Photo courtesy: Kylan Guerrier
Florida’s capital is home to eight colleges with the three largest being Florida State University
(FSU), Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU) and Tallahassee Community
College (TCC).
According to citytowninfo.com, there are an estimated 70,000 college students in Tallahassee
who need off campus housing due to limited space on campuses.
There are over 60 apartment complexes in Tallahassee that are designed for students, however
high crime rates in the city leave parents and students worried about their safety. Recent
incidents at student apartments have exemplified these concerns.
In a viral TikTok that has now accumulated over 6.5 million views, Jessica Moore, the parent of
a FSU student details a break-in at her daughters off campus apartment. The break-in took place
at 3 a.m. on Sept. 17, while the residents were home. Captured by a camera inside, the suspect
can be heard banging loudly on the door. The suspect knocked the door down and broke parts of
a closet in the apartment. The Moore family is outraged with the response of the apartment’s
management team, local law enforcement’s response to the incident and FSU’s lack of
involvement.
Yesterday, FSU’s Victim Advocate Program reached out to the Moore family to offer support
after the incident. For more information on the FVP, visit https://dsst.fsu.edu/vap.
Alexis Queior, leasing manager of Citivue and Elevate on Cascade says that they have
procedures in place to ensure students safety.
“We have our own third-party security that comes and roams the two properties on Friday,
Saturday, and Sunday night,” Queior said. “We also have FAMUPD and FSUPD who roam the
area. In regard to us not having cameras, we always recommend calling the police to see if
they’re able to do more to figure out a situation. As management, we are working on getting
cameras throughout the complexes.”
FAMU pharmacy student, Benjamin Edouard, said that student housing needs to implement
plans to make sure student safety is a priority.
“When I speak to some of my female friends, they say that they don’t feel safe at night in their
complexes,” Edouard said. “I don’t understand how these apartments are meant for students but
don’t have the safety measures in place like how it is on campus. There should be building
resident assistants and cameras should be mandatory,” Edouard added.