The two-week occupation of Howard University’s student center “must end,” President Wayne A. I. Frederick wrote in an open letter published Tuesday. Dozens of students took over the Blackburn University Center on Oct. 12 to protest poor housing conditions and lax COVID-19 protocols.
In his letter, Frederick wrote that protesting has been a perennial part of Howard’s institutional culture, but that the current occupation is hurting the campus. “There is a distinct difference between peaceful protest and freedom of expression and the occupation of a University building that impedes operations and access to essential services and creates health and safety risks,” Frederick wrote.
