After complaints of mold in the dorms, a protest led by SGA President Kalief Metellus took place on October 15th outside the Woodlands Residence Halls. Students marched from the courtyards of the Residence Halls to the Campus Center, holding posters and chanting “pay what you owe cause we have mold,” in reference to their belief that the college is not doing enough to prevent the outbreak. A petition was created calling on the administration to do more.
At his fall convocation in September, President Calvin O. Butts III addressed the mold problem: “Let me state clearly that I hear and understand your concerns. I can’t stress enough how much we’d like to see this remedied as much as you.”
He told students and faculty that the school is taking proper measures to make sure that these issues will be avoided in the future as best as they can.
According to Usama Shaikah, vice president of student affairs and chief diversity officer, the administration has maintained procedures against mold that have been in place since the beginning of the academic year. The college invested heavily to reduce the likelihood of mold occurring, including purchasing and installing 15 commercial dehumidifiers — one for every floor of each building. The university says that every room has been cleaned and air filters have been replaced.
“We ask students to monitor conditions in their rooms, keep their windows closed to defend against humidity, and report immediately any circumstances they feel need to be addressed so that the college’s team can address them,” Shaikah advised.
Asia Alexandre, president of the Residential Hall Association (RHA), felt that SUNY OW is doing its best to try to prevent it, but it is not happening fast enough the way students expect. Alexandre went on to explain that the RHA is also responsible for implementing policies and procedures for students who encounter any problems in their dorms. She advised students to report on signs of the mold in their rooms if they see it. “Paper trails are important”, she said.
Among the protesters was Danieka Patterson, a junior majoring in criminology who was one of the students affected by the mold. Both Patterson and her roommate threw away their items contaminated with mold.
She said that she was told by other students that she had to file small claims, but the deadline had already passed. Along that process, she was told that she had to provide receipts for her to be reimbursed for the damages.
The SGA is currently in the process of writing a resolution for a request to install dehumidifiers in each room of all the Residence Halls. They have yet to follow up with the resolution for their upcoming General Assembly meeting on December 6th.
Metellus suffered health symptoms from the mold which resulted in being hospitalized twice. In addition, he discovered that his clothes and medical bills added up to $12,000. As a result, he decided to create a “Go Fund Me” page as a way to raise money.
Metellus shared his feelings moving forward after the protest: “My hope is that SUNY OW can get the proper funding to address this issue, so that no student who attends SUNY OW has to worry about going to hospitals, being sick, losing their belongings, and that they can have a safe and learning environment.”
