Stanger Hall Residents Speak Out: Contamination in the Dorms

Photo by Ian Murphy

Recent biohazard incidents in Stanger Hall have left residential students frustrated, confused, and wondering whether their health is a real priority on campus.Four residents of Stanger Hall, who wish to remain anonymous in order to speak candidly about the situation, reached out to The Leader to discuss the contamination of the washers and dryers with human feces–and how Housing and Residence Life has been handling the aftermath.

According to these Stanger Hall residents, the four contamination incidents in the machines occurred Sept. 21, Sept. 29, Oct. 1, and mid-week during the week of Oct. 7.

The exact number of separate contaminations has been called into question, with Housing and Residence Life claiming they’re only aware of two separate occurrences, and mixed messages from students about the validity of the fourth.

One thing these students agree on, though, is the frustration they feel at the lack of communication from those in charge.

Director of Housing and Residence Life, Kevin Krauskopf, spoke to The Leader via email regarding Housing’s response to these incidents of contamination, acknowledging the frustration and concern expressed in the wake of these repeat incidents.

“We understand why the students affected by this have been upset and concerned, and we’ve been working to address the situation as quickly and effectively as we can,” said Krauskopf. “Our students’ health and well-being is a top priority and always will be, and I know that this has been a frustrating situation for the affected students.”

The first incident was discovered by a student who was running their sheets through the washing machines in the second-floor women’s laundry room, who didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late.

“I just put my sheets in because I’m busy, I didn’t notice,” said the student. “Thankfully I realized something was up, but I called the RA duty phone and nobody picked up, so I called Public Safety and they put in a work order for me.”

In the meantime, the student who discovered this first incident was left to sound the alarm for the rest of the students on their floor. “No one got back to me, and I had to handle it myself. I had to write ‘Do Not Use’ sticky notes everywhere because nobody was telling us what was going on initially.”

Students were then told to do their laundry in the second set of machines — on the men’s side — while waiting for a solution.

According to these students, it took maintenance over a day to come out and fulfill the work order, and when they did, their solution was putting bleach through the cycle in an attempt to clean the machines.

“I’m sure they’re doing all they can, but this is literally poop. I think it should be taken more seriously,” said another Stanger Hall resident. “I think that we should either get replacements or have someone come in to professionally clean it and run a test somehow proving that it’s completely clean.”

When the same student who discovered the first incident went to try their luck on the second set of machines, they thought they should check — just to be safe.

“I sprayed it down, and I started wiping the washer to make sure it was all good,” said the student. “It was not all good.”

In the wake of the second machine’s contamination, Stanger Hall RAs held several meetings to discuss the proper use of the washer and dryer machines, and residents were instructed to use the washers on other floors while discussion of replacements occurred.

“As soon as we learned of each incident, the machines were cleaned out with bleach and other disinfectants,” said Krauskopf, “But after hearing students’ continued concerns about using the appliances, the decision was made to replace them.”

At this point, students migrated back to the first set of machines that had been cleaned on the second floor, and that’s when the third incident was discovered.

“This time the contamination was on the women’s side again,” said the student who reported it.  “I have also heard about there potentially being a fourth time on the third floor, but our Head Resident said it was a rumor.”

A second student also could not confirm the validity of the fourth incident, saying, “The higher-ups told us that never occurred, so I am unsure.”

However, a third student says their RA told them that the third-floor incident did occur, stating,  “My RA told me that it happened on the third floor. A little bit after that, probably like an hour later, we went upstairs to check and see if they had closed the laundry rooms down, and people had been washing their clothes after the poop had been in there because I don’t know if they knew.”

“We are aware of two incidents,” clarified Krauskopf. “We didn’t learn until a bit later in all of this that both laundry rooms on that floor had been affected. Once we had the complete picture of what had happened, we were able to respond right away.”

An email from the Head Resident of Stanger Hall sent to their residents on Oct. 16, obtained by The Leader, sheds some light on the alleged fourth incident.

