WASHINGTON (WUSA9) — Hundreds of Howard University students have staged a "sit-in" at the administration building following the revelation of a financial aid embezzlement scandal.
They say they will not leave until Howard University president Wayne Frederick resigns.
Students are furious Fredrick knew financial aid employees were embezzling money from the schools' fund for months, and never told students. The story only came out after a whistleblower posted documents on medium.com this week.
Howard University says since the incident, several safeguards have been put in place to better monitor scholarship money disbursement.
Fredrick did announce yesterday that 6 financial aid employees had been fired.
However, university officials admitted they never contacted police once they had knowledge that money was stolen.
The sit-in is being led in part by the student organization called HU Resist. They posted a list of demands on their Twitter page, dated from March 25. Included in the demands is the resignation of the University president as well as the Board of Trustees.
The Howard University Student Association also released a statement regarding the matter on Thursday, stating that the incident “confirms what many students have long suspected – the leaders of our university are opponents of transparency and shared governance.”
The statement went on to ask administration to answer “outstanding questions,” including why DC police wasn’t informed, if other employees had also been fired or reported, if embezzlement has been investigated in other offices, and what steps the university is taking to reconcile the accounts of students “wrongfully denied need-based University aid.”
The statement goes on to call for the “University to re-evaluate its current leadership” if transparency isn’t given.
