“The first thing is I apologize to them personally,”
Robinson told WCTV-6 when asked what message he wanted to give the students and
their families. “Let them know that this wasn’t FAMU’s best day.”
Robinson also spoke with WTXL-27, the Tallahassee Democrat,
and WFSU.
According to the Democrat, “students arrived Tuesday to
rooms reeking of mold and mildew, safety issues with doors and left behind
construction debris.”
Nicole Gibson, the mother of a FAMU student from Miami, also told WCTV-6 that she saw: “Mold, holes in the wall. You have roaches in here. It leaks, the pipes are leaking, the toilets are leaking. The smell is horrible These kids can't live here.”
The university released a statement on Thursday saying that
it had placed 45 students and some of their parents in hotels at FAMU’s expense
and had delayed the move-in date for other students who were slated to live in
Palmetto Street North. It also announced it would provide “meals for students,
transportation via shuttle service, air-conditioned storage units for student
belongings, [and] moving assistance” for the students who were displaced.
FAMU closed the Palmetto Street North Apartments in 2014.
Students paid $2,719 for a two bedroom residence in the complex for Fall 2017.
“There are no excuses,” Robinson said on Friday. That day,
the interim president led local reporters on a tour of the complex as
university officials helped some students begin to move-in.
A photo on the Democrat website also showed Robinson shaking
hands and speaking with Nicole Gibson. Gibson told WCTV-6 that she was glad FAMU had made progress in making the necessary renovations.
Last night, WCTV-6 reported that around 70 rooms in Palmetto
Street North still weren’t ready and that students who weren’t able to move in
by this weekend could receive help with securing off-campus housing. Classes
begin Monday.
A link in the Democrat’s coverage of the Palmetto Street
North problems referred to mold outbreak last in Smith Hall at Florida State
University.