From new buildings, upgrades to existing facilities, and neighborhood expansion, the university has seen drastic changes, and officials expect more to come.  

“Bethune used to be a parking lot,” said Robert Mitchell, class of 1980.  “Anything past Bethune was the hood. You had to catch the shuttle unless you were from D.C. or a track runner,” he said.  

According to the university’s Real Estate Development and Capital Asset Management page, at least 10 facilities on the campus have received updates ranging from computer labs and conference rooms to new furniture and laundry facilities.  

One of the newest additions to the campus is The Oliver, a mixed-use facility on Georgia Avenue that is both a dorm for some students and offices for faculty and staff.  

“This is the only building where that’s allowed,” said Jenelle Howard, director of development, institutional giving, business and law. Howard is one of the administrators with an office housed in the new building.   

Directly behind The Oliver, Howard Manor’s revitalization delivered “80 permanently affordable homes capped at 60 percent of area median income for 99 years,” according to the development website. Units in Howard Manor are open to alumni and other community members. 

In addition, the university has entered ground-lease agreements with buildings such as Meridian, Slowe, and Carver Halls. According to the development website, these agreements allow the university to retain ownership of the land, while creating affordable housing options for the neighborhood that generate revenue for the school to fund scholarships and operations.

Earlier this year, the Miner Building reopened after a major renovation. Miner houses the School of Education and the Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science PCS. 

Also new this semester is Innovation Hub, a makerspace located inside Founders Library.

“There’s not a lot of traffic because people don’t know about it yet,” said Selah Allen, a junior who works at The Hub.  

Allen said that, at times, it’s better than the library for getting work done. “It’s another space for students to have on campus, which I think is very much needed.” 

Students still see issues.

Despite the progress, current students still see issues that the university needs to tackle. Access to healthy food options remains a continuing struggle for students, and choices are increasingly limited.  

“Eating on campus is hard, and they made it inaccessible,” said Steve Texas, a senior at the university. “The only things to eat are the dining hall, McDonalds, and Chick-fil-A.” He said that while progress has been made on campus in general, it’s not enough.  

 “It feels stagnant,” he said.  

 Other students, such as senior Aniyah Genama, said that off-campus options are shrinking as well.  

 “Chipotle, Subway, and Negril are all gone,’ she said.  

 For junior Janeen Louis, the lack of progress isn’t just limited to food.  

“I don’t like the new bookstore vendor because we have less books,” she said. “We used to have study spaces, I don’t see that anymore.” 

The university has added a café to the undergraduate library and upgraded kitchen facilities in some of the dorms. Overall, however, dining options are limited. “The food vendors are hit or miss,” Louis said.  

Even with these challenges, this week, the focus is on homecoming. 

“With everything going on in the world, HBCU homecomings are important,” Howard said. “Howard alum love coming back and pouring into the students,’ she said. 

H. Clay Smith, III, is one of those alum. Smith graduated from Howard in 1981, and from Howard’s law school in 1984. He stood on Fourth Street with three of his classmates reminiscing about his time at Howard.

“One thing about Howard, you can come back even 45 years later and still see someone you know,” he said.

The post At Howard’s homecoming, students and alumni note progress, continued struggles first appeared on 91����.

 The gala will be held Thursday, Oct. 23rd, from 6-10 pm at the Blackburn Center on campus. This first of a kind homecoming event, along with other major university changes, is part of an effort to support the university’s military-connected community, an effort spearheaded by Paris Adon, director of student services. 

Howard offers Army, Air Force, and Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs—students who participate train, study, and graduate to become officers in their respective military branches.  

The military-connected community, however, includes student veterans and military dependents using their benefits to attend school.  

Adon said, “80% of the students who use our services are dependents.”  

Adon heads six university offices, including the Office of Military and Veteran Services (OMVS), Advocacy and Support, Student Accessibility, Bison Intervention, the Pantry, and the Office of Interpersonal Violence Prevention (IVPP). Since he came to the university, there have been several renovations, the most recent being the Veterans Resource Center.  

Armed with a grant from the Department of Education and significant investment from the university, Adon has overseen major changes. The grant allowed for renovations to create the Veterans Resource Center, and the university added staff to help support the military-connected population, which has grown to nearly 700 students since Adon arrived.  

The success of the VRC is in large part due to the community being built within the space, Adon said. He said he takes pride in the fact that it’s a popular destination, even with students who have off-campus housing. 

“The students come down here to enjoy themselves,” Adon said. “The SVA meetings are packed.” 

