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A nine-day Howard University student protest ended Friday when college officials agreed to meet most of the demands, NPR reported. Students cheered as leaders left the meeting with signed negotiations Friday afternoon.
“This is a long time coming,” Alexis McKenney, a member of HU Resist, the organization that led the sit-in, said at a press conference Friday. “It’s important for us to acknowledge that no significant change that has ever happened within the black community has happened without struggle.”
After eight days of negotiations, the Board of Trustees agreed to meet seven of the students’ nine requests, according to a "statement of commitments" released to WUSA. Significantly, the board agreed to consider freezing undergraduate tuition rates as they stand currently.
Among other changes, according to the agreement: the university will review the state of on-campus housing, redo its sexual assault policy, create a food bank for students and residents, and reconsider policies allowing campus police to carry weapons. In addition, students will have a say in selecting the student ombudsperson, university stakeholders will be required to hold student forums (subject to approval) and the board will establish a task force with students and staff to revise the university's grievance system.
HU Resist rescinded its demands for President Wayne Frederick to resign. On Twitter, HU Resist wrote, "There have been 8 days of negotiations, and we have been deliberating ways in which we can recenter our cause around the overall improvement of our institution instead of the elimination of one figure. That being said, we are no longer calling for the resignation of the president."
