On Friday, over 300 Howard University students crowded the administration building, protesting problems with on-campus housing, delays in financial aid payments and other administration policies. The group also threatened a sit-in before they were turned away from the doors.
Students say they received a text message Thursday night telling them to wear all black and join the protest. Kristopher Owens, a junior advertising major who organized the protest, said it all started when he attempted to have information processed in the administration building earlier this year. He was told that he would have to make an appointment and wouldn’t be able to get one until September 9, although classes started over a week ago. Sitting in class one day, he decided “enough is enough”.
For more on the protest and an interview with Owens, visit I’m Keeping Up.
Its great to see young ppl standing up for what they believe in. I support my bros & sis’ @ Howard, and although I attend Hampton U, I respect this major step they’ve taken for their student rights!
Ayyyyyy we the bisons!
Good For Them
I’m Happy to See this!!
They are doing the right thing. People of color have a rich history that includes us standing up for what we believe is right. I am thrilled to see a young generation taking a stand!
Thats whats up. Sometimes we as ppl have to put our foot down and stand up for what we believe in.
i agree
I like the fact that students are stepping up. Sucks when schools don’t function properly. It takes away from their education
What they do to ‘our’ people. It is good to see them stand up for what is not right against them. But they will be sending ‘black leaders’ in, to calm the storm and keep and eye on these kids. But, I hope these students get what is owed to them.
“Hell No, We Won’t Go!”
That’s what I’m talking about.
that’ what i’m talking about, things never change unless you make them!
there is nothing worse than being a prepared student and having to deal with an uprofessional school that just doesn’t have it together. i hope that this sends a message to all these colleges and universities that have been screwing students over. stay encouraged howard students. many know your pain. you all are standing up and speaking up for that which is right. keep standing ya’ll!
Howard has always had administrative issues, but then again so do most HBCU’s.
Once again, go to a real university.
(UCLA)
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HBCU’s are notorious for this type of ineptitude. This is unfortunately the reason that I chose to go to a “mainstream” university. Sigh.
@ 13… you are ignorant and don’t speak what you don’t know! Do you know how many successful african americans went from Howard?? Debbie Allen, Marlon Wayons, Thurgood Marshall, Adrian Fenty (mayor of dc), Lala vasquez, Toni Morrison, Zora Neal Hurston (you probably don’t even know who that is), Omar Tyree, Sean “diddy” combs, Kenny Lattimore, Ossie Davis, Phylicia Rashad, Ananda Lewis… I could go on all day!
Thank you concreteloop for posting this…. Howard is a great school but there are some changes that NEEDS to be made.
I wish we would have a protest at my school.. we students have rights too…especially with the amount of money we pay to go to school!! thankfully we finally received our refunds.. a few days after rent was due
Well how backed up could they be if a student has to make an appointment to take care of some important business. They don’t tell you need an appointment when it’s time to pay that tuition. I went to Bethune Cookman as soon as I graduated high school. I left on a plane to Florida and was back home the next week. Not only were the administrators rude and unprofessional but the student body was mean and nasty. I have never encountered so many nasty black people in my life. I told the dorm monitor that I was leaving the school and her reply was “Why, too many black people here?”. There were fights, shootings and folks making out in public. This was BEFORE classes started. They called all the freshmen “crabs”. I never felt welcomed there. It was horrible. I wasn’t getting out of that hell hole fast enough. When I came back home I could have kissed the ground.
Thank God my mother bought me a round-trip ticket.
@ myopia…. wow I know what you mean but I thank GOD Howard isn’t like that except for the rude administrators part. You have NO idea how long you have to wait for an appointment during registration week!! Look up “you know you go to howard when…” group on facebook. Funny stuff but true
the real HU!!!!! Bout time something happened
My older brother graduated from HOWARD,and I must say that he got a very good education there.
Administrative red tape can drive you crazy,but it`s just about everywhere,even at my college which is not a historically black school.
