Harris Hall mold raises eyebrows

 
 
Students, faculty and staff have recently made reports that offices, classrooms and hallways in T.H. Harris Hall contain mold growing on its walls, floors and ceilings.
Harris Hall houses classrooms that host students of English, philosophy, world literature and is the home of the English department, graduate school, student media and Center for Service Learning and Continuing Education.​
According to Associate Registrar D’andrea Lee, there was mold found on ceilings, floors and in forms that were in the office over a period of time.
Lee said that the office noticed the discoloring of the ceiling tiles and lots of the molding on the floor under binders of applications and other forms.
After witnessing the mold, the office immediately had it removed by bringing in vaporizing machines to dry out the building.
“I hope I’m not sick and I hope it’s gone,” Lee said.
Lee said that the office that had the mold was not used for almost two years until last year, when the office was reopened.
Another office that was affected by the mold in Harris Hall was the office of international education, a division of continuing education and the center for service learning.
The mold was reported to the physical plant, management of facilities and the custodial staff, where they came and removed the mold.
When the mold was being removed from the office of service learning, the employees of the office could not be present according to Rosa Robins, service learning administrative assistant.
“They did a good job,” Robins said.
Robins said since the removal of the mold from last year, it has not come back.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency website, mold spores waft through the indoor and outdoor air continually.  When mold spores land on a damp spot indoors, they may be growing and digesting whatever they are growing on in order to survive.
There are molds that can grow on wood, paper, carpet and foods the EPS website said.
When excessive moisture or water accumulates indoors, mold growth will often occur, particularly if the moisture problem remains undiscovered or unaddressed.
Robert Nissen, environmental safety health and risk management director, said, “If you ​clean before you take care of the moisture, the problem will come right back.”
According to Nissen, mold can get in a building various ways such as, condensation from the air conditioning, roof leaks, windowsill leaks and leaking water pipes.
“Keeping your building dry is the main key,” Nissen said.
Henry Thurman, assistant director of facility services said that the university does two things when mold is present in building on campus.
The university does mold remediation and depending on how much mold there is, the custodial staff takes care of the problem, Thurman said.
With mold in the classrooms, offices, and hallways of Harris, some students may find the environment unwelcoming.
Damarcus Alexander, a senior business management major from Baton Rouge said, “It could be a big disruption to the college operation.”
With this hall housing five to six different vital offices to students, seeing the mold could add to the stress of going from office to office during registration for transfer and incoming students, Alexander said.