The Hilltop

The Hilltop Official account of Howard University's Student Newspaper. The Student Voice of Howard University Si Metro area.

Located in the heart of Northwest Washington, D.C., The Hilltop at Howard University remains on the forefront of campus, local, and national news. University owned and student operated, The Hilltop, with a print circulation of 9,000 and a daily online publication, is committed to providing critical and enlightening news to the Howard University community and the Washington, D.C.

General staff applications are now open for the 2026-27 school year! Swipe to read more about our various departments.Th...
05/26/2026

General staff applications are now open for the 2026-27 school year! Swipe to read more about our various departments.

The following positions are open:
• Writer for one of our 6 sections (Campus, News and Politics, Variety, Sports, Investigative, Opinions)
• Copy Editor
• Audio Producer
• Social Media Producer
• Illustrator/Graphic Designer
• Photographer
• Videographer

Incoming freshmen are welcome to apply. The link is in our Linktree in bio.

Email [email protected] with any questions!

05/09/2026

Howard University President Wayne A.I. Frederick announced on April 30 that Mayor Muriel Bowser would serve as the keynote speaker for the 158th Commencement Convocation. Following the announcement, flyers circulated on social media encouraging students in the crowd to protest by either turning around during the speech, heckling or walking out of the event.

Today at convocation, graduating students in the crowd did all three. They cited disagreeing with Bowser’s actions and politics, including opting to cooperate with President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.

🎥: Cymphani Hargrave/The Hilltop

LETTER TO THE EDITOR | In a Letter to the Editor, the Howard University NAACP reflects on the recent Supreme Court rulin...
05/09/2026

LETTER TO THE EDITOR | In a Letter to the Editor, the Howard University NAACP reflects on the recent Supreme Court ruling striking down Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

🔗: Click the Link in our Bio to read more.

📸: Photo Courtesy of The National Archives Catalog

Applications to join the 2026-2027 Hilltop editorial board are now open! This is a great way to build on your leadership...
05/09/2026

Applications to join the 2026-2027 Hilltop editorial board are now open! This is a great way to build on your leadership skills and be involved with Howard’s historic student-run newspaper in its 102nd year.

Access the application at the link in bio. The deadline is May 17 at 5pm. Regular staff and copy desk applications will open in June.

Please email eic1@thehilltoponline if you have any questions!

CAMPUS | Unlike freshman and sophomore years, housing is not guaranteed for juniors and seniors, leading many upperclass...
05/07/2026

CAMPUS | Unlike freshman and sophomore years, housing is not guaranteed for juniors and seniors, leading many upperclassmen to resort to renting houses or apartments. 

The median monthly rent for Howard University students sits at $1,400. Upfront costs like the median one-time move-in cost are $1,892; the average is over $2,100. 

“…A lot of sophomores got displaced and [Howard] over-accepted students,” said Jamone Small, a sophomore acting major, playwriting minor from Brooklyn, New York. “I think it’s an issue that is going to continue to follow Howard.” 

Small said he feels Howard hasn’t provided students with resources to find housing that is not affiliated with the university. Howard offers some support, notably the Off-Campus Housing Portal and partnerships with complexes like The Lanes at Union Market and Vie Towers. 

“The University is always searching for collaborative housing opportunities for our Bison, and we will keep you apprised of any upcoming new housing opportunities,” said the University Office of Communications (OUC) in a written statement to The Hilltop.

Amidst these challenges, some students are finding relief through emerging and targeted support initiatives. Payton Garcia, a junior honors economics major and mathematics minor from Chicago, recently emailed all students in the College of Arts and Sciences (COAS) about a new financial resource.

The Howard University Housing Relief Fund Survey, currently sponsored by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Organization, is a pilot program that assists students with the financial burdens associated with off-campus living.

“This is a critical moment for our peers,” the email said, highlighting that the initiative is specifically aimed at assisting those who are most vulnerable to housing troubles, particularly graduating seniors and current juniors.

