An organization has rescinded an offer of free housing for a Howard University student who was expelled from the dorm system.
The group says the student, 18-year-old Jawanza Ingram, stopped communicating with them and was disappointed that the home was too far away -- but Ingram says he simply needed more time to decide on his next move.
Ingram, a sophomore, was evicted from his dorm a week ago, after he admits to letting some fellow Howard students into his dorm via an emergency door to celebrate his suitemate's birthday.
The group HBCU Pride Nation tried to help Ingram find housing, linking him up with a Howard graduate who had a home she planned to rent out. The alumna offered to let Ingram live there rent-free for the rest of the school year -- but after that, the group says Ingram stopped communicating with them, according to a release from HBCU Pride Nation issued Tuesday afternoon.
The group cited "numerous failed attempts to reach him," and said that, "coupled with the student's disappointment that the proposed housing would be 10 miles from school (while accessible to convenient public transportation)," the situation was not going to work out.
However, Ingram disputed that account on Twitter, saying that he had simply needed more time to make a decision, and that he and his parents had wanted to speak with the housing donor.
He thanked HBCU Pride Nation, saying the "offer of housing remains one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me in my life, But I'm still an 18-year-old boy who can't pack up and move 10 miles from campus without talk[ing] to my parents, who are and will remain my number two authority, only second to God."
In the wake of his expulsion from the dorm system, Ingram -- who attends Howard on a full scholarship that covered the cost of housing -- had turned to social media for help from his fellow students, who made #HomelessAtHoward a trending hashtag in the District.
A photo he posted to his Twitter account shows him wheeling a suitcase down a hallway, lugging a duffle bag and wearing a backpack.
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Ingram admitted to breaking dorm security rules, but said he had no disciplinary record at the school.
He told News4 he'd let his friends into the building through a side door at about 11:45 p.m. Nov. 2. They left without incident, he said. The following day, he received a letter informing him he would need to move out of the dorm and would be ineligible for student housing through the rest of the school year, until next July.
Ingram said he apologized, but school officials refused to let him move back onto campus.
"I'm from Miami. I don't have family in the DMV area. Where am I gonna go?" Ingram said, sitting on a bench, surrounded by his belongings.
On Tuesday, an HBCU Pride Nation spokeswoman said Ingram still seemed to be focused on fighting the situation with Howard rather than on securing a new place to live, citing a statement Ingram made on Twitter on Sunday, saying his "overall goal" was to change the system at Howard.
But Ingram replied to the group on Twitter, "@HBCUPrideNation As I still have no housing at the moment, my focus is most assuredly still on securing housing."
The spokeswoman said HBCU Pride Nation has not taken sides in the conflict with Howard, and that their only focus was on Ingram's safety and well-being.
"While we love and support any student with the courage to combat, what they feel, are injustices in their schools' policies, we simply cannot be in the middle of this fight," the group said in their release.
Howard vice president Bill Whitman Jr. has said he stands by the university's decision, which he said stems from a policy designed to keep students safe.
"Maintaining a safe and secure campus is a top priority at Howard University," he said in a previous statement. "Any violation of Howard University policies is taken seriously, investigated and appropriate action is taken to mitigate risks."
