Local businesses are taking a "wait and see" approach over whether or not to be concerned about allegations of misconduct and an ongoing investigation at Fort Valley State University.
There are a lot of questions swirling about the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's active investigation at the university, and those in town are left wondering with what to make of it.
For 25 years at Wellston Pawn, Fort Valley State University students have been an important part of Gary Borosky's business.
Among the pawned TVs, guitars and other knickknacks he says you can't ignore the University's impact.
“They buy a lot locally, the students are probably an excess of 10 percent of my total clientele,” Borosky says behind his jewelry counter.
In his 25 years, Borosky says he knows firsthand how important the University is to education for minority students, local education efforts and as a source of jobs.
He says the University provides jobs for the community in security, food service and of course, teaching.
It's why he's concerned about the University's future.
“Well sure I am. Everybody should be, you don't want to see anything negative happen to the university for the reasons I gave. The economic impact plus it's a local University for the local young men and women in this area,” Borosky says.
The GBI is investigating the University and says more agents are being brought in to assist.
So far, neither the GBI nor Peach County Sheriff's Office has specified what it is they're investigating.
In a statement this week, Sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha says the investigation contains allegations of sexual misconduct.
In a statement sent to 13WMAZ on Thursday, the University explained how the first concerns were brought to their attention.
“On April 5, 2018, administrators with Fort Valley State University (FVSU) received two separate reports alleging wrongdoing. One report was made anonymously as a tip on a campus complaint hotline. The second report was made separately by an employee to the campus Title IX coordinator. The USG in conjunction with FVSU began an immediate investigation in accordance with its policies.”
But that's not all, in June of 2017, 13WMAZ reported the University's accreditation was given a warning due to failures meeting core requirements.
The accreditation will be up for review again in June of 2018. At the time of the initial warning, the University said the new president was helping sort out some of the issues.
Lifelong Fort Valley resident Gerald Howard says he's not worried about FVSU’s future.
“Because I know it'll take care of itself. You just have to get the right people in the right place,” Howard said.
He said to remember, what it's there for in the first place.
“Some people can be selfish in other ways, but at the end of the day we're here for the students and we're here for the community,” he said in Downtown Fort Valley.
Howard believes FVSU will be fine, no matter what the investigation leads to going forward.
“No, I'm not worried, it'll stand. It'll stand. Because, you know, this community is a proud community and wrong is wrong, but at the end of the day we still got to stand behind each other,” Howard says.
Other business owners said they would wait to see if the allegations turn into any actual charges and if anyone is determined to be at fault or eventually guilty before worrying.