Anxious students who were unenrolled now moving into Howard University dorms

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nikiyah Clark had five boxes and a backpack when she ultimately received the keys to her Howard University dorm. Weeks earlier, the school had told her this moment would never come. When Howard administrators informed Clark — and hundreds of others — that she was permanently unenrolled for missing a tuition fee deadline, she rode a bus from Cleveland, Ohio, to plea with administrators.

I lost my way out,” said the 17-year-old, who had pinned her hopes on Howard as a peaceful environment and a path to financial freedom after years of growing up in “survival mode.” Shortly after that, the university notified Clark she was once again welcome to enroll. But as she moved into the Washington, D.C., campus on Thursday, she remained uneasy. She worries that the university might reverse its decision yet again, and hopes Howard will make changes so that other students aren’t wrongfully unenrolled.

“I’m definitely not really over that,” Clark said. While administrators prefer that students, faculty and alumni focus on the school’s new academic year, much of the community’s attention is still trained on the unenrollment debacle. More than 500 incoming first-year students were unenrolled for missing a July tuition payment deadline, the university said.

About 200 students have had their enrollment restored. It was also reported Friday that Howard unenrolled the students about a month after offering voluntary early retirement buyouts to 600 eligible employees. But Howard University said in a statement that the employee buyouts were unrelated and part of a plan for “long-term financial sustainability.” For some in the Howard community, the bitter experience has raised questions about the legacy of one of the country’s most revered historically Black colleges and universities.

Others say such administrative matters won’t lessen the career impact a Howard diploma can have. The loss of HBCU luster Zy’Aira Blackmon had her heart set on attending Howard, seen as the preeminent Black university in the nation. But, after her enrollment status was revoked and then reinstated within days, the 18-year-old from Grand Rapids, Michigan, doesn’t feel the same way.

The luster Howard once held has been dulled. “After this situation, most people are going to ignore all the good things Howard has to offer,” said Blackmon, wh… Weeks earlier, the school had told her this moment would never come.When Howard administrators informed Clark — and hundreds of others — that she was permanently unenrolled for missing a tuition fee deadline, she rode a bus from Cleveland, Ohio, to plea with administrators.