BROWNSVILLE – On Tuesday September 17, Texas Southmost College announced a partnership with Brownsville Metro. By presenting their college ID, students of TSC can ride the city metro for free.
UTRGV-TV previously reported a story about TSC student Joseph Hasse who lacked adequate transportation to get to class. We caught up with him to hear his thoughts on the new bus services being offered by TSC.
“I am so happy for all the students that none of them have to go through that. Knowing now that it’s a free bus ride for them, well that’s a weight off my shoulders really,” said Hasse.
While he is pleased with the school’s progress, Hasse tells us he is disappointed with the Brownsville Mayor, Trey Mendez, for not taking quicker action to provide transportation for students while serving in the TSC Board of Trustees before entering the position of mayor.
“It is long overdue, and honestly it feels to me like an easy publicity stunt,” he continued.
During one of his follow-up attempts to meet with the board of trustees, TSC security approached Hasse and attempted to remove him from the campus for alleged trespassing.
Hasse: “Why security is coming to me while I am here as a student taking care of official business, and I have armed guards coming up to me asking for my student ID.”
Security guard: “We were told you can’t be here.”
“My only reservation against our mayor right now, is the fact that he stared at me in the eyes, while I told him the struggles and I didn’t see anything until he became mayor.”
UTRGV-TV reached out to Mayor Trey Mendez and TSC President Dr. Jesus Roberto Rodriguez for comment regarding Hasses’s claims. We have received no response. We’ll conduct a follow-up story when they get back to us.
Click on the video below to watch the full story.