By Samantha Carmona, Arturo Gonzalez and Alexa Nolasco, May 13, 2025
The buzz on Cal Poly Pomona’s campus is quite noticeable throughout the day with its student body rushing from building to building across the University Quad, the Rose Garden and several on-campus hills. However, the campus grows quieter during the evenings when classes are not in session. This is the time when campus dorms bustle with life.
CPP’s Residential Suites, where about 1,000 students out of the 2,700 approximate students residing on campus live under University Housing Services, have been buzzing with complaints since UHS closed just over 40% of 194 balconies in 2024 and January 2025 for being structurally unsound, according to a document acquired by The Poly Post.
Unsafe balconies
The first inspection, which included hiring an architectural firm, and was conducted in spring 2024, resulted in the identification of eight balconies that did not meet the structural integrity and waterproofing requirements set by California Senate Bill 721. According to the same document, after the first examination of the 15% sample, the same company examined the rest of the balconies and identified another 72 balconies as unsafe. UHS then notified the affected residents Jan. 9, 2025.
According to UHS executive director Jon Merchant, the identified structural issues were split wood beams, old sealant, and loosened wiring cabling, which acts as fencing for the balconies. Merchant said the issues do not suggest a “potential catastrophe for students living with the closed balconies.”
“It’s concerning enough, but it’s not something where somebody likely is going to walk out of the balcony and fall,” Merchant said. “For the safety of the students, we want to make sure that they’re sound. And even though it may seem like, ‘Just tighten these up,’ we want to make sure we do that in the right way, and that if we tighten up the cables, it doesn’t cause any additional damage to the boards that are holding that in place.”
Evan Hamrick, an animal science student and a Residential Suites resident, said the only information he and other residents received from UHS about the closed balconies is that “the repairs need to be made.”
“It’s been closed off in my suite since the beginning of this semester,” Hamrick said. “No compensation for students has occurred.”
According to the UHS website, Residential Suites are apartment-style buildings that offer suites with private entry to individual bedrooms, full-size bathrooms, kitchenettes and common living areas. Each suite also comes with a complementary patio or balcony, depending on whether it is located on the ground floor or above.
The University Services and Facilities Planning and Management office will hire an external contractor to repair the balconies over the summer, according to the same document acquired by The Poly Post.
Merchant said approximately $2 million would be going into the project. These fees have been calculated based on the balcony inspection and the needed repairs.
UHS is getting money for the repairs through student housing fees, but housing costs for students will remain stagnant, according to Merchant. He described UHS as a self-sufficient department that uses student housing fees to cover any improvements for its buildings. However, according to him, there is a reserve in case of catastrophic events or significant repairs.
Black mold reports
As The Poly Post previously reported, black mold seems to be a frequent issue that students who live in dorms on campus complain about. A month and a half before the end of the 2024-2025 academic year, students filed 15 complaints regarding black mold issues, only two less than during the 2023-2024 academic year, according to the same document acquired by The Poly Post.
Since the 2021-2022 academic year and until April 9, 2025, according to the document, students filed an average of 16 complaints regarding black mold issues annually, ranging from 27 in the 2023-2024 academic year to seven complaints in 2021-2022 when dorms were not fully occupied due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Students filed 66 complaints about black mold issues in dorms during the four-year period.
Mold, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, may cause a variety of health issues, such as stuffy nose, sore throat, coughing, wheezing, burning eyes and skin rash, while people with asthma and those who are immune-compromised can have severe reactions to mold.
However, Merchant said the existence and danger of mold in dorms is a common misperception.
“The reality is it may just be mildew, or it may be dust that has accumulated, or it might be mold, because mold is everywhere, and it’s typically not going to be the toxic mold that sometimes we want to sensationalize,” Merchant said.
UHS did not specify how many cases of black mold were confirmed in dorms. Instead, the department provided a structured mold response protocol detailing that in the first step, a staff member inspects the area and determines the adequate response. According to the document acquired by The Poly Post, if mold existence is confirmed, the affected areas are cleaned and treated with products that contain mold inhibitors. Lastly, for more complex cases, the department hires an external abatement contractor. However, UHS did not provide information on how many instances the black mold was treated in this period, nor how many times it hired external contractors.
“If you see something, say something,” Merchant said. “If you see a leak, or if you see water, let us know so we can easily come in and assess that the disruption is kind of what is the inconvenience.”
Merchant said the responsibility also falls on the students, as simple tasks like wiping down water spills, reporting abnormal water placements and making sure the restroom fan is running could prevent potential mold growth.
UHS is planning a future campaign to promote mold prevention and enhance cleaning habits in the dorms, according to Merchant. Unlike the Residential Halls, the Residential Suites do not have hired custodians to provide periodic cleaning services. The UHS website currently provides an informational page on mold, including frequently asked questions, prevention tips and links to submit work orders.
Communication with students and UHS staff members is of equal importance. Staff member Ted Choi, who is a business student services leader under UHS, said he did not hear about any balcony issues in dorms.
“I definitely do believe that Housing could improve their communication with its residents,” Choi said.
Cal Poly’s reputation as a commuter school leaves a much-misunderstood grasp on the state of its on-campus dorms. When it comes to maintenance for student housing, there seems to be a divide between student expectations and the amenities available to them in their living spaces.