Photo by Kendall Bulkiewicz | The Crow’s Nest
By Mahika Kukday
Pelican Apartments (RHO), one of the three residential buildings at USF St. Petersburg, will remain closed for another two weeks in the wake of Hurricane Milton.
Citing “repairs from water impacts” as the reason for closure, USF St. Petersburg’s housing department sent an email at 6 p.m. today informing RHO residents that they won’t be allowed back in their dorms until the work is completed.
The email urged those who could safely stay at their evacuation site, to do so. For students who must return to campus, emergency housing at the St. Petersburg campus will be provided.
Starting at 10 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 14, the housing department will start reaching out to students to ask about their plans.
Communication from campus housing came one hour after a university-wide email that said the Tampa and Sarasota-Manatee campuses will reopen tomorrow. The two campuses’ residence halls will also welcome students back on Monday.
As stated in a previous communication sent on Oct. 11, classes will be held asynchronously for all campuses tomorrow.
Starting Tuesday, Oct. 15, in-person classes for all three campuses will resume, with professors being urged to deliver lessons through the medium that provides maximum flexibility for affected students. This could include in-person, online or asynchronous delivery.
At St. Petersburg, classes and hybrid business operations will resume starting Tuesday, but some RHO residents are worried about missing out while they are temporarily denied access to their rooms.
Keyara Augustine, a senior global business major at USF St. Petersburg, feels that this is the time for mutual understanding, support and gratitude.
“We cannot only have school spirit when it’s time for a football game,” Augustine said. “We all went through this and we should be grateful that we have a school to go back to.”
She appreciated the university’s effort to provide safe emergency housing until RHO repairs are complete.
“I understand why [we can’t come back to RHO], but I’m frustrated that the campus is going to open without us because classes and work will go on without me and it’s not my fault,” said Lilly Figueroa Rodriguez, a senior interdisciplinary sciences major at USF St. Petersburg.
She feels that students should be refunded the dormitory rent amount for the duration that they weren’t allowed to stay.
St. Petersburg campus housing’s email mentioned that students would not have access to their rooms, and any items within them, until the building is fully repaired.
Julie Aguiar, a sophomore marine biology major, said it’s imperative that she retrieves the prescribed medication she left in her dorm, by this week.
“They should allow us to at least grab things from our rooms,” Aguiar said. “Maybe a timesheet where we can register to pick up our things a few people at a time, or a floor at a time for 15 minutes.”
She rode out Hurricane Milton at her family home in Fort Lauderdale, but will be commuting to the St. Petersburg campus from her sister’s apartment in Tampa next week.
Abigail Sanders, a senior political science and international studies major, wishes they had received notice more than 36 hours before classes resumed.
“I’ve literally never been more disappointed with USF. I’m so lucky to have friends who can help me out, but not everyone has that,” Sanders said.
At the time of publication, the nature of the emergency housing at USF St. Petersburg for RHO students remains unknown. The exact location or extent of the building’s water damage is also currently unclear. This story will be updated with details as they become available.
USF anticipates restarting in-person classes and normal business operations on Monday, Oct. 21, per its 5 p.m. email today. Flexibility and understanding towards all staff and students is highly encouraged.
USF St. Petersburg students can contact the housing department by email at stp-housing@usf.edu.
