TSU students use hash tag to shed light on problems on campus

Friday, September 18, 2015
#TakeBackTSU
A hashtag is highlighting what students say are problems on the TSU campus

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Type #TakeBackTxSu on Twitter, and you'll find a growing list of gripes with Texas Southern University.

"For me, I'm a music industry major," says junior Christina Letsinger. "Not having adequate equipment like iMacs, and the adequate software, like Photoshop, Pro Tools and Final Cut Pro and the updated version so we can go into the workforce and say I know these things."

Letsinger started the social media blitz and her fellow Tigers quickly joined, sharing stories of missing financial aid money, and housing horrors.

"My question is why are they accepting so many people and not having enough housing for them, and then having them stay in hotels," says freshman Risi Sule.

Sule and several friends tell us they paid to live in the new dorms on campus, but were put in the aging dorms instead because construction was not completed on schedule. They say the university refuses to refund the difference in the cost.

One student tweeted that she saw parents crying at the housing check-in because they had to leave and didn't know if their child would have a place to lay their head, and that she saw administrators laughing about it. That student says she was not able to get housing this semester and commutes from Galveston for class.

"A lot of the issues that we're talking about aren't really new issues," says junior Kaleb Taylor. "And we've tried to work with administration. We've tried the proposals, the meetings, the petitions, and it seems like they don't respond."

But this time is different. The university released a statement promising to listen to the students and work toward resolution. The entire statement is below.