As a group of current and former HBCU presidents and administrators, all of us are frightened by the length and intensity of the protest at Howard University. We know all too well how deferred maintenance issues and the scarcity of money to fix them can create undesirable or even unsafe living situations for students, and that this protest at this school could create momentum for similar discord on our campuses at any given time.
President Wayne A.I. Frederick was “irate” about the column. President Frederick told the Hilltop editorial advisor that there were numerous errors and a lack of foundation.
While no errors were cited, the editorial advisor was told that Frank Tramble, the Vice President and Chief Communications Officer for the University, was actively drafting a letter to the editor that would issue corrections for the Oct. 4 column. The editorial advisor stated that we would have to print the letter without the opportunity to respond.
To date, The Hilltop still has not received a letter.
If the protestors issues are fixable, whomever dropped the ball should be held accountable.
If not, was this clearly communicated prior to students enrolling so other options could be considered? This seems to have been an ongoing issue for many many years not covered in brochures or campus tours.
Like nearly every other movement involving ambitious young adults historically, they may not have all the receipts regarding deferred maintenance issues or an ideal protest strategy. Regardless, their issues still stand along with the dirty laundry blowing across social and legacy media. If administration can’t or won’t resolve it, they should say so. Otherwise, find those who can?
You know what IS comical? You wrote nearly a thousand words, and not once did you list ALL of the “demands” of the protesting students:
• A town hall for the general student body with the President, so they can “be heard”
• The reinstatement of student, alumni and faculty Affiliate Trustees (you did allude to that)
• Improvement to housing conditions (you wrote about that)
• The presentation by the President and the Board of a “student housing plan” to avoid future problems
And, after being threatened with expulsion, the students added:
• Amnesty - academic and legal.
So, you mentioned 2 out of 5 issues, and attacked the protesting students for them.
Dear Editorial Board, assuming you did due diligence to know what the students are protesting about, and the list above is not the first time you have seen it, don’t you agree – with the possible exception of the Trustee issue – with the students when they say,
“Our demands are not demanding.”
You must agree the other four are, as you put it, “fixable.” The protesters agree with you, and they are ready to come to the table and help fix them.
As a retired Student Affairs administrator, myself (32 years, including 14 as a Dean) and a former Alumni Trustee at Howard, I am like you in one sense, and perhaps one sense only: This must come to an end.
Where we fundamentally disagree is WHICH PARTY must step forward to end it.
That party is clearly the University via its Board and its President. Sure,… the Trustee issue can be kicked down the road, but – are you aware that the University’s position is NO NEGOTIATION and NO DISCUSSION.
When you were in your previous positions of responsibility, is that how YOU resolved issues, conflicts, and problems on YOUR campuses? No negotiation for such “fixable” issues? If so, please send me the link to the coverage of that disaster on your campus.
If, as an administrator, you had taken a “NO NEGOTIATION” and “NO DISCUSSION” posture – in the face of “fixable” issues – you would have been considered “stuck on stupid.” And I am just as absolutely certain that you are not stupid as I am that the protesting Howard students are not stupid. Despite your repeated and egregious insults.
Maybe you didn’t know the University had taken that position, and – if that’s the case - you can now retract and rewrite your editorial.
I take your word for it that “none of (you) will ever allow anyone to be exposed to mold.” So, I was mistaken earlier: that’s another way we are alike. But, Sisters and Brothers, you are ignoring the fact that someone at Howard – either the administration or the contractor – is alleged, with photographic and video evidence, to be doing exactly that for months. The conditions, several students say, still exist now that Homecoming has passed, and students are going into mid-terms with only 6 ½ weeks remaining in an 18-week semester. You skate past all that to say the students should not continue their protest – while, they claim, the poor conditions persist. To be frank, that is nonsensical.
As to the Trustee issue, your editorial asserts it is a mistake – a bad one, you say - for students to align themselves with the other stakeholders (Alums and Faculty) when it was the Board which abolished ALL Affiliate Trustees, who are nominated by those very three groups.
You made a flat assertion – without explanation, as if it is self-evident - that it was unwise (you said, “dumbest mistake,” but I’m using a nicer word than you) to align with other similarly situated stakeholders. Simple mathematics and elementary organizing tactics argue the exact opposite: those with similar interests strengthen their position by uniting. What your editorial suggests is that stakeholders should “divide” and “be conquered.”
That dog won’t hunt.
The basis for your assessment seems to be that the Board will not reverse its decision. Of course, history may show that your assessment is correct. But that logic would have argued that the six North Carolina A&T University students were wasting their time in 1960. Sit-ins a lunch counter in one city, you would surely have advised, will never be the spark that would ultimately lead to the end of segregated public facilities in the U.S.
