The students were forced to live either off-campus or in on-campus temporary shelter while USF’s Pelican Apartments (referred to by most as “RHO”) was closed for most of October due to water damage from the hurricane. Regardless of their choice, students were not allowed to enter their rooms in RHO, unless for approved medical needs, to gather any personal items while the building was closed.
The closure started on Oct. 7, and lasted three weeks before a phased reopening started on Oct. 27. Some residents—like this writer, who is a RHO resident, in full disclosure—returned as late as Nov. 1.
But some students returned to find personal items, like cash and electronics, missing from where they had been left.
Anthony Rivera, an out-of-state student, who was staying in Atlanta, Georgia for the entirety of the closure, came back to find that his Apple Watch was missing.
“To make matters worse, the school had told us that we had to be out of our dorm buildings by Monday, [Oct. 7] at noon, and I went to leave my room and got locked out. I left my keys on my bedroom desk, and all my roommates had already left. The housing team locked my room and just left,” Rivera told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
“I called multiple numbers, but they all said the school was closed. It was at least an hour before they said they’d be closing the building, so I had no choice but to leave important personal items, and my watch behind,” he said.
The “Find My” app, which allows all Apple users to track their products, showed Rivera that his watch was turned off, but was last detected at an apartment complex in Kissimmee—a city he’s never been to.
“The school just let it happen, they were supposed to be watching over our stuff, but they just let these strangers take our belongings and invade our personal space,” Rivera said.
After learning that his watch had been stolen, Rivera filed a police report with the University Police Department and has yet to receive an update.
Students like Rivera, who had already evacuated the building during the week of Milton, and a week prior for Hurricane Helene, were told that they could stay where they were, sheltered with friends or family, or stay at an on-campus shelter.
Another student, who requested to remain anonymous, stated that they had personal belongings taken, but is primarily upset at USF’s lack of security and monitoring of the team working on campus. They mentioned that there were over 100 workers on site every day and minimal supervision from campus security in monitoring the construction workers that went into every room.
Pelican, aka RHO, houses 352 students, according to USF.
“I really think [the situation] reflects onto the leadership,” they said. “Even if just one construction member is unvetted and unqualified, they have now gained access to 350 people’s personal rooms.”
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USF to offer housing credits to St. Pete students forced to live in on-campus shelter after Hurricane Milton
“We took this situation very seriously and connected these students with our University Police Department (UPD) for the incidents to be investigated. It is unfortunate that someone would take advantage of students who were temporarily displaced and facing significant challenges due to a hurricane,” a rep for USF told CL.
“Our Housing and Residential Education team maintained close communication with students to ensure any concerns were addressed,” the rep continued. “We are now in the process of working with the construction company to replace any items that were reported missing or damaged by students. We continue to provide support to these students, and the incidents reported to UPD remain under active investigation.”
UPDATED 11/15/24 4:06 p.m. Updated to disclose that this writer is a USF St. Pete student and RHO resident.
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This article appears in Nov 14-20, 2024.