The SVA is the Student Veterans of America, a student organization that uses the space for meetings and is made up of mainly military-connected students. Restarting the chapter was another win for Adon.  

Mentorship from the Ohio State University SVA chapter helped make the Gala possible. 

The Ohio State chapter suggested Adon pitch the idea to the school’s development office.

“Why don’t we do it during homecoming?” the development office asked Adon. 

The gala will honor Brigadier General Ronald Sullivan, an Army judge advocate general (JAG), graduate of Howard’s ROTC program, and the School of Business. There will be additional awards for cadets and SVA members. 

“A lot of campus partners don’t realize how connected this community is,” Adon said.  

For the students, the community is a huge draw.  

“If you come down here often enough, you’ll know everybody,’ said Xavier Rodriguez, a junior.  “It’s a chill place where a lot can go on, and nothing can go on.”  

Adon said he has tried to attend the commissioning ceremonies for the programs the university offers. His constant effort to make more connections across the campus is evident whenever he steps outside of his office.  

“We’ve done so much under his leadership,’ said Senior Vice President of Student Affairs Cynthia Evers. “They’re doing amazing things, and now others call on them.” 

Adon said he is most proud of what the students are doing with the space that he has helped create.  Not only is it a place for them to hang out, it’s a place for them to get answers, he added.  

“Any resource that Howard has, someone here knows about it,” said Joshua Gaither, a sophomore.  

Armani Bostic is a third-year law student at Howard who visits the VRC often.  

Bostic said she completed a work study program with the Veterans Administration and has found both community, and mentorship opportunities.  

“I go to school on west campus,” she said. “This is a great way to interact with the main campus.”

Adon said the staff he has built in and around the center is just as focused on creating those positive outcomes.

“We want to be the number one Student Veterans of America chapter,” Adon said. 

Keshala Fluker, one of the VRC case managers said for her, it’s about helping the students when they’re navigating hard times.  

“Sometimes you don’t know you need something until you experience it,’’ she said. 

She also said, there are more great things to come.

 “I think the more traction the VRC gets, the more positive outcomes we’ll see,” she said.  

Tickets for the event, which start at $100, are still available, and can be purchased online.

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Howard’s Homecoming has been rapped about, referenced in popular media, and responsible for the of many stars in a wide range of industries. Attracting alumni, members of Greek-letter organizations, businesses, tourists, athletes, movie stars, and recording artists, the event is a major economic booster for the city.

But this year, what the event will look like is still unclear.

In August, President Donald Trump invoked emergency powers, allowing him to increase the number of federal law enforcement officers in the district and deploy the National Guard in an effort to reduce crime. Since then, the Guard’s initial 30-day orders have been extended through Dec. 3, and seven additional states have sent troops.

Federal agents from various agencies have conducted checkpoints and arrested individuals on the streets, sparking protests throughout the city. All of this, in addition to weak economic data and rising unemployment, has had a chilling effect on Howard alumni and local business owners, sources told 91����.

Michael Vasquez, who lives in Maryland, is one of those alumni.

“I am currently undecided about attending homecoming,” he said. “The current political climate in the city makes me uneasy. With the recent threats directed at HBCUs, I worry that the university could become a potential target.”

So far, Howard has not said it will change its regularly scheduled events for this year’s homecoming.

On campus this year, the university has been using numerous methods to help students feel safe, including the , the , and issuing a to the community in March, detailing how one should handle an encounter with ICE. While these efforts are aimed towards students, alumni are still expressing concerns.

“I’m not going to be coming back to the area because of what the Trump administration is doing to D.C.,” said Ahmeen Muhammad, an alumnus who lives in Houston. “Being a military member, I have no problem with the National Guard being in D.C., but I’m not coming back to homecoming so I can feel like I’m outside of a [military] post again. I’d rather stay home and sit this one out.”

Even without the addition of troops and federal agents, businesses, alumni, and residents say they are dealing with the reality of economic uncertainty as well.

Matt Fay is an advisory neighborhood commissioner on ANC 1B, the district covering Howard University, Ledroit Park, and the U Street Corridor, a popular business district nearby.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” he said when 91���� asked how U Street businesses are preparing for the event.

“The additional presence of policing resources on U Street have definitely had an impact,” Fay said. “A lot fewer people are going out to eat, to bars and clubs. Business is down.”

Others echoed that sentiment.

Carl Brown is the director of the Howard University Business Development Center. His clients, who are mostly small businesses in D.C., have said similar things.

