College Hill: Celebrity Edition returns for its third season on BET+, seamlessly picking up where it left off. This year, six fresh faces join the cast, eager to embark on their college journey at Xavier University of Louisiana, renowned as one of the nation's top HBCUs. The two-part premiere wasted no time diving into the drama, setting the stage for what appears to be a high-octane season that rivals the intensity of the previous two seasons of this spinoff.

Let's break down some of the best moments from the first episode, including Karlous Miller's contentious debate with his fellow castmembers in Political Science class.

It'll take a while to get used to this cast

The first two seasons of College Hill: Celebrity Edition had a roster of social media mainstays and intriguing characters. Season 1 had NeNe Leaks of Real Housewives of Atlanta fame and the ever dramatic Ray J. Season 2 boasted Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta's Joseline Hernandez, New York from her run on Flavor of Love & I Love New York, the often controversial Amber Rose. Season one had a level of charm and relatability amongst the cast that was endearing. Season 2 was hilarity from the moment that it premiered, and an altercation between Joseline Hernandez and Amber Rose only further intensified the intrigue.

Season 3 feels different in a way. Although I am unsure of the cast selection process, this ensemble lacks the endearing charm and compelling intrigue exhibited by their counterparts in the initial episode. If we characterize the Texas Southern cast as charming and the Alabama State cast as intriguing, season 3 at XULA thus far can be characterized as contentious.

Not even ten minutes into the first episode did we find out that Saucy Santana and Claudia Jordan have an issue that stems from Jordan's opposition to comments that Santana has said in the past and a rather contentious moment on a Love & Hip Hop reunion hosted by Jordan. With how the first two seasons have gone, they might end up talking out their issues and finding common ground. However, none of the celebrities from previous seasons appear to have had conflicts upon entering the house, except for Stacy Dash, who was more of a special guest than a castmate in the inaugural season.

Angela White (formerly known as Blacc Chyna) not knowing who Karlous Miller is when he's one of the hottest comedians in the industry right now. I guess it makes sense as Miller didn't appear on the episode of Wild N' Out that she was on in 2020 but it was still interesting nonetheless. Miller's first impression didn't go over that well, as he immediately started to give his unsolicited opinion on the Catholic religion after Jordan said she was raised Catholic. That didn't go over well with White at all.

There's still several episodes left so we'll see how these cast members bond with each other. But, it is surely a different vibe this season.

Claudia Jordan is already embracing the HBCU experience

One of my favorite parts of this episode is Claudia Jordan speaking about how she has always wanted to attend an HBCU and it seems as if she, more than anyone else, will truly embrace this experience. In her initial confession, she mentioned attending a non-HBCU in Cleveland that lacked diversity. She wished she had attended an HBCU instead, believing she could have gained deeper insights into black culture there.

Upon arriving at Xavier University of Louisiana's campus, the cast member reappears in a confessional, exuding joy as she relishes the opportunity to embrace the HBCU experience. She enthusiastically encourages everyone to partake in an HBCU orientation, saying  that the experience would make prospective students want to attend.

This leads me to believe that Claudia is on the fast track to be the valedictorian of her class. It doesn't seem as if she's on the show just to play games but to get the HBCU experience that she never had. Also of note, she was one of the main people I saw paying attention in her first classes and taking notes. I think she's going to really shine on this season, especially in the political science course as she's shown a penchant for politics and government in her advocacy.

“We’re supposed to be One Band, One Sound!”

Saucy Santana has to get it together he wants to graduate from this program because XULA isn't playing around with the cast. Being late to orientation and your first day of classes, of all things, is not the way to go if you really aim to take this experience seriously. Santana hilariously showed up to campus late and expressed that he thought that his other castmates would wait, evoking the classic 2002 HBCU movie Drumline by saying, “We're supposed to be one band, one sound!”

I think Saucy Santana should watch that movie again. Dr. Lee was expressing that the band members at Atlanta A&T should be cultivating a close relationship amongst one another, stressing accountability as one of the his keys to success. That does indeed ring true amongst several organizations on HBCU campuses but, at the end of the day, you're an adult. We look out for each other but a key tenant of being grown is standing on your own two feet and handling business.

College insulates us from the “real world” but we still have the real opportunity to fail. Santana is walking that thin line and I hope he gets it together. He can easily end up in Ray J's spot from Season 1 and show up in the next season still searching for his certificate.

Angela White's growth journey will be interesting to see

I honestly believe that my favorite part of the series will be seeing Angela White's growth journey on the show. She seems very committed to her personal growth and her sobriety journey, as she explained in her conversation with Tamar Braxton and Claudia Jordan. College is a place of self-discovery. The person that you are your freshman year isn't the same person that you are walking across the stage. I think White can have a similar experience as she goes through this experience, as we've seen it in previous seasons.

One of my favorite storylines to follow in the previous two seasons of College Hill: Celebrity Edition was India Love's journey to find self-confidence and her voice. She started going to counseling sessions at Texas Southern and I appreciated her vulnerability in those moments as I believe that her doing that on the show had the ability to really help people. White's push to differentiate herself from her previous Blac Chyna persona will be compelling to watch and I think that she could possibly be in contention for valedictorian of her class with Jordan.

Karlous Miller on Homelessness

The most interesting portion of the episode was during the cast's first Political Science course. In the class with Dr. Russell Frazier, Xavier University of Louisiana's Department Chair of Political Science and Sociology, the class got their assignment which relates to homelessness. At the end of the class, they will be developing policy to address homelessness in Louisiana, writing a bill, and proposing it to a U.S. Congressman that is a XULA graduate. Some of the cast members were dumbfounded at their first homework assignment, a three-page paper about homelessness in Louisiana.

Dr. Frazier proceeded to lead a discussion about homelessness in Louisiana, speaking about how affluent residents ride by homeless individuals in the city and continue on with their lives. Karlous believes it's not the problem of wealthy people to address the problem. Initially when he was asked by Dr. Frazier why he believed that, he didn't give a straight answer. He continued to say “I don't.”

Tamar presses him on his opinion and he attempts to explain that the responsibility to address the issue is on the people who hold political offices and wield power. He then advocated for voting for politicians who can truly address the issue. Karlous's assertion isn't wrong, as local and state officials do have the power to aid in broadly reducing homelessness. But, civic engagement is on the constituents of a city or state just as much as it is on the elected leaders. Service doesn't stop with our vote, our vote is a tool to impact broader change.

Which, in itself, makes this class perfect for Karlous to engage in. Dr. Frazier's assignment puts the cast in the position to craft policy to directly affect the issue and present it to an elected leader. Claudia's pushback to Karlous partly resembles my thoughts but I don't believe that he was disrupting the class. In college, specifically in courses such as political science, differing opinions are often debated. The class is meant to be a discussion forum for the topic at hand. If anything, the goal is to push the student to use logical thinking skills and research to come to their conclusion versus blind assertions not supported by fact.

What I hope Karlous can learn is how to better communicate and process his positions. Ponder over the facts, do research and then present your opinion. A part of me believes that he will look at the issue differently upon encountering local black residents that are homeless, as it looks as if we'll see later on in the season. But, this political science class will certainly be one of the classes that is central to the cast's experience at XULA.

Ready For What's Next

Overall, I'm excited to see what comes next this season. Although I think this cast lacks the charm and intrigue of the first two groups of celebrity students, I see numerous ways this season can offer an equally compelling insight into the academic and extracurricular HBCU experience. This is bound to further engage students with college life.

College Hill: Celebrity Edition Season 3 is available now on BET+.