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Editorial: Students must be aware of resources to be safe across university - page 10 pagei: THE Younger players Dining hall workers provide carry their weight friendly atmosphere for students across campus page? on tennis team page 12 PENDULUM Elon, North Carolina • Wednesday, October i, 2014 • Volume 40 Edition 22 www.elonpendulum.com Moldy discovery in Loy Center Mold spores outdoors may be the cause, says university Michael Bodley News Editor Top to bottom: Sophomore Andrew Sommers, who lives in the Sigma Phi Epsilon house at Loy Center N, has lived in mildewed conditions since his August move-tn. Sandals and boots sport a moldy coating inside the Delta Delta Delta House at Loy Center R. A stain crawls across a bathroom door inside Loy Center N. It’s been a nioldy start to the school year for Elon University. One house in the Loy Center has been recently evacuated, and another has been given the option because of poor air qual ity stemming from a mold buildup inside the Delta Delta Delta house at Loy Cen ter R and the Sigma Phi Epsilon house at Loy Center N. The new mold woes have arrived on the heels of similiar documented inci dents in the Danieley Apartments earlier this month, with some blamed on a back log in Physical Plant work requests. As of publication, no one cause has been determined, according to Eric Townsend, director of the Elon Univer sity News Bureau, but the environment is a suspected culprit, with spores in the air outside thought to exceed safe levels. Large HVAC filters pull in air from out side into the houses, which can suck in mold spores floating in the breeze. Residents in Loy N and R have com plained of coughs and cold-like symp toms that may be rooted in the steady cloying humidity in air thick with the smell of mildew. According to the Center for Disease Control and-Prevention (CDC), living in close proximity to mold has been linked to symptoms of congestion, as well as eye and skin irritation. Townsend said Health Services has seen a single-digit uptick in students treated for potentially mold-related re spiratory issues. But for those who are allergic to mold, a type of fungi, reactions can be more se vere. Sophomore Katie Quick, who lives in Loy R, the Delta Delta Delta house, is allergic to mold. From the beginning of the school year, she noticed her room upstairs remained constantly damp and humid — a recipe that spelled disaster for her immune system. Calling her symptoms “allergies that turned into a nasty cold that never went away,” Quick said she and the other girls learned to live with the unpleasant con ditions. Between two and three weeks ago, the sophomore and her roommate, who is also allergic, found a white mold covering boots and sandals. But it wasn’t until the end of last week that the house’s captain — similar to RAs elsewhere on campus — did something about it. Despite consistent coughing and congestion paired with a sense of lightheadedness. Quick said she and the others had been too busy to dwell on the problem. Once reported. Quick had no qualms with Physical Plant’s response. An inde pendent contractor was brought to cam pus by Physical Plant the same day to perform air quality tests. “There were really quick, and they were really accommodating,” she said. An Elon-specific minimum bench mark for air safety indoors, 50 percent of outdoor spore levels, was exceeded inside Loy R when test results came back Sun day. The same day, the university evacuat ed residents, and booked rooms in a hotel for those didn’t stay with friends. Built within the last five years, the re maining new residences — N, O, P, Q_and S — were tested Monday, with results due back Tuesday evening. Though the next steps for the univer sity were to be determined by the test re sults, conditions inside Loy N, the Sigma Phi Epsilon house, were similar enough See MOLD page! Oak House settles in after first month Morgan Abate Senior Reporter Phil Smith and the staff of The Oak House have started to settle into their routine as the bar and coffee lounge’s opening month on campus draws to a close. The month has gone better than Smith expected, despite some of the challenges that come with running a business. “We’re still learning what works and what doesn’t work,” he said. “Every single day I learn something new.” Opening hours have already shifted from 7 to 7:30 a.m. during the week. After the first week, there were only a few peo ple coming in between 7 and 7:30, so management made the change. The half-hour change saves The Oak House money and allows student baristas an extra 30 minutes of sleep. Technological issues with the router and point-of-sale sys tem prompted Smith to invest in Square, an iPad, iPhone and laptop service that makes buy ing and selling faster and more efficient. The POS system has shut down multiple times, prevent ing customers from paying with credit cards. Paying with Phoe nix Cash has not been an Issue because it runs on a different system. Although it takes sev eral minutes to fix the system, a backup option keeps the line of customers moving. Even with the setbacks, tech nology will serve as an import ant communication tool when student staff members are only working two or three hours a day. “There’s not a lot of consis tency with people coming and going a lot,” Smith said. “We don’t really have shifts.” Smith said he wants to use the Notes app on the iPads in The Oak House more effectively, which will allow the constant ly rotating staff to stay updated throughout the day. As the bar and lounge con tinues to “put out the fires,” business continues to grow. Customers have started to request items like breakfasts See OAKHOUSEpageS Uber arrives at Elon to target college consumers Michael Bodley News Editor Uber has arrived at Elon Uni versity. The nationally known ride-sharing service based in San Francisco recently expanded to 25 colleges and universities across the country, recognizing the untapped potential of college students who have places to go but no trans portation of their own to make it happen. Operated through a free mo bile phone application available on both iPhone and Android op erating systems, Uber uses GPS technology to pinpoint the lo cations of drivers and their pas sengers. Once a ride is requested through the app, an unoccupied driver picks up the passenger. The driver’s progress can be traced in real time, through a tiny car icon that meanders through streets en- route to pickup. The latest section of the Pied mont Triangle to experience Uber, the university and the surrounding area, could use more in the way of reliable, affordable transportation, according to Uber spokesperson Taylor Bennett. The affordability comes into play on cross-campus hops. An Uber fare from Danieley Center to West End Terrace falls between $5 and $7, even less when split between See UBER page 3
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