Construction is ongoing nearly a month after 21 students were displaced and several floors of Lawrence Hall were flooded due to a water reservoir tank failing.
Every student who was staying at the Joinery Hotel has been moved back into on-campus housing, according to several students interviewed. Some are staying in their original dorms, while others have been moved into other rooms in Lawrence Hall or other on-campus housing options such as the Boulevard Apartments.
According to Vice President of Operations Chris Hill, professional drying equipment was used to ensure all water and moisture was removed from walls, floors and ceilings. He said hallways will be fully taken care of during spring break, while damaged areas are still in the process of being repaired and/or replaced.
While construction continues, there has been no indication as to when reimbursements may start. Dean of Student Life Michael Gieseke said in an SGA meeting that payouts may take longer than construction efforts to fix the dorms.
Dean of Student Affairs Keith Paylo said he doesn’t have a definite timeline for reimbursement yet, but reassured that the process is ongoing and the university is working with each individual student to find out what’s needed and to work as quickly as possible.
Liz McKinney, a first-year theatre production student who lives on the 17th floor, said she has seen students moving back into their dorms and people moving furniture into triple rooms on her floor. Additionally, she said she hasn’t heard any additional construction going on at any time of the day.
Several dorm floors, including the 18th floor and the 20th floor, had the carpets covered with material or were removed after flooding caused water to puddle in the hallway.
Every student interviewed said communication from Residence Life has ranged from little to non-existent. Maria Ochoa, director of Residence Life, did not respond to a request for comment. Nobody else from Residence Life was available for comment.
Hannah Cudzil, a sophomore psychology student on the 18th floor who was temporarily displaced, said she continues to be left in the dark by Residence Life.
“I’ve contacted everyone I could,” Cudzil said. “I sent out hundreds of emails and as far as Student Life, that is one of the departments that has not gotten back to me.”
Cudzil said other departments beyond Residence Life have been helpful, such as the academic coaching staff, the University Advising Center (UAC) and Director of Student Success Natty Good assisting her with crafting an email listing all the goods damaged in her room and asking about when reimbursement might happen.
But despite the professional help with writing the email and acting as an outlet for Cudzil to voice her concerns, it was not enough to get Residence Life to respond. Cudzil said this was a surprise to the UAC.
One point of concern for Cudzil was getting her medicine reimbursed. She is immunocompromised and had to throw away emergency medicine based on the advice of Campus Nurse Rebecca Harper, as it was submerged during the flood. Cudzil had to pay for additional medicine out of pocket, which she said was “very expensive.”
Beyond doing work on the hallway floor of the 18th floor, Cudzil said she hasn’t seen any additional construction happen and noticed the triple room on her floor, which was destroyed by the flood, still has caution tape around the door to the dorm. Beyond this, it’s unclear how many other students have been unable to return to their original Lawrence Hall dorm rooms.
As far as Cudzil’s room, she said maintenance put big fans in her dorm room to dry up the wet carpet and sprayed an unknown substance in containers that looked like weed killer bottles into the air while she was staying at the Joinery Hotel. She said she suspects it’s for mold remediation, but could not confirm this.
After these remediation efforts, Cudzil and other students were moved back into their dorms.
But Cudzil said she has concerns about the spray used in her dorm room, mostly due to her pre-existing conditions which make her lungs sensitive.
Additionally, she still questions whether the water that flooded dorms was safe despite assertions that it was, since Cudzil said students in Lawrence Hall are told to bring Brita filters when moving in.
This recommendation is not in the housing contract, which Cudzil acknowledged. But she said it’s still suspicious that the water is considered fine while these recommendations are being made.
“Why would I use [the water] for a humidifier?” Cudzil said. “I’m wondering what is actually safe and not because my health has taken a toll and I need to get better. I don’t know what’s right for me and what’s wrong.”
Because of the communication problems, worries of flooding and various room issues, Cudzil said she’s tired of it and wishes her college experience was better.
“I don’t think I’m ever going to live here again,” Cudzil said. “I can’t do this. At least an apology, put a band-aid on my mental health.”
Student Life apologized for the flooding situation in the email sent to students in the building right after it happened. But Cudzil still decries the continued lack of communication, especially since she said other students were not aware of the flooding until word spread on campus.
Despite these problems, Cudzil said she’s still grateful for those at the university who have helped her, including those at the University Counseling Center helping her through her concerns.