You might have told the Pan-Africanist Congress, the African National Congress and Mr. Mandela that the racist apartheid regime could not possibly be toppled by people outgunned by a militarily strong South Africa enjoying massive support from the U.S. and other major countries.
Black people, history shows, were not deterred by long odds. Neither are we who support our courageous student protesters.
I highly recommend for your consideration and deeper insight, the email that the recently formed “Howard Alumni United” sent in September. I respectfully suggest you pay particular attention to the chart and timeline presented by a member of another Howard-related organization, The Capstone Group.
I don’t know if any of the members of the Editorial Board served at an institution with a proud and revered tradition of student activism similar to Howard’s. After all, it is fairly rare in American higher education. So, I understand you might not be familiar with or understand such a tradition.
A few examples:
- In 1943, a group of Howard students staged a sit-in at a lunch counter in Washington, DC. They persisted, the café relented and began serving Black people. Other nearby businesses followed suit.
- Perhaps, members of the Editorial Board, you served in administrations that censored or controlled the student newspaper. Until recently, Howard has not. The removal of an editor years ago sparked one of our protests. The editor was restored to her position.
- Perhaps you served an institution that invited a known and active racist to sit on your Board. At Howard, a student protest caused him to withdraw.
- Perhaps, your institution had a president whose announced goal was to abandon its historical mission as an HBCU. At Howard, a student protest stopped that plan dead in its tracks – 50-plus years ago.
If you were unaware or didn’t understand, we understand why you condemn our students for demanding that: 1) their president speak to them, 2) their colleagues be returned to the highest level of decision-making, 3) conditions in the residence halls be improved, and that 4)the University develop and present a plan for student housing.
And that 5) they are not punished - an arrangement with many precedents at Howard and elsewhere.
Eminently “fixable,” wouldn’t you say?
Always for Howard!
Bill “Damani” Keene
Student Leader 1962-1966
HU Class of 1966 & Distinguished Military Graduate
Editorial Board,
Read this from the Howard U. student newspaper, and tell me who is "Stuck on Stupid":
https://thehilltoponline.com/2021/11/02/in-full-transparency/
Just ONE EXCERPT:
President Wayne A.I. Frederick was “irate” about the column. President Frederick told the Hilltop editorial advisor that there were numerous errors and a lack of foundation.
While no errors were cited, the editorial advisor was told that Frank Tramble, the Vice President and Chief Communications Officer for the University, was actively drafting a letter to the editor that would issue corrections for the Oct. 4 column. The editorial advisor stated that we would have to print the letter without the opportunity to respond.
To date, The Hilltop still has not received a letter.
UNQUOTE
If the protestors issues are fixable, whomever dropped the ball should be held accountable.
If not, was this clearly communicated prior to students enrolling so other options could be considered? This seems to have been an ongoing issue for many many years not covered in brochures or campus tours.
Like nearly every other movement involving ambitious young adults historically, they may not have all the receipts regarding deferred maintenance issues or an ideal protest strategy. Regardless, their issues still stand along with the dirty laundry blowing across social and legacy media. If administration can’t or won’t resolve it, they should say so. Otherwise, find those who can?
https://www.instagram.com/p/CVlZElahWGT/?utm_medium=copy_link
You say, “nearly comical.”
You know what IS comical? You wrote nearly a thousand words, and not once did you list ALL of the “demands” of the protesting students:
• A town hall for the general student body with the President, so they can “be heard”
• The reinstatement of student, alumni and faculty Affiliate Trustees (you did allude to that)
• Improvement to housing conditions (you wrote about that)
• The presentation by the President and the Board of a “student housing plan” to avoid future problems
And, after being threatened with expulsion, the students added:
• Amnesty - academic and legal.
So, you mentioned 2 out of 5 issues, and attacked the protesting students for them.
Dear Editorial Board, assuming you did due diligence to know what the students are protesting about, and the list above is not the first time you have seen it, don’t you agree – with the possible exception of the Trustee issue – with the students when they say,
“Our demands are not demanding.”
You must agree the other four are, as you put it, “fixable.” The protesters agree with you, and they are ready to come to the table and help fix them.
As a retired Student Affairs administrator, myself (32 years, including 14 as a Dean) and a former Alumni Trustee at Howard, I am like you in one sense, and perhaps one sense only: This must come to an end.
Where we fundamentally disagree is WHICH PARTY must step forward to end it.
