Since students returned to Dillard in August for the fall semester, many have raised concerns over housing and maintenance issues in the Camphor and Hartzell dormitory. On Sept. 30, the interim president, Dr. Monique Guillory, and her team held a meeting to address these concerns.
“First of all, I’m really sorry you all are having this experience. We really appreciate you all being here at Dillard and we want to make sure your living and learning experience is what you need it to be. We’ll certainly do all we can to address these concerns,” Dr. Guillory said.
Students came to the meeting and shared their complaints. They expressed that they were experiencing issues with mold growth, lack of central air conditioning or personal air conditioning units, bugs, rats, water leaks, lights being out, small spaces, and the general lack of cleanliness.
Students attending the meeting discussed how the mold growth in their dorms is making them feel sick, and particularly for students with mold growing in their showers, causing them itchy, red eyes and coughing.
“Even though I take medicine, I still, at night, cannot breathe, and I’m asthmatic, so it’s really hard for me. Even this morning, waking up was really hard and I still have to go sit in class with my eyes all red and itchy, my throat burning. It gets pretty hard on a day to day basis,” said Cahmora Calloway, a freshman criminal justice major.
There is black mold growing in student’s living spaces’ say students and staff. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, black mold is a type of fungus that grows and spreads on materials with excessive moisture. It can cause symptoms such as, stuffy nose, sore throat, coughing or wheezing, burning eyes, or skin rash, and can aggravate asthma symptoms. Repeated exposure can cause pneumonia to develop in the lungs, although this is rare.
Dr. Guillory said she wants students to be aware of the effects of the mold.
“Don’t just think that what’s happening to you is just because of the environmental situation. We have to address the environmental situation in your residence halls and on campus in general, but there will be seasonal times where people are just getting sicker. And so, we can address it 100% and people are still going to have allergies,” she said.
Even though students have filed maintenance orders concerning the mold, either their requests haven’t been fulfilled or they have, and the mold growth reappeared.
Alexa Bermudez, a freshman mass communication major, filed a maintenance order for mold growing in her vents, but didn’t feel maintenance did enough to solve the issue.
“He took a wet wipe and wiped the surface. He didn’t open the vent. He didn’t use any vinegar. He didn’t use a vacuum to suck it up, he didn’t really do anything, so when he left the room I still felt extremely sick,” she said.
To solve this worsening issue, a professional cleaning company is currently in the process of checking the air quality in dorms and reviewing dorm conditions. Monday, Oct. 14th, the company, Environmental Care, sent an environmental hygienist to check rooms in Camphor. They plan to circulate updates and a mitigation plan in the next week or so and also give students the opportunity to meet with the environmental hygienist, said Dr. Guillory. The goal is to mitigate the microbial growth situation so that it doesn’t keep growing back.
“We just want to get out of this cycle of calling housekeeping, they do something, but then in a few days it grows right back,” said Dr. Guillory.
The mold is only a piece of the issue as there is heat and moisture being retained in the showers and other areas with mold growth due to the vents not venting properly said Dr. Guillory. It’s estimated that these issues will be addressed fully over the summer, but Dr. Guillory is working with facilities to see if it can be done sooner.
“We know we have to change out the venting system in the restrooms and that’s going to help move air better just in general and get some of that moisture out. We want to do a long-term overhaul,” said Dr. Guillory. This summer she’s hoping to complete many projects on the dorms including roof repairs, replacing and repairing the Air Handling Units (AHU) on the roof, and changing room door locks to key swipe. They also hope to make some cosmetic upgrades to common spaces.
“I do want you all to understand how challenging it can be sometimes to address a number of issues that are happening across the campus all at the same time,” said Dr. Guillory.
The full scope and range of the varying issues is causing it to take more time than precedent to solve all of the issues students are facing. Dr. Guillory intends to have more meetings and increase communication and engagement with students in general so they can be more aware of all that’s being done ensure their safety and wellbeing.
“My practice is do the right thing in the right order,” said Dr. Guillory.
