You have /5 articles left.
Sign up for a free account or log in.
Howard University is investigating an alleged break-in and vandalism after a video circulated on social media, showing three unknown individuals walking through the university’s former divinity school, The Washington Post reported. The building, Benjamin E. Mays Hall, still houses archival materials.
The Reverend Kenyatta Gilbert, dean of the School of Divinity at Howard, wrote in a statement that the video posted on TikTok showed the group “rummaging through Mays Hall, running through the stacks of its library, flipping through books and files, and even deploying a fire extinguisher indoors.
“The creator of the TikTok admitted that the group had trouble entering the building, with its boarded windows and doors, but the group persisted and was able to force entry into the building through a mechanical room,” Gilbert wrote.
The now-deleted video was posted by an Instagram user, self-described on the platform as a “history enthusiast/explorer,” according to The Washington Post. The video showed the group commenting on various items in the building, including old books and photos, stained glass windows, and a “sick broken statue,” which one member of the group sprayed with a fire extinguisher. Papers and fallen tiles were shown on the floor.
The Instagram user posted an Instagram story on Saturday defending the trespassing as a way to call attention to abandoned historic items.
“I do not make these videos to diminish the institutions who the property belongs to, but rather to raise awareness on these type of things,” the Instagram user said. The story also noted that the video was taken “a while back” and argued that those disturbed by the sprayed fire extinguisher “should focus on the current state of the place.”
Gilbert wrote that the Howard University Department of Public Safety is investigating the matter and will increase patrols of the site.
“The University is taking the necessary steps to ensure the School of Divinity’s most precious archival materials are in safekeeping,” he said.
