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:
https://twitter.com/adena_andrews/status/923646192587767809
The unwillingness to provide adequate resources to @TheHillTopHU is the underlying act of suffocating their 1st amendment. #WWYDHU https://t.co/bcFejCzLgW
— Ruth Young Banks (@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?
