Howard University students and alumni are publicly demanding for actress Phylicia Rashad to be fired from the school. She currently is the Dean of College of Fine Arts.
The actress was served fierce criticism after backpedaling on an earlier statement where she rejoiced after hearing the news that her former co-star on “The Cosby Show,” Bill Cosby, sex assault conviction had been overturned by Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court.
Earlier on Wednesday, the 73-year-old tweeted, “FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected!”
Rashad paired the caption with a photo of Cosby, 83.
Howard University students were not only infuriated over Rashad‘s initial reaction, but they’re also now presuming that her updated statement in support of survivors of sexual assault was just a publicity stunt and are demanding for her to step down or be terminated.
An alumna named Nylah Burton has shared her disdain on her Twitter account since Rashad‘s statement. She reportedly tweeted this week, “So proud to be from Howard University! Look at our role models! Defending serial rapists warms the heart, it really does”.
After Rashad tweeted that she “fully” supports survivors of sexual assault, Burton reportedly said: “Just say Howard University or your PR person told you to tweet this and go. The ONLY intent of your post was to be insensitive to survivors’ truths.”
Whitney Meritus, a member of the Howard Class of 2024, wrote on Instagram: “‘Hold her a–accountable. I’d take a non-famous dean who believes SA victims over a celebrity dean who does s–t like this… Don’t get me wrong, I know she was his professor and all, but I don’t think she deserves to lead the Chadwick A. Boseman School of Fine Arts. Not anymore.”
The hashtag #ByePhylicia was trending on Twitter at some point during the outrage.
Since the latest occurrences, students and alumni have been sharing a GoFundMe page that was started on June 3, before Rashad shared her support of Cosby, that is intended to raise donations for “current and former Howard students who are survivors, of all genders, and who have experienced all types of sexual violence across the spectrum.”
Burton on Wednesday wrote, “SO, since the Dean of Howard University College of Fine Arts wants to tell all of her students that sexual assault doesn’t matter to her, y’all can donate to help survivors of sexual violence from Howard.”
“Phylicia Rashad should STEP DOWN as the Dean of Howard University’s College of Fine Arts. Having a rape apologist as dean of a college will put students’ safety on the line and demonize survivors when they report their cases on campus,” reportedly a person, who did not publicly say they are connected to the school, wrote.
Howard University released an official statement regarding Rashad’s support of Cosby‘s prison release Wednesday on Twitter.
“Survivors of sexual assault will always be our first priority,” the university said in the statement. “While Dean Rashad has acknowledged in her follow-up tweet that victims must be heard and believed, her initial tweet lacked sensitivity towards survivors of sexual assault.”
“Personal positions of University leadership do not reflect Howard University’s policies,” the statement continued. “We will continue to advocate for survivors fully and support their right to be heard. Howard will stand with survivors and challenge systems that would deny them justice. We have full confidence that our faculty and school leadership will live up to this sacred commitment.”