“Employees sometimes don’t come to work because they hear ICE is in the area. People are not coming to the district to eat. It’s very disrupting,” Brown said.

Those disruptions are being felt all over. Howard alumna Keya Stanford is a travel nurse from Georgia. The economic slowdown is forcing her to change her homecoming plans as well.

“Economy, economy, economy,” Stanford said. “Eggs cost crazy money, and I don’t even eat eggs.”

Brown said he has noticed the university is increasing campus police presence and security, as well as the Metropolitan Police Department driving through campus more frequently. MPD usually works with the university and the ANCs to create traffic management plans.

In years past, the month leading up to the event has been filled with unveilings of performance lineups, ambassadors, and party schedules. The website currently lists 18 scheduled events, information on sponsorship, and a vendor application.

Questions surrounding homecoming events are not uncommon. With so many changes happening in the district, however, some alumni are simply making other plans.

“I most likely will not be attending,” said Howard Alumnus Tristen Neal. “It has nothing to do with the presence of soldiers. Donny ain’t gonna stop me. I just have prior engagements.”

Another alumna, who asked not to be named, said she will not be going to Homecoming because “I was just there for my 10-year reunion last year and only plan to go for significant milestone class reunions.”

The university did not respond to requests for comment.

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In a crowd of Kamala Harris supporters at , it’s hard to ignore the smiles, bumping music, laughter and pride in one of the biggest presidential elections in American history. As the polls closed at 8 p.m. in Washington D.C., voters said they were anxious; however, a majority said they were optimistic their candidate could win.

Thousands gathered to join Vice President Kamala Harris at her alma mater campus in Washington, D.C., many of whom hope to declare victory for the first Black woman president.

The insides of the university were organized mayhem with police officers paroling each corner, crowds cheering “Kamala,” pro-Palestine activists standing their ground, and children wearing Harris merch with their parents.

Many of the turnout came from Howard University students, sorority sisters, travelers, and other local Democratic voters.

Deborah Bridges, a Harris supporter from New Jersey, said she had no choice but to take I-95 all the way to the barricaded streets surrounding Howard University. Bridges said she took Tuesday and Wednesday off to hopefully participate in a historical celebration for Harris.

“I’m feeling completely optimistic regardless of which way it does, but I know it’s going North, she’s winning. Kamala Harris is winning tonight,” Bridges said.

Other attendees continued to share their excitement for Harris tonight.

“It’s a blessing and amazing to have Kamala Harris here,” a Howard student said. “This is the place where people strive [for] greatness and she is bringing greatness back home. I’m proud to see her here and hope to achieve what she will achieve tonight.”

The line of Harris supporters grew throughout the night, along with the amount of pop-up vendors at every corner looking to catch quick cash from attendees (most of them already adorned in Harris merch).

A line of advocates and a crowd of voters, vendors, and the Secret Service sought to spread peace throughout the evening.

One of the advocates lined up outside the university was Nadine Seiler, who has spent the last three months “hammering people” about Project 2025, a 900-page document drafted by the conservative Heritage Foundation that would promote a conservative agenda and overhaul the U.S. government.

Seiler said she was optimistic, but another advocate at tonight’s event, Matt, was more anxious than hopeful.

Matt, who declined to give 91���� his last name for his own safety, said he feared a tight presidential race like tonight. He said that if Trump were to win, he would look at relocating outside the United States for his safety. But even if Harris were to win this election, he said he still feared the other side would retaliate in violence, referring to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Despite the anxiety, momentum continued throughout the hours of the watch party.

Tiffany Kelly, a voting site coordinator in the DMV, said she had been at three polling sites in Montgomery County and said it was a long day of polling and educating voters. Still, the commute to D.C. was worth it in order to witness history in the making.

“It was meant for me to be here tonight, to see history made,” Kelly said.

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Tuesday’s panel titled “The Threats to Democracy” was one of six at the Democracy Summit featuring well-known journalists, authors, historians, and lawyers.�� The summit served as the launch of the Center for Journalism & Democracy at Howard University.����������

Civil Rights lawyer Sherrilyn Ifill said it is important to understand that the biggest threats to U.S. democracy precede Trump.����

Ifill pointed to the 2013 Supreme Court case, Shelby County v. Holder, which she said gutted Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Shelby allowed other parts of the country “to see what the South was doing with voter suppression and decided to use those techniques,” Ifill said.����

Section 5 “was made to prevent ingenious methods of voter suppression that may be used in the future,” said Ifill.����It worked by in election practices until the US attorney general or the US District Court for the District of Columbia approved them.��

