Howard University students sing Rihanna's song as 'anthem' against financial scandal
Popstar Rihanna’s 2015 hit song ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’ has gone viral after students of Howard University used the song as an anthem against an alleged financial aid scandal that rocked their educational institute.
The students sang Rihanna’s payback anthem while petitioning outside the university administration building against the scandal. According to a leading Washington-based newspaper, employees of the university were accused of stealing more than $1 million worth of grant money. Six employees were fired for “gross misconduct and neglect of duties” after an anonymous blog post tipped off school officials that financial aid money was being misappropriated.
This is the viral video:
Howard students found out employees stole over $1M in financial aid so they took over their Administration building and started singing ‘Bitch Better Have My Money.” pic.twitter.com/760u3TFZwc
— Philip Lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) March 29, 2018
Rihanna took to Twitter to share the cause and gave them a high-five for choosing her song:
— Rihanna (@rihanna) March 30, 2018
The university investigation led to an understanding that it happened between 2007 and 2016 with some employees taking home double the money they should get -- tuition fees benefits to cover the cost of taking classes as well as university grants. This escalated the actual cost of attendance.
In a statement, Howard spokeswoman Alonda Thomas said, “We don’t have a final amount but we are working with our outside experts to ensure every dollar is accounted for and the university will exercise all of our options to recoup the funds.”