Almost everyday, bats are found in Graham, and residence life staff are required to help fix the situation. Bats were found in resident rooms, the parlor and in the stairways.
The students’ reactions were mixed from being happy to anxious. Some of the students enjoyed seeing bats and thought of them as pets. Others did not like the bats being up close to their faces like Juan Lopez. Bats have fast reflexes, so some students got startled as they flew around the building. A few RDs, campus security and the RAs in Graham had to help take care of the situation by getting the bats out of the stairway, the parlor and in the students’ rooms. RD of Graham hall and senior Jonathan Shaw mentioned that there were a total of twenty seven bats.
Sophomore and undecided major Juan Lopez discovered a bat in his room on Saturday, Sept. 1. The bat was in his room for about an hour. “The bat did not bother me but at the same time I do not want it flying in my face,’’ said Lopez. Since he did not want to bother it and be in the room, he spent the rest of the night in Stoddard’s parlor.
Freshman computer science major Lucas Kasinger has noticed a ton of bats appearing in Graham including one in his room. Kasinger found a bat in his room on Monday Sept. 10. “I was not really bothered by it. Plus no one was hurt, and it did not mess up anything in my room, but I can see why it can be a nuisance to some people,” said Kasinger. Kasinger believes that the bats need to be kept out of Graham since bats do carry diseases and can bother some students, but not in a violent matter. He thinks the best solution to the bat problem is to call animal control and get advice.
Vice president of student affairs Abbey Hardin believes the bats came because of Blackburn being located in a rural area, which can bring them into buildings. “We are surrounded by open fields on about half the campus and that creates all kinds of opportunities for wildlife. The lights of the building attracts bugs, the bugs attracts bats to feed and they managed to find their way into the building,” said Hardin. Hardin said she will let the director of physical plant Sam Harding figure out the best solution to getting rid of the bats.