Quadrangle residents furious over new rodent roommates

Residential Living brochures might describe the Quadrangle room Kelley Parker occupies as a single, but the College freshman said she has counted at least ten extra roommates this semester. Mice have invaded Parker's room, as well as many other rooms in the Quadrangle, students have said. Residential Advisor Basia Dybicki, a College junior, said she saw a trash can in a Quadrangle kitchen "shaking and rattling" because it was filled with mice this semester. And with an arsenal consisting of a "trusty mousetrap" and Skippy Peanut Butter, College freshman Paul Alvarez was able to kill six mice he found in his Quadrangle room. "Mice love peanut butter," he explained. College freshman Anne Johnson said when she returned to the University after winter break, "there was mouse shit everywhere" in her Quadrangle double. And College freshman Jennifer Burke said that after sighting several mice "going through the Ritz Bits" in her Community House room, she "went running down the hall, crying for her RA." "It's kind of sad that we're paying all of this money and we have to live with mice," Burke added. But Residential Maintenance Assistant Director Philip Genther said the rodent problem in the Quadrangle is not unusual. "We've always had mice when it's cold," he said. Genther said he urges students who have spotted mice in their rooms to "hand their [repair request] tickets in when they have a problem." Upon receiving a repair request ticket -- which are available from the front desk at each campus dorm -- "we can have someone out there the next day," he said. Burke said, however, she did not have that luck. She said it took "six or seven maintenance slips" before the mice were driven from her room. Although Residential Maintenance responded immediately to each of Johnson's complaints about mice, she said she thinks the maintenance workers are "clueless." "They didn't even follow the directions on the glue traps," she said. Residential Living Director Gigi Simeone would not comment on the rodent problem. Parker, however, is worried about more than just the inconvenience of mice in her room. She said she is nervous about her health. Parker said the mice have left droppings "everywhere" in her room, even on the medical equipment she keeps to treat her cystic fibrosis. She added that she even found three droppings on her bed. "They doo-doo every night," Parker said. "So I have to vacuum every day." Although she said she was never bitten by a mouse, she said the rodents have "chewed up my underpants and T-shirts." Parker added that she has not been able to sleep well with the rodents roaming her room. "You don't get good sleep with the continual noise of the mice," she said. "You get to the point when you start yelling out loud at the mice." College freshman Patrick Adelsbach agreed. Adelsbach said he has found at least 15 mice in his room. "It's frustrating," he said. "They've eaten at least $15 worth of food." Adelsbach said he plans to bring the rodent problem to City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell's attention. Parker is also worried that the mice in her room are "breeding." "One of the mice I saw was particularly obese, so I'm pretty sure I'll be seeing some more mice soon," she said. Alvarez advised his fellow mice-slayers to buy "creamy" peanut butter to put in the mousetraps. "Don't go for chunky," he said.