Prospective students, please be aware of the mold problem in Foster, McNutt and Teter dorms. There is a massive remediation effort underway. The process has been extremely disruptive to affected students. If you have underlying health problems or autoimmune disorders please choose housing carefully.
The real loss of this mold crises as told eloquently by a parent:
“The loss is not only real in terms of student GPA’s which can affect merit based scholarship, internships and future jobs but also the deep psychological impact. One professor pointed this out at the very outset. He indicated that when something like this happens and it is a major academic disruption the student can begin to doubt themselves, their confidence tanks and they begin to question if they are in the right program or truly qualified to continue etc. It makes no sense to many parents that our incredibly talented and bright students, many entering with a stack of AP credits and Direct Admits to the highly competitive Programs, would suddenly start tanking on their mid terms. That is when the spotlight first got shown on all of this and parents first started putting it all together. When we compared symptoms and saw so many similarities including extreme exhaustion, brain fog, inability to focus, inability to remember concepts they had just learned, in addition to the debilitating effects of coughing for 6 weeks straight and shortness of breath, respiratory struggles, oxygen deficiency, etc we could recognize the severity of what was happening. These were energetic, vibrant, healthy students and athletes we delivered to IU. And their first year has been irretrieveably damaged, disrupted and distorted in ways almost impossible to tally. The burden put upon so many who had to and many students are still are putting up with weeks of disruption, anxiety about their rooms, being told to pack up with less than 24 hours notice REPEATEDLY, loss of access to their rooms, their belongings, being ill, having to fit in medical appointments and moving even once or twice in the same week. I CANNOT IMAGINE the temperament or loss of focus any of us would feel at that point and inability to do our jobs or ability to effectively meet any of our commitments. Meanwhile other freshman students living in safe clean environments are in these same classes and being asked to complete the same assignments and exams not subjected to and totally WITHOUT this burden. If that’s not discrimination, sorry, but what is? Have yet to hear any reasonable acknowledgement of the breadth and scope of this aspect of the burden from any admins or Deans. Their response has been, that they asked the professors to be cooperative but it is up to each professor. And thanks to lack of and delayed communication in terms of anything really accurate and meaningful about what was and is really going on in these dorms, even the professors have had no true idea. So the burden of proof and explanation rests on the endless TO-Do list of these students. Another hoop they have to jump through.”
Residence Life questions to ask on campus tours:
What are the dorms like? Are there lounges, laundry, and kitchens? Shared or private restrooms?
Do certain dorms appeal to students with different interests, like a “healthy living” dorm?
Do most students live in the dorms? What about after sophomore or junior year? If they move off campus, do they live in apartments or shared houses?
Are any students placed in triples?
How are the resident counselors? Do they plan social events for freshmen to get to know one another?
Do most students get along with their randomly assigned roommates?
What would I do in case of a conflict or need for a room switch? Is that possible?
What kind of food does the dining hall serve? Are there different options? How is it, really?
Does the dining hall accommodate special dietary restrictions?
Are there any dorms that students with certain health conditions should avoid?
Hi prep4col - Thank you very much for keeping parents of potential students well informed! Your posts are very useful and our son has many allergies and we have to be careful. Your concern for others is admirable.
Question - would you suggest that we visit the campus and make sure that our son does Not end up in one of those dorms mentioned in a previous post? Thanks.
If he is planning to go into Kelley and was hoping for the KLLC, just know that they are in the affected northwest neighborhood dorms. It would be wise to download the IU medical verification form and have his doctor sign it so that RPS (residential programs and services) can try to prioritize placement as it is a housing lottery.
You only get one set of lungs!
Thank you --great suggestion! We will follow your advice. Much appreciated.
You are most welcome. Good luck with your decision.
This is a very bad outcome for the affected students, but I can’t imagine how it is discrimination.
McNutt and Foster will be shut down for 2019-2020 leaving the NW neighborhood a ghost town and construction zone. That leaves Brisco kind of isolated. They haven’t announced where the KLLC Will be relocated but it’s a good guess is will be the central neighborhood.
Potential incomings if you are allergy prone or have asthma, it is highly recommended you get tested for mold allergies. Provide this medical information in the RPS Residential Programs and Services portal with the accommodation request that they not place you in a dorm that has tested positive for mold in the past.