Pete Trentacoste, the executive director of Housing and Residence Life, is currently unaware of a significant mold problem in residence halls.
When Natalie Clark and Abby Roberg found black mold in their first-floor dorm room in Read Hall last January, they decided to sleep elsewhere.
The roommates found the mold after a set of keys fell behind a desk.
“We had to pull the desk out, and there was just mold everywhere,” Roberg, a sophomore studying finance, said.
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Facilities Management at OU checks dorm rooms during the cleaning process that takes place after students move out at the end of an academic year. Resident Custodial Services also inspects the rooms two weeks before move-in takes place, Steve Mack, the director of Facilities Management, said.
Currently, Pete Trentacoste, the executive director of Housing and Residence Life, said he is unaware of a significant mold problem in residence halls on campus.
Clark and Roberg spoke with the Resident Assistant who was on duty, and he called Emergency Facilities.
“We didn’t hear anything from facilities. We put in a work order right away, and we heard nothing for a few days,” Roberg said.
In an effort to limit the amount of time they spent in their room, the two were only in their dorm to get clothes. They often stayed with friends.
Mold growth happens when the right conditions such as moisture, food and spores are present, Trentacoste said.
“Moisture is the item we look to control to avoid creating conditions for growth,” Trentacoste said in an email.
Clark and Roberg’s dorm in Read was above the heat in the building.
“Our windows fogged all the time, and so the window sill was always soaked from all the condensation, so that could have been a reason, but nobody else on our floor had that issue,” Clark, a sophomore studying finance and management information systems, said.
When mold does occur on campus, it is either addressed by the Custodial Staff if it is a small amount or Environmental Health and Safety for large amounts, Trentacoste said.
A few days after the mold was discovered in Clark and Roberg’s room, facilities fixed the mold problem by scrubbing it off and using special paint to kill the mold.
“If mold is discovered in a space, it is remediated as quickly as possible,” Trentacoste said in an email. “If a student suspects mold growth in their room or anywhere in our facilities, they just need to notify our staff, and we will partner with Facilities Management and Environmental Health and Safety to have it addressed.”
After the mold was removed from their dorm, Clark and Roberg continued to check in order to make sure the mold hadn’t returned.
Lindsey Bowden, a junior studying organizational communication, lived in Martzolff House her sophomore year, and she believes there was mold in her dorm.
“They went through a deep clean on the showers and stuff because there was some weirdness going on,” Bowden said. “They were vague about it, they didn’t tell us much about what was going on.”
Bowden said that because the information was vague, she was unsure if she should continue showering in her dorm.
“It is important for students to inform us if they observe what they believe to be mold inside their room, bathroom, or other areas of the residence halls,” Trentacoste said in an email.
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