In response to the historic turnout of voters during the 2020 presidential election,��we saw new voter suppression laws, according to Ifill.����Shelby County made it easier for states to make changes aimed at suppressing votes or diluting the voting power of minorities, such as making it illegal to hand out water to people waiting to vote in Georgia. ��

Ifill also said��Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis drew gerrymandered maps for the entire state before the 2022 midterm elections.��

“Maybe the Democrats were saved, but Democrats and democracy are not the same thing, ” Ifill said in response to President Joe Biden’s statement asserting democracy was saved in response to the 2022 midterm election results.����

Another panelist, Avery Davis-Roberts, the associate director of the Democracy Program, said that as political parties become more divided and voters see their political party as part of their own identity, then the likelihood of violent attacks like the Jan. 6th insurrection will continue to increase.����

Rachel Orey, the associate director for Bipartisan Policy Center Elections Project, said the first step in fixing the threats to the U.S. democracy is that political figures must comply with the elections laws that exist and concede when they lose elections.����

Started by Howard professor and author of the 1619 Project Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Center for Journalism & Democracy aims to strengthen historically informed, pro-democracy journalism, according to the center’s website.������To learn about the new Center for Journalism & Democracy, visit

The post Panelists: Biggest Threat to US Democracy Happened Long Before Jan. 6th Insurrection first appeared on 91����.

Rushing to meet a 5 p.m. deadline to vacate the Blackburn building, students tore down the tents they had inhabited for over a month while protesting the of the university’s dorms.

Students started protesting on Oct.12 after university officials failed to meet with student representatives over their concerns. Busted pipes and breathing problems caused by mold growth in dorms were among the complaints students had.��

Students were also frustrated over the removal of student and alumni representatives from the board of trustees.

Kylie Davis, spokesperson for the #BlackburnTakeover, said it was a long-fought battle that will still require work in the months ahead.

“The work is not over and we not only accept that, but we accept it as our responsibility,” Davis said.

Logan Miller, vice president of the university’s chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America, said on Sunday students took a vote to leave Blackburn after student leaders of the protest conveyed that most of their demands had been met.

According to Miller, the university agreed to convening a town hall between Howard University President Wayne Frederick and students, academic immunity for student protesters and a housing plan that will address the living conditions in dorms.

91���� was not able to confirm the specifics of the agreement due to the nature of the agreement between the university and the student protesters. One other student protestor who wished to remain anonymous also corroborated the specifics of the agreement.

“Although many students are not happy with that housing plan, it is a housing plan nonetheless,” Miller said.

Miller added that students will address the housing plan with Frederick in a town hall scheduled for March 2022.

Frederick released a video statement night commenting on the end of the Blackburn occupation and the university’s agreements with student protesters.

“The health and wellbeing of students is the most important art of my job as president. We will continue to remain vigilant in our pledge to maintain safe and best-in-class housing,” Frederick said in the video.

The Live Movement, an focused on the advancement of education for Black students, posted their own covering the end of the protest, thanking Rev. Jesse Jackson and others for their support.

While the university has agreed to most of the students’ demands, Miller said it has not agreed to the reinstatement of student, alumni and faculty representatives on the university’s board of trustees.

The university made the decision to transition students, faculty and alumni out from the board of trustees in, which became a point of contention for many students.

Eja Richardson, a Howard freshman and protester, said while she and many other students are satisfied with the overall outcome, the university’s refusal of the board reinstatement is still an important loss.

“The trustees make a lot of decisions on what happens at the university. I feel that students should be heard,” Richardson said.

Richardson said she’s glad the university is finally responding and being held accountable,�� but added that the cumbersome response left her frustrated.

“We got the administration to listen to us, but it took way too long,” Richardson said. “Only if students take action as big as this will the administration start to listen.”

The post Howard University protest ends with students, university reaching agreement first appeared on 91����.

Student protesters said they have experienced health conditions such as asthma from mold and fungal growth in the university’s dorms.��

“Students have been in the hospital with strep throat and asthma they’ve never had before that’s been caused by the mold in the dorms,” said one freshman protester, who preferred to remain anonymous out of fear of getting expelled from the University.����

Vice President of Student Affairs Cynthia Evers wrote in an email to students that they could face academic expulsion if they continue to occupy the university’s space, according to . Students also fear police aggression.

 

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The HU freshman added that students have been coughing up blood from the conditions and that there are rats and roaches in university buildings.