🔗 Click the link in our bio to read more on upperclassmen’s concerns as their housing options become scarce at the end of the school year.

✍🏾: Michkael McKenzie and Malaika Ssebayiteko
📸: Cole Edmonds/ The Hilltop

OPINION | Ozempic, GLP1s and “weight-loss” drugs have become buzzwords across the internet and social media. Searches co...
05/05/2026

OPINION | Ozempic, GLP1s and “weight-loss” drugs have become buzzwords across the internet and social media. Searches containing the hashtag “Ozempic” have garnered 70 million views on TikTok and Google queries with “weight loss” and “GLP1” reached their peak in May 2024 and March 2025, respectively.

But within the world of this so-called wonder drug, there lie serious questions that require answering. Mainly, what are they, where did this sudden, lucrative craze come from and what does it say about the rigid, white and oppressive beauty standards in American society?

Ozempic is classified as a GLP-1, which stands for glucagon-like peptide, a class of medications used predominantly for the treatment of type-2 diabetes and obesity. Although Ozempic was originally approved by the FDA in 2017 as a diabetes medication, users quickly discovered and began reporting on its positive effects for rapid weight loss.

Thus, its manufacturing company, Novo Nordisk, created a separate drug, Wegovy, containing the active ingredient to trigger weight loss, semaglutide, in 2021 and it became an approved treatment for obesity-caused heart disease in 2024. 

According to a study done by Indiana University School of Medicine, within the four years of collected data (from 2017-2021), the number of Americans using Ozempic increased 40 times, with roughly 9 million citizens, or 2-3 percent of the population, now regularly using some form.

Although this number is large and somewhat frightening, considering science has yet to uncover the long-term side effects of persistent usage, it’s not altogether shocking considering the obsession many Americans have with weight and how deeply it’s tied to the country’s beauty standards.  

🔗 Click the link in our bio to read more on how the recent boom in weight loss drugs is another step in a long history of body negativity. 

✍🏽: Tara Ulich
📸: Cymphani Hargrave/The Hilltop

NEWS | Periods of policy uncertainty in Washington are often accompanied by increased lobbying activity. Across industri...
05/05/2026

NEWS | Periods of policy uncertainty in Washington are often accompanied by increased lobbying activity. Across industries from health care to technology to agriculture, organizations facing a shifting policy environment turned to K Street in record numbers last year, fueling a lobbying boom that outpaced anything the modern disclosure system has recorded. The spending spanned every sector, every major policy area and both sides of the aisle.

K Street runs east-west through Washington, D.C. It is home to many lobbying firms and trade associations that try to influence federal policy. Corporations and governments hire people to do this work. While not every major lobbying firm is physically located on K Street anymore, the name has stuck as shorthand for the broader lobbying industry in American politics.

Last year, federal lobbying spending reached approximately $5.3 billion, according to Bloomberg Government’s annual analysis of Lobbying Disclosure Act filings. A separate OpenSecrets review placed total spending above $5 billion for the first time. Both analyses found the year-over-year increase was the largest since quarterly disclosures began in 2008.

Sam Geduldig, managing partner at CGCN Group, a Washington-based strategic communications and public affairs firm, and a partner at United By Interest, Washington’s first bipartisan, majority minority-owned lobbying firm, said the record spending reflects broader uncertainty across the policy landscape.

“Rising uncertainty in politics and institutions is driving the increase,” Geduldig said. “When the business environment becomes less predictable, leaders look to understand the terrain and hiring experienced advocates is the first step.”

🔗Click the link in our bio to read more on how 15,768 organizations reported lobbying activity last year as trade, taxation and healthcare fueled the largest increase.

✍🏽: Risav Ganguly
📸: Photo courtesy of Ben Schumin via Wikimedia Commons

CAMPUS | Graduation is quickly approaching, and for seniors who take Yoruba language and culture courses as a language r...
04/27/2026

CAMPUS | Graduation is quickly approaching, and for seniors who take Yoruba language and culture courses as a language requirement, it means saying goodbye to a four-year-long community.

