Reagan Rogers
Contributing Writer
On any college campus, Residential Life is an essential contributor to the functionality of student life. As a department, they work to accommodate each and every student. They coordinate room assignments, pair roommates, and have maintenance on hand to fix leaks and broken dryers. However, according to the Sewanee student population, our Residential Life is slow to respond and unsuccessful in many ways.
When asked about how well they think Residential Life responds and acts, Greta Lane (C ‘27) said, “[Res. Life] is okay at responding to small problems, but with bigger things, there’s usually problems with responding.”
I believe the department has been consistent in their confusion and late responses. It is true Sewanee has almost two thousand students and the task of organizing them is a colossal one. Some may say that it is a bad form to critique something you have no experience in, which may be true, but as a student living in a hall with black mold, I feel the need to ask for improvement. In order to answer the question of whether Residential Life has improved, one would need to have a starting point for comparison.
In our case, that would be the fall semester, which begins with a flurry of parents and students running around campus. A joyful rose-colored hue blankets everything, and many students have little to complain about. But, after a few weeks into the semester, the comments begin. Complaints grew concerning broken air conditioning, wrongfully paired roommates, and even mold. It was rumored that McCrady had its very own pet raccoon for a while. Each problem was solved slowly, despite residents calling and emailing several times. (For all we know, the raccoon may have died before they caught it). There is still mold, and many upperclassmen state that the mold has been a part of their entire Sewanee experience. Although discussed in a joking manner, mold can be detrimental to the health of the people exposed. Black mold in particular is said to cause coughing, eye irritation, and worsened asthma problems by the Cleveland Clinic.
As a school more than 160 years old, it is to be expected that some buildings are old and worn. Squeaky doors and old brown carpet add a quaintness I’m sure many students appreciate, and the outer appearance of most dorms is cause for awe. But management of mold and pesky animals falls on a department that doesn’t seem qualified to solve these safety concerns.
Currently, a room stands vacant in Johnson Hall because of black mold creeping up from the floor and covering the wall. Both residents had to evacuate and move their belongings in the recent snowstorm because they were told they could no longer reside there, even though the mold had been present for weeks before break. Neither reported feeling sick, however, this is a huge indicator of the slow and frustrating response time from the department even when students’ wellbeing is at risk.
The Residential Life department is responsible for the wellbeing of students, and the wellbeing of the school community overall. We are proud to be students of the University of the South, but no one wants to live exposed to mold with broken air conditioners while wild animals roam the halls. It is clear to many students that Residential Life continues to treat student’s problems in their dorms as unimportant, at least until parents get involved. The fact that students are not respected as much as their parents shows an unfair and disrespectful side of Residential Life that has not improved. We, as a student body, would like to see more concrete and visible changes when we raise concerns. Residential Life, stop our school from becoming the School of the Mold!