Reports of roaches in the residence halls were made public this week after a student stepped forward with a complaint. The buildings in question include Stone Hall, as well as McCormick Hall and The Mayes Dining Hall.

“I was told I would be moving into Stone Hall over the summer which I had already heard had a problem with roaches,” said Malynda Letourneau, freshman mass communication major. “I asked them to spray the building before I moved in, and finally they told me they had. But as soon as I walked in, there they were…I dealt with it for the whole summer.”

Letourneau says she reported the problem numerous times, and that little was done to rectify the problem.

“I can’t say they’re not spraying, they might be, and I just don’t know it, but if they are, it’s not helping,” she said. “I can’t live like this. If you rent a place, and you go to your landlord and say your place has roaches, it’s the landlord’s job to take care of it. It’s a health hazard if not… I’ve put up with enough stupidity.”

“We have a routine schedule of pesticide, and I’ve heard about the roaches, so I told them to double the visits,” said University President Alan Marble. “I think that it’s a constant battle in any common living area with people and we’re just going to have to try harder.”

The University currently has a professional company spray for bugs on the second Saturday and the fourth Friday of each month. If there is a report between the scheduled times, the company sprays where the bugs were sighted.

“We take this very seriously,” said Dr. Ron Mitchell, dean of students. “The Residence Halls are our student’s homes, and we are diligent in assuring the students have the best possible experience we can provide. We do, on occasion, have roaches in the residence halls. We have found that the problems occur when students are not very clean. It has not been a large problem, only spot issues where trash and food items have been left sitting in a room.”

The administration is also asking for the help of those students residing in the residence halls to prevent the issue by keeping their rooms clean of any old food items, trash, or discarded pizza boxes. If any residents see roaches or bugs of any type, they should report the issue to Josh Doak, director of residence life, in the Mayes Student Life Center.