By Sophia Harris
Editor-in-Chief
Motivation. Intersectionality. Solidarity. Sisterhood. (M.I.S.S.) members held a meeting titled “Let’s Dish” to voice student concerns about Framingham State on Feb. 26.
According to the M.I.S.S. Instagram post, “Come join us to voice your issues within the FSU community for us to make changes. You can speak on just about anything and everything that bothers you or creates an issue.”
The group discussed the price of parking tickets, vandalism in the resident buildings, and concerns with maintenance in the residence halls.
The group agreed on ways to solve these issues, including student unionization.
John Kofi-Oppong, a sophomore, said University Police “never stops handing out tickets.”
He said this poses a problem for students who already pay $500 for residential parking because the additional ticket cost may inhibit students who are already struggling financially.
President of M.I.S.S. Tiffany Jerome, a junior, said it is hard for resident students who park off campus because many of them leave campus multiple times a day.
She added, “They keep telling us to park at Union and use the shuttle, but the shuttle is understaffed and the shuttle never comes on time.”
Jerome said Framingham State has “the highest rate for parking passes out of all state schools.”
“This is an Interesting fact because I know this very, very wise, resourceful source in SGA who told me that out of the in-state schools in Massachusetts - Framingham State has the highest rate for parking passes. Five hundred dollars is the highest rate for Massachusetts schools. This is really difficult.
“We pay the very most to park 15 minutes away from our building.”
She added she has heard some students having to wait “two hours” for the RamTram.
Jerome said many students need the shuttle outside of its current operating hours and added she wishes the shuttle had a longer period of normal routes during the day and in the evening.
Tayla Alfred, a junior, said, referring to the recent vandalism in Larned Hall, it is not fair all students have to pay a fee to substantiate the cost.
“How is it that because you decide not to fix your cameras for, I don't know how many years, you want to charge all of the students?” she asked.
Alfred stated some of the items that were broken in Larned included a microwave, exit signs, washing machines, and broken glass.
Jude Ejiofor, a junior, said the individuals who caused the vandalism should be held responsible and pay for the new equipment.
He added FSU not being able to find the individual who is responsible for the vandalism should not cost all of the residents of the building.
Jerome said while she was sleeping in her dorm on the fourth floor of Larned, “I woke up to dirty water from the ceiling dripping on my face.”
She said the water “dripped all over my face, my pillows, my mattress pad, and on my floor.”
She said it took maintenance six hours to arrive to fix the leak.
Jerome added she was upset because if anything in her room were to be damaged, Framingham State would not reimburse those costs because of a contract students have to sign before moving into residence halls.
Ejiofor said, “This is a college campus - why does the latest place you can get food from close at 12 a.m.?”
He added the dining hall should extend their dinner hours past 7:30 p.m.
Alfred said she is concerned with how FSU allocates transfer credits.
She said FSU is “trapping us here. They know that it's a one-credit school - you cannot transfer out unless you want to do more years.”
Alfred said this obstacle should have been announced when students started the application process.
Jerome added when students transfer into FSU, they are only given .75 of credit for every credit they transfer over.
She said this is the case for study-abroad transfer credits as well.
Jerome said this transfer system “set me back a whole semester and a half.”
Jerome asked how the group thought student life could improve at Framingham State.
Ejiofor said student life could improve at FSU if the administration took student feedback into consideration more often.
He said in terms of events on campus, there has been a “lot of stuff to do.”
He added he believes “students have been lazy” in attending these events.
“Nobody comes to clubs,” he added.
Ejiofor offered a possible explanation for the low attendance at FSU events. “I feel like there is not enough advertisement of what's going on.”
He said Framingham State’s financial aid is “good” compared to surrounding institutions.
Ejiofor said there is a “reason Framingham State is one of the most affordable schools to go to.”
He said, “If you went to UMass Dartmouth for something, you would be crying even more. Their financial aid is terrible.
“Most people that we know who go to UMass Dartmouth, we find them at Quinsigamond Community College the next semester” because of the high cost, he said.
At the end of the conversation, Jerome thanked the participants. “This was a very eye-opening conversation.”