Great! I heard Diddy was there too!
LOL @ folks and their fake-ass protests…#13 i’m soooooooooooooooooooooooooo mad at you. whew!! literally fell out of my chair laughing.
#15…you and me both.
Yesss, gotta love my HU. Standing up for what we believe in. I just hope the A-building hears us out and FIXES the stuff we’re complaining about!
Sorry, but why is it that most of the HBU’s have financial trouble. I know some non-black schools have problems too, but it’s just a pattern through the years even before the economy woes. I mean it seems some fraud or bling bling is going on under the table with some of these administrators. Maybe they just need to hire an outside company to run the thang. It just looks bad just like most of the African countires are in famine and jacked upness. Just sayin, come on black people. And dont give me this racism crap, because this is black folk and black money and black money is powerful. And if you insist on racism, then what.
For all these folks putting down HBCU’s and telling folks to go to state schools, you need to do your research. This type of non sense is not just regulated to HBCU’s. I graduated from a state college and we had some of the same problems. Late financial aid, over crowded dorms and a sloppy administration. We never thought to protest, but now that I think about it we should have. And for the person that mentioned UCLA, you need to think again. I lived in LA in the 90s and graduated from high school in that city. Anybody from cali will tell you the UC system has toons of problems. The handful of black students at ucla stayed protesting one problem or another. For a time there were only 300 black students on that entire campus. The administration had only excepted a handful of african american freshman and it was the talk of the city. Needless to say those black students at UCLA shut westwood down!! They were protesting all over that school!!! So trust me when i tell you, no university is without flaw.
@ #18, Tooooooooooooo Funny. That’s how we do. Just mean as snakes to each other. Bet if a Ms Daisy came in there everybody would be oh so helpful. Why it gotta be like that….just……why………..???
off the subject. some of the best physicians have graduated from hbcu’s and traditional black medical colleges. perhaps, there grades and mcat scores were middle of the road. of course, we all know that great grades does not a great physician make. continue to support hbcus.
Trust me, even the athletes here at UCLA are smarter than the kids at HBCU’s. Go to a real f*cking university where your degree won’t be equivalent to a sheet of Charmin. These thugs and hoodrats should have gotten scholarships instead of GED’s.
↑ I wonder if UCLA would like the way you’re representing the university. Pure ignorance… If you don’t have anything good to say don’t say anything at all.
wow @ #30 waaaay too ignorant for me! lol What thugs and hoodrats are you referring to?? I can definitely assure you that there are NONE of them at howard! I got into Cal, Stanford, and a number of other cali schools (in the bay) out of high school but guess which one I picked… HOWARD! Oh and by the way graduate schools LOVES Howard students because they know we have great work ethic!
I went to a mainstream university and an HBCU, and for me the HBCU was WAY better. The love you get from the students and the faculty at an HBCU is so different than at a mainstream university. It was the best decision I made. Talk down about HBCU’s if you want to but I never had a hard time finding a job, unlike some of my friends who went to state schools. Jay-Z said it best ” You can pay for school, but you can’t buy class.”
@29 KEEPHOPEALIVE
My sister is one of them. She’s graduated from Howard medical school and she’s a wonderful doctor.
Why are they wearing “all black everything”…?
@33 Jmommy, I’m sure you can find someone better to quote.
@ 30 What the hell are you talking about. I grad. from FAMU. All schools have some issues, even the UCLA’s. The students are doing the right thing. The answer is to solve the problems not desert your history. Probably some administrators with your mentality on staff.
The reason HBCU’s have financial trouble is because alumni’s don’t give as much. If more alumni gave, they’d be in better shape.
It’s ridiculous, and I know this isn’t just an HBCU issue.
Went this ish all the time with NYU. Guess chick on the right missed the all black memo…supporting nonetheles
@Pierre
I obtained my GED ten years ago. Now, I’m working on my PhD. And here’s the kicker — I don’t go to an HBCU. Throws your theory out the window, doesn’t it?
