Several Quinnipiac University students living in Commons found mice in their rooms when they returned this semester.

The first report of a mouse was Jan. 20, according to Jon Terry, assistant director of facilities. Terry also said that the mouse problem is not typical.

“We believe there was a broken door sweep that was allowing mice to enter the building, most likely over winter break,” Terry said.

Izzy Tomanelli, first-year occupational therapy major, who lives in Commons, said her room had a total of three mice.

“My roommates got back to campus before I did and they found a mouse in my room,” Tomanelli said. “I was awake at two in the morning on the first Friday when we got back and I heard the trap snap. I was so scared that I put my headphones in and tried to fall asleep. I was actually scared to get out of my bed because I don’t know what I am going to find on the floor.”

First-year interdisciplinary studies major Lauren Yando also had a mouse in her room.

“I was laying in bed late at night at the beginning of the semester and thought I heard my headphones fall off my desk,” Yando said. “It turns out that it was the noise of the trap shifting and the mouse struggling.”

Yando said that she felt the mouse problem began at the end of the last semester, as she would hear the sound of mice moving in the vents.

“It was really scary and creepy to hear little footsteps running above my head at night,” Yando said.

Isabella Amoroso, first-year radiology major, had a total of eight mice in her room. Amoroso and her roommates moved into the dorm building, Founders, due to the severity of the problem.

“We ended up moving out of Commons and into another building,” Amoroso said. “(Facilities) helped us carry all of our stuff into our new room.”

The people affected by the mice said they felt Quinnipiac Facilities handled the situation poorly.

“The first time someone in facilities asked me about the mice in my room was three weeks after we found the first one,” Tomanelli said. “They never actually came to check up on us, even though they might have been checking on the rooms with more recent incidents, they should have also been checking up on us and our room.”

Kaitlyn Stoyer, a first-year nursing major, also had a negative experience with facilities while there were mice in her room.

“My mom called the day after we found a mouse to complain and they told her that the situation was under control,” Stoyer said. “They came in to collect the mouse and found that the food was gone on another trap that was placed down. The other mice took the food and were still roaming around our room.”

Despite facilities setting mouse traps, Stoyer felt it wasn’t enough.

“Facilities didn’t do a great job helping us calm down our nerves,” Stoyer said. “They just told us to let them know if we find another one.”

Residents living in Commons received an email on Feb. 10, that gave an update about the mice problem.

“Res Life and facilities have been working diligently over the past few weeks to resolve the issue as soon as possible,” said Taylor Troxell, residence hall director of Commons, in the email. “While we are still monitoring the issue, I am happy to share that we have seen a significant decrease in the number of mice being seen and caught in the last week.”

The email also said that if a student finds a mouse in their room, they should submit a facilities work request.

“Everyone in Commons received an email about the situation,” Stoyer said. “They never emailed to keep in contact and individually follow up on our specific situation.”

Terry said that facilities has made it a priority to continue to respond to work requests about the mice.

“We are continuing to work with our pest control service on a daily basis and we are optimistic that the situation has gotten better over the past seven days,” Terry said. “We will continue our preventive measures until we have gone several weeks without any work requests.”

The mice problem has been ongoing for over a month for some students, and it still has not been fully resolved.

“I’m actually scared to live here and be in my room now,” Tomanelli said.