‘This Is Us Being Surveilled’: Howard Students Start the Year Under Federal Watch

For freshmen arriving at Howard University, the school’s famed ‘Bison Week’ is usually a rite of passage with a blur of music, parties, step show flyers, and midnight runs down Georgia Avenue. But this year, welcome week collided with flashing sirens, circling helicopters, and Instagram posts warning of unmarked vans lurking near campus. All of it underscores a stark reality: more than 800 federal agents have flooded D.C. under President Trump’s declared “crime emergency.”

On Monday, August 11, Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to take control of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, invoking the Home Rule Act to justify what he called a “federal purpose.” The move brought FBI agents, Homeland Security personnel, ICE, and the National Guard pouring into the city, even though violent crime had already dropped 26 percent compared to last year. At a press conference, Trump painted a different picture, declaring D.C. “one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world” and promising to put “a lot of, essentially military” on the streets.

For Howard students, the takeover wasn’t an abstract policy shift.  It was immediate and visible. Freshman English major Grayson Hatley, from Memphis, Tennessee, stepped off campus with new friends to explore the city. “We were the only group that was out there, and there were like three, four police cars just surrounding the area,” he said. “And when I looked up, there were literally two helicopters circling, just watching us.”

After he heard the news of law enforcement’s deployment, Hatley put the moment into stark terms: “This is us being surveilled.” 

Not every student reads the heavy police presence the same way. For Amani King, a freshman criminology major, the sight of officers on every corner brought a complicated mix of reassurance and unease. “I feel safer knowing that everywhere I look, I always see a cop,” King said. “But at the same time, I don’t know how they are with people like me.”

What unsettled King most was the timing. “I’ve been talking to some people, especially my grandma, who’s a D.C. resident, about how Howard has all of its freshmen moving in, and then all of a sudden Trump decides to send all this military over. They’re all around Howard.”

The unease isn’t limited to students.

Ariel Triplett, the Director of Emergency Management for Howard’s Department of Public Safety, and a Howard alumna herself, said this level of federal involvement feels “new.” Howard’s proximity to the federal government has always shaped student life, she noted, but the current wave of surveillance and militarization marks a different reality.

Triplett urged students to embrace their voices while grounding themselves in knowledge of their rights. “Being informed is key,” she said. “If you are not informed, you run risks, but if you are, then you have something you can stand on. We’re not here to just stand on nothing. We got to stand on what we believe in.”

That call to stay informed resonates with students and alumni who see the federal takeover reshaping campus life. Recent graduate Dezmond Rosier, who grew up in a police and military family, worries the influx of officers will only deepen distrust. “I believe in community policing, which relies on building relationships within the community,” Rosier said. “What Trump is doing in D.C. now is the opposite.  It’s scaring kids.”

Current senior Aniyah Genama, managing editor of The Hilltop, said she feels the pressure not only as a student but as a sister. “My youngest sibling, Ava, is a young Black girl in the South. I’m having to talk with her differently than my brother, who is twenty years old and Hispanic-presenting,” she said. “I’m exposed to so many different concerns now because multiple communities are being targeted at once.”

Both Genama and Rosier worry about how this climate could change Howard’s culture. “I’m on edge because I’m seeing that behavior students believe is normal can now put a target on your back,” Genama said.

Rosier added that preserving what he calls “The Mecca,” the cultural heartbeat of Howard, will require students to unite. “Everyone that attends Howard knows Howard, but not everyone experiences The Mecca,” he said. “I want to see students working together, students working with faculty, and bridging that gap between service and involvement because it’s gonna take all hands, all feet, everybody in to really just get this moving. Don’t think that it will stop here.”

Student leaders are already urging caution, but for many, vigilance is only part of the story. What’s at stake is Howard’s identity itself, the culture, community, and activism that earned it the name “The Mecca.”

“It’s not about only acting when you’re directly at risk,” said Rosier. “It’s about knowing that the person to your right and left is a brother or sister. Our silence will be our downfall. Don’t think that it will stop here.”

The Department of Public Safety has been in constant communication with students, informing them of best practices for navigating the city, interacting with officers, and understanding the changing landscape. In an email sent out on August 14, the office was clear about the reality that Howard sits on several public streets, which are under the jurisdiction of the MPD not the HUPD. The email read, “ Please be aware that while 4th Street, 6th Street, Georgia Avenue, Fairmont Street, and Girard Street, among others, pass through our campus, they are public streets under the city’s police jurisdiction — not the Howard University Department of Public Safety’s.” 

The prioritization of safety is a running theme for university officials, student leaders, and activists. The College of Arts and Sciences Council is already using their platforms to encourage students to move with caution. As the largest school at Howard, COAS represents nearly half of the undergraduate body, making its outreach especially influential. Council President Jeremy Allman recently commented on COAS’s “general safety tips” post on Instagram, reminding students: “Please be sure when going out [on U Street] your friends and family know what you’re wearing in case of any trouble. Let’s stay safe, Bison.”

This local call for vigilance echoes citywide leadership. In an August 12 town hall, Mayor Muriel Bowser urged residents to “protect our city, to protect our autonomy, to protect our home rule and get to the other side of this guy and make sure we elect a Democratic House so that we have a backstop to this authoritarian push.”

Still, many students insist the weight of surveillance won’t crush their spirit. “We’re being targeted in new ways,” said Genama, “but that only makes it more important that we look out for each other.”

Rosier put it even more bluntly: “It’s not about only acting when you’re directly at risk. It’s about knowing that the person to your right and left is a brother or sister. Our silence will be our downfall.”

SEE ALSO:

Black D.C. Is The Stage For Trump’s Authoritarian Rehearsal

Trump’s National Guard Deployment Is A Direct Attack On Black DC

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