Spring Break
The Daily OrangeRoaches found in Watson Hall
By Sean Cotter
Posted: 9/30/09, 2:04 AM EST Section: News
Ally Abrams walked into her dormitory room in Watson Hall Friday, and saw it on her floor. A cockroach.
"It was disgusting, I screamed," said Abrams, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, "and now I don't want to ever sleep in my room again."
She was unhappy with the way the situation was handled when she brought the problem to the residence officials at Watson's front desk.
"They just told us to kill it," said Abrams, who added that resident advisers told her exterminators had already been to Watson.
Students in Watson have been experiencing problems with roaches for about two weeks now. Syracuse University officials acknowledge the problem, and said they are combating it. Roaches have been a problem for SU residents in the past.
Jess Yarmarkovich, a sophomore in the L.C. Smith School of Engineering, and Montana Pierri, a sophomore in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, found roaches in their Watson suite in the last few weeks.
The women said they called FIXit, the campus maintenance department. A FIXit employee came and filled in some cracks to seal out the roaches, Pierri said.
Other students said they were aware of the problem in Watson, but had not found any roaches themselves.
Jennifer Smith, the Watson Hall resident director, declined to comment on the roach problem.
Matthew Hanner, a senior RA in Watson, sent fourth-floor residents an e-mail about the roaches on Sept. 17.
"You can kill them. Apparently that was all a big myth about others coming to eat their bodies. Kill them if you want to," Hanner said in the e-mail obtained by The Daily Orange. "If you see one please either call FIXit, and let them know the where, when, how, or let me know.
"This is not a serious issue. There are not tons of them in the building, and they will all be completely gone as it gets colder," he said in the e-mail.
But cold weather has no effect on roaches, said Melissa Fierke, professor of forest entomology at State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
"It was disgusting, I screamed," said Abrams, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, "and now I don't want to ever sleep in my room again."
She was unhappy with the way the situation was handled when she brought the problem to the residence officials at Watson's front desk.
"They just told us to kill it," said Abrams, who added that resident advisers told her exterminators had already been to Watson.
Students in Watson have been experiencing problems with roaches for about two weeks now. Syracuse University officials acknowledge the problem, and said they are combating it. Roaches have been a problem for SU residents in the past.
Jess Yarmarkovich, a sophomore in the L.C. Smith School of Engineering, and Montana Pierri, a sophomore in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, found roaches in their Watson suite in the last few weeks.
The women said they called FIXit, the campus maintenance department. A FIXit employee came and filled in some cracks to seal out the roaches, Pierri said.
Other students said they were aware of the problem in Watson, but had not found any roaches themselves.
Jennifer Smith, the Watson Hall resident director, declined to comment on the roach problem.
Matthew Hanner, a senior RA in Watson, sent fourth-floor residents an e-mail about the roaches on Sept. 17.
"You can kill them. Apparently that was all a big myth about others coming to eat their bodies. Kill them if you want to," Hanner said in the e-mail obtained by The Daily Orange. "If you see one please either call FIXit, and let them know the where, when, how, or let me know.
"This is not a serious issue. There are not tons of them in the building, and they will all be completely gone as it gets colder," he said in the e-mail.
But cold weather has no effect on roaches, said Melissa Fierke, professor of forest entomology at State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
2ndNorth
posted 9/30/09 @ 8:30 AM EST
"This is a problem we have to deal with periodically," Tessier said. That's true! I was a student on the 13th floor of Lawrinson back in 1984, and we had roaches in the trash room. (Continued…)
Cuuse
posted 9/30/09 @ 9:34 AM EST
Roaches have been around since the dinosaur age, they've proven they can live through almost anything. Dorms tend be be sloppy with food lying around, which attracts these critters. (Continued…)
KathDO
Kath
posted 9/30/09 @ 5:25 PM EST
I thought that you weren't supposed to step on cockroaches because any eggs in them stick to your shoes. Your shoes carry the eggs elsewhere, the eggs hatch, thus infesting THAT area! UGH!
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