A TikTok video circulating on social media shows people breaking into Howard University's Benjamin E. Mays Hall, which housed the School of Divinity from 1987 to 2015.
The video shows the intruders walking through the boarded-up building in the 1400 block of Shepherd Street NE, opening books and discharging a fire extinguisher.
The video shows hundreds of books, computers and a piano were left behind in the library. The building still holds materials that weren’t moved to the School of Divinity’s current location due to limited capacity.
The Rev. Kenyatta Gilbert, dean of the School of Divinity, released a statement condemning the act.
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“The actions of those who trespassed and broke into Mays Hall remind us how some are willing to violate the sacred boundaries of our beloved HBCU campuses," the statement says, in part.
Howard will reassess the contents of Mays Hall and improve patrols and security at the site.
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