Photo by Astrid Riecken For The Washington Post via Getty Images
In case you haven’t heard, Howard University has been going through some major drama lately! School officials allegedly embezzled close to $1 million in financial aid funds from the university. Tyrone Hankerson, a student-employee who was accused stealing more than $400,000 in funds, has become the face of the scandal and is now suing the institution for $10 million, Complex reports. Hankerson claims he is innocent of the crime, but regardless students are upset and demanding change.
In response to the allegations, about 400 students took over the Administration Building, and occupied it for nine days straight! The protest finally ended last Friday. One of their main demands was for President Wayne A.I. Frederick’s resignation.
While that particular ultimatum was not considered, many other requests were honored. According to NPR, the major victories of the sit-in include an agreement by the Board of Trustees to consider freezing the undergraduate cost of tuition where it currently is, a reformation of the sexual assault policies, as well as a reexamination of the sufficiency of student housing on campus just to name a few!
“The Board agrees to establish a task force, co-chaired by a student, with representation from the Howard student body and Howard administration to review existing grievance mechanisms at the University, and best practices at other universities, and establishing a grievance system that holds faculty, administrators and students accountable in their language and actions towards anyone in the Howard community,” reads an official statement obtained by WUSA 9.
Students walked away from the demonstration with their heads held high. Check out the video below!
The bravery of the students is truly inspiring. They’ve displayed that taking a stand can actually make a difference!
TELL US: Do you think the agreement is fair?
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