Other students described "the stress of trying not to get sick, not getting killed by police or finding a way to pay for school" and feeling "frustrated and upset" because "COVID-19 [is] out here killing us and so is the police."
"We know Black students are suffering financial and mental distress, and when you combine that with the racial reckoning, they are doubly stressed," Bridges said. He also noted the widely reported lack of regular or reliable internet and Wi-Fi access by students of color from low-income backgrounds or those who are first-generation college students.
Part of the reason so many HBCU students feel more comfortable being on their campuses is the notion of personal and collective fortitude that is heavily promoted at HBCUs and undergirded by the histories of the institutions themselves and the legacy of slavery, violence and racial injustice in the United States. The students are constantly reminded that they are part of larger, common purpose to uplift and be responsible to the larger Black community.
Harold L. Martin, chancellor of North Carolina A&T, said even as HBCUs have held fast to their proudest traditions, some of the institutions, including NCA&T, let go of some of the more dated and conservative customs as they tried to address students' more current, pre-pandemic needs and focus on becoming more innovative and global institutions. But the pandemic allowed HBCUs to more easily revert to their more conventional ways, he said.
"There is this sense in HBCU communities of a great level of expectation for students and engagement with them," Martin said. "But we've had to shift away from some of our traditional types of structures and rules and show more flexibility over time on issues that are much more relevant, especially today. But there's a lot of carryover that this virus is having, a lot of impact on Black and brown communities, and the students are genuinely trying to act more responsibly in this moment."
"In times of crisis, you have to embrace the moment," said Quinton T. Ross Jr., president of Alabama State University, a public HBCU in Montgomery, a city
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