- About a dozen FAMU students bused down to Boca Raton to protest Marva Johnson's confirmation vote Wednesday.
- The Board of Governors will meet at 2:30 p.m. at Florida Atlantic University.
- Watch now to hear students describe why they're sacrificing time from school and work to attend the meeting in person.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Florida A&M students against the appointment of Marva Johnson aren't staying in town to oppose it, they're going the extra mile — hundreds of miles — to do it in person.
I'm Alberto Camargo, your College Town neighborhood reporter.
I spoke with FAMU students before they hit the road to the Board of Governors meeting in Boca Raton to learn how and why they're making this effort.
It's more than 400 miles from FAMU to Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.
But Laila Wilson says that's nothing in order to exercise her First Amendment rights.
"It's definitely better to be in person than sending an email, sending a letter, or calling because you're showing people I'm here right now, I'm serious, and this matters."
These students call themselves the Order of the Flame.
About a dozen of them boarded a bus and are staying overnight in Boca, paid for entirely by more than 100 donations totaling over $6,000.
Elisha McDowell says they're doing everything they can to make it known how current Rattlers feel about Johnson's appointment.
"When we are civically disengaged, we aren't active in the process or the things that happen behind the scenes that impact our schools and our education. Our main goal is to go down there and express our concern."
There is also the emergency injunction filed by a group of FAMU alumni and stakeholders that I told you about Monday night.
The eight trustees who voted for Johnson and two members of Board of Governors are listed in the lawsuit.
It alleges that the selection of Johnson was predetermined and therefore in violation of the state Constitution.
As of Tuesday afternoon, none of the defendants listed have responded to requests for comment.
McDowell says FAMU has received plenty of attention, and rightly so, but this recent trend of leadership changes at public universities across the state ought to concern all students.
"Whether you go to an HBCU, whether you go to a PWI, to get more simply engaged in the decisions that the state is making about our higher-level institutions."
The Board of Governors will meet at 2:30 Wednesday afternoon, where they're expected to vote on Johnson's appointment.
At FAMU, Alberto Camargo, ABC27.
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