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'Sold a dream': HBCUs struggle for funding, Howard University students protest

https://autos.yahoo.com/autos/sold-d...100028307.html

Quote:

Political science major Erica England returned to Howard University in 2018 after an eight-year hiatus, hoping to enjoy the university’s status as an elite historically Black school.

She soon realized she could barely keep up with tuition despite working full-time. Meanwhile, her life and studies were disrupted by what she and others describe as substandard housing – including roaches and rats, leaky pipes, cold showers and spotty Wi-Fi.

Now England, of Raleigh, North Carolina, is among more than 100 students conducting a sit-in at Howard’s student center in Washington, D.C., a demonstration that on Friday headed into its 11th day with students protesting living conditions and the elimination of representative seats for students, faculty and alumni from the school’s Board of Trustees.
.....

The protest comes at a time when historically Black colleges and universities are reeling from news that federal aid to historically black colleges and universities (HCBUs) will likely fall far short of expectations in President Joe Biden’s budget package. The president’s most recent proposal allocates $1.45 billion for the historically underfunded institutions, a number that could plummet further as Congressional negotiations over the Build Back Better plan proceed.

About one in eight Black students earn their bachelor’s degrees at one of the country's 107 HCBUs, whose large numbers of students from low-income households offer less tuition revenue and financial resources compared to other schools. But 40 percent of Black member of Congress attended HCBUs, as did Vice President Kamala Harris, a Howard University graduate; such schools produce 42 percent of Black engineers and 80 percent of Black judges.

This is disturbing.

We as a society seem to keep getting further and further away from the idea that a lot of these colleges were created to address social mobility. It’s not for football or a party or the best years of your life, but to allow people to move from one social class to the next.

We are failing those people if we continuously keep making schools unaffordable to the people who need them the most. I’ve spoken on here about my own school, in the PA State System or Higher Education...which was designed for the same purpose. When I attended, you could get through with modest debt and do okay in life. That was twenty years ago. Now, with the influx of all these special forms and food plans and bells and whistles, they’ve outpriced the same clientele they’re designed to serve.

As a lower income person attending college, there was NO safety net for someone like me in terms of food insecurity or housing issues. However, if I went out, got pregnant, dropped out of college and went back to get assistance...everyone would be willing to help me. We punish people who are trying to change their circumstances. IMO, NO ONE who is going to college should be living in a car!

I have the utmost respect for Howard, since it’s educated some of the people I respect most in life. I hope they get their shit together. These students deserve better.

Howard students reach agreement with university officials after month-long protest over poor housing conditions

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/15/us/ho...hed/index.html

Quote:

Students at Howard University have reached an agreement with university officials after a month-long protest over housing conditions on campus.

Wayne Frederick, the president of the historically Black college in Washington, DC, said Monday afternoon that the agreement between the school and the students who occupied Blackburn University Center over poor housing concerns is a "welcome step forward."

In a video message and letter posted on the school's website, Frederick said, "even one issue in one of our dormitories is too many, and we will continue to remain vigilant in our pledge to maintain safe and high-end housing."
.....
While not offering details on what the next steps are, Frederick said he will continue to "work collaboratively" to build a culture where the concerns of everyone are heard. He said he would share details "soon on our ideas that will address concerns and build a culture where all are heard."

IMO the words within the final paragraph of your quoted text above are so commonly spoken in so many situations today as to become nearly meaningless. Simply replace the name 'Frederick' with the name of any politician, educator, boss or authority figure who claims to want to "work collaboratively" etc with others they lead/serve.

You know you've read those words before, and how much or little help or lip service you've received from those who have spoken them.

Without helpful and prompt actions, taken in this situation by the proper authorities to help their students, these common and overused words will once again fail those who deserve help.