We are calling on Jackson State University to do what it should have done years ago: investigate, reform, and restructure the Financial Aid Department.

For too long, students have suffered in silence as bureaucratic incompetence and staff apathy have jeopardized our education and our financial stability. The Financial Aid Office is meant to be a resource that empowers us to focus on our studies. Instead, it has become a source of constant stress, confusion, and frustration that actively pushes students away from this university.

The current system is failing us. Students are:

Given incorrect or incomplete information.

Passed between counselors without any resolution.

Treated with disrespect when seeking help.

Left in the dark for weeks while their funding hangs in the balance.

We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for basic competence, transparency, and respect from the people whose job it is to ensure we can afford to be here. Without a functional financial aid office, students cannot succeed, and the university cannot retain the students it works so hard to recruit.