WPG HBCU News
 

October 2020
Top Story

Enrollment Gains for HBCUs
According to preliminary data released by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC), postsecondary enrollment declined overall for fall 2020. However, several HBCUs recorded significant enrollment gains during the period. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University broke its enrollment record for the fifth time. The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff reported a significant increase in enrollment and retention. Edward Waters College recorded its highest enrollment in over fifteen years. Albany State University also reported an increase in enrollment. The NSCRC provides data on enrollment useful for analyzing retention and persistence patterns. 
 
Other News

New Laws Governing Speech and Religion
The Department of Education published the Religious Liberty and Free Inquiry Final Rule in the federal register. The law goes into effect November 23, 2020. It requires public institutions to uphold first amendment rights on their campuses. They are also specifically prohibited from discriminating against student religious organizations based on the members stated beliefs, practices, policies, speech, membership or leadership standards when those are informed by sincerely held religious beliefs. Under the rule religious organizations must be given the same opportunity to use campus facilities, supplies, and funds that other groups are given. Private institutions are required to uphold their stated institutional policies regarding freedom of speech and academic freedom. The law also includes a non-exclusive list of methods institutions can use to prove they are controlled by a religious organization for the purpose of obtaining a Title IX religious exemption. Read more.

Unequal Lending Practices
The UNCF announced it will partner with the Center for Responsible Lending, and the University of North Carolina's Center for Community Capital to study the Black student debt crisis at HBCUs. Previous research did not focus on Black borrowers who attend HBCUs. The reach is funded by the Lumina Foundation and is slated to be published in August 2021. Read more.

Langston University Moves Forward
Langston University announced two agreements that will have an impact on students and programs. One of the agreements brings to a close a 17-year old complaint over program duplication and underfunding lodged with the Department of Education's Office of Civil rights. Under that agreement Oklahoma State Regents will provide $750,000 in supplemental funding to Langston University over three years. The other agreement stipulates Langston University will cease offering specific programs at its Tulsa branch. Oklahoma State University and Oklahoma State University Center for Health Services will pay $15,000,000 to Langston University over ten years and lease Langston's Tulsa properties. Read more.

The Jobs and Justice Act of 2020
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) introduced a revised Jobs and Justice Act which would expand funding for HBCUs. Read more.

HBCU Week
The theme for this year's White House Initiative on HBCUs annual national conference was accelerating HBCU competitiveness. President Trump addressed the conference and Secretary DeVos attended an entrepreneurship roundtable held at Hampton University. Ambassador Robert O'Brien spoke about the roles HBCUs could play in establishing the planned US-Africa Institute for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation. Another session dealt with CARES Act and HEERF reporting requirements, program reviews and audit findings at HBCUs, and relevant federal policies. Others covered federal contracting and grant opportunities. Read more.

Looking Ahead to Spring 2021
Institutions have begun posting their plans for spring semester. Most institutions that made announcements, made no change to their mode of instruction. Several modified academic calendars to reduce the number of times students have to return to campus. Read more.

Loan Forgiveness for HBCU Grads
Vice Presidential hopeful, Senator Kamala Harris indicated a Biden-Harris administration would forgive student-loan debt for HBCU graduates who pursue public service careers that pay less than $125,000. She also promised to invest $70 billion in HBCUs. Read more.

Maryland HBCUs May Get Greater Independence
Maryland legislator, Julian Ivey is drafting a bill that would give the HBCUs currently under the auspices of the state, their own Board of Regents. Bowie and Coppin State Universities and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore would be affected. The move would not affect Morgan State University, which is not a part of the state system. Read more.

Minority Students Underrepresented
A study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found minority college students were underrepresented in paid internships, that can lead to future employment. Read more.

Tuition Benchmark Drops
Amid the pandemic, tuition and fees have fallen across the sector, according to statistics released by the Department of Labor. The Consumer Price Index for tuition had its biggest drop since 1978. Read more.


Coronavirus Briefs

✹   Appalachian State University Chancellor Dr. Sheri Everts announced that a 19 year-old sophomore has died of coronavirus-related complications. The student lived off-campus and had gone home when he fell ill. He returned after being cleared by his doctor, but fell ill again and was hospitalized before he passed away.

✹   HBCUs have not had the severe spikes in infections primarily white institutions have struggled with this fall. On the whole, HBCU students are complying with social distancing and other initiatives aimed at curtailing outbreaks. HBCU culture, community structure, and no-nonsense administration are credited with keeping the infection rate low.

