Students frustrated over Clark Atlanta dorm renovation delays
ATLANTA - The new school year is off to a rough start for some students at Clark Atlanta University.
Some of the nearly 500 students at the university's Heritage Commons were shocked when they showed up on campus Tuesday and learned that their dorm rooms aren't ready yet.
What's worse, some say they have nowhere else to go while contractors work on the rooms and school officials sort out the problem.
"The toilet paper dispensers are not complete. Some of the flooring is not complete. The drain spouts in the tubs are not complete," said Kneeshe Parkinson, the mother of a Clark Atlanta student.
The university put some of the students in hotel rooms when they showed up over the weekend, but today those students say they were told to check out.
FOX 5's cameras were there as the students loaded all of their belongings from the hotel back onto a box.
Parents say they are frustrated about being left in the dark.
"t this point we’re asking other people, ‘Well where is our kid. Where is so-and-so?’ We’re calling, we’re texting, ‘Are you OK?’ Especially out of towners like myself, like I broke down that day and I cried," Yvonne Page said.
She drove her son to the university from Chicago and had to go back. With no answers from the school, asked him to go stay with a friend who lives in Atlanta.
"My situation was bad, but I felt bad for the children that were there by themselves, without a parent," Page said.
The parents who FOX 5 spoke with said they are most frustrated by the lack of communication from the school.
In response, Clark Atlanta University officials did release a statement about the issue, saying "CAU is still addressing some renovations issues. We continue to work around the clock to address all concerns."
The school will also be taking half off of each student's room and board for the semester.
"I just want this to be resolved, I really do. And I wanted to be resolved today. Not next week, not the week after, I want a letter, a phone call today, to say where my son is going to be tonight," Page said.
For now, however, the semester will start for these students with or without a dorm on Wednesday morning.
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