But at the USF St. Pete campus only two of three residence halls reopened: Ibis and Osprey. Pelican Apartments (often referred to as “RHO”), are still closed—with residents being offered shelter in an on-campus ballroom.
Now university officials say that RHO residents displaced for an extended period due to damage from Hurricane Milton will be given a housing credit to be used in a future semester.
“The amount of the credit will vary based on the room type and how long the room is unavailable due to the building damage,” a rep for USF told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
Additional details on the credit—including credits for students who are graduating—are still in the works, a spokesperson added.
The school told CL that all 352 RHO residents have been contacted (like this writer, who is a RHO resident, in full disclosure).
Initially students were not allowed to return to their rooms and collect any personal items, with exception for class materials and medical supplies, such as insulin and prescription medication.
USF’s St. Petersburg Housing and Residential Education team clarified that none of the rooms flooded and that there was no damage to any student’s personal items with the exception of one area rug.
An email to residents said that there was significant moisture found in the walls. USF’s spokesperson told CL it would take at least two weeks to make repairs from water intrusion and ensure a safe return for students.
Despite the closure at RHO—located on the corner of 2nd St S and Dali Blvd.—there is a sense of normalcy on campus thanks to classes resuming, but dorm-less students have just two choices: Stay off campus, even if they’re too far to commute, and work with professors on academic accommodations—or they can stay at the on-campus “shelter.”
The on-campus shelter is a 7,490 square-foot ballroom located on the second floor of the St. Petersburg University Student Center (USC). This ballroom can be divided into three sections with air walls usually used for on and off-campus clients to hold events, like USF board meetings and high school proms.
Any student that is unable to find a place to live off-campus while RHO is closed is going to have to live in the ballroom, and use the showers located in the university gym.
On Thursday afternoon, USF told CL that so far, 13 students have taken them up on the offer.
The USF St. Petersburg housing team will provide students with air mattresses, but students will have to provide their own blankets, pillows and personal items. The students will not have their personal space or areas to store any items.
“Students pay over $4,000 for an apartment, not an open ballroom with air mattresses. If the school can spend $2.1 million on football recruitment efforts, then they can give us our money back,” Vasquez said. “In the past, the University has booked hotels for students when housing issues arise, though students have routinely had to fight for this.”
The online petition proliferated on student’s Instagrams, Facebook groups and on the official USF Reddit page. In less than 24 hours the petition received over 1,000 signatures.
“Hearing about the university’s shortcomings and knowing that there are limited options to place almost 300 students in an “on-campus” shelter, I had a sinking feeling they were going to use the USC ballroom,” Vasquez added. “This option seems to be the most convenient for the school and most inconvenient for students.”
Vasquez began hearing the overwhelming complaints and concerns of her fellow students and decided to begin the fight for any sort of compensation from the school.
She mentions that while she’s only been living on campus for six months, she’s only lived at RHO since the beginning of this spring due to its ” apartment-style” living.
While Osprey Suites, another hall on campus, have a select inventory of single rooms, no other building on campus has RHO’s personal, full-sized, kitchens for students to use.
Michael Johnson, a parent of a student in RHO, told CL that his daughter specifically lives in the RHO building to accommodate her food allergies, which are difficult to work around even at the dining hall. “Paying for housing that is not being provided and food that is not available is an extra burden,” he said.
Johnson said that he is further frustrated with the lack of planning on USF’s part and support for the students, staff and professors.
“A coastal school in a hurricane-prone area really should have a plan, as this is the third time in 13 months, roughly, that they have evacuated,” he said. “I know it’s a difficult situation, but the message last weekend was very much just figure it out individually.”
Many parents and students share similar feelings to Johnson, like Rebekah Greer, a sophomore who’s lived in RHO for two years.
“I understand there’s not much you can do in this situation, but I’m disappointed. [USF] want campus to be fully operational October 21st, yet RHO residents have to struggle to manage even after that. And we have no idea if RHO will even be repaired in the two week time period they mentioned. For all we know, this may take much longer,” Greer told CL.
Despite the situation, Julia Mills Ryan remains positive about the situation for her and her USF student, who is currently staying at the on-campus shelter, along with 12 other students.
“Our impression of the university, before the storm, was that we were thrilled, not only with USF as an academic institution, but as a parent of a nuerodiverse family,” said Ryan.
Ryan told CL that her son was part of the UMatter program, a program at USF dedicated to providing an accessible and inclusive university experience for young people with intellectual disabilities.
Her son is active on-campus, with various organizations and on-campus employment. She mentioned that he loves being part of the USF St. Petersburg campus and community.
Despite many other concerns of safety, Ryan said that the second she walked into the USC there was a security presence that she’d never seen there before, with police and police dogs. The entire second floor of the USC and the elevator to the second floor are reserved for RHO residents.
However, she does emphasize that there is no protocol in place for item security and there is no privacy. While it is sufficient and more reminiscent of a “summer camp” experience, two weeks might be a lot for some.
It’s unknown if the closure of the residence hall will last longer than the estimated “minimum two weeks,” as many are concerned it could go past Halloween.
USF has yet to reply to the petition made by Vasquez, and the overwhelming amount of comments on the petition’s message board.
“We pay a lot of money to be here,” said Greer. “If these repairs take two weeks or more, we would’ve been off campus for an entire month, including evacuation time. We deserve better accommodations and compensation for this.”
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 Oct 17-23, 2024.
