Source: The Washington Post / Getty
We are living in a new normal because of the COVID-19 pandemic that requires people to make sure they wash their hands for 20 seconds especially after touching a foreign handle, button, counter etc. etc., for people to wear masks out in public especially if they haven’t been vaccinated, wipe down areas with disinfectant wipes as well as spray disinfect to kill germs. These are the things that need to happen in order to return to living life pre-pandemic. So imagine how it must feel to be a college student that has to live in conditions that are unclean even by pre-pandemic standards in order to get a college diploma. According to students at Howard University that are now having a sit-in that’s exactly how they are living and no one is listening.
Mold, rats and roaches OH MY!!
Students began protesting at Howard University’s Armour J. Blackburn Center in early October, against unsafe housing conditions. Claims of mold, rats, roaches, and other unlivable conditions inside on-campus dormitories seemed unfathomable for the 154 year old Historical Black College in Washington, D.C. A group of students have led a sit-in called “The Blackburn Takeover” , spearheaded by The Live Movement organization, a national coalition of students that advocates for the advancement of Historically Black Colleges and University students. Recently during homecoming week at Howard University, campus security and university police stood in the doorway of the center to block protestors from entering and exiting the building. The incident was live streamed across social media, with many blasting the university’s leadership for worrying about the “wrong things” by having law enforcement show up to the protest, while refusing to answer calls to address the real issues on campus.
Howard University President Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick official statement does not believe that the protests are peaceful and their protesting is creating health and safety risks.
Take a look at the Howard University students video below.
Source: Radio One Digital
