College is hard. Life is hard. We can all attest to that. And while I do not have it harder than anyone else, my college experience has been a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. That’s why I’ve decided to transfer schools. Is every college going to be hard? Yes. Will transferring make all my problems go away? No. I know that, but UNA has caused me so many problems that I owe it to myself to find a fresh start. Now, my story is not a sob story, and I am not asking for any pity whatsoever, but I’m here to say my piece.

My first couple months at UNA were fabulous. I was a wide-eyed freshman, and I had my sights set on…everything. I was on my own for the first time. I was making new friends, and for the first time in my life I was actually kind-of popular. That would come back to bite me.

Of course, things had to take a turn. Friendships fell through, my roommate and I did not get along and meanwhile, I’m still trying to get my math homework solved. Housing and Residence Life didn’t really help in trying to get the situation with my roommate figured out. I was appalled at how little they seemed to care, but that’s just the beginning of what I was about to encounter.

Following that, things seemed to be going okay until my best friend and I realized we had made friends with some of the wrong people – and by “wrong people” I mean a lying psychopath. I won’t go into the whole thing, but it ended with a no-contact order being placed. Throw in a couple false harassment charges, more lying, crazy parents and threats to sue me, and I had myself a recipe for trauma. But according to the Office of Student Conduct, everything was my fault.

It didn’t matter that I had been lied about, it didn’t matter that my mental health had taken a toll and it didn’t matter that I was struggling with my school work. The student conduct officer blamed me for everything and called me “stupid,” so that goes to show how much they cared about my mental health. The officer even asked me what kind of anxiety medicine I was on, and then proceeded to tell me that “it clearly wasn’t working” – tell me about it! At this point, I was starting to see a pattern within administration, but this attitude seemed to be geared towards me. Is it bad luck  or does this university hate me?

Ding ding ding! The university hates me. I got screwed over by a UNA professor whom I – and several others – trusted and respected. He was supposed to be our advisor and mentor, but instead, he turned into our biggest bully. He chose himself and his reputation over his students. Over and over and over again. Lying to them, stealing their work and humiliating them in front of other students…it was a nightmare. When the truth got out, he removed me from the work we were doing together and published my work that I’d been promised would not get published. Did I receive any compensation for this? Absolutely not. Was I interviewed by the university’s P.I. and then never contacted again? Absolutely.

Now I’ve never been a professor, but I’m pretty sure you are not supposed to cuss out your students and lie about them to save your own ass. I could be wrong though. He is not the only professor that I would face issues with.

I’m majoring in Fashion Merchandising and Design. I was supposed to have one of my designs shown at a fashion show, but the professor in charge was not paying attention and the model wearing my work never walked. My mom and I had driven hours to get to the fashion show and had sat there all night waiting for my design that never came. It wouldn’t have been such a big deal, had someone taken accountability, but something that I’ve learned about UNA is that no one takes accountability.

I feel a lot of different feelings about leaving. Excitement, but also sadness. Relief, but also anxiety. But mainly, I’m hurt. Hurt that so many of the things I went through could have been solved, had the university cared a bit more. Hurt that I thought college would be the best time of my life, but so far, it’s been the worst. Hurt that I’ve been pushed out of a university that I had so much love for.

I tried to fit in and make myself at home, but most of the environment at UNA, from what  have seen,is toxic. Unless you’re in Fraternity and Sorority Life, no one seems to care about you. That goes for students and administrators – It’s like the teachers’ kids in high school that get special treatment. Now, I have nothing against FSL, or teachers’ kids, but I thought that students getting special treatment for being popular ended in high school. It doesn’t, at least not at UNA.

I don’t want to be in that environment any longer, and I owe it to myself to leave while I can. UNA is a beautiful campus, and it is filled with so many beautiful students and teachers. I have learned a lot, and I truly cherish my time here. However, there are some not-so beautiful people at UNA. People that want to hurt you and people who lie, professors that choose themselves over their students. I feel like there is always someone lurking, waiting for me to slip up so they can kick me while I’m down. I don’t want to feel that anymore, and I don’t have to.