The students of Howard University have united for a group project – protesting the alleged misappropriation of $1 million in financial aid by school employees. The students are angry, confused, and shocked. Sometimes the only way to express strong emotions like that is through a song, and these students have found the perfect soundtrack to their protest. As they occupied their university’s administration building, students began singing “Bitch Better Have My Money” by Rihanna.
The protest was given the seal of approval by none other than Rihanna herself. On Thursday, she shared a video of the students singing her hit song on Twitter. An advocate for education around the world, Rihanna’s support is based on more than just a song.
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Howard students found out employees stole over $1M in financial aid so they took over their Administration building and started singing ‘Bitch Better Have My Money.” pic.twitter.com/760u3TFZwc
— Philip Lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) March 29, 2018
— Rihanna (@rihanna) March 30, 2018
As deplorable as it is, financial fraud is not new to higher education. On Wednesday, Howard University President Wayne Frederick released a statement explaining that the university had been aware of the misappropriation since December 2016, and had conducted an internal investigation and audit, which resulted in firing of six school employees. The audit revealed that grants were being given to employees, who were also receiving discounted tuition, for amounts that significantly exceeding the cost of attendance.
Many students as well as the Howard University Student Association are taking issue to being kept in the dark while all of this went on. “We are frustrated to see the University’s statement being sent to the press and not addressed to students first,” the student association tweeted following Frederick’s statement. “This clearly is a betrayal of our trust and should’ve been addressed to the Howard Community months ago.”
The fraud was revealed to the public via a now-suspended Medium post by an anonymous blogger accusing the university of abusing funds to the tune of $1 million, naming two people allegedly involved in the scam: former associate director of financial aid, Brian Johnson, and law student Tyrone Hankerson Jr.
While Frederick met with the students, assuring them that the money did not affect students receiving financial aid, not everyone is convinced. According to HuffPost, the funds taken in the nearly decade-long fraud were designated for low income students. In response, Grey's Anatomy actor Jesse Williams promoted a fund started by scholarship search tool Scholly, which is offering money to Howard University students affected by the scandal.
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All jokes aside ? our folk gotta stay on track. Don’t get finessed outchyer funds & don’t get pushed off your path. Come get this money! Come get w/ Scholly! We started a fund for those affected by the #HU scandalabra. #SchollyforHoward #tyronehankerson https://t.co/p6WdSzHOtc pic.twitter.com/R6mgJSmMat
— jesse Williams. (@iJesseWilliams) March 30, 2018
Since the news broke, Howard University students have released a list of demands, which include “an end to unsubstantiated tuition hikes,” allocating “more resources toward combating food insecurity and gentrification,” as well as “the immediate disarming of campus police officers.” We're sure Rihanna is more than happy to offer up any of her songs for possible future protests.
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