Support for current Mays Hall Residents
Dear Dr. Frederick,
We, the residents of Benjamin E. Mays Hall, would like to congratulate your inauguration as Howard University’s 17th president. We can appreciate and respect the vison that you are moving Howard University in. However, we are having issues with the current state of Mays Hall. Our Graduate Assistant, Terrance Mayo, is acting as a liaison to make sure our voices are heard. We strongly feel that you have neglected us in the decisions you are making towards the future of graduate housing. It is our understanding that the building is not up to code and that the university has to make the necessary provisions to change that. Sometime last year, the community of Divinity and Mays Hall residents received undocumented news that the School of Divinity will be closing. The miscommunication from you, the office of residence life, and other faculty/staff members involved has placed an unnecessary burden upon the residents. This has caused stress and emotional strain. Some of us have come from adverse situations or tried to ease some responsibilities to successfully matriculate in our academic studies. Mays Hall is considered a saving grace.
This place has allowed mobility between campuses and provided security for us to live peacefully. While trying to focus on studies, it has hard to imagine where the resources will come from to move out of Mays Hall. The prolonged uncertainty of a date is overwhelming.Most of us here have pull together many resources together to pay for tuition, fees, books/class materials, housing, transportation, and other expenses. There are a number of us that rely on student loans for those needs to be met. Some of us are not able to work and successfully complete our studies. We are respectfully asking you, as alumni of Howard, to not neglect your accountability of the student body. As the president, we can stand by your decision if it was tactfully introduced to us, reasonable accommodations were made, and a space was created for us to voice our concerns.
We
are appealing a solution that will alleviate the overwhelming stress on our
finances. The University residence halls close on May 10 at 5 pm. The timeline
for us is extremely tight. Please observe that the semester officially ends
April 23 and final exams range from April 20 to May 1. This only allows
students a maximum one week to make a move. Finances and where will to go is
what hinders one to move swiftly.
We appeal the following, since we have word that The School of Divinity will by closing in July. Mays hall should remain open until the end of the of the second summer session, July 31. Those residents should be exempted from the requirement of having employment, enrolled in summer school, and interim fees.
Other options to consider:
1) There will be some dorms open for the summer. We are proposing that the current residence have guaranteed housing accommodations for the entire summer. Those residents should be exempted from the requirement of having employment, enrolled in summer school, and interim fees. The concern is moving from Mays to another dorm. Is it possible for a few people from the Physical Facility Management help the students move boxes and small furniture?
2) Residence Halls close May 10 but there is an interim period up until the 22nd. We want to be able to stay until then without paying any additional fees and the deadline is extended to until the 31st of May or the 1st of June.
We appreciate your time reading this and encourage you to contemplate our appeal. Please understand that the Mays Hall community is a family. For us to have this home and then it is taken away from without any aid is deplorable. As the leaders of today and tomorrow, let us come together make this a smooth transition for all.
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