Campus Alert Archive
Howard

Nine Days Inside the 'A' Building: HU Resist Occupies Howard's Administration Building in the Longest Sit-In in University History

DCcivil unrestadvisorymedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On the morning of Thursday, March 29, 2018, a coalition of Howard University students calling themselves HU Resist entered the Mordecai Wyatt Johnson Administration Building ('the A Building') and refused to leave, launching what would become the longest continuous student occupation in Howard's history. The sit-in came two days after a whistleblower revealed that Howard financial-aid employees had misappropriated student aid funds for nearly a decade. Howard administration declined to forcibly remove protesters or to issue an HU Alert; classes continued in adjacent buildings. The occupation ended on Friday, April 6, 2018, after nine days of negotiation produced a settlement on most of HU Resist's nine demands.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Howard University
Hbcu · DC
~10,000 studentsRave Mobile SafetyHU Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstruction312 chars
Howard Community Advisory: A group of students has entered the Mordecai Wyatt Johnson Administration Building and is engaging in a sit-in protest. Classes in adjacent buildings are continuing on regular schedule. Administrative offices may be temporarily relocated. There is no immediate threat to campus safety.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed: Howard explicitly chose NOT to issue an HU Alert emergency notification, framing the protest as a peaceful civil-protest sit-in rather than an active threat
The Mordecai Wyatt Johnson Administration Building is informally called the 'A' Building and houses the President's office, financial aid, and registrar functions
Howard's institutional choice to treat the occupation as an advisory rather than an emergency — and to negotiate rather than forcibly clear the building — became the template for later HBCU protests
UPDATEEmail
Approximate reconstruction288 chars
Howard Community Advisory: An agreement has been reached with students engaged in the sit-in at the Administration Building. The occupation has concluded peacefully. Administrative operations will resume in the building Monday. Thank you to all members of our community for your patience.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed: the resolution was a negotiated end on Friday April 6, 2018, with Howard agreeing to overhaul its sexual-assault policy, create a student food bank, review campus-police weapons policy, and freeze undergraduate tuition rates
Students withdrew their initial demand for the resignation of President Wayne A.I. Frederick during the negotiation
The protesters had renamed the 'A' Building 'Kwame Ture Student Center' for the duration of the occupation in honor of the late Trinidadian-American civil-rights activist
Context

Background

Howard University is a private historically Black research university (HBCU) in Washington, D.C., with approximately 10,000 students. On Tuesday, March 27, 2018, a whistleblower revealed that university employees in Howard's financial aid office had misappropriated student aid funds in a 'double-dipping' scheme that ran for nearly a decade. Two days later, on Thursday, March 29, a coalition of Howard students calling themselves HU Resist occupied the Mordecai Wyatt Johnson Administration Building with a list of nine demands — including stronger protections against sexual assault, disarming campus police, freezing undergraduate tuition rates, and improving food and housing security for students under 21. The occupation grew to attract national attention from CNN, NPR, the Washington Post, and TIME magazine. Howard administration chose negotiation over forcible removal — and crucially, declined to issue an HU Alert emergency notification, framing the protest as a peaceful civil-protest sit-in rather than an active threat. Classes in adjacent buildings continued on regular schedule. After nine days, on Friday, April 6, 2018, HU Resist and Howard administration reached an agreement on most of the demands, including an overhaul of Howard's sexual-assault policy, the creation of a student food bank, and a review of policies allowing campus police officers to carry weapons. Students dropped their initial demand for President Wayne Frederick's resignation during negotiation. The protest is significant in this archive as a case study in the deliberate non-use of emergency notification systems — Howard's institutional choice to treat a multi-day building occupation as an advisory matter rather than an emergency-notification trigger, and as the longest continuous student occupation in Howard's history.
Analysis

Key Findings

Howard University's nine-day occupation was the longest continuous student occupation in the university's history and a landmark moment for post-Parkland HBCU student activism
Howard administration chose negotiation over forcible removal and declined to issue an HU Alert emergency notification — framing the protest as civil unrest rather than an active threat
The protest produced a negotiated settlement on most of HU Resist's nine demands, including an overhaul of Howard's sexual-assault policy and a review of campus-police weapons policy
Students renamed the 'A' Building 'Kwame Ture Student Center' for the duration of the occupation
The case is significant for documenting the institutional non-use of emergency notifications during peaceful civil unrest — a deliberate operational choice that can be compared with later HBCU and elite-university responses to encampments and sit-ins
Outcome
After nine days, HU Resist and Howard administration reached an agreement on most of the protest group's nine demands, including an overhaul of Howard's sexual-assault policy, creation of a student food bank, and a review of policies allowing campus police officers to carry weapons. The students dropped their initial demand for President Wayne Frederick's resignation. Howard renamed the 'A' Building 'Kwame Ture Student Center' for the duration of the occupation. The case represents the longest standing occupation of a building in Howard's history and a landmark moment for the post-Parkland student activism wave.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Howard University students occupy administration building amid financial aid scandal (Washington Post)
    washingtonpost.com
  2. News
    9-Day Student Protest At Howard University Ends With A Deal (NPR)
    npr.org
  3. Source
    Howard University sit-ins (Wikipedia)
    en.wikipedia.org
  4. News
    Howard Students Take Over Administration Building in Protest Amid Financial Aid Scandal (TIME)
    time.com
  5. News
    Howard students end nine-day occupation of administration building (Andscape)
    andscape.com
  6. News
    Howard University Students End One Of The Longest Protests In School's History (DCist)
    dcist.com
Tags
civil-unrestsit-inhbcuwashington-dchoward-universityhu-resistadvisorynon-emergency-civil-protestfinancial-aid-scandal
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion