Robinson apologizes to FAMU students, families for Palmetto North problems

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Yesterday, Florida A&M University Interim President Larry Robinson made rounds with the major Tallahassee media organizations to apologize for the unacceptable conditions that dozens of students found at the Palmetto Street North Apartments during move-in day on Tuesday.

“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.  

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