Months of “severe health and living issues” brought her to her breaking point. The mold in RIT Housing was making Khristina Perfetto sick.
Perfetto, a first year transfer student majoring in Laboratory Science Technology, began experiencing a series of unpleasant physical symptoms after moving into Residence Hall B. According to Perfetto, she and her roommate developed “painful hives and rashes, chronic chest tightness, brain fog and sinus congestion.” She noted that these symptoms were observably correlated with their environment.
“Right after washing our clothes in the Residence Hall laundry, both of us broke out in full-body hives,” Perfetto shared. “When we inspected the washing machine drums and shower heads, we found heavy mold buildup. We ran controlled experiments using vinegar and hydrogen peroxide to deep-clean the interior of the washers and shower heads, and our rashes and breathing symptoms cleared up — only to immediately return when we stopped.”
Perfetto also lived in Riverknoll for a short period, during which she fainted and fell down the stairs in her unit. She attributes the incident to environmental stress. Perfetto has submitted several maintenance tickets, but said that she found it unhelpful, noting that custodial staff have only been doing surface-level wiping, which in some cases allows more mold to grow. She also described being dismissed after reporting dirty air conditioning filters and being told that they were replaced in May. Perfetto added that one of her friends with “professional HVAC experience” also inspected the unit and concluded that the buildup in the filter was “six months to a year old.”
Perfetto reached out to her Resident Coordinator (RC) for help, but was told to continue submitting tickets.
The PawPrint
After her experience, Perfetto attempted to publish a PawPrint petition, but she had technical issues uploading it. She asked her cousin, Malia Schneck, also an RIT student, to upload it on her behalf. Schneck is the president of Asian Deaf Club, and Perfetto explained that she hoped that would help the petition reach a wider audience.
The petition, titled “Immediate Remediation of Mold, HVAC Systems, and Air Quality Hazards,” quickly amassed over 200 signatures — the number of signatures required before Student Government (SG) begins working on a PawPrint. It was charged to the Facilities Committee, chaired by Rokhan Ahmadzai, a third year Mechanical Engineering student, on Sept. 28.
SG Committee Chairs urge students to attend committee meetings to advocate for their PawPrints. However, Perfetto, who is Deaf, noted that meetings would be more accessible if interpreters were confirmed “far in advance.” She has not had the chance to attend the committee meeting.
Committee Meeting
On Oct. 27, the Facilities Committee met to discuss the petition with representatives from FMS, Residence Life, Public Safety and NTID. According to Ray Orr, Associate Vice President of Facilities Management, FMS replaces HVAC filters and cleans carpets on a scheduled basis.
He advises students who notice any problems to send a work order. FMS and Public Safety can utilize work order data to identify the scale of a problem. “When it comes to mold concerns or air quality, we do respond to it pretty quickly,” Orr said.
Assistant Vice President of Residence Life and Housing, Courtney Bringley, noted that students can reach out to their Resident Advisors and RCs in addition to submitting a work order. In some cases, students can be moved to temporary housing while FMS addresses the issue. “I think submitting a work order and not telling anybody is possibly contributing to this belief that nobody responds,” Bringley added. “The work order system is not meant to be an immediate emergency response system.”
The Future
Perfetto is hopeful that change will come. She believes that her petition has received significant traction, and that the administration “can no longer ignore” the problem.
“Real change will only happen if leadership stops treating this as a PR issue and starts reallocating capital budgets,” she said.
