On Oct. 10, Johnson Hall closed down and all its residents were moved into other dormitories across campus indefinitely.

This freshman-only dorm was abandoned due to an ongoing mold problem that has been affecting the building for a few years, but recently hit a new level. Several dorm rooms were covered floor-to-ceiling in green, black and sometimes white colored mold.

“My experience wasn’t as bad as it was for others, like my neighbors who moved multiple times over the mold, but it was really annoying,” Alex Davenport, a first-year student, said. “I didn’t have much mold, but it got on my suitcase and an equipment bag that I had to take home to get cleaned.”

The building is now closed for the rest of the academic year, according to the campuswide email announcement that was sent out on Oct. 2. Residence Life and Housing are engaging outside experts to help identify the root cause of the problem. Previously, the mold was painted over, hiding it from the untrained eye.

It has grown back so badly that some residents got sick or had trouble breathing, student reports said. This left Residence Life and Housing no other choice but to close the whole building down until further notice. Although Johnson Hall shows high levels of mold, Lakeside Dining Hall and Riggs Hall, the connected buildings, have not experienced any of these issues.

“Your health and safety remain our highest priority, and we appreciate your understanding, flexibility and cooperation as we work to improve our residential environment,” the email said.

First-year students who lived in Johnson Hall have been moved across campus to other dorm buildings, including Cayuga and Oneida Halls.

“I think that in the future they [Residence Life and Housing] need to have more in place to prevent it [the mold] from spreading like it did, even if it’s as simple as locking the windows in some way,” Davenport said. “I think they made the right decision in the end, but I feel like it shouldn’t have had to be made in the first place.”