It seems unlikely that Vanderbilt would ever notify each student’s parents and guardians with something to the effect of “We have discovered mold not conducive to your student’s health in his or her dormitory. In order to correct the situation, we have elected to remove the curtains and install blinds.”

While the mold in the Kissam dorms is not life-threatening, the editorial board doubts the air circulation problems of the dormitories will be resolved with the addition of blinds in the windows.

We also have doubts about how much comfort those blinds will bring to the rising sophomores who must live in the, literally, moldy Kissam Quad.

At the same time, the administration constantly defers long-term solutions to problems like mold and air circulation in Kissam, under the reasoning that its days are numbered as the College Halls initiative moves forward. Of course, Kissam Quad has been scheduled to be replaced for a long time and may remain in its limbo state. Since a Munchie Mart in Hemingway was deemed important enough to build, the logical conclusion of that effort would be that Kissam still will exist for a little while and still has some worth.

Although the potential changes to Kissam would likely come at great financial expense, health concerns like asthma and allergies and general quality of life concerns should take precedence. If the benefits of the changes are less than the costs of making the changes, perhaps the administration needs some greater expediency, or at least a promise of greater expediency concerning the building project there.

The administration’s slow response to testing the mold was somewhat concerning, as well. Had the mold been a serious health risk, this might be a very different Our View.

Regardless, a sincere effort to correct the air circulation problems in Kissam from the administration is needed and would be appreciated by the student body.