ITTA BENA, Miss. – A former Mississippi Valley State University student has filed a lawsuit over the school’s decision to cut his major.
Whitwell “Whit” Hamilton of Greenwood was pursuing a degree in the recording industry when the program was suspended in August 2009.
The major combined elements of music, business and sound production to prepare students for careers in the recording industry. Students also received hands-on experience editing and recording music in the B.B. King Recording Studio on campus.
Whitwell’s suit filed in Leflore County Circuit Court seeks reimbursement for tuition, room and board, travel to school, and lost wages as a result of delaying his graduation. Other former recording industry students have retained attorneys and are considering filing suits as well, according to a report in The Greenwood Commonwealth.
In an emailed statement to the newspaper, MVSU said the program suspension happened when the new administration under President Donna Oliver found that it would not be financially feasible to continue it because of state budget cuts.
Hamilton moved back from Atlanta just for the recording industry program, he said. Now $10,000 in debt, he has nothing to show for it, he said.
“I was really excited about it and here I am two and a half years into the program, and there is no program,” Hamilton said. “When we came in we were under the impression the program had full accreditation. We never questioned that.”
