Flooding at Village East

Photo Courtesy : Daeja White

On Monday, January 27, a pipe burst on the second floor of Florida A&M University’s Village East, causing water to spill from the ceiling out into the hallway.

While no severe property damage was reported, many residents expressed frustration over the lack of official communication from FAMU Housing, saying they had to rely on word of mouth or student-run GroupMe chats to get information about the situation.

Jorden Wood, a first-year Village East resident, was on her way to class when she discovered the leak.

“There was one big puddle in the middle of the floor and another on the left side. Water was coming from the ceiling, and it was coming out pretty fast,” she said.

Kyla Curry, another resident directly impacted by the incident, recalled walking into her bathroom to find water leaking from the ceiling and flooding the floors. Although she did her best to stop the water, she couldn’t manage it on her own.

“I was texting the GroupMe around 11:20 AM, asking for an RA to come check the situation. I even went down to the front desk, but no one was there. I finally caught my RA walking down the hallway, and all he did was take a picture and walk away,” she said.

According to Curry, she is unsure when maintenance finally arrived to assess the damage, but upon returning to her room she saw a trash bag on the floor collecting water and damage to the paint. She was later informed that if she did not contact maintenance to get the paint fixed before moving out for the spring semester, she would be charged for the damage.

“The university has yet to email us, not even about the fire that happened two weeks ago,” Wood noted. “Communication is a general issue here.”

Slanda Philistin, another first-year Village East resident voiced similar concerns. “It would have been nice to hear a statement from the school. Even if they didn’t have all the answers, just knowing they were aware and working on it would’ve made students feel more supported,”she said.

Philistin also pointed out the financial burden of on-campus living.

 “We pay thousands to live here, but sometimes we’re left to figure things out on our own,” she said.

She is now considering moving off-campus next semester, citing both the high costs and the lack of responsiveness from university housing officials.

This isn’t the first time FAMU residence halls have experienced flooding issues. On January 7, several pipes burst in Phase III, causing water to spill into the breezeway.  Leading many students raising concerns about housing conditions and are calling on university officials to improve their responsiveness to on-campus emergencies. 

For now, residents are left hoping that future incidents will be met with better transparency and support.