'Confident in the changes': FAMU students, parents hope for the best during move-in week

As Florida A&M University set the tone on its campus with music blasting from speakers and cheerful volunteers available at every turn, students and families on Monday unloaded their vehicles to get settled in at the start of move-in week.

Incoming freshmen eagerly went inside FAMU Towers and Polkinghorn Village to find their suites as they get ready to kick off the fall 2024 semester, which begins Aug. 26.

Parents were equally as excited. Russell Johnson, a Florida State University alumnus, helped 18-year-old daughter Mackenzie Johnson move into FAMU Towers from Land O’ Lakes.

“It’s a new chapter in her life, so I’m excited for her to be starting this journey,” Johnson said, sitting outside of the FAMU residence hall. “My expectations for her are to stay on course with her studies and to get her degree.”

Students have been moving onto the campuses of both FAMU and FSU ahead of the fall semester start date; FSU's move-in days began over the weekend, with the university expecting to have 6,707 students living on campus.

Approximately 2,750 students are moving onto FAMU’s campus this year, including the university’s nearly 1,400 freshmen who are required to stay on campus for their first semester — with the exception of freshmen who live within a 45-mile radius and can choose to live off-campus instead.

While the university's student housing reached capacity in July and left 600 students on stand-by ahead of the fall semester, FAMU Vice President of Student Affairs William Hudson Jr. says there are currently no students on the wait list. Some students received placements as a result of reserved spaces being canceled while others chose to live off campus.

Among this fall's arrivals are about 1,500 first-time-in-college students, selected from over 21,962 applications submitted for the fall, Hudson said.

“We’re very excited to have our new and returning students back on campus,” Hudson told the Democrat. “We look forward to an excellent year of Rattler pride.”

With FAMU being one of the nation’s top 100 public colleges and universities as ranked by U.S. News & World Report — and the no. 1 public HBCU (historically Black college or university) for the fifth consecutive year — freshman Zara Robinson says it's an honor to be one of the select few who were accepted.

Robinson comes to FAMU from Nassau, Bahamas. She says visiting the campus and the School of Business and Industry in February ignited her passion for the university.

“Everything is starting to get more real,” said Robinson, 17. “It’s exciting, and I’m happy to be a part of the small number that got admitted."

While the university celebrates its most recent national rankings, it's also been the subject of bad press over a recent donation debacle and changes in its leadership.

Former president Larry Robinson resigned after a $237 million gift gone wrong in which Texas hemp farmer Gregory Gerami’s donation to FAMU led to high skepticism, national headlines and a report that later found the mishandled gift to be "fraudulent."

As interim President Timothy Beard takes the helm, he recently asked his entire senior leadership team to resign as a part of his restructuring efforts. The team members who are no longer with the university include Communications Director Keith Miles, Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics and Athletics Director Tiffani-Dawn Sykes, Director of Governmental Relations Danielle McBeth and Vice President of Legal Affairs Denise Wallace.

Although Beard confirmed that Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Donald Palm, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Allyson Watson and Assistant Vice President of Alumni Affairs and University Advancement Carmen Cummings will stay in their positions, the remaining team members' status has not been announced yet.

“Hopefully, the new president does what he’s supposed to do and puts the students first,” Johnson said.

Students, parents think ‘everything is going to work out’

Heather Prince — a parent who helped her daughter Arabella, a psychology major, move into Polkinghorne Village West for her first year — believes that things will turn around.

“The university gave us a really good orientation so that we know what to expect,” said Prince, a Daytona Beach native. “It seems as if Dr. Beard is going to come in and do what needs to be done after the whole ‘fake money’ situation. I’m confident in the changes.”

FAMU freshman and business administration major Layla Davis, a Fort Lauderdale native, feels the same way.

“I think they’re going to do a good job,” said Davis, 19, referring to Beard and his leadership team. “I trust that everything is going to work out.”

Both of Davis’s parents went to Alabama A&M University, but she looks forward to getting her HBCU experience at the “highest of seven hills.”

“I’m super excited about meeting new people, making new connections, getting internships, going to homecoming and having a good time,” Davis said.

Besides FAMU Towers and the Polkinghorne Village residence halls, students will also be moving into the Palmetto South and Phase III apartments, Sampson Hall, Young Hall and the Rattler Pointe apartments on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday before classes start this fall.

Contact Tarah Jean at [email protected] or follow her on X: @tarahjean_.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU students have high hopes while moving onto campus for fall 2024