Dorm Conditions At Howard Cause Revolt; Agreement Subsequently Reached

Miami FL

18 November, 2021

7:21 AM

Description

A Miami Times Staff Report, the Miami Times Nov 16, 2021 After a 34-day protest over major housing issues and administration transparency, Howard University students and officials announced Monday that they have reached an agreement. "While the specific terms of the agreement are confidential, it can be said without any hesitation that the students courageously journeyed on a path toward greater university accountability, transparency, and public safety," Donald Temple, a lawyer representing student demonstrators, said in a press conference. The agreement comes after 20 days of negotiations. Since Oct. 12, dozens of students were sleeping in tents outside the Armour J. Blackburn University Center to protest against mold, rats, roaches, pipe leakage, flooding and other issues reported in the dorms and other residential spaces on campus, leading to severe health concerns. Some students recounted horrific experiences of coughing up blood and even having allergic reactions, all of which they allege were caused by the dangerous housing conditions. Last month, a campus official confirmed to NBC News that mold was found in 38 dorm rooms out of a total of 2,700 rooms. "I pay $5,000 for mold in my dorm? I pay $5,000 for rats in my tunnels. I pay $5,000 for roaches everywhere I go? There are rats in the Annex, where we're supposed to eat — and that's just what I can see. I don't know what's going on in the kitchen back there," said a student who went by the name Ty during a press conference held Oct. 25 on campus, as reported by AFRO News. Protesting students had four demands, posted to The Live Movement's (the movement organizing the protests) social media: an in-person town hall with University President Dr. Wayne Frederick; the reinstatement of students, faculty and alumni on the board of trustees; and a meeting with university leaders to outline a housing plan to protect current and incoming students. The Blackburn protests, the longest in Howard's history, garnered national attention and even had civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King III, Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. William Barber II publicly support the students. Jackson was even hospitalized after falling and hitting his head while entering a campus building where he went to meet with the university's president and students. He returned to campus after he was discharged from the hospital. Students protesting the living conditions at the HBCU. (Via Instagram @_thelivemovement) In a statement released Monday, Frederick addressed the public about the ending of the month-long protests at one of the country's leading HBCUs. "The health and well-being of our students is the most important part of my job as president," the written statement reads. "We have so much more to accomplish together, and the future for all of Howard looks very bright." Within the statement, the president links the institution's "2020 campus master plan" that "speaks to our strategy to grow and invest in our beloved Hilltop, which will continue to improve the campus experiences for our students, faculty and staff." The Miami Times is the largest Black-owned newspaper in the south serving Miami's Black community since 1923. The award-winning weekly is frequently recognized as the best Black newspaper in the country by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.