✹   Federal officials began delivering rapid coronavirus tests to HBCUs. They plan to deliver over 750,000 testing kits to all 107 institutions. The rapid test is made by Abbott Labs and produces a result in 15 minutes.

✹   A Brookings Institute study found COVID-19 has become third most frequent cause of death for black people. Pre-existing economic and health disparities left many black people vulnerable. To improve outcomes, black health caregivers, like those at Tougaloo College's Community Health Care Center, network with churches, food banks and other organizations to ensure their patients wellbeing. Studies suggest that black people have better heath outcomes when their health care givers are black.

✹   The presidents of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Howard University, Meharry Medical College, and Morehouse College of Medicine published a joint statement on the inclusion and protection of Black, Indigenous and people of color in coronavirus research. Dr. Hildreth, president of Meharry Medical College, is currently working to establish a consortium to lessen the negative impact the coronavirus has had on black communities. Earlier in the month, the presidents of Dillard and Xavier Universities announced their participation in a covid vaccine trial. Their suggestion that students faculty and staff should participate in vaccine trials to ensure the end product is effective for diverse groups drew criticism.

✹   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) caused confusion by posting and then deleting information on its website. The update implicated aerosols in the spread of the coronavirus and recommended testing for people who have been exposed to the virus but remain asymptomatic. Days later the CDC removed the information and said it was posted in error. 
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Compliance

Updates
Distance Learning Rule: The Department of Education (ED) published the final regulation for distance education and innovation in the federal register. The rules go into effect on July 1, 2021. Early adoption is permitted.

Academic and Religious Freedom Rule: ED published its Religious Liberty and Free Inquiry Final Rule in the federal register. The rule makes First Amendment compliance mandatory for any public institution that receives a direct grant or sub-grant from a State-Administered Formula grant program of the Department of Education. It requires private institutions that receive such funds to comply with their stated policies on freedom of speech and academic freedom. Public institutions are also required to afford faith-based student organizations the same rights, benefits, and privileges that they grant to non-faith-based student organizations. The rule includes a non-exclusive list of criteria an institution seeking Title IX exemption can use to demonstrate control by a religious organization. The rule goes into effect November 23, 2020.

Expanded Family and Medical Leave Benefits: The Department of Labor (DOL) revised the rule governing paid leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The revision clarifies that work must be available in order for an employee to qualify for FFCRA leave. It also stipulates that FFCRA leave for parents with children in schools that schedule face-to-face instruction for only a part of the week, is not considered intermittent leave. A separate FFCRA leave should be processed each time the school closes. The definition of health care providers was narrowed down to include only those employees who provide treatments, diagnostic or preventative services, or perform other services that are integral to patient care. The DOL published this update after a US District Court struck down part of the original rule. The rule expires December 31, 2020.

National Default Rate: Federal Student Aid released National Default Rate Briefing for FY 2017 official cohort default rates. Institutions that have a small number of borrowers entering repayment or only a small portion of the student body taking out student loans should use caution when interpreting the cohort default rate .

Supplemental Campus-Based Funds and Hurricane Laura: Federal Student Aid announced the Department of Education has reallocated a portion of the supplemental FSEOG funds to eligible institutions located in area affected by Hurricane Laura. Eligible institutions will be notified by email.

Cares Act Reporting: ED has determined that the CARES Act quarterly reporting requirement can be satisfied through monthly reporting already required by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA). ED also published an update to the reporting requirements that clarifies how an institution should estimate the number of students eligible for HEERF funds.

Update on Fraud Reporting: The email address used to report fraud to the Office of Inspector General is no longer valid. The complaint web portal should be used to report fraud. The report spreadsheet has been updated (Excel).

Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System Changes: Updates to the COD System include a coronavirus indicator, modification to the Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculator and updated forms and instructions. Read more.

Historic Preservation Tax FAQs: The IRS provided information on the rehabilitation tax credit available to property owners including tax-exempt entities that have formed limited partnerships to substantially rehabilitate a historical property.

Strategic Plan Posted:A draft of Federal Student Aid's Fiscal Year 2020-204 Strategic Plan is available for review. Feedback is requested.

Deadlines
The deadline for filing the Fiscal Operations Report for 2019-20 and Application to Participate for 2021-22 (FISAP) is November 2, 2020.

