Loyola students express concern after water damage, mold growth in dorm

The freshmen students were moved to temporary housing, but said that remediation took far too long

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Joslyn Miranda and her roommate are currently calling St. Joseph’s Hall home, after their dorm room inside Campion Hall was soaked with water.

“It started by the wall by my bed frame, and slowly started to move into about half of the area of our room,” Miranda explained.

The university said the water came from a roof drainpipe, but while Miranda understands that unexpected events can occur, she also says the school's slow response, or what she calls a lack of urgency, didn't sit right.

“I reported it to our front office and submitted a work order, and they didn’t follow up until the next day until 7 at night,” she said. “So the water was sitting there a good amount of time.”

Over the next two days, Miranda said she noticed a smell and she and her roommate both experienced respiratory problems. When maintenance came, they were told all was well. She has the note to prove it.

She said the situation only got worse.

“That Friday, I bought a mold test kid because I really wanted to confirm my suspicions,” Miranda said. “Within 48 hours, there was mold growth on the dish.”

Five days after the water incident, Loyola moved the students into their temporary space. That was six weeks ago.

The University issued this statement to NBC 5:

Loyola University Chicago’s top priority is the health, safety, and well-being of our students. The University is following industrial hygienist standards and protocols for responding to a complaint of mold, including necessary testing and remediation. Loyola is working diligently to address the situation and will continue to keep students updated on the progress of remediation and their safe return to their suite to collect their items once cleared by an industrial hygienist.

Miranda said she and her roommate plan to move back into their dorm room later this week, but they are still concerned with what they’ve lost throughout the process.

“Me and my roommate both have had to repurchase clothes, laundry detergent, food,” she said. “They aided us with $250 off Amazon, which I feel like isn’t quite enough for everything we’ve gone through and are losing.”

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