Packed Raleigh town hall addresses St. Aug's crisis, some alumni call on community for help
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- It was a packed house Friday night at Martin Street Baptist Church in Raleigh, where hundreds of St. Augustine's University (SAU) alumni came together.
The live-streamed event, hosted by journalist Roland Martin, served as a town hall for former teachers, administrators, current students, and alumni to discuss how SAU reached its current situation and explore the university's future.
"It's time to stop hiding and it's time to give the information where it needs to be which is with our alums and with the community," said alum Steven Williams, who is apart of the group Save SAU.
And that meant some tough conversations.
Former professors talked about colleagues not getting paid, and former administrators accused the Board of Trustees doctoring minutes.
"Several red flags went up years ago," former SAU Vice President Debra Clark Jones said. "There have been votes of no confidence letters written by administrators and attorneys, and no one did anything."
The university ended up entering high interest loans, facing financial trouble and ultimately seeing students leave campus in droves. Then, it lost its' accreditation.
But, they say the most frustrating part was students left caught the middle.
SEE ALSO | St. Augustine's financial trouble creates lingering issues for former student
Devaron Benjamin spent 3 years at SAU only to leave without most of his credits transferring.
"It's very frustrating to look back and realize I couldn't graduate because of the situation," Benjamin said.
He chose SAU for its legacy since his dad is an alum.. Now at age 23, he's essentially starting over, now a sophomore at North Carolina A&T University.
But, for loyal alums, they're not giving up on St Aug's legacy and hope the thousands of Roland Martin's viewers watching live will help them too.
"We've been fighting, so now that our voices are being heard, so this is what fight looks like and we're not giving up," Williams said
Roland Martin said he invited SAU board members and leadership to tonight's event but they declined.
WATCH | Saint Augustine's University alumni call on Board of Trustees to resign amid accreditation loss
