KENNESSAW, Ga. — A viral video showing the interaction between a student and an academic adviser at Kennesaw State University is shining a light on what students are calling a big problem.
“This is an issue that people have been having forever,” said one student who attended a peaceful sit-in at the KSU Student Center Monday.
Many KSU students realized they were not alone when the video clip went viral on social media. It showed an encounter between student Kevin Bruce and academic adviser Abby Dawson, who threatened Bruce with calling campus security for harassment.
Bruce had shown up looking for help and insisted on staying.
“I knew it was going to go somewhere but I didn't know it was going to go as big as it went,” Bruce said.
It grew because many shared experiences similar experiences to Bruce’s in the WellStar College of Health and Human Services academic advisement office.
Channel 2’s Wendy Corona asked Bruce if he had a feeling the encounter would go south.
“Yes ma’am. That’s why I recorded it,” he said.
While Dawson is on leave for two to three weeks while KSU investigates, students are refusing to go silent. With locked arms in the student center, students united in support of Bruce, students aimed to better the situation for those who follow them.
Students say this is not a racial issue, everyone receives this type of treatment and they want it to stop.
"We're paying thousands of dollars for the tuition so we definitely want respect and definitely want somebody who can advise us the right way,” said student Kevin Bruce.
The group has a list of six demands for the KSU administration, including a formal apology from Dawson to Bruce and a school-wide survey of students' academic advisement experiences.
WSBTV
