'Sold a dream': As HBCUs struggle for funding, Howard University students protest living conditions and lack of voice

Political science major Erica England returned to Howard University in 2018 after an eight-year hiatus, hoping to enjoy the university’s status as an elite historically Black school.

She soon realized she could barely keep up with tuition despite working full-time. Meanwhile, her life and studies were disrupted by what she and others describe as substandard housing – including roaches and rats, leaky pipes, cold showers and spotty Wi-Fi.

Now England, of Raleigh, North Carolina, is among more than 100 students conducting a sit-in at Howard’s student center in Washington, D.C., a demonstration that on Friday headed into its 11th day with students protesting living conditions and the elimination of representative seats for students, faculty and alumni from the school’s Board of Trustees.