Photo: Cameron Adams
Antonio Jackson
Variety Editor
On Jan. 26, students who resided in the University Pointe campus apartments were unexpectedly mandated to leave immediately due to the discovery of mold.
The email from Fran’Cee Brown-McClure, Ph.D., Vice President of Student Affairs, read as follows:
A routine inspection of University Pointe apartments resulted in a positive test for mold in some of the units. The university is investigating and will take appropriate measures.
Out of an abundance of caution, the University will reassign all University Pointe residents for the remainder of the semester. Women will be temporarily moved to on-campus residence halls.
Men will be temporarily moved to the Hilton Jackson on County Line Rd. On Saturday, Feb. 10, all University Pointe residents will be relocated to single rooms in a downtown Jackson property until move-out on May 5, 2024. This reassignment does not affect your housing contract and the fees associated with it.
You will receive further details via your JSU student email from the housing office regarding your temporary assignment for the next two weeks and your permanent assignment for the remainder of the semester.
The university is committed to the safety and well-being of the campus community. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding. We apologize for any inconvenience and have provided the best option to mitigate disruption to your higher education experience. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact Housing at housinginfo@jsums.edu.
In a statement to The Flash, Brown-McClure elaborated on details of the issue.
“President Marcus Thompson and key JSU administrators, including myself, met to determine the best and swiftest course of action to reassign students while trying to minimize the interruption to their living and learning environment. We quickly reviewed and determined the best residential options for students and logistics, such as transportation, laundry, and dining accommodations,” Brown-McClure stated.
Some students from University Pointe were upset about this sudden change, feeling that they were not properly warned and the situation as a whole was not properly handled by Jackson State.
Kalyn Turner, a senior social work major from McComb, Miss., expressed her frustration. She is currently residing in an Alexander Residence Hall suite and on Feb. 10, she will be moved to a
hotel.
“I feel this situation is not only inconvenient but disrespectful, and has disregard for students and our wellbeing. As a student and a senior, I am very disappointed, because there was no warning.
I feel if a frequent amount of mold occurred year after year, they should’ve been shut the complex down if Jackson State really cared about its students and our well-being.”
Turner continued by stating that JSU has its priorities out of order, never putting students first.
“I feel Jackson State is not accommodating students fairly and if they would stop being money hungry and put their priorities first, we as students, wouldn’t have to go through all these circumstances.”
Regarding how quickly students were notified of the mold in the units, Brown-McClure stated the following.
“First and foremost, we take concerns such as mold and our students’ overall health and safety seriously. This is why we’re having this discussion: Every reported housing concern is reviewed and addressed on a case-by-case basis. In this particular case, the inspection yielded results that prompted a larger response as a precaution. I will emphasize that we took the best course of action to remediate this situation at University Pointe.
Ja’Miyah Stokes, a senior psychology major from Chicago, Ill., was also frustrated with the relocation process.
“This honestly made me feel all types of feelings. I already felt like my senior year was going rocky due to the death of Jaylen Burns. Now they’re saying we have to relocate because of mold that has probably been in these buildings for a while now,” said Stokes. “To give us only a few days to get everything together was very overwhelming. I was placed in the Alexander where I now have a twin-sized bed and a roommate. The room is also smaller and doesn’t have a kitchen
or living room area.”
Stokes however does feel the University has handled the situation as best as they could.
“Based off how fast they got the information out and the fact that they are giving us a place to stay, I think that they are handling it well. But that doesn’t mean I feel like all of this is right. I also think that this was a big inconvenience for them and for us and that this should have been dealt with before we even came to school,” said Stokes.
In other efforts to accommodate students affected by the off-campus relocation, students were notified of a care package provision in an email from Housing & Residence Life.
Auxiliary Enterprises in conjunction with Sodexo Magic would like to provide all impacted University Pointe residents with care packages. Every Tuesday and Friday beginning tomorrow January 30th and ending on March 1st you can pick up a care package on campus.
Please come to the Chef’s Corner in the Legacy during lunch beginning at 11 a.m. for pick up. You will need to show your student ID.
Brown-McClure also stated, “Jackson State University’s 2024 legislative priorities include funding requests for a sustainable water system, renovations for McAllister-Whiteside Hall, and a new residence hall. President Thompson has already begun meeting with our legislators, and they understand the urgency of our needs. We want students to know that we are always working on their behalf to create a better JSU.”
Please check The Flash online at: www.sites.jsums.edu/flash/ for updates to this story.
