Some students living in Carrollton Hall were moved to temporary rooms last week due to mold growth following Hurricane Ida, according to Chris Rice, director of Residential Life. The students have been in the temporary dorms since Saturday, Sept. 18, with no official return date scheduled, according to Jenna Barnes, one of the students displaced.
Three suites on the sixth and seventh floors of Carrollton Hall were damaged by Hurricane Ida, resulting in the temporary displacement of their residents.
Barnes said she first returned to campus on Sept. 2 after Hurricane Ida to take some of her items home and the floor was soaked. Despite the university’s attempts to clean the rooms, when she tried to move back in on Monday, Sept. 13, she said her carpet was still wet and the smell was overwhelming. When she returned the following Wednesday, she said her room was worse.
“I was able to visibly see mold on the furniture in the living room, my room, and two other rooms in the suite,” said Barnes. Barnes requested another cleaning and was then placed In Biever Hall during the cleaning process.
On Saturday, Sept. 18, Barnes and her four suitemates received a call asking them to prepare to move out, as their room was unsafe in its current condition and needed further work. According to Rice, four areas have been remediated and two are still being monitored. He said that there are “no safety concerns for students” at this time.
Students were originally told that they would be able to move back into Carrollton Hall between Sept. 20 and 23, though they received an email from Rice on Sept. 23 stating that their rooms were not ready yet. On Monday, Sept. 27, Rice emailed the students and said that the remediation process could take up to an additional two weeks.