Issue 15 • Volume 124 Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018 www.thesandspur.org
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Mold concerns grow at Rollins Students believe asthma- and flu-like symptoms are a result of mold exposure in residence halls.
Photos by Ellie Rushing Ryan Tillotson ‘20 reported what he believed was mold growth on the ceiling above his bed last semester and believes the substance has appeared again (left) in his Gale Hall residence.
By Kendall Clarke
L
kclarke1@rollins.edu
ast semester, Molly Fulop ‘20 “had a cough, sinus drainage, and throat pain.” After about a week of symptoms, Fulop visited the Wellness Center. In her appointment, Fulop was told by a Wellness Center nurse practitioner that “the mold in Ward was most likely contributing to the sickness lasting so long, and its severity.” Fulop fully believes that her symptoms were due to an environmental factor at Rollins, as her symptoms stopped when she went home for Thanksgiving break and then resumed upon her return to campus. To com-
bat her symptoms, she has been using an asthma medication prescribed to her by the Wellness Center. Aurelia Jean ‘19, a student with asthma, claimed that she was also sick in Ward last spring. Jean expressed that her asthma was almost gone and then reappeared last semester. “My gastric reflux came back too,” she explained. Jean now lives in Rollins Hall, where her symptoms have been the worse thus far. When Jean went to the Well-
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ness Center, she was told it was “an environmental factor,” so she requested an air quality test. Jean said, “They did an air test in my room and didn’t find anything.” H o w e ver, Jean is still convinced that her symptoms are due to environmental allergens and mold on campus, as, like Fulop, Jean’s symptoms
...other students have been forced to move in order to escape the adverse impacts....
went away whenever she went home. The presence of mold in the environment most prominently impacts the respiratory system. According to Denise Snyder, assistant director of the Wellness Center, “Individuals with exposure to mold or other allergens may experience allergy symptoms such as runny nose, congestion, and/or cough… [while] individuals with respiratory illnesses, such as asthma, may experience exacerbations of their asthma from their environmental exposure.” While Fulop received medication to combat her symptoms, other students have been forced to move in order to escape the adverse impacts of what they be-
lieve is tied to mold. This is what Brooke Worthington ‘21 had to do. “I basically just moved out of McKean because I had a cough, and it went away over Winter Break but then came back when I moved back into the dorm.” Worthington took precautionary measures in case it was caused by her room environment after one of her friends did the same. She did not have her air quality tested, though. “I had a friend that moved out and said it helped so I thought I’d try it,” she recalled.
‣ See MOLD Page 2