Students at Temple University in Philadelphia have furiously called out one of the college’s ‘premier’ dorm complexes for allowing enormous fly-infested piles of garbage to pile up in the corridors of their $800-a-month residences.
Two now-viral videos uploaded to TikTok by users claiming to be students at the Pennsylvania-based university document enormous mounds of residents’ trash and recycling that have apparently been left to pile up in the hallways of an off-campus apartment complex called University Village.
One of the clips, which was posted by a user known as @djenebask.2, shows her filming a friend as they walk down a corridor to discard their trash in the assigned area – only to find that the garbage has already spilled out of the trash room and into the corridor, leaving piles of bags, boxes, and other discarded items.
‘I’m about to document this, because there’s just no way that we are paying this much rent and [they] can’t even put our trash in the trash!’ she exclaims, before audibly gagging at the sight and ‘stink’ of the garbage piles.
A load of trash! Two Temple University students have taken to TikTok to accuse their off-campus housing of allowing huge mounds of garbage to pile up in the corridors of their dorms
‘No way’: One user, named @djenebask.2, documented the mess that she claims has piled up in the corridor of her floor at University Village in Philadelphia
She added in the captions: ‘Bruh no way I’m paying what I’m paying and dealing with this… University Village count your days.’
Another user, named Lindsey, shared a similar clip, revealing a near-identical scene outside of the trash room in what appears to be a different corridor.
Horrified: @djenebask.2 (pictured) audibly gagged at the sight and ‘stink’ of the garbage
In her video, she claimed that she pays $800-per-month to live in the student housing, where prices range between $489-per-month for a single bedroom in a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment to $904-a-month for a single bedroom in a three-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment.
Fees for Temple University average at about $35,000 a year, depending on the school that a student is registered with.
‘What $800 of rent will get you at University Village (Temple)… Trash and fruit flies,’ she captioned the clip, before writing: ‘I hate it here,’ and tagging the off-campus housing complex’s official TikTok account.
Both videos quickly went viral on the video-sharing app, with Lindsey’s earning more than 110,000 views, while @@djenebask.2’s racked up close to 670,000.
The clips were also flooded with comments from other users claiming to be current or former students at Temple University, with many sharing their own horror stories about trash pile-ups in University Village.
‘I’m on the 6th floor and it’s even worse,’ one person wrote in a comment, while another added: ‘I still have trauma from this.’
Evidence? Another user, named Lindsey, shared a similar clip from what appears to be a different corridor in the same housing complex, revealing near-identical piles of trash
Oh no… Lindsey said that she pays $800-a-month to live in the ‘premier’ student housing – where the trash rooms appear to be overflowing and, she claims, filled with fruit flies
A third person chimed in: ‘It’s a joke… I live here too.’
One user who said they used to live in the off-campus apartment complex – which is described on the Temple University website as being the ‘premier student housing choice’ at the college – claimed that she struggled with rodents while residing in the building.
‘University Village was awful!’ she wrote. ‘We had mice when I lived there.’
Another said that they ‘have roaches’.
Rodent and insect infestations were a hot topic of conversation in the comments section, where many issued warning to the residents of the trash-ridden apartments, insisting that they could well begin struggling with rats, mice and roaches if the problem is not solved.
‘The mice, rats, and roaches are going to be feasting,’ one person said, with another adding: ‘Get ready for the mice to start popping up…’
Others pointed out that Philadelphia is currently experiencing a shortage of sanitation workers, noting that this may well be to blame for the piles of trash that have accumulated in the student apartments.
‘Welcome to Philly where sanitation workers are limited,’ one wrote, while another commented: ‘Philly has a shortage of sanitation workers for the city at the moment. I live in Philly [and] we didn’t have our trash collected for almost three weeks.’
False advertising? On the Temple University website, University Village is described as the ‘premier student housing choice’ for students at the college
Several users urged the students to report University Village to the health department, with some even suggesting that they alert the college’s administrators.
However, a few people criticized the students for continuing to contribute to the pile-up of trash, insisting that they are to blame for simply adding more garbage to the increasing mounds.
‘Adding more does not help, that is nasty,’ one wrote. ‘When my bin was full at school I would just walk and drop it off in another one.’
Although University Village is not located on the Temple University campus, it is directly affiliated with the college – which advertises it as the ‘premier student housing choice’ on its website, where it also boasts of having ‘professional on-site management and staff’ to deal with all its residents’ ‘needs’.
‘Live close. Live college. If University Village was any closer to campus, you’d be in class!’ the online description states.
‘Walk-to-class convenience. Stay-fit amenities. Tools that help you make the grade. And community events that keep you connected. All make University Village the premier student housing choice at Temple University.
‘Get the lifestyle you want with our fully furnished apartments featuring private and shared bedroom and bathroom floor plans, 24-hour, state-of-the-art fitness center and Academic Success Center!
‘Plus, our professional on-site management and staff dedicated to serving your needs and helping you enjoy your college experience at TU.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to Temple University for comment.