Bethune-Cookman students protest campus conditions after school's split with Ed Reed (1991 hits)
Students at Bethune-Cookman University tell FOX 35 News that they're tired of living in moldy, unsafe conditions. They want the school to do something about it.
DAYTONA BEACH — Hundreds of Bethune-Cookman University students gathered in protest of the current campus conditions Monday afternoon. The demonstration came just two days after the school’s split with head football coach Ed Reed.
“It was a push for students to use their voices,” freshman Keddler David said.
Last week, Reed went on Instagram Live and criticized Bethune-Cookman’s facilities and cleanliness. In one clip, he rode in a golf cart and claimed to be at the Wildcats’ facility “picking up trash.” He later apologized for the profanity-laced videos.
Then, Saturday, Reed again took to social media to announce the university was not going to ratify his contract. He posted that he was not withdrawing his name from the position but that Bethune-Cookman’s administration was forcing him out. The school followed with a statement that evening, declaring it had “decided not to pursue contract negotiations with Ed Reed” and reopened its coaching search.
Students at Bethune-Cookman University are asking leaders to restart contract negotiations with Pro Football Hall of Famer Ed Reed.
The protest spilled out onto the street in front of campus.
The two sides reached an agreement in principle for the Pro Football Hall of Famer to be the Wildcats’ new coach on Dec. 27 but never solidified the official terms. Reed had been working without a contract throughout this month.
“He was wrong for going on Live and saying what he said (in the manner he said it),” freshman James Rocker said. “But at the same time, he was right because the stuff he said was going on needed to be shown — what’s really going on at the school.”
Monday, students marched from noon until approximately 2 p.m. They started at White Hall and spread across campus from there. At one point, they shouted, "The Board of Trustees got to go.”
Some complained of mold in their dorm rooms, no hot water or air conditioning and more problems that they say go without attention from the school’s administration. The area is also still cleaning up debris and recovering from two hurricanes last fall.
“Hopefully, they just listen,” freshman Ashley Betheo said. “All of us need help on this campus. We put so much money into this campus, with tuition and all of this, and we barely get help. That’s not right.”
The estimated cost of attending Bethune-Cookman as a full-time on-campus student is $31,040 per year, according to the university's website.
Many of the Wildcat football players also joined the protest.
“Everybody out here, we want our coach back!” - Tight End Austin Yankowy
“Coach Ed Reed wanted change,” sophomore Nathaniel Williams said. “He wanted to improve the dorms and everything. He got people out here trying to send money. It’s like, ‘You don’t want this man to coach for us? You don’t want this man to help us out?’ That’s a problem.”
The idea for the protest began Saturday afternoon and circulated on social media and by word of mouth. Freshman Shekinah Morris saw it on Fizz, a campus social media platform, on Sunday.
“I thought it was really positive,” Morris said of the protest. “There are a lot of things that go on on campus that don’t get fixed, and no one really hears the students out. It’s good to get everybody together and talk about it and get our voices out there.”