The deadline for the submission of FISAP edit corrections is December 15, 2020 .

The deadline to submit the Perkins Cash on Hand Update is December 15, 2020.

The deadline for the Annual Security Report, the Annual Fire Safety Report, and distribution of the annual Equity in Athletics Disclosures is December 31, 2020.

The Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement requirement is postponed to 2021.

Compliance Information
The final versions of the 2021–22 FAFSA form, FAFSA on the Web Worksheet, and the Student Aid Eligibility Worksheet for Question 23 are available on the Federal Student Aid Website

Formulas for the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) are available on the Federal Student Aid Website.

Reporting and Processing for Students whose withdrawals are related to COVID-19 are subject to the provisions of the CARES Act. The Return to Title IV (R2T4) requirements for such students are waived.

Additionally, Direct Loan funds received for the period will be cancelled, the period will not count toward the student's subsidized loan limit, and Pell Grant funds received for the period will be excluded from the student’s Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU). Read more

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has published a self-assessment calculator for higher education to assist institutions evaluating ways to mitigate risks associated with operating during the pandemic.

The Annual Notice of Interest Rates for Fixed-Rate Federal Student Loans Made Under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program was published in the Federal Register.

IPEDS 2020-2021 Data Collection closes for Keyholders on October 14, 2020. The collection closes for Coordinators on October 28, 2020. View the complete schedule on the IPEDS website.

OSHA requires institutions to report COVID cases when the virus was contracted in the workplace. Read more.

Notification of Supplemental Campus-Based Funds for 2020-2021 will be delivered to the financial aid administrator. FEMA-declared disasters may trigger a redirection of funds. Read more.

Updated EDESuite Operating System Requirements begin with EDExpress 2021-2022, DL Tools Release 21.0. Starting with the September 2020 release, the EDESuite applications will be supported in Microsoft Windows 10 and Microsoft Windows 8.1 operating system. Windows 7 will no longer be supported. Read more.

Reference
Instructions and the desk reference for the new FISAP form are available. Links to software, technical and installation guides, desk references and other tools are also available on the Federal Student Aid website.
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Grants, Awards, Gifts
IBM-HBCU Quantum Center IBM announced the launch of the IBM-HBCU Quantum Center. The following HBCUs will have access to IBM quantum computers and receive educational support: Howard, Albany State, Clark Atlanta, Coppin State, Hampton, Morgan State, North Carolina A&T State, Southern, Texas Southern, Virginia Union, and Xavier Universities, the University of the Virgin Islands, and Morehouse College. IBM also announced its Skills Academy Initiative will provide lectures, curriculum, software, and training. Read more.

Hampton University was awarded a $17,735,349.43 grant from the Department of Education. The funds were made available as part of the Education Stabilization Fund provision in the CARES Act .The University will partner with the Virginia Board of Workforce Development to establish a statewide workforce innovation and entrepreneurship center. Read more.

Shorter College and the University of Arkansas Global Campus will share a $13,000,000 grant administered by the Department of Education. The funds are a part of the CARES Act's Education Stabilization Fund. The institutions jointly applied for the award to fund innovation hubs capable of enhancing workforce capability, business development, and entrepreneurship throughout the state. Read more.

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University announced the Bank of America will gift the University $1,000,000 over the next four years. The funds will support racial equality and economic opportunity. Read more.

Miles College announced the establishment of the $168,000 Joann Bashinsky Scholarship Fund to pay tuition and fees for needy  students majoring in business administration or criminal justice. Mrs. Joann Bashinsky is the widow of the Golden Flake Foods founder, Mr. Sloan Y. Bashinsky. Read more.

Texas Southern University announced the National Hockey League will support its Center for Justice Research.  The pledge will be used to support student research projects. Read more.

Tennessee State University received $1,000,000 from the National Science Foundation to recruit minority community college students interested in transferring to its College of Engineering. The award will fund 45 scholarships over five years. The University also received $20,000 from Tractor Supply Company to fund student support efforts. Read more.

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Peyton Manning's Peyback Foundation anonymously endowed six scholarships at four HBCUs. The scholarships established at Grambling State, Southern, and Tennessee State Universities were named for alumni who went on to excel as professional athletes. The scholarships endowed at Fisk, Xavier, and Dillard Universities were named for a scholars and humanitarians outside of sports. Read more.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, successfully raised $1,000,000 in 24 hours for its national HBCU Impact Day. This is the third consecutive year they have achieved their goal. The funds are used to provide unrestricted $50,000 endowments to selected HBCUs . Last year the sorority made gifts to 32 of 96 selected institutions.  Read more.

