The housing on campus is, from my understanding, supposed to be a welcoming space to call home during the school year. It is supposed to be somewhere to relax and recover from daily stressors like homework or class in general, and to rest after a long week. A place where we should be able to expect our comfort and safety to be prioritized as long as we live at EMU. Last semester did not feel that way, and I do not feel as though much has changed since the start of this new school year. 

Last semester, the hall I lived on – the third floor of Cedarwood – dealt with quite a bit of trouble that took a toll on the mental health of its residents. We had issues with the smoke of weed from one of the rooms seeping into the pod, both strong enough and often enough to cause practically second-handed effects, to which our Community Advisor made multiple reports. It felt that Housing had just brushed it aside. Along with this issue, we had emailed Housing directly, asking for a room change for myself, because the weed from the room – right beside my own – was causing respiratory issues. Even after specifying this, and having at least one report about the weed initially, Housing refused to move a resident experiencing a breathing issue, even if it was just across the pod, to be farther from the source of the issue.

On top of the weed, multiple of the other residents seemed to be targeted, some of them being put in physical danger. All of which was addressed in reports and an email, sent personally by me, explaining every issue that we had been trying to get resolved to no avail. For two solid months, all of the issues in our living area were sent to Housing repeatedly, and for almost the entire semester they seemed to be neglected or brushed aside much too soon. The entire pod I resided in suffered mentally and academically during that semester, something that should have been avoided.

This semester, I had hoped to avoid issues similar to then. However, it seems that the same individuals aim to stir up a bit more trouble this semester. Although they do not necessarily reside in the same hall as me this year, they reside in the same building. While this would not be an issue necessarily, I do still feel anxious knowing that they still technically have access to our living space. What makes it feel worse is the fact that the main reason why I feel so anxious about it has to do with, thanks to last semester, my lack of faith in the people I thought I could turn to if any issues sprung up again, even if it is new.

This whole experience makes me wonder if other living areas of campus had something similar, where their concerns were ignored or seemingly marked as just unimportant. I wanted to bring this up in writing because I feel something needs to be said. Voices need to be heard to try and keep this same experience from happening again. Housing on EMU campus should not feel like a stressful environment every time we enter what should be a safe and comforting home away from home. We should not need to worry about whether or not something that prevents us from our academics or worsens mental health will be waiting for us every time we step back into our halls or our rooms. The issue needs to be addressed, and I will address it.