A small number of Woodlawn Hall residents returned from winter break and found that excess moisture had seeped into the walls of their dorm room. A leak of excess steam from the basement system had risen to the third floor affecting four rooms, which caused a surplus of moisture to collect in each room.
Mark DeVilbiss, the Associate Dean for Residence Life, has denounced the rumors of rooms being infested with black mold and confirmed that the situation is contained and regulated by the Wittenberg Physical Plant.
The conditions in the rooms were discovered as girls were moving back in following winter break. According to DeVilbiss, the issues were taken care of within 24 hours of being reported. The excess of moisture in the rooms caused the paint to bubble, and spots on the walls that needed cleaning.
“This had minimal impact on the residents and will be repaired in the summer,” said DeVilbiss.
Freshman roommates Jennie Howell and Ryssa Haugrud, of a second floor room in Woodlawn, returned from break to discover orange liquid running down the wall, which was coming from behind a poster. When the poster was removed they discovered a large portion of the wall was covered with this orange substance. They also spotted it next to Haugrud’s bed.
“I couldn’t sleep in my bed for a week because the mold was by my bed, so I slept on my futon. Ellen (the Resident Advisor) said I didn’t have to clean it off myself, but if I was okay doing so I could,” said Haugrud.
A resident on the third floor was asked to move across the hall, and to DeVilbiss’ knowledge she still resides there. Another room only required cleaning and the resident’s were taken care of right away and were able to stay in their original room. The other two affected rooms were vacant. Haugrud and Howell were offered to switch rooms but they opted not to.
The RA’s informed Haugrud and Howell that the mold in their room came from the snow and changing weather, not the steam leak.
“They (RA’s) didn’t give us much of an explanation,” said Howell, “and they came to clean it up when we weren’t here.”
(Meagan Steed / s13.msteed@wittenberg.edu)
