THE
BLUE &GRAY
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON STUDENT NEWSPAPER
October 18, 2018
VOLUME 92 | ISSUE 7
PRESS
1922 Mold causes concern in multiple residence halls SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE
Ethan Blouch Staff Writer
Seacobeck Hall is under construction to become the new home for the College of Education. Zanab Farooq / The Blue & Gray Press
UMW College of Education experiences fluctuation in student enrollment Alex Friedrich Senior Writer
After a spike in the number of students in UMW’s College of Education from 2016-2017, the college’s student body has dropped by a fifth of that number for the 2018-2019 school year. While this may seem like a drastic reduction in the enrollment number, the college’s student body has fluctuated over the last seven years. “I have heard nothing but good things about the College of Education here at UMW,” said senior history major Billy Senicola. “It just seems crazy to me that more people both don’t want to enroll at UMW’s College of Education, but also don’t want to become teachers in general.” UMW’s College of Education is not the only college in the nation to struggle with increasing its student body. According to a 2016 report from Leaning Policy Institute, a nonprofit institute, enrollment in teacher education had dropped 35 percent nationally, 691,000 to 451,000, between 2009 and 2014. According to Peter Kelly, the Dean of UMW’s College of Education, “There have been lots of fluctuation in enrollments in the College of Education [at UMW] over the past
seven years. Some part of this may be due to a series of leadership transitions during that same time in the College of Education.” Kelly went on to say, “we had a big class [during the 20162017 year] because we changed the admissions policy to allow students to take up to three education courses prior to passing admissions exams that year.” While there was a spike in class size for the 2016-2017 school year at the College of Education, in no way does it reflect a positive trajectory regarding the larger issue of the nation’s shortage of college students learning to become teachers. According to a 2017 Washington Post article, “In Virginia, teacher vacancies increased by 40 percent in the last decade. . . in 2016, more than 1,000 teaching positions remained unfilled two months into the academic year, according to Virginia Department of Education data.” In the last couple of years, Virginia State politicians have made huge efforts to raise awareness of the problem and attract hopeful future public school teachers. As an effort to lessen Virginia’s teacher shortage, then Governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe implemented an emergency regulation
“There have been lots of fluctuation in enrollments in the College of Education [at UMW] over the past seven years.”
The mold infestation which began in Alvey and Arrington has spread to at least three other dorms on campus. Right now, a less severe case of mold growth is present particularly in Bushnell and Virginia Halls but also in Ball Hall, as resident junior Kathryn Hartraft told the Blue and Gray. The primary cause of the mold, according to Dean Dave Fleming, is the rising humidity levels this semester in combination with air conditioning systems breaking down and students leaving wet clothing unattended. Based on information from mold-adviser.com, the types of molds reported resemble Alternaria, which grows around areas with water damage, and/or Aspergillus which grows on walls and clothing. “Right now, what we’re facing is the conditions that have been going down the Eastern seaboard,” said Dean Fleming. “We’re dealing with higher humidity levels…higher moisture levels…the water in the air isn’t turning into dew…so we’ve responded to a much higher level of mold and mildew growths in our halls.” Associate Vice President of the Facilities Services John Wiltenmuth said that this semester there have been 11 work requests pertaining to mold in dorm rooms in Virginia Hall and 23 in Bushnell, along with additional reports for community baths and study spaces.
Students have found mold on their clothes and shoes. Katie Hipple / The Blue and Gray Press
The threats to student health could include respiratory illness and allergic reactions, depending on the type of mold and the extent to which it has grown. There have been some accounts of work orders taking a long time to go through. UMW student Meggie Hinson reported that some of her friends in Jefferson Hall have had mold problems since the installation of new AC units, and that the work order took a long time to complete. “One friend had to send multiple emails every other day till they came and fixed it,” she said. UMW alum, Callie Hernandez, graduated in 2015 but says •MOLD | 2
“As soon as I walked into the room, my allergies went off, and by the time I left the room about 30 minutes later it became difficult to breathe.” -Katie Hipple
-Peter Kelly
IN THIS
ISSUE
UMW GHOSTWALK
• COE | 10
Mold has been found on students’ belongings and furniture.
QUIET CONSERVATIVES
Katie Hipple / The Blue & Gray Press
GENERATIONAL FUN
Behind the scenes of the 34th annual Ghostwalk
Liberal environment seperates Republicans.
Field hockey alumni gather for scrimage
LIFE | 7
VIEWPOINTS | 4
SPORTS | 3