Junior Cardell Williams drove five and a half hours from Chicago August 19, 2019, excited to begin fall term. But Williams had a big surprise in front of him: He had been purged. He was no longer enrolled in classes, and he no longer had university housing.
“I felt terrible,” he said. “This was unprofessional. The system is so messed up.”
The university purged more than 100 students from classes and university residence halls at the start of the school year. Students are purged when they have not me their financial obligations by a specified deadline. To avoid being purged, students must complete the enrollment clearance process, fill out a Handle Your Business check sheet, and submit it to the Registrar’s office.
Senior Christopher Mitchell, who is also from Chicago, said he had no idea that he was subject to being purged until he arrived on campus. Associate Registrar Isabelle Cayo said students were notified about being purged. “Only students who did not actively check their school email over the summer were unaware of being purged,” she said.
Mitchell took care of his situation by paying the university and making a new class schedule. He said he’s going to make sure to take care of his business early when registering for spring term, so he won’t run into this issue again. Williams said the same thing. “I’m going to make sure all my stuff is situated (to avoid getting purged),”he said.
By Zaria Brown
Contributing Writer