TAMPA – On August 25, incoming freshmen and transfer students were welcomed to The University of Tampa.
Among these excited and eager students was one freshman who didn’t get the warmest welcome.
Like many students, freshman biology major Leyonna Dunbar was able to come to the university with the aid of a private student loan.
Aware of the lengthy process, Dunbar applied for the $4,000 she owed a month prior to the first week of classes.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t early enough.
When Dunbar arrived on campus to get her housing key and Spartan Card, she was denied.
The bursar’s office had not received the paperwork for her loan.
She contacted her loan provider, Wells Fargo, and they explained that she hadn’t turned in the documentation they had requested.
During the following two weeks, Dunbar didn’t have a meal plan, a laundry card or the voucher from financial aid to buy her books.
“I just wanted to go home, I was so upset. I packed my bags and my mom came to pick me up,” said Dunbar.
By Sept. 13, the last official day to pay financial dues, Dunbar’s loan still hadn’t been processed.
She was automatically dropped from her classes that day, and she immediately went to the Bursar’s Office when she found out.
According to Dunbar, a bursar employee had told her that there was nothing they could do.
Dunbar was told that she should have gone through the university to pay for her loans, instead of through a private lender.
“[The bursar employee] told me that my classes were dropped and that there wasn’t a reason to go to class anymore,” Dunbar said.
The bursar’s office has seen this situation time and time again, DJ Eubanks, a bursar employee, explained the process that students go through.
Students are given until the end of move-in week to get their payments in, which was Sept. 13 this semester.
If they are not in by then, their classes are dropped.
If the student’s payment is in late, they must get their professor’s signatures in order to be re-enrolled in the class.
“During this process we encourage the students to still attend classes, so when the money comes in they hadn’t missed anything,” said Eubanks.
It turned out that Wells Fargo, her loan provider, hadn’t received the proper documentation from Dunbar.
“My mother and I were crying to financial aid to help us, but no one could do anything,” Dunbar said.
Dunbar and her mother went to the Howard Johnson Hotel where she was scheduled to live.
She explained her situation to the RAs and they gave her her room key.
Dunbar was able to move in the first Saturday after classes.
“I cried pretty much all week. I thought I was going to have to just go home and not start college yet. It was too late for me to go to any other school I applied to,” Dunbar said.
Dunbar has yet to receive her loan, but she has talked to her professors and said she would be returning to her classes this week.
Kristi Marsili can be reached at kmarsili@spartans.ut.edu.
I rarely comment on articles, however I really take exception to this one.
Why this is a top fold, front page news story is beyond my understanding. This is not news. This is the situation dozens of students find themselves in every year, due to the fault of no one at the institution.
The points are made clear: this freshman’s paper work was not in on time to a private lender. The university acted according to its policy. The student was not in harms way. If there is no discrepancy about these facts, why is there an article at all?
What bothers me is that I feel The Minaret is trying to latch on to some kind of theme that does not exist. Last week we had the story about Enrique Rosado, where it was disputed whether or not the university was at fault for not doing more to help him. Here is another story about lack of finance and it appears as though The Minaret is trying to create another example of a victim.
This student must have been extremely upset to learn of her situation upon arriving to campus but making sure her paper work was in was ultimately her responsibility. Unfortunately, this is the case with so many students each year: either they fail to get their paper work in, or their private loan provider screws up.
The only way I could see this article being worthwhile had been if the reporter found many other students who went through similar circumstances and collaborated their stories to show the challenges students with loans sometimes face. Or, the reporter could have given tips to students to deal with these kind of financial situations. Instead, this is just a story of one freshman’s irresponsibility made to look like a larger issue.
Also: why is the subhead “Now Unpacked, She Second-Guesses UT”? This headline suggests it was in some way the university’s fault that the student was in this situation and that she has changed her mind about the place she was excited to attend. No where, though, does this student say that she now plans to transfer or is disappointed in the university.
I know The Minaret can do better. I believe in what our student paper does and I believe the right intentions are there. Next time it’s a slow news day, though, just leave the front page blank. That really would have been better.