The students are demanding three actions from the university: An in-person town hall with President Wayne Frederick, a reinstatement of students and alumni on the board of trustees and a meeting between the president, the chairman of the board and student representatives to discuss housing conditions.��

Student protesters said they won’t leave the Blackburn University Center until all of their demands have been met.��

The board of trustees voted back in to transition out current students, alumni and faculty representatives from the board so that it can “expand mechanisms across the university to provide broad input from key university stakeholders,” according to the university’s website.

Students are now also asking for academic immunity because of the threats of expulsion they have received. According to the, the campus paper, Frederick said he did not have the power to grant exemptions to those occupying the Blackburn Center.

Frederick agreed to the third demand regarding the meeting over housing. The Hilltop also reported that there was a town hall on Oct. 25 with the Student Life Committee Board that discussed the affiliate positions of the board.

Frank Tramble, vice president of communications for the university, said the university is working to address the housing issues students are facing with Corvias, the university’s partner that manages its property.

“We are going door to door and ensuring that maintenance happens. We are also following up with our third-party partner Corvias to make sure that they are doing their work,” Tramble said.

Tramble added in an email that the university has 38 reports of concerns related to discoloration or suspected fungal growth across more than 5,050 beds. He said students have been placed in temporary housing as the university works to address the issues.

Tramble said the university is at 94% occupancy and has hundreds of beds available in response to student claims of homelessness.

But student protesters don’t agree. Protesters said the remaining housing for underclassmen is either used for COVID-19 quarantine space or is unlivable because of mold.

Public figures are also supporting the protest over housing. Janeese Lewis George, Ward 4 council member, visited student protesters last Wednesday supporting their grievances of gentrification and quality of housing.

“The students’ struggle for proper housing parallels the issues of displacement and gentrification that black families face across D.C.” spokesperson for George said.

Tramble said via email the university encourages any student experiencing housing issues to the office of residence life and university housing for assistance. Tramble added university officials will assist with securing housing and make their food pantry on campus available for students who are food insecure.��

Students say they will continue to protest until all of their demands have been met. They say the protest is not just for themselves, but also for future students.

“How many more years of this before people stop coming to Howard U?,” said another student, who also wished to remain anonymous. “We want things to be better for future bison.”

The post Howard University students continue protest over ‘unlivable’ housing conditions first appeared on 91����.

Howard’s attack comes as the U.S. education sector saw a 15 percent increase in cyberattacks in July compared with the first half of 2021, according to .

Richard Forno, assistant director of University of Maryland Baltimore County’s Center for Cybersecurity, has 20 years of experience in the field. Forno said attacks against schools are going to rise because of the way they operate. “There is a different mindset about openness, being able to access different servers and systems,” he said.

Forno said cyberattacks might not be preventable but the impact can be minimized if the school engages in better cyber security and IT management.

On campus, some students are frustrated with how Howard is handling the aftermath of the attack, which caused classes to be canceled for two days. “Teachers, they do not have access to Blackboard but they still expect us to submit assignments but they can’t grade them so it’s kind of frustrating,” Howard sophomore Ciara Harthorn said.

Jasminemarie Mack, also a sophomore, expressed a desire for more flexibility, especially when it comes to dropping a class and due dates on student assignments. “They should be considerate of the students,” Mack said, noting that following the ransomware attack, students have been able to drop classes but it’s marked by the university as a withdrawal.

The FBI is investigating the ransomware attack but did not provide further comment as the investigation is still ongoing. Howard University campus police also did not provide an official statement as it is not investigating the cyber attack.

“To be honest law enforcement, the police, there is not much that they can do, they are really in a reactive mode, they are thereafter the crime has been committed,” Forno, the cybersecurity expert, said.

He said lawmakers need to make cyber attacks more challenging and less profitable to implement.

“Cyberattacks, unfortunately, are a part of modern living,” according to Forno, and there is no easy solution. Forno said students can play a part in preventing future attacks by using strong passwords and not sharing passwords. He said students should also be patient as the IT team works to restore the system.

With the increase of cyber attacks, some schools choose to pay the ransom. (There is no information on whether Howard University paid the ransom that had been demanded in its attack.)

But Forno said he does not encourage a university to pay ransoms as the attackers then see the university as an even easier target — and there is no guarantee that the attackers will stop.

“You might pay a ransom to one criminal group and get a password but then a week later, you are reinfected again with another ransomware attack,” Forno said.

It is not known whether Howard University faced another cyber attack after the first on Sept. 3.

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