Spelman Student Letter and Demands 

To Whom It May Concern, 

Since Spelman College’s June 4th housing announcement and its consecutive administrative decisions, the student body has experienced immense frustration, stress, and anxiety due to the college’s lackluster planning with regard to our living situations and learning model for this Fall Semester. Unfortunately, this is not new to the student population, as Spelman alumnae have chronicled issues around housing, food, and transportation disparities for varying student demographics for decades (reference). Despite marketing itself as a traditionally residential college, each year, the majority of transfer students, Pauline E. Drake Scholars, juniors, and seniors are repeatedly forced to search for a place to live in a city that has an affordable housing crisis, and an infamous rate of gendered violence (reference). This year, Spelman’s unaddressed housing disparities were exacerbated due to the welcoming of an unprecedented class of freshmen. As a result, the student body, especially upperclassmen, are navigating housing insecurity and homelessness in Atlanta. We deem now as the time to address housing and other disparities at Spelman College in a sustainable way. While we understand solutions are being discussed, we demand to be involved in improving the material circumstances of ourselves and our peers. The student organizations involved in this advocacy want nothing more than to alleviate the negative circumstances any student may face, which has led us to formulate six categories encompassing the necessary assistance for student living conditions:

1. Transparency 

2. Housing

3. Quarantine 

4. Transportation

5. Food

6. Virtual Learning

With these clear demands, we want to emphasize the fact that this letter is addressed to the College’s administration. We are in solidarity with our faculty and staff. As an institution that holds power over our lives as students, Spelman is not above critique and accountability. We demand that those in power work in harmony with the desperate and immediate needs of hundreds of Spelman students. 

The world has been thrown into unknown territory since March of 2020. We understand the past year-and-a-half has been difficult for many institutions of higher learning, especially Historically Black Colleges and Universities that face the socio-historical implications of institutional racism. Spelman has had to adapt and adjust to fit the ever-changing demands of our “new normal.” As a student body, we empathize with our College and have experienced these changes, from class structure to campus life, together. However, as students, we find ourselves to be one of the most vulnerable populations within this institution. When the College makes poor decisions involving our security, we are the ones to suffer gravely. Furthermore, with the College’s acceptance of various large financial gifts and grants, we are concerned that an increase in fiscal resources continues to result in a decrease in student security. Just as Spelman has maintained its standards for us as high-achieving students, we have not wavered in our high expectations for Spelman as the number one HBCU. The objectives of Spelman College should not be guided by capitalistic aims, but rather with the intention of safeguarding the wellbeing and humanity of the student body, faculty, and staff. 

In the past months, we have worked diligently on a list of demands representative of the student body. We do not only believe these demands to be necessary based on data collection, but also feasible under the college’s fiscal resources and occupational capabilities. We encourage the college to show its respect to student concerns by seriously reviewing our demands. Due to the severity and urgency of the issue, we will protest the College until the recipients of this letter put our demands into action. As students, we have been forced to respond to our conditions with speed and transparency. We expect the college to visibly do the same. 

In closing, we appeal to Spelman College’s mission statement, 

“An outstanding historically black college for women, Spelman promotes academic excellence in the liberal arts, and develops the intellectual, ethical, and leadership potential of its students. Spelman seeks to empower the total person, who appreciates the many cultures of the world and commits to positive social change.”

As students aspiring to this mission, many of us paving the way for Spelman’s great successes, we are seeking to hold our institution accountable. With these demands, we hope to contribute to the development and innovation of our HBCU by speaking up about an issue that has gone unaddressed by the institution for decades. 

As student organizers, we ourselves are navigating housing insecurity, coursework, and are preparing for life after undergrad. We are acutely aware that in advocating for ourselves, we are potentially becoming more vulnerable to institutional retaliation in the form of expulsion, suspension, or other disciplinary actions by our College (reference). However, if our recipients choose to instead respond to our student advocacy with receptiveness, responsiveness, and care, we believe that it will mark an important moment in our legacy, and bring Spelman a step closer to realizing its mission. 

With concern,

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Ayiana T. Davis Polen c’o 2024

Taylor L. C. Dews c’o 2022

Njeri Waititu c'o 2022

Lauren Nicks c’o 2023

Ananda Griffin c’o 2022

Deja L. Mason c’o 2022

Aliyah Webster c’o 2024

Elon Davis c’o 2024

Kaela Nicholls c’o 2024

Kaia N. Godsey c’o 2023

Larnee Satchell c’o 2022

Paige Ashton c’o 2024

Tai Livingston c’o 2023

Adrian Polk c’o 2023

Ciara A. Terry c’o 2022

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