Once the stay-at-home order was issued, students both in and out of state could no longer get their belongings off campus. After choosing the option to “leave our stuff on campus” (in our dorms/on campus apartments) until the stay-at-home order has been lifted for students, Towson University has now removed this option and decided to hire JK Moving, a company with controversial reviews to move our stuff for us. In doing so, students will lose hundreds to thousands of money’s worth of stuff such as food, cleaning products, personal products (ie laundry detergent shampoo, certain hair products, maybe even liquid makeup items), aerosol can/sprays, and any other liquid products. Some students do not have the monetary resources to replenish these items, especially items that were accumulated over a long period of time. Towson hasn’t stated any compensations to be made about this, nor have they mentioned policies regarding any items damaged during this process. In addition, if the item is too big to be shipped, students will have to come back to Towson to get these items anyways, so what is the purpose of packing our stuff without our permission?

While the honor code is wonderful, not all companies have workers of integrity. Some people have left cash, gift cards, debit cards, etc. in their room. In addition, some students have decided to temporarily stay in a different location and have confusions about where to ship their stuff. Students (internationally and in/out-of state) who normally put their items in storage near campus do not have space at their address to have all their items shipped at home. Some international as well as out-of-state students might not even have money to ship everything back for the following semesters. How will students that do not have access to internet or video-chat resources be a part of the video chat calls?

Students believe that Towson is not being flexible nor accommodating and causing even more stress, anxiety, frustration, and confusion during this global pandemic. Towson should give students the option of whether or not they want their stuff packed and perishables thrown away. 

Students do not understand what gain Towson will get from this as new residents can’t be admitted during this time. Other schools such as University of Maryland are allowing their students belongings to stay on campus. This petition is to encourage Towson University to keep students ‘belongings on campus and wait until the stay-at-home order is lifted. Please sign and share, every signature helps.