Update (Nov. 15, 2021):  Howard University students have ceased their protests and have come to a compromise with the school's administrators over the housing conditions on campus, the students announced on Monday.  

Coming off the heels of a chain of student protests starting Oct. 12, a memorandum was issued between student leadership and the school, as reported in a press conference on Black Star Network's YouTube channel. Students were intent on continuing the protests until their demands were met and spent 33 days challenging the school's administration.  

"We spent 33 days saying not only did our lives matter, that our voices matter, that our concerns matter. We spent 33 days affirming and fighting for the first-class housing that Rev. Jesse Jackson said we were entitled to. We came, we saw, we declared and we won," Junior Channing Hill, president of Howard University NAACP chapter, said."We won for Howard students, we won for Howard University, both historic Howard and future Howard, and we won for our community."

"We challenged the lack of accountability, we challenged the lack of safety, we challenged the lack of our ability to say there was a problem. I expect to graduate in 2023, and hopefully after I graduate I can matriculate on to Howard Law and hopefully we won't have the same issues because today is a new day for Bisons everywhere. We got what we came for, we got increased scrutiny, we got increased transparency and increased accountability, and by virtue of [these] protests we garnered everything we were entitled to," Hill continued. 

Students slept in tents outside and participated in a sit-in to display their disappointment with the university's lack of response concerning their well-being. As their anger became palpable and the number of students protesting increased, the university threatened disciplinary actions like expulsions and suspensions. 

“We’re paying $48,000 a year — $50,000 for some people — to be living with mold and being hospitalized. With rats and roaches. That’s not Howard,” sophomore Tia-Andrea Scott said, according to News4. 

Howard administrators posted a tweet that they were satisfied with the agreement they made with student protesters. University President Wayne Frederick is expected to release a statement providing more details on Monday. 

Original (Oct. 13, 2021): On Tuesday night, students of Howard University staged a sit-in at the campus' Blackburn Center, where they vowed to remain until their demands were met. Their demands were centered on their ongoing concerns with the school's housing conditions. 

Thandiwe Abdullah, a 17-year-old student at Howard, made headlines last week when she complained of mold and leaks in her dorm room. According to Abdullah, the school refused to relocate her. Other students have also complained of rats and roaches in the café, according to reports on social media, and it appears the students have officially had enough. On Tuesday night, in an effort to evoke change, dozens of student protesters took over the campus. Supporters were able to follow online using the hashtag #BlackburnTakeover on Twitter. 

The protest went through the night, as additional students showed up in solidarity the following day. 

Students have three demands: an in-person town hall with Howard University President Wayne A. I. Frederick and school administration before November, the reinstatement of affiliate trustee positions and a meeting with Frederick and other leaders around an improved housing plan. 

Aniyah Vines, Howard senior and founder of the Live Movement, is one of the students leading the protest. In an interview with The Hilltop, she called the issue a "housing crisis" and said she's heard about students sleeping in their cars and bathing in the Blackburn Center. 

Howard University student council leaders issued a statement standing in solidarity with their classmates while also confirming that they've witnessed hazardous living conditions, relaxed COVID protocols and student homelessness. 

Amid the protest, Howard is being accused of calling campus police on students. Officers are said to be pulling fire alarms to "escalate" the situation according to Washington, D.C., abolitionist group Harriet's Dreams.

Those who are attempting to bring food and supplies to protesters are allegedly being met with long wait times or being refused altogether.

This is the second student-led protest this month in which Howard students loudly, proudly and safely made their voices heard.. On Oct. 5, the Young Democratic Socialists of America held a day-long demonstration on campus over concerns with the school's housing issues, financial aid, safety and sexual harassment. 

Follow the #BlackburnTakeover hashtag on Twitter for live updates. 

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