Remember the good ol’ days of yesterday when protests and sit-ins could be found at universities around the country. Back in the day when students really knew how to fight for their rights (and not just to par-tay either).

Oh wait, that was yesterday.

Over the weekend, about 350 students and union workers at nearby Howard University protested in front of their main administration building, demanding solutions to problems with on-campus housing, delays in financial aid payments and unjust labor practices, according to reports from both Riley Wilson from the Hilltop — Howard’s student newspaper — and Michael Birnbaum of the Washington Post:

The students, many wearing black T-shirts as a sign of protest, waved colorful signs and chanted “Students first!” and “We want answers!”

Students described long lines at the financial aid office and payments that were missing nearly two weeks after school started.

And that’s not all:

[Howard] students also complained about a shortage of on-campus housing and called for the resignation of the interim vice provost of student affairs, Charles Gibbs, who they said had censored an article about disciplinary actions against students in the Hilltop, the student-run newspaper.

Members of a service workers union protested the school’s employment practices.

Meanwhile, across the country in Oakland, Ca., a strike forced the university to postpone its first day of classes!

A couple years ago, something similar happened at another DC college, giving even more truth to something one Howard protester said:

“There have been many protests on campus before, and nothing’s changed,” said junior Dexter Williams, 21.

Think about it, kids.

Quick Hits

• Penn state is hitting up parents for cash in a new way — according to the Associated Press, students who didn’t file for need-based aid, who received scholarships are being asked to donate some of their award money back to the university to help other, struggling families.
• The Boston Globe reports that students can — and do — judge a book by its cover… or at least classes by their names, forcing universities to jazz up the titles of courses to keep students interested.
• A star from the Baltimore-based TV show, The Wire, gave back to the community this weekend at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, speaking on a cell phone to the facilitator of a GED program, trying to figure out why 21-year-old Sean Hawkins hasn’t been attending classes, the Baltimore Sun reports.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 at 1:18 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.