Some students of the Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) who have left Barbados earlier this year say they are now in a bind trying to stop their belongings from being removed from housing units they once occupied at the Villages at Coverley.
The students, who requested anonymity, explained that the officials allowed them to leave the island in late March to be with their families due to the COVID-19 pandemic and before countries started to close their borders.
A decision was then taken by the university to continue classes online, and due to uncertainty over when borders were likely to reopen, a further decision was taken to also conduct the summer and fall semesters online.
“They didn’t tell us until [May] that we were then going to stay online during the whole summer, and a couple weeks later they said ‘actually, we are even going to do the entire Fall semester online as well’. So Ross University is going to be online all the way to January 2021,” said one student.
The school has given the students until September 7 to remove their belongings from the housing units and have reimbursed them for the period.
This provides them with at least two weeks after the completion of the current semester on August 21, to collect their items before the next semester begins.
However, several of the students told Barbados TODAY they were concerned that the window of opportunity was too small and they would not be able to return to the island or get someone on island to pack the items for them.
There will be a JetBlue repatriation flight to Barbados from the US on Saturday, July 4, that up to 20 students, some with spouses and children, are hoping to get on.
The students, who also said they had safety concerns about their items, complained that despite reaching out to the university officials, they have been “silent” and that the Student Government Association (SGA), which is made up of student representatives, has not been able to help.
“We called student affairs, we emailed the dean of student affairs, we emailed administration, we emailed the housing department. The people that have been most helpful is the Student Government Association, who are just other students that were elected by students,” said one student.
Stating that they had to still be studying, the students said the whole situation was now taking a toll on their ability to adequately focus on their studies.
“We want to come back and get our things and Ross has been extremely silent,” said one student. “They are not helping students. They are not reassuring us of anything. They are giving us a deadline that by this day you have to have all your things out the house or we are going to throw them all out. In addition to that we are going to charge you for throwing it all out.
“So a lot of students, me especially, haven’t been able to concentrate knowing that our things are in danger. So we are doing our jobs, which is being a student, and we are also doing the jobs of the administration, who should be managing these things for us and making sure we are on flights and making sure our things are safe. So it has been really difficult to say the least,” she said, describing the situation as “mayhem”.
However, the university told Barbados TODAY it was working closely with students who may not be returning to Barbados to make arrangements for them to collect their belongings.
The university said it understood the complications due to the pandemic and that it was dedicated to “working through the challenges” the pandemic was creating for the students.
“We will continue to be flexible with all students as we work together to navigate these challenges,” the school said in a statement.
Ross explained that students could chose to travel to Barbados and collect their items themselves, ask a friend or contact, or a shipping service to pack their items for them.
“If neither of these options is feasible, RUSM Housing will work with students individually to make arrangements,” said the school.
It added that extensions to get the items have already been communicated and that students were encouraged to contact RUSM Housing to discuss any questions and make different arrangements.
However, one female student who is on island said she had arranged for a packing company to pack the items for another student, but RUSM Housing did not give them access to the unit.
“Housing never gave any way for the packing company or myself to enter the premises. So there is no way for us to even pack our stuff even though they say you have to come and get your stuff by x-date or we will be throwing it out. So it has all been a lot of miscommunication. We have no response from the school in about a month even though we have sent a lot of emails and made calls,” she complained.
When contacted the Vice President of the SGA David Bock told Barbados TODAY students were already informed that if their travel plans were interrupted the deadline would be re-evaluated by the housing department, but on a case-by-case basis.
“Currently, airlines are in the process of opening travel to Barbados. So as long as this remains true then the deadline will also remain,” he said.
“Students have also received communication directly from administration, stating that there are approved packing and shipping companies that they may utilize if they choose to do so at their own expense.
“As this is an optional decision, students are required to make these arrangements themselves. There is also an option to have the Ross housing staff pack and store their items if they are not able to return or do not wish to ship their items at this time, also at their own expense,” Bock explained.
marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb
