#BlackBurnTakeover Trends After Howard University Students Protest Due To Poor Housing Conditions
Students at Howard University have sparked a viral movement! #BlackburnTakeover hashtag has flooded social media timelines with photos, video, and first-person speeches from inside the Blackburn Center to bring awareness about the harmful none inhabitable living situations.
Several students have spoke out and said rats, roaches, and mold are just a portion of the living conditions they have been dealing with in on-campus housing. Videos show water pouring out of pipes, expired air filters with mold and mildew and mushrooms growing on ceilings and walls.
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The founder of the live movement, which is one of the organizing groups that stated faculty and school officials were invited to a town hall Tuesday night to speak on their concerns, but were met by police on campus and were told to remove themselves from the premises.
“We are not here just to go to class. We are he to be leaders, advocates, change-makers,” Aniyah Vines, who founded the Live Movement, stated as she stood on Blackburn Center’s balcony speaking to a crowd of students outside.
“This is really just making sure that were united, we’re united as Bison, but also as HBCU students,” the organizer expressed to WUSA9 during a Zoom video call. “We are in buildings that were taken up by great people. Our alumni… we have a long list of people, so we would be doing them a disservice if we did not take a stand.”
On Wednesday Cynthia Evers Vice President of student affairs sent a message to students saying, “This is the final request to all students currently in the Blackburn Multipurpose Center,” Evers wrote. “Please peacefully vacate the Blackburn Multipurpose Center by noon today.”
After 12:00p.m about a dozen students took a stand and remained in blackburn. Protesters have requested for a meeting, but the university has not yet responded. #Socialites how do you feel about these poor living conditions for the students at Howard University?