“I also clarified the sequence of events in our building,” began the Head Resident, “There have only been incidents involving poop on the second floor, the other floors are having issues with machines being broken but there has been no poop or other hazards.”

As Stanger Hall residents held their breath and awaited machine replacements, maintenance placed signs on the second-floor laundry rooms saying washers and dryers were being replaced and to not use them until further notice.

However, when a delivery truck was spotted on the morning of Oct. 10, the validity of the replacement was called into question after the overheard phone conversation of an employee.

“I was leaving my dorm at 8:30 and I heard a delivery guy talking on the phone with his boss and he was asking a little bit about what happened,” said one student. “His boss was like ‘Someone had a medical emergency and there’s either vomit or diarrhea, so take the washer out, but as far as the dryer goes just take the sticker off and replace it.’ He also said there was a problem going on with one of the washers on the third floor, but to just unplug it and replug it in.”

Krauskopf says that upon hearing of the student’s suspicions, Housing and Residence Life began investigating immediately.

“Public Safety officers helped us to obtain the video of the replacement washer being delivered, and we also spoke with the company that provides the laundry machines,” said Krauskopf. “What we believe the students overheard was the worker consulting with the supervisor on an installation problem involving the new washer. The supervisor told the worker how to fix the installation problem, and then told the worker to put the new sticker on the new washer.”

Krauskopf acknowledges that only one washer was replaced on Oct. 10, but that the other machines are on the way. “One washer has been replaced, and soon the dryer in that laundry room, as well as the washer and dryer in the other affected laundry room, will be replaced,” he clarified.

In the meantime, students have been doing their best to work around the difficulties of the contaminated machines.

One student said they’re afraid of getting sick and finding it hard to trust any of the machines in Stanger. “I don’t trust going to different floors because if it is happening on one floor it could most likely happen on others as well,” they said. “I have been having to go home to do my laundry every weekend, or I ask one of my friends to use their machines in their dorm.”

Another student agreed. “Personally, I have been going home on weekends to wash my laundry, but I feel like this would be very hard for someone who doesn’t live close to home.”

Krauskopf says that Housing and Residence Life greatly appreciates students’ patience and flexibility. “We’ve put Out of Order signs in those laundry rooms, which students can use if they encounter a problem with any of the machines. We also are encouraging them to check the machines before putting in any clothing, and to use the signs if they see anything of concern, so that no one else uses the machines until the problem is addressed.”

He also clarified that the affected laundry rooms on the second floor won’t be available until the replacements are installed, with a scheduled delivery date of mid-next week, depending on when the laundry provider has them back in stock.

While a solution is on the horizon, Stanger Hall residents say they feel as though they were left in the dark by those in charge.

“I don’t necessarily like how Housing and Residence are going along with this,” said the student who discovered the third incident. “There’s been a lot of tension. All I’ve heard are comments about how we should have empathy for the person but it’s very frustrating, especially knowing the medical effects it can cause on the people using the washers and dryers.”

“I’m just nervous about getting in trouble,” said one student, regarding the rising tensions in Stanger Hall and the decision to speak to The Leader under the shroud of anonymity, “because that’s the direction this all seems to be going.”

“What I would like to see them do differently?” said another student. “To not sugarcoat the issue, because it is an issue.”

After more than a month of uncertainty surrounding the safety of their laundry rooms, Stanger Hall residents say they hope that this will be the last time they deal with these incidents.

“If it happens again, I don’t know what anybody’s going to do,” said the student who found the contamination originally. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it does happen again, but I would hope that they would be transparent about the issue because it makes me feel like I can’t trust the school to keep us safe.”

Krauskopf wants students to know that the University is here for them while this is being resolved. “We most definitely take your health concerns seriously, and understand your frustration. If you’re thinking that nobody cares, or want to know what is happening, please come and talk with us.”