SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — Students at Southern Maine Community College protested the living conditions in the dorms Monday night.
A small handful of students gathered to protest the conditions in Spring Point Residence Hall.
They say black mold has been found on every floor of the building.
“I think it’s ridiculous,” one of the demonstrating students, Olivia Treadwell, told CBS 13. “Nobody is handling this well for the students who are currently here.”
Community college spokesman Clarke Canfield said the mold spread very fast over the past couple days.
He said this was the first time he heard of the mold issue, but students on Facebook say it has been an ongoing issue.
“There was one woman who reported it to custodians back in May,” said Treadwell, “and all they did was come in and scrape out the mold in her room, and that was in Spring Point.”
Sixty students living in the hall were moved to another dorm out of caution while testing is done.
Canfield said the mold was caused by a failing air vent and that this summer weather made it worse.
“All of that led to condensation above the ceiling tiles, with pipes that run through the ceiling tiles in the hallways, and this time of year it’s not unheard of to have some wet tiles due to condensation because of the heat,” he said.
He said the problem was addressed quickly enough that no students should have any health issues.
Treadwell disagreed, saying she has bronchitis and a classmate came down with pneumonia, and said she’s worried both ailments could be traced back to exposure to the mold.
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