Derek Bickhart ’04 and his three roommates live in the same apartment this year as they did last year. “We paid our money for damage fees, but nothing has been fixed. The carpet is torn and there is moldy, black spots on it, and the curtains have mold on them,” he said.
Despite promises from housing to examine the situation, “nothing has been done,” said Bickhart.
Like Bickhart, other students who had concerns have been less than impressed with housings response. When Lauren Blanchette ’04 moved back to campus she noticed the curtains in their rooms were spotted with mold. “It took an entire month for our new curtains to come in,” she said. “Housing kept saying they would be in any day, yet weeks passed. In the meantime, my roommates and I hung up blankets and towels to give us some privacy and block the light.”
Last Wednesday, housing officials hosted an informational apartment meeting regarding the mold situation to address student concerns. Gary Stephenson, director of housing, William Romatzick, energy controls supervisor, as well as representatives from EnviroMed, the company hired to alleviate the mold problem where on hand to explain the situation and answer questions.
At the meeting the officials explained that over the summer every rug was Hepa vacuumed, some rugs were replaced, the walls and metal surfaces were wiped down, and the halls were cleaned. Stephenson encouraged students to call housing during daytime hours and maintenance at night, if they had any issues with their apartments.
Housing officials spoke of new permanent equipment that would be installed to help alleviate any future growth of mold. Romatzick explained this equipment as large dehumidifiers that will be installed on the roof. Their purpose is “to deliver drier, cleaner air to the building and keep the humidity down,” he said. Work orders for them have already gone through.
The increased ventilation into the building has been successful in lowering humidity and conditions for mold growth. At this time there are no plans to re-open the windows for this year or next, housing officials announced at the meeting.
This came as a surprise to many students.
“They keep telling us in the beginning that the locks were coming off so I just figured it was a matter of time,” said Nicole Pendolphi ’04. “I had no idea they weren’t going to come off at all.”
“I think it would be a major disadvantage and is something I will have to consider in my housing decision,” said Michael Barrett ’07. “It takes away from one of the plusses of having an apartment. I think I would still choose to live in the apartments because of other advantages including not having to pay for utilities like the townhouses do, but now that the windows are indefinitely locked it’s something else I have to think about.”
Other students noted the improvements being made and aren’t as concerned any longer.
“When they first turned the heat on it was really bad,” said Dora DeNardo ’04. “Now it seems like they finally know what they are doing and they balance the air conditioning with the heat.”
Students at the meeting aired concerns such as what to do in case of a fire, how to ventilate when you cook, and how to properly clean. Many had questions about mold growth and spots in their individual apartments.
Because the meeting was during class hours, many students who wanted to go could not attend.
“I was interested in going to the meeting because I have some concerns about the windows being locked, but because I had class I couldn’t go,” said Melissa Thomas ’04. “I wish it was later in the day when I didn’t have classes.”
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