BLACK PEOPLE ARE SOOO LAZY…NO WONDER HBCU’S HAVE PROBLEMS
I think historically black colleges/universities just don’t get the respect. That’s why they have so many problems on more than one level. I believe they are certainly looked down on by typical state colleges. Their accreditation is always threatened at some schools. It’s a mess.
That’s wassup. I support Howard U students!!!
Georgia State isn’t that bad, but they aren’t too much better.
…oh, please. Go to class!
Pierre, do you not know of some of the greatness that has come out of HBCUs? Charles Drew who discovered plasma could be used to store blood lead to the blood banks of the Red Cross? Thurgood Marshall graduated from our Law School! Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison. We strive for excellent at Howard University and our administration does not give us that so that is why we protested and will continue to do so.
The administrative issues usually occurs when the university is an at risk school, meaning when a large number of students don’t repay their loans it affects the way the school will receive their future grants and funds. Most of the defaults in loans occur because of employment. With the way our economy is heading right now, african americans remain to have the highest unemployment rate (hispanics are also in the lead).
very commendable.
I’m proud of these young black men and women standing up for what they believe is right. And to anyone who has anything derogatory to say about HBCUs, you are clearly ignorant. HBCUs were there to give black students an education when the PWIs (Predominantly White Institutions) prohibited us from getting an education at theirs.
Know what you speak about please.
I don’t care who attended an HBCU. They are still a joke to me. I would rather have my children withhold going to college than enroll in one.
@48 well, I hope that you and your children stay deprived of education forever then, you are already on the right track with the bogus statements you have been making.
The same thing thats going on at Howard is the same reason I decided never to attend a HBCU after my horrible encounter with the financial aid office, advisors and so on at FAMU. So I went to FSU and recieved a great college eduaction and know im at Harvard Law School. To me and many others it doesnt matter how many famous people comes from a HBCU and society eyes they will always be a joke. Maybe this is happening because I read in the new york times that the government is cutting funding to HBCUS.
The same thing thats going on at Howard is the same reason I decided never to attend a HBCU after my horrible encounter with the financial aid office, advisors and so on at FAMU. So I went to FSU and recieved a great college eduaction and know im at Harvard Law School. To me and many others it doesnt matter how many famous people comes from a HBCU and society eyes they will always be a joke. Maybe this is happening because I read in the new york times that the government is cutting funding to HBCUS.
Man I love to see my fellow peers stand up for what is right in the name of education. I dont go to a HBCU so I really dont know if these only go on at HBCUS but I heard from plenty of my friends who do go to HBCU like FAMU, CAU, JSU,BCU,and NSU that their financial aid gets messed with and so on.At my school they always have there shit together on time and all. Go gators were #1 and were coming back for that back to back championship. UF’11 babi
Hampton University goes through the same thing. Hopefully this will make our students rise up. The business office doesn’t even answer the phone when you call. They hire lazy black people. I worked in their administration office and these people are lazy. They need to be lucky they got a job in this economy. Mad unprofessional.
COME ON KNOW WHERES THE FREAKIN ALUMNI AND GRADUATES OF THE HBCUS THAT NEED TO PAY BACK THERE LOANS AND ALL. IF THEY DID SHIT LIKE THIS WONT BE HAPPENING AT ALL. I KNOW THAT PLENTY OF ALUMNI FROM HBCUS GO ON TO HAVE GREAT SUCCESS AND ALL SO THEY ASSES NEED TO LEARN TO CONTRIBUTE BACK TO THE SCHOOL THAT GAVE THEM THAT DEGREE WHICH GOT THEM OUT THERE TO BECOME WHO THEY ARE. BECAUSE OF STUPID SHIT LIKE THIS IS WHY I LEFT NCA&T AFTER MY FRESHMEN YEAR AND TRANSFERED TO UGA. I NEVER HEARD OF THIS GOING ON AT PWI THEY USUALLY PROTEST FOR OTHER STUPID SHIT. ONLY AT HBCUS BUT I NEVER THOUGHT AT HOWARD BECAUSE I THOUGHT THEY HAD THERE STUFF IN ORDER. HOWARD NEED TO GET THERE SHIT IN ORDER SO THEY WONT BE LIKE THESE OTHER RAGGEDY HBCUS LIKE FAMU, NCA&T, NCCU, BCU, JSU, CAU, NSU, WVSU, AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON.
