In light of hundreds of students being cancelled from their classes because of non-payment of fees, apathy can no longer be accepted from the student body of Florida A&M University.
Students must no longer allow the hypocrisy that permeates through nearly every aspect of the university to continue. Accountability must be placed on the faculty and staff who are not doing their jobs. The faculty and staff at this university must be held to standards equal to those demanded of the students.
Overwhelmed or simply incompetent financial aid employees misfile paperwork like it’s their duty, forcing students to stand in hour-long lines only to receive half-hearted apologies. And still there is no visible reprimand handed down to these workers.
What does happen? Students are forced to re-file or resubmit paperwork or face punishment themselves, as if they made the mistake. The mistake was handing important paperwork to an incompetent employee.
And how is it that one administrative assistant can incorrectly file payroll information for the entire student newspaper staff and a number of graduate students and still no action is taken?
The university removed students from their classes when their tuition wasn’t paid but when the university fails to pay its students, everything is supposed to run smoothly.
Students are expected to go on, business as usual, although they haven’t received a paycheck for a month’s worth of work. There are few employees at this university who would even think about doing their jobs without the paycheck that comes along with it.
It’s time for students to stop accepting the double standards being set by the university and it’s time for the administration to start holding employees responsible for their incompetence.
Elizabeth Broadway for The Famuan