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Florida A&M University is known for its infectious Rattler pride, with students who bleed orange and green. However, despite the university’s pride and affluence we cannot overlook the common frustrations encountered at FAMU.
Many students agree that parking is an ongoing issue that has not been tackled. FAMU has one parking garage for the entire campus. When a student speaks out on the parking matter, we are told every university has problems with parking. On the contrary, some universities have addressed this issue by adding more parking lots and garages.
We have limited general parking areas on campus. Students must plan to come on campus far ahead of their actual class time to find a decent parking spot. Today, for example, I parked in a paid meter parking area on campus and the meter stopped functionally properly.
It is apparent that FAMU has made efforts to fix the issue of poor advisement throughout the university. Students from various majors have spoken out about the lack of advisors who are qualified and take the necessary steps to ensure students are on track to graduate. Having advisers who are nonchalant and make needless errors is detrimental to the success and matriculation of a student.
It is very frustrating as a student to have limited hours to utilize the library due to staff shortages or university budget cuts. Students also do not understand why the campus recreation center and gym has limited hours instead of operating 24 hours. If you have a night class and want to work out after 8 p.m., you can forget about it and try again the next day.
There are limited food options after hours and on weekends for students who live on campus. “It is a disadvantage for out of state students who can’t be on campus during [holiday] breaks to deal with administrative issues,” said Bria Herbert, a third-year business administration student. “The Venom shuttle does not run consistently or on time, and there is terrible maintenance in the dorms.”
Jonas LaBoo, a fourth-year business administration student, voiced similar complaints.
“Poor customer service has been one of the most prolific and problematic issues that has plagued Florida A&M University,” he said.
Overall, the positive experiences associated with attending FAMU outweigh the common frustrations we experience. FAMU prides itself on “excellence with caring,” but in order to uphold that standard we must first be transparent with issues, then actively find solutions to solve them.