‘We’re paying this much rent and can’t even put our trash in the… trash’: Student puts university apartment on blast over living conditions in viral TikTok
An apparent student at Temple University in Philadelphia put her apartment complex on blast in a viral TikTok for letting trash pile up and seep into the hallway.
In the video, which has gotten over 40,000 likes and 300,000 views, @djenebask.2 and another woman add their trash to a pile flowing out of the trash room and into the hall of their apartment building.
“There’s just no way we’re paying this much rent and can’t even put our trash in the... trash,” user @djenebask.2 says.
The TikToker doesn’t say how long the trash has been piling up, but the video text and caption allege the issue is happening at University Village, a student housing property that serves Temple University students.
A video posted last week by user @misslindseychris, which has gotten 5,000 likes and over 100,000 views, also shows the trash pile-up and calls out University Village. The video shows a very similar scene to @djenebask.2’s, with trash overflowing from the trash room and into the hallway. The on-screen text reads: “What $800 of rent will get you at University Village (Temple). Trash and fruit flies . . .”
In the comments section of @misslindseychris’ video, many claimed to be current and former residents. Neither @djenebask.2 nor @misslindseychris mentioned which building they were in, but the comments suggest that the issue is taking place on several floors of the first building.
Commenters on @djenebask.2’s video also noted that the pile-up is a health concern because it is likely to attract pests. “Rats and roaches I know live rent free,” user @melanated30 commented.
User @janiya.iris responded to the comment saying that they “live in the building” and “have no rodents thankfully,” but a commenter on @misslindseychris’ video claimed there used to be mice. Alleged residents also said they have roaches.
“I have roaches right now and it took them over a month to send the exterminator to my room,” one alleged resident said in a comment on @misslindseychris’ video. They said in a reply that they “still have the roaches.”
While many users are outraged on behalf of the residents, several commenters on @djenebask.2’s video blame them for allowing the trash to pile up. “It’s [their own] fault they could’ve put it all outside instead of inside,” user @pinera954 said in response to a comment about how the trash will attract pests.
Others have rebutted that the residents aren’t “lazy” for not taking their trash outside because there may not be dumpsters available, and they may not be authorized to use them even if there were.
They also argued that the residents could not just leave the trash on the street, as some suggested because they could potentially get fined. Additionally, some mentioned that the trash would not get picked up because of alleged understaffing at the Philadelphia Sanitation Division.
The Daily Dot reached out to @djenebask.2 and @misslindseychris via TikTok comment as well as University Village and its affiliate, American Campus Communities, via email. The parties did not immediately respond to the request for comment.
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