That party is clearly the University via its Board and its President. Sure,… the Trustee issue can be kicked down the road, but – are you aware that the University’s position is NO NEGOTIATION and NO DISCUSSION.
When you were in your previous positions of responsibility, is that how YOU resolved issues, conflicts, and problems on YOUR campuses? No negotiation for such “fixable” issues? If so, please send me the link to the coverage of that disaster on your campus.
If, as an administrator, you had taken a “NO NEGOTIATION” and “NO DISCUSSION” posture – in the face of “fixable” issues – you would have been considered “stuck on stupid.” And I am just as absolutely certain that you are not stupid as I am that the protesting Howard students are not stupid. Despite your repeated and egregious insults.
Maybe you didn’t know the University had taken that position, and – if that’s the case - you can now retract and rewrite your editorial.
I take your word for it that “none of (you) will ever allow anyone to be exposed to mold.” So, I was mistaken earlier: that’s another way we are alike. But, Sisters and Brothers, you are ignoring the fact that someone at Howard – either the administration or the contractor – is alleged, with photographic and video evidence, to be doing exactly that for months. The conditions, several students say, still exist now that Homecoming has passed, and students are going into mid-terms with only 6 ½ weeks remaining in an 18-week semester. You skate past all that to say the students should not continue their protest – while, they claim, the poor conditions persist. To be frank, that is nonsensical.
As to the Trustee issue, your editorial asserts it is a mistake – a bad one, you say - for students to align themselves with the other stakeholders (Alums and Faculty) when it was the Board which abolished ALL Affiliate Trustees, who are nominated by those very three groups.
You made a flat assertion – without explanation, as if it is self-evident - that it was unwise (you said, “dumbest mistake,” but I’m using a nicer word than you) to align with other similarly situated stakeholders. Simple mathematics and elementary organizing tactics argue the exact opposite: those with similar interests strengthen their position by uniting. What your editorial suggests is that stakeholders should “divide” and “be conquered.”
That dog won’t hunt.
The basis for your assessment seems to be that the Board will not reverse its decision. Of course, history may show that your assessment is correct. But that logic would have argued that the six North Carolina A&T University students were wasting their time in 1960. Sit-ins a lunch counter in one city, you would surely have advised, will never be the spark that would ultimately lead to the end of segregated public facilities in the U.S.
You might have told the Pan-Africanist Congress, the African National Congress and Mr. Mandela that the racist apartheid regime could not possibly be toppled by people outgunned by a militarily strong South Africa enjoying massive support from the U.S. and other major countries.
Black people, history shows, were not deterred by long odds. Neither are we who support our courageous student protesters.
I highly recommend for your consideration and deeper insight, the email that the recently formed “Howard Alumni United” sent in September. I respectfully suggest you pay particular attention to the chart and timeline presented by a member of another Howard-related organization, The Capstone Group.
Link: https://mailchi.mp/7d8731073257/hu-alum-dont-be-disenfranchised-5106333?e=8a1c737e64
Finally….
I don’t know if any of the members of the Editorial Board served at an institution with a proud and revered tradition of student activism similar to Howard’s. After all, it is fairly rare in American higher education. So, I understand you might not be familiar with or understand such a tradition.
A few examples:
- In 1943, a group of Howard students staged a sit-in at a lunch counter in Washington, DC. They persisted, the café relented and began serving Black people. Other nearby businesses followed suit.
- Perhaps, members of the Editorial Board, you served in administrations that censored or controlled the student newspaper. Until recently, Howard has not. The removal of an editor years ago sparked one of our protests. The editor was restored to her position.
- Perhaps you served an institution that invited a known and active racist to sit on your Board. At Howard, a student protest caused him to withdraw.
- Perhaps, your institution had a president whose announced goal was to abandon its historical mission as an HBCU. At Howard, a student protest stopped that plan dead in its tracks – 50-plus years ago.
If you were unaware or didn’t understand, we understand why you condemn our students for demanding that: 1) their president speak to them, 2) their colleagues be returned to the highest level of decision-making, 3) conditions in the residence halls be improved, and that 4)the University develop and present a plan for student housing.
And that 5) they are not punished - an arrangement with many precedents at Howard and elsewhere.
Eminently “fixable,” wouldn’t you say?
Always for Howard!
Bill “Damani” Keene
Student Leader 1962-1966
HU Class of 1966 & Distinguished Military Graduate
Air Force Officer 1966-1970
Cornell University, M.A. in Education
HU Student Affairs staff 1972-2004 (Retiree)
- Including Dean for Residence Life (1984-1998)
HU Alumni Trustee 2014-2017