Students evacuate Elkton Hall, relocate to local hotels
Justin Fishman
senior news editor
High school students take a lot for granted in their years spent at home that they hardly even think twice about. Simple comforts like a clean shower, a tidy bathroom, and personal space are just a couple of the things that students have grown used to.
They don’t realize that once they go to college, lots of the luxuries that students are accustomed to having are no longer a part of their lives. Although everyone wishes college will come sooner, there are certainly disadvantages of living on a college campus, even at local universities like University of Maryland at College Park (UMCP).
At the University of Maryland at College Park, mold was discovered in rooms in Elkton Hall, a popular dorm. Mold was also discovered in excess throughout other dorms and facilities. The accumulation of mold is most likely the result of the recent climate consisting of high humidity and increased rainfall. All students living in Elkton Hall had to evacuate the dorms and relocate to local hotels. Mold has been discovered on pairs of shoes, bed sheets, blinds, air conditioning units, and all over the walls of dorm rooms, according to WUSA9 .
Shuttles have been arranged to carry students from local hotels back to the campus so that students can get to their classes on time. Students are hoping to return to their dorms as soon as possible. Freshmen at UMCP, like 2018 graduate Eric Lee, are only about a month into their first year of college and are surprised by the mold problem. “I didn’t expect a major inconvenience like this to happen this early in the year. It’s frustrating because I am just getting used to the layout of the campus and having to go off campus to the hotels is annoying.”
Parents are upset because of the health issues and additional inconveniences that the mold is causing. Mold is causing fever-like symptoms such as sneezing, itchy eyes, and sore throats, but more serious allergic reactions can occur. Parents will not be satisfied until they are certain that all mold is removed from the dorms and the dorms are safe to return to, according to WUSA9.
There is a plan in place to effectively remove all the mold. The University of Maryland has hired contractors who specialize in mold remediation who will conduct inspections of every room affected before students can return to their dorms. All surfaces including walls, doors, and closets will be cleaned.
All air conditioning units will be cleaned and the filters of these units are to be replaced. All of the furniture in each dorm will be cleaned or replaced if it is too contaminated. Every drawer will be scrubbed until the mold is diminished and commercial-grade dehumidifiers have been installed in floor highways.
