Vice President Kamala Harris (B.A. ‘86), who is expected to be formally announced this week as the official Democratic presidential nominee, will be the first Black woman and HBCU graduate to hold the position if elected to office in November. Her nomination would be certified at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Since the announcement of her presidential campaign on July 21 after President Joe Biden dropped out from the race, Harris has been forming the platform on which she hopes to win American votes, and members of the Howard community have so far been receptive to her ideas.
Harris recently shared her plans to address financial challenges for Americans. She expressed strong support for lowering prescription drug costs, reducing taxes on tips and increasing the federal minimum wage.
Last week, Harris proposed two plans: raising the federal minimum wage and eliminating the federal income tax on tipped workers. While specifics were not released, these initiatives align with her broader goal to build up middle-class families.
Harris also discussed border control policies. On Aug. 9, her campaign launched a TV ad that said she would increase border control agents and crack down on fentanyl and human trafficking.
According to a recently updated report, between October 2019 and June 2024, border officials have come across 11 million unauthorized migrants seeking to enter the U.S.
In terms of international diplomacy, Harris has expressed a stronger stance regarding the situation in Gaza. Following an Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza that resulted in civilian deaths on Aug. 9, Harris condemned the loss of innocent lives.
She said in a brief interview with the press, “Yet again, there have been far too many civilians that have been killed.” She called for an immediate ceasefire and a hostage deal.
Harris’ rise to the top of the Democratic ticket has brought increased attention to Howard alumni, faculty, and students.
Brie Mercedes, a 2024 Howard alumna who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science, from Voorhees, New Jersey expressed excitement about how the Howard community has rallied to support Harris in her campaign for United States president.
“She is a shining example of the amazing things HBCU graduates have done, and will continue to do,” Mercedes said. “I hope it will inspire more students to choose HBCUs and continue to do exemplary things.”
Despite the Howard community’s outpouring of support through their HU Bison Political Action committee, social media graphics and Zoom donation parties, the university has not officially endorsed Harris for the presidency.
In a statement on July 25, Howard’s Office of General Counsel said, “The Howard University community needs important guidance to avoid any inadvertent attribution of political campaign activity to the University.”
As a result of Howard University’s non-profit status and reliance on funding from Congress, endorsing any political candidate on behalf of Howard as a student or faculty member whether intentionally or unintentionally could violate the political campaign prohibition and jeopardize the university’s financial future.
To ensure Howard University maintains its status as a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt educational institution, all students, faculty, staff and alumni must fully adhere to University policies and procedures.
In light of such concerns, students like Loren Spivery, a senior political science major and business administration minor from Cleveland are closely watching developments.
“I am looking for VP (Vice President) Harris to continue President Biden’s work to forgive student loan debt,” she said.
Spivery highlighted the significant sacrifices that college students make to cover tuition and or student loans.
“Oftentimes, students are forced to choose between pursuing an education or taking an alternative route because of a variety of reasons, but finances is a huge one,” she added.
In 2020, 85% of HBCU graduates took out federal loans to aid the cost of school opposed to 59% of non-HBCU students, according to the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) Bloomberg reported.
On average, HBCU graduates and their parents who take out Parent PLUS loans, which are federal loans that parents can use to pay for their child’s education, carry nearly $21,000 more in federal student loan debt, according to the NPSAS.
In early August, the Biden-Harris administration notified 25 million student loan borrowers of debt relief options as a first step of their proposed rule announced in April.
The rule has been in the works since the administration’s efforts to cancel some or all debt for 43 million people was overturned by the Supreme Court last summer.
The Biden-Harris administration said it has canceled $168.5 billion in debt for 4.76 million Americans, according to the Department of Education, which their report says represents 10% of student loan borrowers
In 2023, Harris emphasized that addressing student loan debt has consistently been a key focus for her. However, she has not yet released an initiative to cancel student loan debt as president.
Another crucial issue the Biden-Harris administration has been committed to is mental health awareness.
According to the American Psychological Association, factors like socioeconomic status, race, gender and sexuality worsen the mental health of HBCU students, leading to higher rates of depression and anxiety.
In January 2024, Harris announced an additional $285 million in funding for schools to hire and train mental health counselors. This funding is a result of the historic Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
Denise Mitchell, president of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials (NBC-LEO), spoke of her hopes to see Harris continue working on mental health awareness.
“Especially in the DMV, after we had the hard hit with COVID-19 we are still looking at issues with mental health,” Mitchell said. “So providing a broad band of resources that start not only in the community but extend to schools to support our counselors and families would be very beneficial.”
Copy edited by Camiryn Stepteau
