The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
UGA responds to dorm complaints
Deep cleaning to follow reports of students being sick.
The University of Georgia said Monday crews will soon conduct deep cleanings and make some repairs to several student housing complexes after a recent groundswell of parent complaints about their children getting sick on campus.
The Atlanta Journal-constitution last week reported many students — primarily in their first year on campus — are complaining of intense coughing, severe sore throat, congestion and other health conditions. They say it’s because rooms are improperly ventilated, old, need air filter replacements or have mold.
The university said the repair work will begin during winter break. It will include replacing air filters, removing some older air conditioning units, changing toilet valves in one hall and cleaning fan coil units in two halls.
“The health, safety and well-being of our students are always the top priority at the University of Georgia, and this applies to the residential communities our students call home during their time on campus,” UGA President Jere Morehead said in a statement.
UGA said they have received 244 reports of potential mold since the start of the fall semester. In most instances, officials said, they did not find mold. When mold was discovered, officials said it was immediately addressed.
Many of the residence halls that UGA plans to focus on during the break were originally built in the 1960s. UGA said it is finalizing plans, under development since late summer, to spend $20 million to renovate five first-year residence halls by 2025. The university said it has invested nearly $170 million since 2013 in renovations of major building systems including plumbing, electrical, mechanical, fire, security, and heating and air.
UGA parent Rebecca Etheridge, who started a Facebook page where parents discussed the problems, called Monday’s announcement “a start,” but said several residential halls weren’t listed among those that need repairs.
“While we appreciate their acknowledgment of dorm issues and concerns, their response seems to leave out several dorms that need attention and several systems as well,” she said.
Etheridge said several halls “show lack of regular and proactive maintenance and even general repairs.
Mainenance response cannot be placed on the students.”
Etheridge wants a federal agency, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, to inspect the dorms.
Another parent, Robin Sheppard, said her daughter, a first-year student, has been so sick she’s seeking a hardship withdrawal. She’s suffered headaches, frequent cold and flu-like symptoms, coughing and shortness of breath.
“I just feel horrible that she worked so hard to getting into UGA to end like this,” Sheppard said.
Complaints about substandard student housing conditions are nationwide. Students at Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington, D.C., recently staged a month-long protest to address ongoing concerns about mold and other issues. Several dozen students at Atlanta’s historically Black schools held demonstrations in solidarity with the Howard students and raised concerns about housing conditions on their campuses.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart said there was never any discussion of switching to quarterback JT Daniels during Saturday’s SEC Championship game loss to Alabama, even casually over the headphones.
Stetson Bennett, the Bulldogs’ senior quarterback, passed for 340 yards and three touchdowns in the 41-24 loss, but he also threw two interceptions — including a pick-6 — and two other potential interceptions were dropped by Alabama defenders.
As Georgia fell behind by two scores, then three in the fourth quarter, many thought the Bulldogs might turn
to Daniels.
“Obviously, we have to play better in a lot of areas, but to put any part of that blame or all of that blame on Stetson, there was a lot more to it,” Smart said during a video conference call Sunday with reporters. “We’ve got to play better around him. We’ve got to play better on special teams and defense, really all facets of the game.”
Daniels, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior, is known for having exceptional accuracy and thought to be a better overall passer than Bennett. The former 5-star prospect from Irvine, California, played at the same Mater Dei High School as Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. Young, a sophomore, carved up Georgia’s defense for 421 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another Saturday at Mercedes-benz Stadium.
Daniels has played only in second halves of lopsided games against Missouri, Charleston State and Georgia Tech since returning from a back injury the last week of October. In six games and three starts this season, he has completed 72% of his passes for 722 yards, 7 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
Bennett, a 5-10, 190-pound, fifthyear senior, has completed 64.1% of his throws for 2,325 yards, 24
TDS and 7 interceptions in 12 games and 10 starts.
“There were some really, really, really good throws last night by Stetson, some throws that only his guy could catch the ball,” Smart said. “He made some good plays. We’ve got to continue to work on some poor decisions and the couple of throws there that were picked off.”
Bennett was under a good bit of pressure from the Crimson Tide during the game. He was sacked three times for a total of 17 yards in losses, including 10 yards on one play. Without the sacks, he averaged 7.0 yards rushing on four runs.
Meanwhile, Bennett actually set an SEC Championship game record for ball distribution by completing passes to 11 different receivers on Saturday. Most of them were to freshman tight end Brock Bowers. Targeted 16 times by Bennett, Bowers also established an SEC Championship game record for receptions by a tight end with 10 for 139 yards and a touchdown.
Smart did not rule out making a change or reincorporating Daniels into the offensive game plan before the Orange Bowl. After the loss to Alabama, the Bulldogs fell to No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings, but will play No. 2 Michigan in the national championship semifinals on Dec. 31 (7:30 p.m., ESPN).
“We have a decision to make every week at every position, but I have the utmost confidence in Stetson Bennett,” Smart said after the game Saturday. “I think he did some really nice things. We go and reevaluate everything all the time, but he played well. It’s a tough environment we put him in defensively and we have to be able to run the ball. … But I certainly have a lot of confidence in Stetson. And I have a lot of confidence in JT too.”