Queens University students complained of pests in the school’s dining facilities following health inspections on Jan. 28 and Feb. 6.
KHADEJEH NIKOUYEH
knikouyeh@charlotteobserver.com
Rats huddling under the soda dispenser, gnats in the Raisin Bran, a lone roach scuttling up a wall during dinner.
Just weeks after Queens University of Charlotte said it addressed issues raised in a lackluster Jan. 28 health inspection of its dining spaces, students took to social media in late February and early March to post evidence of continuing issues. Their videos of pests, including rats and a live cockroach allegedly in the dining hall, quickly gained traction.
“Has someone called the health department yet?” one student posted to Yik Yak, a social media app popular on college campuses which allows users to post anonymously to other people nearby.
“Has anyone tried asking for a meal plan refund yet?” asked another.
“We are aware of a video currently circulating on social media regarding a rodent sighting at the Trexler Student Center,” Dean of Students Amber Slack and Chief Financial Officer Matt Packey wrote in an email to students March 3. A student shared the email with The Charlotte Observer.
“We apologize to the community for this occurrence,” it stated. “It is unacceptable, and please be assured that we have taken immediate steps to resolve this issue.”
The school promised to bring in pest control, monitor food storage and continue to follow sanitation protocols. It came months after health inspectors reported the presence of pests in some of the school’s dining spaces in January, which was followed by a clean health report of those same spaces in early February.
Queens said its dining facilities are safe.
“The university takes these concerns seriously and acted promptly to review and address the situation,” a school spokesperson told The Observer. “After careful and thorough inspections, there was no indication of any food safety issue, and it remains safe to eat in the dining hall.”
But some students still don’t feel comfortable eating in the small university’s only dining hall, despite already paying for meal plans, said a student who requested anonymity since she is currently employed by the university.
Recent health inspections
Queens leadership acknowledged the January report from Mecklenburg County Health Department in which several dining areas within the school’s student center received a grade of 84.5.
Inspectors reported “gnats throughout the facility.” It was a repeat violation, as inspectors made the same note on a previous report in October 2025. On the January report, inspectors also noted food debris on some equipment, missing labels and timestamps and employee belongings sitting on top of clean dishes.
“While an 84.5 ‘B’ rating is considered ‘satisfactory’ by the Mecklenburg County Food and Facilities Sanitation Program Standards, we recognize that it does not meet the excellence we strive for and that you deserve,” Slack and Packey wrote in an email to students Feb. 5, which a student provided to The Observer. “Our dining facilities have consistently received an ‘A’ and nothing less than that is acceptable to us.”
Another inspection was conducted Feb. 6, and all dining facilities in Queens’ student center received an A. There were a few issues the inspector noted, including some food and sticker residue on containers and cooked chicken stored at an improper temperature.
Then, videos of a live rat in the dining hall began circulating in early March.
Despite the university’s reassurances that pest control services dealt with the issue, students continue to express concern online. The student who spoke with the Observer said she and others are opting to order food delivery from services like DoorDash and Uber Eats instead.
Meanwhile, many students already paid for meal plans at the university, which range from $4,048 to $7,550 per year for students who live on-campus.
See the recent inspection reports from Jan. 28 and Feb. 6 below.
This story was originally published March 19, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
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Rebecca Noel reports on education for The Charlotte Observer. She’s a native of Houston, Texas, and graduated from Rice University. She later received a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. When she’s not reporting, she enjoys reading, running and frequenting coffee shops around Charlotte.