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One of the most prominent HBCUs in the country remains under the spotlight for less than stellar reasons. Howard University is again experiencing protests on campus over the unfair working conditions and low wages of non-tenured, full-time faculty.

Hundreds of faculty are threatening to strike next week if an agreement with the university is not met on Friday. On Wednesday, a demonstration was held on campus consisting of non-tenured faculty, supporting faculty, students, and alumni.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 500 represents 150 non-tenure-track, full-time faculty and over 200 adjunct professors on Howard’s campus.

“The University leadership has made clear that a better teaching environment and better learning environment is unimportant to them,” said Contingent Faculty leader and Howard alumnus Cyrus Hampton, according to SEIU.

“They have left us no choice but to strike because of their continued bad-faith bargaining,” Hampton added.

Howard’s non-tenure and adjunct faculty are teaching around 1,000 classes this semester on campus. An agreement between faculty and the Howard administration has been in the making for the last three years.

“Our commitment to a peaceful bargaining process has not changed, and we will continue advancing good faith efforts to reach an agreement with the union and address the needs of adjunct and non-tenure-track faculty and the University,” the Howard University said in a statement.

“We have made proposals for wage increases for union faculty and continue to bargain in good faith,” the statement added. “Howard faculty play a vital role in our community. We will continue working together with our faculty to ensure their success and the success of Howard students.”

If this current protest is ringing any bells, it’s because Howard University was on national headlines during the fall semester when students were camped outside of the Blackburn University Center for a month over unfit living conditions for students and representation for students and alumni on the university’s Board of Trustees.

Although some sort of agreement was reached between the protestors and the university, under a legal contract, the new agreement and conditions were not revealed to the entire student body.

For many students, alumni, and faculty – really any HBCU supporter in general- the question is, where are all the funds going. As one of the top and most promoted HBCU in the country, Howard University receives millions and millions of donations, gifts, and partnerships. The university has a history of embezzlement as recent as 2018, and many are suspecting that this might be the case again.