Long Lines for Housing at N.C. Central

Photo credit: Aaron Daye/Campus Echo Students stand in line for hours at North Carolina Central U., "heart to heart and breast to breast."

At North Carolina Central University's Baynes Residence Hall, housing registration for next fall started at 9 a.m. on April 5. It was scheduled to last until 4 p.m. Some students arrived as early as 7 a.m. to be sure they received a room.

Even so, some students said they stood in line for nine to 12 hours.

“I arrived here for registration at 8 a.m., thinking I was early, and ended up staying in line until 2 p.m.,” said Lashona Sims, a sophomore majoring in criminal justice. “That’s what’s so ridiculous.

“Literally speaking, we were heart to heart and breast to breast . . . as we came closer to the door, everyone began pushing and being very rude. This was happening even when the door was shut and no one could get in,” Sims said.

Campus police were called to monitor the situation.

“I was supposed to be on patrol on campus, but I got a call around 10 a.m. about the line being out of control and rude,” said campus police Capt. Victor Ingram. “I left my patrol to come over to Baynes Hall to help out with the situation.”

Sims said campus police were not much help.

“At least half the football team broke in line and all the officers could do was to announce that if anyone had broken" into the line, he or she should "move to the back of the line, but who was going to confess to that?” Sims said.

“It caused me to miss classes,” sophomore Muktar Raqib said. “Being a history major, it is imperative to attend classes.”

Some students decided to leave the line and come back later.

Last school year, students paid a $50 deposit and then turned in their housing applications to the Department of Residential Life. And there were no lines.

This year, although students waited in line and paid their $50 deposits, they still were not guaranteed a room. Once the dorms were filled up, those still in line were placed on a waiting list.

Tia Doxey, associate director of residential life, said she restructured dorm registration after consulting with Residential Life administrators and students and determining that this would be “a more appropriate process.”

”The process in particular this year is sort of a first-come, first-served process,” said Doxey.

“This year’s process went better because students are leaving campus with an assignment,” she said. “The students that did receive an assignment know exactly where they are going to be living next year.”

But some students — and one police officer — saw things differently.

“I don’t like how the process was changed at all,” said Tasha Bayard, a junior majoring in mass communications. “They should have left it the way it was last year; no waiting in line. That’s what I like.”

“There was no organization. The line should have been roped off,” Sims said.

“I would suggest that they go back to the way the process was done last year. If they were going to do it this way, they could have done it in a better location.”

Doxey said that Residential Life administrators plan to put registration online next year.

Tameka Stephenson, a student at North Carolina Central University, writes for the Campus Echo.

Posted April 20, 2005