This time of year, we are all getting tired of the cramped and confined conditions of a dorm room. For some, being crowded isn’t their only concern. Jordyn Everett, freshman at Pittsburg State University, came back from a weekend at home to find all of her clothes and shoes covered in mold.

Everett has been having health issues all semester. She has recently been diagnosed with bronchitis and pneumonia. After spending weeks with a terrible cough, her mom encouraged her to check her air conditioning vents. While looking she found mold everywhere. Everett immediately contacted the janitorial staff and the housing department. She was assured it would immediately be taken care of.

After returning to her dorm after the weekend, however, she found that the issue had only grown. According to a Facebook post created by Everett’s mother, every ounce of clothing and shoes that Everett had left in her dorm, her baseboards and her headboard were all covered in mold.

In an article written by KMBC, Everett’s mother explains her concerns.

“It doesn’t matter if I’m sending her to elementary school, middle school, high school or college. If I’m not there to protect her, it’s the job of the school,” she said. 

Everett’s mother feels as though PSU is not taking the matter seriously and is attempting to put blame on Everett for making it up or exaggerating. Reportedly, Everett and her roommate were moved to another room that night.

The vice president for student life at Pittsburg State, Steve Erwin, has publicly expressed his concerns over the matter by stating “We take the health, wellness and safety of our students very seriously.”

According to KWCH12, Pittsburg State says university housing will schedule inspections for every room in Nation Hall and Dellinger Hall.”

Everett is not the only one at PSU experiencing mold issues. Erwin has stated that they have received a handful of complaints this semester, more so than usual.

It’s easy to sympathize with the student and even parent perspective. Take it from Braden Ebert, a freshman at Washburn who lives in the LLC,

“[As students] we pay so much money to go to college and when we get sick, it really puts us back,” Ebert said. 

It’s easy to push blame on Pittsburg State University. It’s also important to remember that the residential counsel is currently doing all they can to fix the matter. 

Jena Chanay, sophomore at Washburn, expresses her thankfulness that she was fortunate enough to not have to experience such a turbulent first semester.

“I think it’s important that dormitories are always up to standards,” Chanay said.

Erwin sympathizes with the parental point of view. 

“As a parent, I understand the concern that students are safe and healthy while they’re away from home, and it’s a responsibility we don’t take lightly. We’re making this a priority for a positive outcome.”

Since gaining a lot of public attention, we can only hope that the issue will be dealt with diligently and thoroughly. PSU seems to be on top of things by bringing in outside specialists to investigate the issue. 

Midterm week is already hard enough, adding bronchitis, pneumonia and moldy clothing on top of it makes for a difficult week.