Past Protest All Too Familiar

Friday, Sept. 4 marked the 20th anniversary of what many know as the Howard versus Atwater protest. 

In 1989, the Howard student body held a massive protest against Harvey Leroy "Lee" Atwater, then Republican National Committee chairman.

What many newspapers and journalists reported on was Howard's protesting of Atwater's appointment to the Board of Trustees. Yet, much like today's Howard students, they felt there was more than just one issue that needed to be resolved.

The issue that was regarded as the most important was Atwater's appointment to the board of trustees. He had previously been George H. W. Bush's 1988 campaign manager, being held responsible for the Willie Horton Ad that was circulated. This ad was seen as "crypto-racist," primarily because it profiled murderers and rapists as African-Americans.

The Howard University students would not stand for someone such as Atwater to sit on their board of trustees. 

Therefore, at the 122nd celebration of Charter Day, students stormed the stage shouting chants to the crowd.  The next stop was to the Administration building where it is said that students barricaded themselves in the building in an effort to resolve housing issues, financial aid distribution complaints, campus security and the increase in tuition. 
It may come as a coincidence that on Friday, more than 400 Howard students gathered together to protest at least two of the similar issues: housing and financial aid distribution.

Jewel Burks, a junior marketing major and School of Business Student Council president, said that looking to the past is something the organizers of Friday's protest have been keeping in mind. 

"One thing we've learned is to look at history — we've talked to people from 1989, just to see some of the things they've used," Burks said.

She said there is a group of people working diligently to plan and make sure they are making the right move for the student body.  Burks is one of many student leaders participating in the organization of the protest. Others include: the 47-49th president and vice president of HUSA, COAS president, School of Communications president and the Undergraduate Trustee.

In 1989, the student leaders on campus issued a list of demands followed by protest, but many are wondering whether today's student body will follow tradition and follow through.

"The protest was worth it – doing something is better than doing nothing," said Laquia Burt, senior marketing major. "As students, we need to learn to stop grumbling and take action."
One thing the students of the 1989 protest had was persistence. Then president of Howard University, James E. Cheek, printed a warning letter after the first protest stating that ‘'any students or other individuals who persist in occupying any university building and otherwise disrupting university operations will be arrested and/or expelled."

Sure enough, students protested at the Administration building that Tuesday. The main demand, Atwater's resignation, was granted as well as the resignation of Howard University's President Cheek. Whether the current student leaders really learned from the 1989 protest is something that will be seen in the future progress of the students' demands.