Get the Rev. A involved and he’ll solve the issues. Like always!
Now see this is a subject matter that pisses me off (as you’ll tell by my rant hopefully LMAO)
Procrastination is a major issue college-age students. I am not only a college graduate, but I am employed in the same system that I was a student dealing with. Processes of financial aid have changed some. but for the better, as well as the worse. But what I find is that many students still use the system of excuses, the “I didn’t know” or the “no one told me”. And when you look at their records and you see that they are not unadvised or ill-advised freshman. These are students who have been attending college for YEARS!! Not in every case, but in many that I have assisted, please just stop the madness or rather, stand up and get on the bandwagon and get your stuff together. Stop blaming others for your lack of effiency and effectiveness. Prioritize and plan well ahead bc the Validiation or verification process of your FAFSA info- initiated 95 % of the time by the U.S. Department of Education -is NOT going anywhere. Not as long as there are some people who try to abuse the aid system anyways. Loans ARE gonna go into default if you don’t pay them off duh. You can’t honestly believe that you can take your Fs from one college to the next or act like the F’s don’t exists and try to run away w/o the other school finding out. Pleasssssssseeeeee
My best advice: Don’t wake up and week or even a month BEFORE school begins and decide you want to go to school. Just be prepared to PAY for school out of your own pocket. AND guess what, school is not all about getting the financial aid money and running bc they will catch up with you. This gentleman said he started earlier in the year, if that is the case, I am very upset for him. But I would need to know more info on the situation.
**** While everyone else is Spring Breakin’ and Summer Jammin’ and ish, school is STILL open and processes are still happening. And although they are the only representation you see, don’t get upset with the administration. Often times, they are in the middle trying to help you. ***** and I welcome any debate on the subject, LOL
Whoooooh
Not saying that every administration aid students to have a positive outcome, but we all need to work together: students and administrators. Where’s the President of the SGA and the University’s President/ Chancellor? Wait a minute, did he ever speak to the director of the offices he was having concerns/issues with? is that who he was trying to meet with and he was given a sept. 9 date? There’s a chain of command and the lines of communication were broken down somewhere
Unfortunately, ineffective administrators are prevalent at many Historical Black Institutions. I attend FAMU and there are many issues i’ve heard about or have been involved in that were caused due to lack of professionalism. I was surprised to see this happening at a top rated HBCU like Howard. It felt that maybe my situation isn’t as bad as i thought it was. At the end of the day HBCUS do indeed produce effective citizens of society, regardless of the negativity. HBCUS were there when we didn’t have the advantage of getting the same education at NON BLACK institutions. We must continue to look at the positive aspects of each and every situation and not let the negativity hinder us from receiving an education. If the issues become to intense, STAND-UP and protest like the students HU! Continue to support our institutions!
There are always different sides to the same story; the key is communication and dialogue. I am very proud of my young sisters and brothers for standing up for what they believe to be an injustice, whether right or wrong it will start a dialogue that will inevitably bring about a solution.
I also attended an HBCU and a state university for graduate school and I didn’t have any problems with the administration at the HBCU at all. My experience was extremely pleasant at both schools.
***To the people that are trying to speak intelligence to the negative comments being made by certain people on this blog, don’t. It will not do any good; they are entitled to their opinion even when it is an ignorant one. More often than not they are just saying these things to get a rise out of you. In my opinion I would be willing to bet that they have never even seen the inside of a college HBCU, State, or Community. We all know that a college education teaches you to expand your thinking.