Student-led protests are underway at Bethune-Cookman University amid the fallout over the dismissal of Ed Reed as football coach and concerns over the conditions of the school.
On Monday, B-CU students engaged in on-campus demonstrations directed at the school’s Board of Trustees over what they described as unsafe living conditions and a demand for better leadership.
Some students expressed to local media that dormitories were reportedly infested with rodents, mold and experienced HVAC failures that had gone unaddressed.
“We’re constantly pouring money into this institution, and we feel like it’s not being poured back into us,” an unidentified student told FOX 35 Orlando. “We’re not seeing change. They just keep giving us false promises.”
Bethune Cookman protest https://t.co/8nE5VZG0hE
— Austin Yankowy 6’5 245 (@yanky_smoove) January 23, 2023
While Reed not being retained as head coach was the catalyst that sparked the protest when the school decided to not ratify his then-pending contract, students said the situation ultimately led them to push for change that Reed attempted to initiate.
The Bethune-Cookman family is in pain. Please hear us out! Ed Reed Was Right! pic.twitter.com/bKZVQEb22h
— Savvy Me (@Me2Savvy) January 23, 2023
Football player Branden McDonald, who was of two dozen others to sign a petition in hopes of getting Reed reinstated, said the Pro Football Hall of Famer wanted better for the institution and should have remained coach.
“Overall, what he said was 100 percent true,” McDonald told HBCU Sports. “I think they (B-CU) were upset that he exposed how things looked here and they took it the wrong way when they should have took it as we needed to change.”