Yoruba at Howard serves as a community space on campus where everyone is welcome. Students taking Yoruba classes, as well as those who are part of the Yoruba ethnic group, often gather to share cultural experiences, build friendships and learn together. The celebration on April 23 specifically honored seniors and highlighted their experiences as Yoruba students.

Emma Brown, a Yoruba student and graduating senior, shared the ways the Yoruba program at Howard enhanced her student experience. 

“I’ve had more of an intimate connection to people who are not necessarily from the U.S. but are still Black,” she said. 

Brown and the rest of the seniors received gifts and were granted the opportunity to share their experiences taking Yoruba classes at Howard, including study abroad experiences that the program has granted them. They also gave advice to underclassmen and prospective Yoruba students. Many of the seniors who spoke shared positive views on their decision to take Yoruba as a foreign language. 

According to Oluwatomisin Kale, a sophomore biology major from Cleveland, Ohio, by way of Nigeria, this event was planned by her, a fellow Yoruba student and Professor Oluwafunke Ogunya, the only Yoruba professor at Howard. 

“I think it’s a special thing that she is doing for her seniors,” she said. “I think it’s really important for her to continue to recognize the language.” 

Professor Ogunya, popularly known as “Olùkọ́,” is the Yoruba Language and Culture Professor at Howard University. She joined Howard in 2022 and has been teaching Yoruba classes for four years, working with the current graduating seniors since she first arrived.

“These students were freshmen when I joined Howard, so it’s like we grew together,” she said.

🔗 Click the link in our bio to read more on the campus cultural group called Yoruba at Howard which recently hosted its end-of-year celebration for graduating seniors.

📸: Photo courtesy of Bamidele Aina
✍️: Kisa Dupe

SPORTS | Warden’s Spring Classic, in collaboration with the Howard University Undergraduate Student Assembly, hosted its...
04/24/2026

SPORTS | Warden’s Spring Classic, in collaboration with the Howard University Undergraduate Student Assembly, hosted its third annual basketball tournament as part of the 2026 Springfest celebration.

The tournament took place on April 16 and featured seven student teams consisting of six players each, competing for a $1,000 cash prize: Team YKW, Team Chrome Hearts, Team Chip, Team 3 Hunnid, Team Paid, Team Showtime Avengers and Team Beta Avengers.

Team Chrome Hearts – Cyrus Walker, Mason Wright, Elijah Johnson, Kem Kpako and Marley Loften – secured the championship victory as team captain Walker knocked down a game-winning fadeaway jumper in a one-possession contest.

The teams featured players from various backgrounds including longtime friends, Howard student-athletes and fraternity brothers.

Johnson said that he met his team playing basketball at Banneker Recreation Center. After winning last year, he wanted to rebuild his team and compete again.

“I would not want to go to any other school to be honest,” Johnson, a senior electrical engineering major, said. “I love being a Howard student for homecoming, and especially for Springfest. These moments, I’m going to cherish forever.”

Sophomore business management major Dylan Roundtree, who competed for Team Chip, shared his thoughts on the event and the lively atmosphere.

“I love seeing Black people outside. We’re all smiling, we’re all happy and there’s no violence going on. I think [the turnout] is great,” Roundtree said.

🔗 Click the link in our bio to read more on how the annual tournament showcased culture and connection through competition.

✍🏾: Ka’Lea Stokes
📸 : Photo courtesy of Logan CB Johns

04/24/2026

MULTIMEDIA | Last Wednesday, on April 15 was the annual Springfest fashion show at Howard University. With a theme titled ‘Your Blood is Blue,’ the show featured celebrity appearances from Monaleo and Serena Page.

🎥: Cymphani Hargrave/The Hilltop

Address

Washington D.C., DC

Telephone

+12028064749

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Hilltop posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to The Hilltop:

Shortcuts

Share

Category