LORMAN - A group of Alcorn State University students demanding action on several issues say some of the schools’ administrators are not taking their concerns seriously.
About 150 students protested Wednesday over what they said was overcrowding, poor and unclean living conditions and unfair tuition increases.
"They said they were listening," said Corey Williams, a junior and president of Inner Residence Hall. "But some laughed and seemed to think it was a joke. We’re serious. We’re just trying to make things better."
Because of construction projects underway at male dormitories, six students are required to stay in rooms built for two people, the students said.
Classes began at the university, which has about 3,000 students at its Lorman campus.
Rudolph Waters, Alcorn’s executive vice president, said overcrowding was not as severe as students make it seem.
"We have assigned three to a room (in Men’s Tower), but only temporarily," he said. "If there are five or six students in a room, they’ve done it on their own. We didn’t assign that many per room."
ASU President Clinton Bristow said one problem was that some of the construction had not been completed on schedule.
"Contractors should have finished Revels Hall last week. They missed their deadline by a week," he said.
Plumbing, electrical work and safety inspections still need to be completed, Bristow said.
Students should be able to move in this weekend, Bristow said.
Renovations for Men’s Tower are scheduled to begin within six months. Revels Hall was renovated first because it had a major structural problem.
Bristow said the university was working to eliminate a housing shortage and bids for new dorm construction are expected to be in by mid-September.
Students were also upset because one of the six women’s dormitories, Lanier Hall, was vacant.
Laura Johnson, director of housing, said students have been allowed to move into that building.
The financial aid office said tuition per semester for a full-time student living on campus is $2,655, compared with $2,555 last year.
The tuition for a full-time student not living on campus is $1,342.