Kent State officials say mold abatement underway; student speaks up about her ordeal
First year Kent State University journalism student Hevin Wilkey began feeling ill almost as soon as she moved into Fletcher Hall on Aug. 19, six days before classes started.
By September, she suspected her symptoms were a result of mold exposure.
A month later, Wilkey's condition became so untenable that she left campus for her home near Cleveland. Since moving home, her symptoms have abated some — but she's still not fully recovered.
On Sept. 22, three days after Wilkey moved out, University Housing sent out an email to residents living in the Eastway complex notifying them that they were addressing mold concerns in the four residences— Allyn, Clark, Fletcher and Manchester Halls — connected to the Eastway dining hall.
The issues, the university said on Sept. 22, are mostly found to be dust and dirt on the louvers of heating and cooling units. In less then 5% of cases, they said, high humidity caused mold or mildew to develop on the louver.
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On Tuesday, University Housing sent out another email, this time to all students living in residence halls, explaining that the louvers are being "wiped down and cleaned with a peroxide solution. In a handful of rooms with a high humidity level, UFM [University Facilities Management] staff have found mold. In rooms where there was more substantial mold growth, students were offered the chance to relocate so we could do a more thorough cleaning of the room," the email read.
They assured students that the problems is confined to the residences and is not affecting the Eastway dining hall.
"The dining facility has separate heating and cooling systems. The residence hall rooms have individual fan coil units. Air does not flow between the residence halls and the dining hall," officials wrote.
Furthermore, they encouraged students to submit a work order if they suspect they have mold in their room. If the submitted work order contains a mention of mold, UFM will respond within one business day.
The email also included a list of tips for how to prevent mold and mildew, such as routinely cleaning bathrooms, setting the air conditioning thermostat between 68 and 72 degrees and running the fan on auto to reduce condensation and maintain proper airflow, and opening the window if the room feels stuffy.
University spokesperson Emily Vincent said Wednesday that Rootstown's HEPA Environmental is leading the mold abatement, and that the company has cleaned three rooms so far. Two more are scheduled for cleaning this week. All five rooms are in Fletcher Hall.
Vincent pointed out mold has affected relatively few students when compared to the total population of students living in the Eastway complex — 900 in all.
Kent's Emerald Environmental is also helping to address the situation.
"Emerald Environmental is testing to see if mold levels are acceptable and speciating the type of mold," Vincent wrote to the Record-Courier. They're also taking mold samples post-remediation.
"Keep in mind, Vincent wrote, "that mold is found everywhere, both indoors and outdoors. Per the CDC, there is always a little mold everywhere — in the air and on many surfaces."
She told the Record-Courier via email that the university is unaware of any other verified cases of mold growth in campus residences outside the Eastway complex, including university-owned apartments off campus.
Determining the cause
"I have a bunch of health issues, specifically autoimmune diseases," Wilkey said. She thought it was just those conditions flaring up as a result of moving into a new unfamiliar environment, or one of the many pervasive colds that circulate on campus.
By Sept. 12, she was taking cough medicine and allergy medicine in an attempt to relieve her symptoms.
On Sept. 14, she forgot to take her allergy medication before leaving her room for the day. The entire time that she was out, she wasn't coughing at all. When she returned to Fletcher Hall, so did her symptoms. It was then that Wilkey connected the dots.
"I went to do homework and I was coughing, hard to breathe, shortness of breath, and I was like, this only happens in my room," Wilkey said.
She began researching the symptoms of mold exposure. Each symptom listed was something Wilkey was experiencing.
During a 2 a.m. phone call, Wilkey's mother suggested to her daughter that she open the vent to get air flowing in the room. Upon standing on top of her desk to reach the vent, Wilkey said she spotted mold on the louver.
Wilkey reached out to maintenance to request someone come address the problem as soon as possible. Around 4 a.m., two men from maintenance arrived and guaranteed her that it wasn't mold, that what she was seeing on the louver was just dust and that's what was causing her symptoms.
She said they told her it was her fault she was feeling bad because the rug and two stuffed animals in her room were collecting and retaining dust.
"They were just kind of a little rude about it," Wilkey said.
Testing and cleaning were performed, she was told, but she said particles were left all over her room and belongings.
From there, her symptoms worsened. On Sept. 19, she moved out, heading back to her home in the Cleveland area. Even after leaving, she said it took until last Friday to clean her vacant unit. Her condition has improved since then, but she's still exhibiting symptoms.
From there, her condition deteriorated quickly, her symptoms worsening. On Sept. 19, she moved out, heading back to her home in the Cleveland area. Even after leaving, she said it took them until Sept. 23 to clean her vacant unit. Her condition has improved since then, but she's still exhibiting symptoms.
Moving home
"I've seen various doctors, gotten these tests done, and they have put me on some allergy meds...and a couple inhalers," Wilkey said. "I think those have been helping, along with being away from mold." She does still have a cough and a runny nose, she said.
She said doctors told her that there isn't a way to test for mold exposure unless it's present in the blood, but at that point patients are dangerously ill. However, they told her that her symptoms were most likely due to mold exposure.
Wilkey has continued her schooling from home; so far, she hasn't received any communication from the university about when she'll be able to return to campus.
"I paid all that money to be in the dorm and I'm not on campus. I paid for this education and I'm not attending any of my classes. Money for the dining hall, so once again, I'm not on campus so I can't be eating anything from there. I definitely think I should be compensated," Wilkey said.
Her mother, Christina DeFranco, said she's upset that the ordeal has soured Willkey's college experience.
"You send your children off thinking they're safe, they're going to get an education, they're going to do better than what you could have possibly done in your life — you just want the best for them," DeFranco said. "So the fact that I sent her off to a place that I thought was going to be safe, exciting, all this stuff...I thought, what could go wrong?"
Contact reporter Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Kent State works to address mold issues; student discusses her ordeal
