Mold On Campus

Speculation of mold in Marist College’s residential housing has stirred up frustration among students.

A vent in Pagnotta's house in Lower Fulton. Source: Chris Pagnotta '22

Source: Alexander Colón '22

The word ‘mold’ has become, arguably, one of the most controversial terms at Marist College this semester. Numerous students in residential housing have reached out to campus departments with complaints of what they believe to be mold.

When asked about the concerns and issues regarding mold on campus, Sarah English, Director of Housing and Residential Life, responded, “Are you talking about this year?” She explained that campus housing sees it every year and it is not an uncommon issue at Marist. “This isn’t the first time.”

As stories of mold rapidly spread, Housing is trying to calm nerves by reassuring students and parents who have expressed concerns. “It’s not as many as people think,” said Kimberly Marsden, Residential Director (RD) of Upper West Cedar and Upper Fulton. “Social media has sparked a lot of rumors … There’s been a little bit of an uptick this year, but social media blows it up.”

“I wouldn’t keep referring to it as mold because we don’t actually know,” added English.

Tenzin Tsundu, President of Student Government Activities (SGA) said samples of the so-called mold were taken to an external testing center to evaluate what it really is. “They have to review with council if they can share it with us”, said Caleb Davis, Vice President of SGA. “But, we emphasize that they should share it with us so that we can share it with the student body,” added Tsundu.

The lack of transparency is amplifying the discontent among the Marist community. Many students wonder why statements and updates are not being shared regarding the situation.

English explained that Housing has cleaning protocols over the summer for campus buildings. Prior to the return of students, the buildings are double-checked. “We do walk-throughs a week before we open. We see what we can see,” said English.

Chris Pagnotta ‘22 found mold growing in four vents in his Lower Fulton house in mid-September. Two days after reaching out to Housing, employees inspected the building and determined that some was regular mold and some was just dust. However, with Pagnotta’s background in construction, he feels the “dust” was actually black mold. 

“I work in construction, so when we clean bathrooms and there’s mold behind the sheet rock, it’s pretty obvious,” said Pagnotta. “I didn’t want to call him out on it, but it also kinda made me feel stupid, like he doesn’t think I know what it is.”

Marsden explained that mold occurs when cold air mixes with hot air. According to Marsden, students could be experiencing mold because of the summer heat mixing with their air conditioning.

Tori Mariano ‘24 moved into Upper West on Aug. 18. “When we moved in, they had just turned on the AC that morning and everything was wet, like literally moist. The windows were closed and the AC was blasting. That’s probably when the mold started because it was so hot and sticky this summer and then they blasted the AC.”

About three weeks after moving in, Mariano found mold forming directly above her bed. She reached out to Housing who sent someone over within the hour and received frequent check-ins regarding the situation from her Resident Assistant (RA), which she was grateful for. 

“Maintenance ended up coming and wiping it with bleach and calling it a day,” interjected Mariano’s housemate Mackenzie O’Rourke ‘24.

“And [the Housing employees] were like if this happens again you can clean it,” added Mariano. Whether it be paranoia or actual mold resurfacing, Mariano did wipe her ceiling with bleach a few weeks later.

Josh Mrozik ‘22 lives in Lower Fulton and has been struggling to resolve his situation. Mrozik explained how difficult it was to get someone to come inspect the house. When they did, he was left even more frustrated than before. 

“They came in my room and go ‘Oh no, that’s not dark enough, that’s not black enough to be mold.’ And that’s when I told them I would go get a mold test kit,” said Mrozik.

Mrozik claims Housing told him he could not perform his own mold test because it would come back a false positive since there is mold in the air. Mrozik relayed the information to Maintenance, who contradicted Housing, explaining if there’s mold in the air, there’s mold in the house.

Many students agreed that there is a disconnect between departments and a lack of consistency in their response.

Bridgette Goss ‘23 found mold in her shower and vents about a week after moving into Lower Fulton on Aug. 29. 

