Clark Hall cleared of bedbugs

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A bedroom in Clark Hall tested positive for bedbugs in late February and a certified specialist was called in to treat the pests and inspect other nearby rooms.

The bedbugs were found in one room in a triple in Clark Hall, according to Seth Oldham, director of Student Life.

“It is very important to understand, so as not to spread unnecessary panic, that this was an isolated incident,” Oldham said.

The Office of Student Affairs worked with facilities to bring in an exterminator who examined and treated the room, according to Oldham.

In an email sent on Feb. 27 to the students involved, Betty Perretta, director of Housing Operations, wrote that they were also “treating/monitoring rooms near the affected room.”

Bridget Kennedy is a Clark Hall resident who lives nearby the affected room with her roommates Deana Ramirez and Sydney Gerami.

Kennedy says that the “lack of communication” in handling this situation was “a little off.” She has not yet been notified about the inspection results although the email promised a “status update.”

Ramirez said that Perretta’s instructions were “really unclear,” so she visited Perretta in her office. Ramirez said that Perretta was unsure about all the specifics but recommended that she take out everything around her bed and closet.

The email had instructed them to bag “garments, bedding and personal items,” but Ramirez found this instruction somewhat unhelpful.

“‘Personal items’ is really ambiguous because everything is a personal item,” Ramirez said.

The roommates covered their closets with trash bags and bagged up their bedding, which they carried out of the room.

The Residence Coordinator came with the inspectors and the inspection took about ten minutes, according to the roommates. The men used flashlights to check the beds and baseboards but did not use spray.

“[It was] kind of inconvenient and unnecessary because we knew we didn’t have bedbugs,” Ramirez said, since they had not found any of the telltale red spots on themselves.

Bridget Hyde, the resident assistant for the affected floor in Clark, said that she did not know the bedbug issue was on her floor until one of her students asked her about it.

However, she had received an email from Resident Coordinator Kate Collier explaining that there was a bedbug issue somewhere in Clark and that it was being handled.

This issue was resolved before spring break, according to Hyde.

Oldham said that students can find useful information about how to handle bed bugs on the University of Dallas website.

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