Freshman Catherine Clifton received the ultimatum during spring break in an email from the Cashier’s Office: pay for a meal plan or be evicted from Residence Hall One.
The notice kept her anxious during the week off from school, while others relaxed and vacationed. If she doesn’t pay up by the end of the semester, her grades will be withheld.
It all started during the fall semester, when Clifton’s parents decided they wanted her to transfer from USF St. Petersburg. Her housing contract was cancelled. Clifton spent her winter break convincing her parents to let her stay. They agreed, and she renewed her contract.
When they went to the Financial Aid office, her parents wanted to make sure she didn’t have to pay for a meal plan. Although it is university policy for residents to have meal plans, Clifton is anemic and didn’t eat much from Dining Services in the fall. According to her, Financial Aid said she would not be charged for a meal plan this semester.
So, the email she got from the Cashier’s office in February that said she owed $1,100 came as a surprise. She refused to pay, saying her financial aid money didn’t include enough for the meal plan.
The eviction threat came soon after.
As a student who depends on loans and the salaries from her four jobs, Clifton didn’t have the money to pay out of pocket. She also couldn’t request more loans, because Financial Aid only allows students to receive the estimated amount they claim. Clifton did not estimate the need for a meal plan.
“There’s two months of school left, and I don’t need to worry about living spaces at this time,” Clifton told The Crow’s Nest.
To get an exemption from the meal plan, Clifton said she filled out medical records in the fall. An employee in the cashier’s office told Clifton that her records were lost between semesters, according to Clifton. She sent a doctor’s note, but representatives refused to look at it because the decision requiring Clifton to pay had already been made, Clifton said.
USFSP departments were unable to comment directly on Clifton’s situation for confidentiality reasons.
Scott Hendershot, Housing Assignments and Operations coordinator, said the eviction process is “a very long process that we do not take lightly.”
Hendershot allows students to come up with payment plans. If they have a plan for payment in place, Housing won’t evict them.
“I’ve had very successful students come and tell me it’s been a struggle,” Hendershot said, noting that the only time students will be evicted is if they absolutely refuse to pay.
Clifton didn’t want to leave RHO because even if she did, she would still be required to pay her balance. If she doesn’t pay for the $1,100 meal plan by the end of the spring semester, her grades will be held, keeping her from registering for classes or transferring to another school.
If a payment is not made on time, the debt will be handled by Collections at USF Tampa, which is USF policy according to Hendershot. This affects a student’s’ credit negatively, but Hendershot said Housing does everything in its power to keep it from happening.
“We do not want students to have to go into Collections,” Hendershot said.
Upon returning from spring break, Clifton sat down with an employee of the Cashier’s office, who worked out a payment plan with her. She is required to pay $300 for the next two weeks, and $100 per week after that. If she follows the payment plan, she will not be evicted.