Bridgette Goss's shower curtain in Lower Fulton. Source: Amanda Dibre '23

“We started calling campus Safety and Maintenance to see if we could get answers and they were saying that other people were having similar problems in the buildings around us so they couldn’t really get people out right away. So, a couple of us called our parents and the parents called Maintenance and Safety. The more we called, then we actually started getting answers,” said Goss. “I think it took like three or four days before they came out.”

After removing the mold, Goss’s house was told that they needed to replace the moldy shower curtain themselves. Though Marsden explained that Housekeeping is responsible for replacing shower curtains, not Housing.

English explained once she receives a call regarding claims of mold, she immediately contacts Maintenance. “Maintenance texts me back in an hour that they’ve dealt with it,” said English. 

However, students who feel the issue is being resolved slowly is, according to English, usually due to a lack of communication within a resident’s house. “We assume, probably wrongly, that you talk to one another,” said English. “A lot of students don’t follow up with their roommates and let them know someone came. That’s why they might think it’s taking three to four days.”

“I called Friday and they said call back Monday and I called back Monday and they said the director’s actually off today call back Tuesday,” said Daniel Degen ‘22. Alexander Colón ‘22, Degen’s housemate added, “They basically said they can’t do anything. They said ‘We’re closed over the weekend, wait until Monday’.”

Degen lives in Lower Fulton with Colón and Mrozik and has been trying to resolve the issue by calling everyone from Housing, to Maintenance, to the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs.

“When you’re freshmen, we deal with everything, but as you get older you have to deal with it by yourself. You have to advocate for yourself,” said English. 

Colón claimed the mold in their unit is growing rapidly. What recently started as spots on the grates of a few of their vents, quickly started seeping into the entirety of the ceiling in his room. He also mentioned that he’s quite sick, and believes it is related to the mold in his house, explaining the longer he’s away from his house, the better he feels.

Similarly, Mariano was very sick the first week of classes and even received five COVID tests, all returning negative. Goss and her roommates were sick as well, but tested negative for COVID twice. Degen and his house also tested negative for COVID.

“I was freaking out because I have respiratory conditions and I have asthma and it made me really nervous,” said Goss. “I have allergies too and mold is not good. So I was kind of freaking out and that was what I wanted to get in their heads so that they would come out and do something about it.”

English and Marsden agreed that it is unreasonable to jump to the conclusion that the widespread sickness on campus is directly related to the mold. “We get a lot of extremes — Everyone has it. Everyone is sick,” said English.

“People aren’t being as careful this year and naturally pick up things,” added Marsden. Both explained that students are not being as diligent this year with COVID-safety protocols, which could lead to increased cases of sickness.

English and Marsden emphasized they are just the facilitators between students and Maintenance and that Housing can only pass along the message, but not deal with it directly.

“We wouldn’t keep anyone in a situation that wasn’t safe,” said English. 

“If you feel the response time is slow, reach back out to us”. Marsden added, “We ensure that they’re there that day. It might take a couple of days to resolve and the follow up work might take a little longer.”

Tsundu and Davis are working with students and department leaders to resolve any issues and have conveyed great urgency. They highlighted that students can now request dehumidifiers from their RAs and RDs. 

Many students expressed their love for Marist, but noted their disappointment in the way this situation is being handled. 

“It’s a great school for five days of the week and then the two days when nothing is being conducted school-wise, it completely shuts down and you’re left to fend for your own,” said Colón. 

“I love Marist and I was glad that they finally came to fix everything, but I was also a little bit frustrated that it took them that long to get things done. I’m also still a little bit frustrated about the shower curtain. I’m going to buy another shower curtain, but I just wish they would do something, like replace it,” said Goss. 

“It’s a private school, you expect a little bit more,” said Mrozik.

Mushroom growing in a Lower West bathroom. Source: Anonymous

Ceiling in Goss's shower located in Lower Fulton. Source: Bridgette Goss '23