College is supposed to be a fresh start. But students at a local university say they are stuck in dirty dorms. After months of complaints with no fixes, one student reached out to 7Investigates with Heather Walker.
Mold, dirty bathrooms with no soap and broken furniture.
Jaeda Williams: “It looks like we are living in a third-world country.”
These are just some of the conditions that freshman Jaeda Williams has been living with since she moved into this dorm at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens.
Jaeda Williams: “The vents are black, it has stuff all over it. It’s ridiculous, it’s ridiculous.”
It’s not just her room and the bathrooms, the hallways and even the laundry rooms are dirty.
Jaeda Williams: “That’s horrible; that’s bad. I’m very frustrated.”
Frustrated because Jaeda said she has been trying to fix the problems since she moved on campus back in August.
Jaeda Williams: “They said, ‘OK, we’ll write it down and we are going to get it fixed by maintenance.’ Maintenance never came to fix it at all.”
She emailed the university photos and videos but said nothing has changed.
Heather: “Are you concerned about your health?”
Jaeda Williams: “I am.”
Which is why she emailed the Miami-Dade Health Department.
At first, they said they couldn’t help. So she emailed them again and this persistent student received an email saying: “I apologize for the previous reply… An inspector has been assigned.”
That same day, an email from the Health Department said “An investigation was conducted… The complaint was found to be valid, and corrective actions have already been initiated to address the issues observed.”
Those issues include “visible mold,” “bacteria in washers” and “broken furniture.”
Jaeda Williams: “I was happy because I was like, ‘OK, yes, somebody’s finally listening to me. Somebody’s finally gonna take action.'”
We reached out to the university. A spokesperson told 7News the president refused to answer questions about dorm conditions.
Jaeda said since 7Investigates got involved, crews began cleaning up, but for her, it’s too late and she’s leaving.
Jaeda Williams: “I can’t deal with this school anymore.”
Which is disappointing because she was so excited to attend a historically Black college. It’s the main reason she chose FMU, but she said the biggest lesson she’ll take away from the school is learning what it takes to be heard.
Heather Walker, 7News.
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