Photo: Megan White
I’m going to knock on all the wood here, and say that it’s been quiet,” Area Coordinator Dominick DiLoreto said.
DiLoreto referred to the few officially filed reports of microbial growth around campus since Friday, Aug. 31. According to DiLoreto, none of these complaints have come from Vera Hackman Apartments residents who recently moved back into their rooms.
Hackman residents moved out of their apartments after microbial growth was found in both the north and south buildings. Students spent up to nine days in different residence halls, some after living in the apartments all summer. A local disaster restoration firm spent several days cleaning the apartments, and students moved back in Friday, Aug. 31.
“The [Hackman] doors opened at 6 a.m. that day. I didn’t get there until 8 a.m., but when I got there I heard of some folks who had already moved in,” DiLoreto said. “Good for them.”
Students, faculty and staff volunteered to help Hackman residents move in, and a Facilities Management worker went from apartment to apartment demonstrating how to empty dehumidifiers, which will stay in the apartments until they are renovated in the summer of 2019. Recent high humidity was named as the growth’s cause.
It is still unclear what the growth was. Facilities Management Director Mark Zimmerman states that the College decided to forego testing the substance in favor of starting treatment immediately.
Associate Dean of Students and Director of Residence Life Allison Bridgeman emailed students with the answer Monday, Sept. 10. Each Hackman resident will receive a credit to his or her student account that includes the cost of living in Hackman for one week plus some for the inconvenience of relocating. Senior Sarah Pomerantz, who lives in one of the apartments where growth was found, praised Bridgeman’s and DiLoreto’s efforts to keep students informed throughout the process.
According to DiLoreto, the overall vibe Residence Life felt from students throughout the process was one of curiosity, whether it was caused by shock at the situation, anger at the College’s reaction or determination to make their voices heard.
He said the curiosity has lessened a bit since Aug. 31 but said he is glad students have continued to be vocal.
“There are things we can think of, sure, but we’re not the ones living in the halls and experiencing this,” DiLoreto said.
The new E-town Jays app is one method students have used to make their voices heard.
During and after the students’ relocation, the app was full of student-created memes about the growth. Some students even changed their names on their profiles to growth-related puns.
“That’s certainly not how we intended the app to start,” DiLoreto said with a chuckle.
DiLoreto said venting about the situation is fine, but he encouraged students to make sure they voice their serious concerns directly to Residence Life or Facilities Management.
Several of the posts claim the presence of microbial growth in other residence halls or target Facilities Management directly. According to Zimmerman, workers do not respond to any posts on the app unless they receive a corresponding work order. The work order system, School Dude, caused controversy among students, as Zimmerman previously admitted Facilities Management was not using the system to its full potential.
According to Zimmerman, workers and administrators met with School Dude representatives Monday, Sept. 10. Plans include upgrading to a web-based, interactive work order system, allowing students to track the progress of their work orders and training staff to use tablets to mark their progress.
“It was a very unfortunate circumstance assisted…by record rainfall and humidity, but in true Blue Jay fashion we all worked together to resolve the issue as effectively as possible,” Zimmerman said in an email.
Nearly two weeks after moving back into her apartment, Pomerantz recalled asking her mother whether she could skip her first week of classes so that she would only have to move in once.
“I am one of those people that is so excited to go to school every year, and whether it be because of the mold or because I was a senior or [because] I had just finished an amazing internship…I was just not excited to go back to school,” she said.
Senior Hackman Community Fellow Nadia Mourtaj said she was overwhelmed throughout the relocation and cleaning process.
As a Community Fellow, Mourtaj has fewer responsibilities than Resident Assistants (RAs), but she still advises residents to report anything suspicious. She said her status as a Community Fellow does not exempt her from being nervous about the growth returning.
“I’m glad to be back, but it’s hard to believe they got rid of the issue that fast,” Mourtaj said. “There’s a dehumidifier, but I still feel like people including me are almost paranoid now because you never know if there could be mold around you.”
