RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Shaw University students say they’ve been dealing with periods of no heat and hot water in a freshman men’s dorm for the last few weeks.
Parents and students contacted ABC11 when they said students began noticing the problem last week at the Dimple Newsome Living and Learning Center.
Students confirmed some of the tips to ABC11 on Friday.
Nazir Bullock lives in the dorm and said the temperature has been irregular in the residence hall.
“It’s really finicky. It goes in and out,” he said. “Some days you wake up hot, or some days you wake up cold. There’s no telling.”
Yaqurie Redmond also lives in the dorm and says students have taken matters into their own hands to stay warm.
“Last weekend, I would say a good amount of people had heaters in their room, considering they were telling us that the heat was going to get fixed,” he said. “It really wasn’t.”
With another winter storm just hours away and the temperatures dropping fast, some students, such as Douglas Wallace, decided to go home instead of staying on campus.
“From the lobby, from the stairwell, all the way up to the eighth floor, there’s not been any heat,” said Wallace.
Another student, Will Solomon, told ABC11 that heat isn’t the only problem in the dorm.
“There was at one point a schedule for hot water and heat where we would alternate,” he said. “So like, the hot water on, the heat turns off, the heat on, the hot water turns off.”
Redmond said the problems started long before the temperatures began to drop.
“Even when we moved in, there really wasn’t any AC,” he said. “When I first moved here, moving all my stuff, it was hot, really hot. And I got here on the 1st of August.”
This isn’t the first time this dorm has had its share of problems.
Two years ago, in 2024, Shaw students told ABC11 that they did not have hot water or heat in Newsome after they came back from winter break.
As for this storm, the university sent out a notice to students about measures in place, including a backup boiler to support heating, backup generators in case of power issues, and 24-hour monitoring and rapid response teams.
Students just say they want to feel warm in their dorms.
“It’s very, very cold out, and it’s a different type of winter this winter,” said Wallace. “We really need heat. So that’s all we’re really, really asking for.”
ABC11 reached out to Shaw University on Thursday, when the first tips from parents and students came into the newsroom, and again Friday after hearing the specific additional concerns from students.
The university still has not returned the request for comment.
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