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A UB Graduating Senior Reflects on her First UB Experience

“It’s unacceptable, for the price we pay for on-campus apartments, to live like this!” recalls Amanda Antinoro, a senior psychology/communication major about her first semester at UB. She moved into Flint Village, here at UB in the fall of 2005, “when I first moved into Flint I loved it, close to classes, nice living accommodations, but then…” After living in the newly built Flint Village apartments for a mere 3 weeks she found out she had some unwanted roommates. “The Flint apartments are relatively new,” she adds, “I didn’t think I would find them there, it seems like a sign of squalor to me,” she insists. And indeed it is, the Flint apartments are not even a decade old (completed August 2001) yet some of the apartments are infested with cockroaches. Yes, that’s right cockroaches. “The roach was huge!” she gestures with her hand, “it was this big,” she indicates with her fingers something about the size of a pack of gum. The American cockroach can grow to be up to 1 ½ inches long, and is the largest of house infesting cockroaches.
It’s ability to move fast, slyly and, unsighted also makes it possible for the roach to be permanent guest in most homes it wonders into, the pest is also winged, and quite a capable simmer, making it a threat to many people who would rather not share their space with such a gross insect. Adults can live up to 15 months and according to Ms. Antinoro’s testimony, that bad boy was more than likely close to retirement age, probably on social security. They prefer dark, warm, moist places to nest, and hatch eggs approximately ever 6 to 7 weeks. Roaches also pose health risks to individuals living in infested housing and pest control is extremely difficult, normally left up to professionals.
What did UB housing do to make Amanda’s stay here, better? “Nothing, at first they told me it wasn’t a big deal, then I found out the place across the hall was infested first, and it was known as the ‘roach room,’” she says, “the girls in that apartment had to stay at a hotel for a couple of weeks while the place was bombed, but the came back, and made their way into my place.” Her Flint apartment was previously bombed for roaches too, according to UB and attempts obviously failed. Was she made aware of this before she moved in. “No! I had no idea any of this happened, and I feel I should have been.” Agreed. Amanda eventually petitioned to move out of the infested apartment, but UB was no help. They put her and her roommate up in Flickinger Court town house for three weeks at which time they were told they could move back in or find another place to live, but not with UB help. Disappointed with her experience, she and her roommate found other housing, not infested by roaches.
When I asked other UB students how they felt about the situation they did not blame Amanda’s actions to find other housing. “I think they should have told her about the problem in the first place instead of covering it up,” Tony Curley states a senior civil engineering student states, “I wouldn’t want to live in that either.”
“I don’t think UB handled the situation well, we are totally at their mercy when it comes to on campus housing.” Greg Dennis a junior psychology and English major explains. “They made it seem like it was ok and that is unacceptable,” he adds, “especially UB, they charge us a ton of money to stay here and for that the place should be immaculate, or at the very least roach free.”
According to the terms of agreement for on campus apartments UB can terminate your lease for the following reason, “the student or any guest, visitor or invitee of such student causes or is otherwise responsible for a health or safety code violation…” Are roaches not a health code violation, UB? According to the on campus living handbook, “Complex staff will arrange for regularly scheduled preventative measures. Contact the office with any specific problems.” I venture that the preventative measures don’t work too well.
In closing Amanda proclaims, “I think UB’s housing should reflect the great university that it is, it might be an isolated incident, but it was not the first experience I was looking for, and it was handled horribly.”