Students Protest Mould Infested Dorm Rooms At US University

First-year students at Howard University at Washington DC are fed up with their rat and mould infested dorm rooms. 

Ever since a flood on campus, severe mould infestations have been identified in 38 dorm rooms out of the 2,700 rooms on campus and the administration has done nothing to resolve the issue. 

It’s gotten so bad, students have had to leave their rooms, sleeping rough in tents outside of campus.

For some, their health has deteriorated to the point of having to be admitted to the hospital, coughing up blood and struggling to breathe. 

Students have broadcasted their experiences all over social media, which include Wi-Fi connection issues, rat and roach-infested dining halls and an unresponsive administration. 

One, Gemma Robinson said she's five weeks behind her classes because she has not had working Wi-Fi for a month in a TikTok video that's gone viral. 

“I can’t say that I’m really being educated just because students are tired, and so is faculty. The faculty made it very clear that they are struggling also. Being five weeks behind in my classes is very difficult. It’s very difficult to catch up," she said.

In response to the issues, students have occupied the Blackburn University Centre for nearly two weeks and they are prepared to protest for the remainder of the school year until the issues are addressed. 

For 19-year-old Jasmine Joof, her reason for demonstrating is personal, as mould from her dorm room gave her respiratory issues. 

“There was a point when I thought I had covid,” she said.

Howard University's vice-president of communications, Frank Tramble told NBC News the accounts had been exaggerated. 

“Our housing isn’t deplorable at all. It is nowhere near the way the students are portraying it,” he said.

The university released a statement last week saying they were working with campus housing providers toward “actively addressing the concerns our students have raised.”

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