On Friday, November 17, 2023, the shutdown of Poe Hall began. 152 cases of cancer have so far been reported by students and staff who attended classes in the building. The university is undergoing their own investigation on the building but new updates bring some new controversy for the school.
This past month, former grad student Darren Maiser announced that he was suing the school due to his cancer diagnosis. In his lawsuit, he is accusing the university of altering some of the evidence in Poe Hall to slow down the investigation process and hide relevant information as to why there are cancer-causing chemicals in the building.
Chancellor Woodson spoke on the matter with WRAL about the updates on Poe Hall, saying, “We’re doing the right thing.” Despite these claims, the university stands accused of a lack of communication with the student body, unnecessary and inefficient research, and an unwillingness to take accountability for their actions. Many students, and even federal agencies have reached out asking about the situation and all have reached dead ends.
The WRAL interviewer asked why the university wasn’t responding back and Woodson responded, “I’m not the one to say anything on that.” He repeatedly tried to not answer some of the questions asked. “Testing will be done by the end of April,” he said. It is the beginning of May and research is still being done with no updates to the public.
Many students and staff have been affected by the closure and by the rate at which the university is going, many incoming students might be affected as well. Many lectures and offices have had to be relocated, with the university estimating 230 classes moved to different buildings for over 4,000 students. Chandler Mason, a incoming education major for NCSU’s Class of 2028, shares her thoughts about next year and the building: “Of course it would be intriguing to work in a building that correlates with my major, but with the closure, it’s sad to know I won’t have that experience my first year. I’m glad they are taking the right measures and since they closed the building I won’t have to risk my health.”
Dr. Robin Anderson, a math education professor also spoke on the matter, “Everything is very controversial that I don’t really have an opinion on what’s happening at the moment.”
Since the lawsuit, a judge ruled that private investigators are now allowed to enter the university and conduct their own research. The Cat Talk spoke with Alisha Coffee, a former employer at EI Solution Works, who is doing research on the hall. She shared information on what she has heard from the company, saying, “PCBs can be found in the lighting and Poe Hall had recently been remodeled with new lighting on the 3-7 floors.”
She later explains how the company did research on the lighting but had found no sign of PCBs, which are highly carcinogenic compounds. “They hadn’t found anything, but Poe Hall was also undergoing reconstruction and caulking around the building had the PCBs.”
This a tragic event for the university. It is possible that if the chemicals causing the cancer are in the caulk, the whole building might need to be reconstructed. The hall is still undergoing research and more updates will hopefully be out soon.