Southern University and A&M College has entered into a Mentor-Protege with Boeing to work on NASA's Space Launch System program. The agreement is for18-months . Read more.

Howard University was awarded a $550,000 grant for its Quantum Biology Laboratory. It will be used to support research in quantum theory, electrodynamics, and biosystems.  The grant was made by the Guy Foundation, which is based in the United Kingdom. Read more.

Delaware State University announced that it received grants from the National Science Foundation. A three-year, $591,628 grant will support undergraduate hemp research. A two-year $199,714 grant will support undergraduate work in science, computing, and engineering. Read more.

Albany State University will receive $800,000 from the Georgia General Assembly toward the construction of a new simulation center for nursing and allied health. Read more.

Winston-Salem State University received a $1,500,000 grant from the University of North Carolina’s Research Opportunities Initiative. The funds will be used to establish a center for applied data science. Read more.

Claflin University received $2,700,000 from BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina to support student success during the pandemic. The gift will be used to provide financial help for students and to bridge gaps in technological support. Read more.

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Leadership Changes

Harris-Stowe State University named Dr. Stacy Gee Hollins dean of the Anheuser-Busch School of Business. Dr. Hollins served as associate professor and assistant dean for the Simon E. School of Business at Maryville University. Read more.

Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) Board of Trustees voted to extend the contract for Dr. Brenda Allen, an additional five years. Dr. Allen, a Lincoln University alumna, who has served as president since 2017. Read more.

Fayetteville State University named Dr. Yasmine Farley director of career services. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Farley served in the same capacity at Campbell University. Read more.

Grambling State University named Brandon A. Logan as executive director for the Doug Williams Center for the Study of Race & Politics in Sports. The center is named for Grambling alumnus Doug Williams, the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl. The Board of Directors includes Dr. Charlie Nelms, Mr. ShannonSharpe, Dr. Dennis E. Thomas, Ms. Cynthia Marshall, and other luminaries from sports and education. Read more.

Jackson State University named Michael Bolden.executive director of Campus Operations for the Office of the President. Mr. Bolden, a Jackson State alumnus, has over two decades experience in leadership and government. Read more.

Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) named Ms. August Mebane associate vice chancellor of human resources. Ms. Mebane comes to WSSU from the Adams School of Dentistry at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, where she served as the chief human resources officer. Read more.

West Virginia State University President Dr. Nicole Pride began her tenure by presenting her vision for the future to the campus community. Dr. Pride is the first woman to serve as president of West Virginia State University. Watch the recording.

Xavier University of Louisiana named Mr. Phillip D. Adams, vice president of institutional advancement. Mr. Adams' experience includes service at Savannah State, Norfolk State, and Saint Louis Universities, LeMoyne-Owen College and the United Way of Saint Louis. Read more.

Morehouse College named veteran educator, Dr. Kendrick T. Brown provost. Dr. Brown is an experienced academic administrator. He will begin his tenure January 2021. Read more.
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Kudos

Delaware State University President Dr. Tony Allen has been asked to serve on the Advisory Council of the Biden Transition Team. Dr. Allen was a speechwriter and assistant for Senator Biden from 1997 to 2000. Read more.

Dr. Tamara Warren, the Alabama Extension health and nutri­tion specialist at Alabama A&M University was recognized by the Association of Extension Administrators for her work in family and consumer sciences. The association honored her with a regional 2020 Excellence in Extension Award. Read more.

Florida A&M University has partnered with the African American Mayors Association to develop the Mayor's Institute for Racial and Economic Justice Policy. The University will help organize the training and professional development of the nations Black mayors. Read more.

Morgan State University and Talladega College won first and second place prizes in the annual Ford HBC-You Mobility Challenge. Morgan State won $25,000 for developing a program that helps students plan, shop for, and prepare healthful meals while adhering to COVID-19 protocols. Talladega College won $10,000 for developing a plan to assist the visually impaired by installing raised truncated domes on sidewalks. The domes serve to inform the visually impaired that they have reached the end of a sidewalk. Talladega College worked with the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind on the project. Read more.

Researchers at Texas Southern and Clark-Atlanta Universities published a study on the impact of the opioid crisis on Black and Hispanic communities. Read more.

