Complaint Review: Empire Beauty School - West Palm Beach Florida

I started attending Empire Beauty School on 02/17/2014. The school is in a Kmart plaza and has a high minority and low income element. As I am not racist or s****.>

I noticed right away I'd have to pay extraordinary attention to the teacher, who had a very thick Jamaican accent. She was hard to understand... That was my only real trouble til day 7 or so. I was also the only new student who had to use all long haired mannequins. (everyone else got short) However, I got no extra time on tests.

The teacher had to spend much of OUR time babysitting people who were sleeping, on their phone, always absent and in general not there in any professional capacity. Two girls in class started gossiping non-stop about the other classmates, deliberately speaking loudly but not having the b**** to speak directly, only say "you-know-who.." blah, blah , blah. It was like high school. Rude and catty, but whatever.

It got weird fast. Three people in  my tiny class were now remarking daily on differences between the black, white and Spanish people. THe "lady" behind me seemed to be talking to me, yet didn't adress me directly... now she had a running commentary on people she hated, why, etc. In general offering non-specific threats...

I was about to ask her politely (as I'd always been) to please come to me, personally if she had a problem. That was right before  she bragged about how violent she was. How she loved to kick a** and would "kill someone".

I didn;t do ANYTHING! Now if I confronterd the s*** talker I could start a racial war at the school. It was TOO MUCH for a student to have to deal with. I went to the school administrator Mr. Stephen.

I decided to drop and go to another school. I was flabbergasted when Empire told me I OWED $790.00 in addition to the over 2 grand I'd already paid in financial aid & upfront.

Mr. Stephen seemed a reasonable man and completely understood, yet he / his superiors at corporate did not help me with my tuition refund WHATSOEVER, not even giving me an answer one way or the other until I demanded it. All I wanted was to be released from the $790 Empire said I owed.

MY arguement is that I would have still been there, had I felt SAFE! Empire DOES NOTHING to enforce proper boundaries and maintain a professional environment. Mr. Stephen told me that these students " Don't react well to discipline and boundaries"...Which leaves students like ME in the unfair position of having to (kiss a bullies a*s so I won;t get beat up)?

Learning is a big enough endeavor without having the job of acting as Ghandi at school! The school is afraid of the students and the inmates are running the asylum. THAT is why I want my money back. Mr. Stephen is a counselor and mentioned that they do team building excercises AFTER a problem has occurred. Why the hell can't they do that PREVENTATIVELY and protect their students!? He mentioned that MY COMPLAINTS ARE COMMON> DO SOMETHING AND REFUND MY $790.00!