By Jheri Hardaway
Staff Writer
Raleigh, NC - Students at Meredith College in Raleigh. North Carolina have walked out of classes and solidarity with staff. After a major layoff, there’s been a consolidation and students feel staff are overworked. There are also issues with sanitary living conditions in the dorms. One sign painted by a protester read “maintenance is not optional.”
The Instagram page "Justice for Meredith" has brought to light alarming conditions on campus, sharing images of rotten food in the dining hall and evidence of poor maintenance across the university.
Junior graphic design student Lily Zimiles, noted a noticeable decline in campus conditions following a change in the presidency during her freshmen year. This decline has impacted both the dining hall and living situations. Students have reported issues with mold, pests, mice, and fleas. Several students have allegedly been hospitalized, and one student was reportedly informed that the school would not cover their medical bills.
Further complicating the issue, toilet water has been reported to be leaking onto bottom floors, leading to foul odors and the proliferation of mold. Witness report students have also fallen ill due to the quality of dining hall food; the rice, for instance, has been likened to "aquarium gravel." Multiple students have suffered from food poisoning.
The deterioration of campus services comes amid administrative changes, including the elimination of multiple dean positions, such as the Dean of Students.
Upon reaching out to school leadership, we were told, “Meredith College takes student input about their experience seriously. Any time our Facilities department or Campus Dining receives requests from students, those take a high priority. All of the issues reported by students have been addressed as quickly as possible. In particular, air quality is regularly tested in our residence halls. The results of this testing have shown no safety concerns. Our Director of Dining Services always encourages feedback about Meredith’s dining hall, which received extensive renovations over the summer. The renovations included state-of-the-art kitchen equipment, which mean an increase in the quality and freshness of the food served. Our president and vice presidents are also regular customers of the dining hall, which helps ensure awareness of the food quality. Meredith also recently welcomed a new director of facilities who is very responsive to student feedback. The College’s SGA regularly holds campus life forums, during which students can share their feedback. The President’s Office also sponsored two additional forums this fall, focused on facilities and academics.”
We will continue to follow up on the story.