Paul Quinn College's study on air pollution, Poisoned by Zip Code, was referenced in Reckoning with Joppa, a Dallas Morning News special report. Read more.

Spelman College announced it has joined the Atlanta Global Research and Education Collaborative. The collaborative aims to strengthen networks among institutions and scholars to support global research and education initiatives. Other members include Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, Emory University, and Agnes Scott College. Read more.

Langston University welcomed 100 new honors students this fall. It is the largest honors class the University has had. Read more.
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Programs

West Virginia State University's Center for the Advancement of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics is launching a virtual STEM program that pairs high school students with college student mentors. Read more.

Grambling State University'sCloud Computing program will receive support from Amazon Web Services' AWS Educate, including technical training for faculty. Read more.

Howard University will offer a new for-credit criminal justice course at no charge to high school students at five underserved schools in New York City. Read more.

Tuskegee University and Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law have created an accelerated bachelor’s to Juris Doctorate program. Eligible Tuskegee students will study three years at each institution. Read more.

South Carolina State University announced it is offering two new graduate-level online programs: Education Specialist (Ed.S) and Doctorate in Educational Administration (Ed.D). Read more.

Virginia Union University's Sydney Lewis School of Business will offer an online bachelor's degree in hospitality management. The University's College of Arts and Sciences will offer an online Bachelor of Science program in Health Science. Read more.
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Sports

Jackson State University has named NFL hall of famer, Deion Sanders, head football coach. Read more.

March for Justice Continues Florida A&M University students, coaches and teams have continued protests against police brutality and injustice. The protest were organized by a student athlete. Read more.

Huston-Tillotson University renewed its relationship with adidas. Under the four-year agreement, adidas will supply sports apparel, footwear, and accessories for athletic and cheerleading teams. Read more.

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's championship teams were granted an automatic bid. They will automatically play in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs (FCS). The playoffs will be held in April 2021 and the championship game will be held in May 2021. Read more.

The Southwestern Athletic Conference celebrated its 100th anniversary on September 10, 2020. SWAC was founded in Houston, Texas by C.H. Fuller of Bishop College, Red Randolph and C.H. Patterson of Paul Quinn College, E.G. Evans, H.J. Evans and H.J. Starns of Prairie View A&M University, D.C. Fuller of Texas College, and G. Whitte Jordan of Wiley College. Read more.
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Events


Event:Campus Technology Distance Learning Summit
Date:On Demand
Location:Online
Information:Details


Event:5 Strategies for a Safe Return to Campus
Date:October 14, 2020
Location:Online
Information:Details


Event:Leadership in Higher Education Virtual Conference
Date:October 1-December 31, 2020
Location:Virtual Event (on demand)
Information:Details


Event:WCET Annual Meeting
Date:October 6-November 12, 2020
Location:Virtual Event
Information:Details


Event:A+ Higher Education Enterprise Software Selection, Implementation, Success
Date:October 7, 2020
Location:Virtual Event
Information:Details


Event:Campus Technology Distance Learning Summit
Date:October 20, 2020
Location:Virtual Event
Information:Details


Event:American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU)
Date:October 26-28, 2020
Location:Virtual
Information:Details


Event:EDUCAUSE Annual Conference
Date:October 27-29, 2020
Location:Online
Information:Details


Event:High Stakes Capital Planning: Confidently Evaluating Alternative Financing Structures
Date:November 18, 2020
Location:Webcast
Information:Details


Event: National Conference on Trusteeship
Date:April 12-14, 2021
Location:Virtual Event
Information:Details


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WPG Special Report

Election 2020

The presidential election of 2020 comes at a time when the nation is grappling with the pandemic and confronting demands to end the racism that undergirds the economic, social, and political systems. The ability to restore voter protections guaranteed under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 may well hinge on the result of this election. Armed with voter ID laws, the ability to close polling places, and disseminate propaganda, forces are poised to attack voting rights. HBCUs and their surrounding communities are not immune to this attack

HBCU students have a history of championing voting rights. Students were instrumental in registering voters, particularly in areas where prior to 1965, laws had been used to prevent black participation in the electoral process. Although problems continued, it wasn't until 2013, when the Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, that the floodgates opened to voter suppression en masse. Several states enacted voter ID requirements, implemented signature (handwriting) and exact name matching, closed polling places, and purged voter rolls. They also targeted college students by enacting laws that made it more difficult for students to vote.

