.
They put it on me so many times. Finally they
(13:19):
just sent a letter to the house say hey man,
please please don't bring you up.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
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