There are so many things to be excited about now that we are back on campus. Basketball games, hanging out with friends and so- cial club events are all things that I missed over winter break. However, there is one particular thing that is always hard to adjust to when I return: the living conditions. I live in Sheehan Hall. Sure, living in the Quad has its positive aspects: the great location as well as living with other sophomores has been awesome so far. However, the tiny room that my roommate and I share along with persistent mold and cleanliness issues can be frustrating. 

Last week, this all came to a head. As I sat on my bed waiting for another Zoom class to begin, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a small, dark object moving across the floor near my door. I looked up from my phone and saw nothing, so I assumed it was a shadow or just my imagination. Then, seconds later, I saw a mouse come out from under my dresser. 

I decided to call to have a service request, and unfortunately nobody came to check on the issue until more than 24 hours later. I was told in an email by the Assistant Director for Housing Operations, Joseph Hohman, that I would get a new door sweep installed, the perimeter of the build- ing would be inspected, any holes found would be sealed and traps would be placed around the room. Sadly, only one of those four things came true– I now have mouse traps all over my dorm room floor.

I was told by the exterminator who came that he would be back to install the door sweep, but it has been almost two weeks and this has not happened. No holes were searched for, and I feel that not enough has been done to solve this problem. Four days after the exterminator put down traps, I received an email saying that my work order had been completed. Clearly, this was not the case, and nothing has been done since. No mouse has been caught; at this point, my roommate and I are just waiting for it to reappear one day.

Not only was my problem with the mouse not solved, but I continue to see Sheehan in bad shape daily. Whether it’s taking a shower with a moldy shower curtain at my feet, broken toilets that never are clean or bugs crawling up and down my dorm room walls, the bad conditions seem to be endless. 

The University media spokesman Jon Gust addressed the situation. “As you know, many industries across the country have been impacted by staffing issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Gust. “The Facilities Management Office’s custodial team has recently been impacted by staffing shortages due to the pandemic and regrets any delays in service this may have caused. Presently, the Facilities Management team is almost back to full staff capacity in these residence halls and the buildings have been toured to make sure any issues have been resolved. We take student concerns seriously and encourage anyone with an issue to fill out a work order, so that it can be quickly addressed.”

It is bad enough for current students to complain and have to deal with the common cleanliness issues of Sheehan Hall, but one must also consider how this looks to prospective students.

Last semester, while filling my water bottle one morning,I overheard a mother say to her daughter, “With a school as well-known as Villanova, wouldn’t you think they would keep the bathrooms clean?” This can have serious consequences for Villanova’s reputation. I had hoped that these problems, which had been verbalized by countless students, would be addressed by Villanova. 

Clearly, they have not been, and in fact, seem to have gotten worse. This is unacceptable and shocking to see, and these issues must be taken seriously.