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Howard University is one of the most respected HBCU’s. The University can boast of the accomplishments of alumni like Sean “Diddy” Combs, Taraji P. Henson, Toni Morrison, Stokely Carmichael and others.
Hats off to those folks, but undergraduates at Howard are pissed.
So much so that protests broke out on campus last week, over some issues that students are demanding to be fixed.
Student-led demonstrations railed against some faculty members and their handling of housing issues like musty dorm rooms with rats, while others had significant issues with their financial aid.
Howard is feeling the pain. According to The Washington Post, the University’s credit has been downgraded three times over the last three years.
Layoffs have had a direct impact on the 10,000 students who attend the school. The students also used social media to air their grievances using the hashtag #takebackHU.
The reaction from social media forced President Wayne A. I. Frederick to call an emergency meeting with students.
Frederick has since set up a temporary Help Center to help those in need. Students at Howard could be waiting a long time for their problems to be fixed.
While the temporary plans to help students will be beneficial for the short-term, the broader answers are not clear.
Officials for Howard admitted that their infrastructure problems would require long-term solutions, including leveraging the University’s real estate assets.
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