The sudden location change of the Career Services office on CLU’s campus this spring semester is due to a recurring rodent problem.

Career Services has moved from its original location next to the cafeteria to the Scandinavian Cultural Center on the corner of Mt. Clef Boulevard and Faculty Street.

Student Affairs Vice President William Rosser, who oversees Career Services, explained that the rodents that they kept finding were in a portion of the ceiling above the Career Services office.

“It’s been an ongoing problem for some time,” said Rosser.

Rosser explained that several measures have been taken this year to fix the problem, but the rodents kept coming back.

Because of the infestation, the ceiling had to be knocked down to get full access to eradicate the rodents.

Career Services Director Cindy Lewis further explained the reason for the relocation of their offices.

“We were moved so they can fix the problem,” said Lewis. “It was hard for them to take care of it when we were in there.”

The move of Career Services was only supposed to be temporary. Lewis later requested that they stay in their new location.

“It really smelled a lot in there,” said Lewis about the rodents.

Rosser said that because of the renovations in the near future, which will take place after  Ullman Commons is built, it is more convenient for Career Services to remain at the Scandinavian House, especially when the cafeteria will become the new Student Union Building.

Ryan Van Ommeren, associate vice president of Facilities, said that there are 10 cases of reported rodents every year.

“It is not uncommon to get a rodent in the buildings,” said Van Ommeren.

He said that when doors are frequently opened rodents can easily enter a building. He also said that the rainy seasons are ideal conditions for rats to breed.

In this particular incident, even when the necessary steps were taken, the rodents kept returning. To combat this problem, Facilities has doubled up on pest control.
Van Ommeren urges anybody to call in any pest problem that they encounter on campus.

“Let us know right away and we’ll get after it,” said Van Ommeren.

Elessandria Smith
Staff Writer
Published Nov. 7, 2012