One of the most integral parts of Howard University’s student body is its student-ran newspaper, The Hilltop.
Founded in 1924 by Zora Neale Hurston and Eugene King, The Hilltop has been revered as one of the most prestigious college newspapers across the country. In 1995, it was given the title of “Best Collegiate Newspaper in the Nation” by The Princeton Review. It has and always will be the source for campus, local, and national news, written by Howard students for Howard students. With a booming online publication as well as a equally popular print publication, The Hilltop has always been a crowd favorite.
However, The Hilltop’s lack of resources has finally been exposed by informational tweets posted from The Hilltop’s Twitter account. The Hilltop team has taken to social media with a movement called #WWYDHU (What would you do, Howard University?).
🗣 FOR TOO LONG, OUR BASIC NEEDS HAVE NOT BEEN MET. What would you do without The Hilltop? #WWYDHU pic.twitter.com/LqcAeBv3oy
— The Hilltop (@TheHilltopHU) October 26, 2017
The team brought #WWYDHU to The Hilltop’s print publication, printing pages missing the weekly stories people anticipate to read. Instead, the pages read, “What would you do…?”
https://twitter.com/_maiyah_/status/923572672067448833
The team says the lack of resources is holding The Hilltop back from achieving its full potential. On October 26, they began their protest, which they titled #HilltopBlackout. By stopping the publishing of The Hilltop, they hope staff and faculty will pay attention and fulfill the needs on their list. Supporters began to tweet using #WWYDHU:
We need bright journalism minds practicing the craft more than ever and they can’t do that without resources. #WWYDHU
— Adena Andrews (@adena_andrews) October 26, 2017
The unwillingness to provide adequate resources to @TheHillTopHU is the underlying act of suffocating their 1st amendment. #WWYDHU https://t.co/bcFejCzLgW
— Journalist Life (@RuthYoungTyler) October 26, 2017
The campus hopes to see The Hilltop back in publication in the near future. That can be achieved with the cooperation from the faculty, but #WWYDHU?
I currently serve as The Hilltop’s Assistant News Editor. Speaking on behalf of myself, not the publication or the rest of the staff, this article is inaccurate and the headline is completely misleading, not to mention that it’s outdated because we started the protest almost three weeks ago. This write goes to Howard and didn’t even reach out for an interview. This needs to be edited for accuracy and responsible reporting needs to be practiced by this publication.
The headline is meant to catch attention for site visitors to read. The article was written to support #WWYDHU, not to spread inaccurate information. I have given correct dates and provided tweets from The Hilltop’s actual Twitter account, so I’m confused how it can be considered “inaccurate”? Thanks for your opinion though, I will take it into consideration.