 

Obstacles and Disqualification

Some states are twice as likely to reject votes by students, Black. Hispanic, Native American, and Asians according to studies by Professor Daniel Smith. Rejections for missing or mismatched signatures are especially alarming in states where election officials are not required to notify a voter of a disqualification in a timely fashion that allows correction. This was the case in Texas until September 2020, when a federal judge ruled the practice was unconstitutional.

Whether the result of voter ID laws, signature matching, exact name matching, residency laws, inadequate polling times, insufficient polling locations, or all of the above, HBCU students are not turning out to vote like they should. A Tutfs University report on student voting found that student voting at HBCUs fell from 50.5% in the 2012 election to 39.9% in 2016. An analysis of voting in the 2020 primaries showed that the decline has continued. Earlier this year the Guardian found that zip codes where students live are almost twice as likely to be subject to voter purging initiatives. Although the study was confined to thee state of Wisconsin, the practice is also common in states where HBCUs are found.

 

Voter Suppression at an HBCU

Waller County in Texas, home to Prairie View A&M University, has a long history of trying to minimize student voting. In 1970, black students who were registered to vote were just outright barred from voting. In 1992 several students were indicted for voting locally. It was falsely alleged that they had voted in their hometown. The charges were later dropped. In 2004 the district attorney of Waller County incorrectly proclaimed that Prairie View students were ineligible to vote because they did not meet residency requirements. In 2018, the county reduced both polling locations and polling hours for early voting. The NAACP filed a voter suppression suit on behalf of the students that is before the district court.

 

Getting Out the HBCU Vote

If ballot rejections triple for the 2020 elections as predicted, students may well have the power to swing the election. Getting out the vote begins with voter registration. The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law created the HBCU Vote campaign. The campaign provides support to student leaders interested in working to increase student voting. Participants have access to resources and funding. HBCU Heroes, Adopt-an-HBCU Good Trouble, and several other organizations collaborated with the National Urban League and BET to register HBCU students on September 18, 2020, the inaugural National Black Voter Registration Day. Alabama A&M University hosted the 2020 National HBCU Student Voting Summit. Participants included the Andrew Goodman Foundation, the Fair Election Center's Campus Vote Project, and Students Learn Students Vote Coalition. Twenty-two speakers engaged 161 participants. The summit fittingly included a tribute to the late Representative John Lewis, who was a voting activist during his time as an HBCU student.

 

Social media sites are also playing a role in getting students registered to vote. The Collective PAC, Xceleader., and Rock The Vote cooperated to put together the #VoteHBCU! Challenge, a voter registration drive and competition. Other initiatives, not necessarily aimed specifically at HBCU students, but targeting young people in general, have had encouraging results. Snapchat, for example, added a voter registration button to its user interface and sent video reminders. Within two weeks over 400,000 users had registered to vote via the Snapchat app.

 

Disinformation

A recent study found black people were targeted by propaganda and disinformation disproportionately during the last presidential election. Many news outlets and social media sites have taken to providing fact checks, and, more problematically, flagging or removing misinformation. However, distinguishing a bot from a real commenter can be difficult, so much more the slick commercial. Organizations and individuals have fought back creating websites that offer space where users can share stories and ideas and view professionally produced presentations on history. Internet heavyweight, Amazon, is using its video streaming platform to offer All In: The Fight for Democracy, a documentary examining the history of voter suppression and how it was used to influence Georgia's 2018 gubernatorial race. We won't know how effective these tactics will be until November.

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About This Publication
WPG HBCU News is a monthly email published by the Wesley Peachtree Group, CPAs (WPG) as a service to the sector. It provides short summaries of news articles, government regulations, and announcements found online.

WPG HBCU News is available at no cost to HBCU administrators, trustees, and senior stakeholders. It is not intended as legal or financial advice. WPG's staff, writers, editors,  publishers, web hosts, e-mail distributors, and others involved with the production and presentation of this newsletter are not liable for errors, omissions, losses, injuries, or damages arising directly or indirectly from use of this newsletter or any information presented therein.

WPG is a full-service accounting firm with clients in the private business, education, government, faith-based, and not-for-profit sectors. We specialize in higher-education with a particular emphasis on minority-serving institutions. Our support for HBCUs includes the WPG HBCU News (this publication) and the Annual WPG HBCU Forum. We welcome your feedback.
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