Beginning today more than 200 St. Mary’s College of Maryland students began moving into a temporary and highly unusual home for the rest of the semester. Displaced by mold in two of the college’s dorms, and moved temporarily into motel rooms, the students will be living on the Sea Voyager, a cruise ship that pulled into the St. Mary’s River this weekend and which is now docked next to the Dove at Historic St. Mary’s City’s wharf.
Mold was discovered in several campus locations when students returned in September. But according to college vice president Chip Jackson consultants recommended remediation in two dorms, Prince George’s and Caroline. Jackson explained at a press conference Monday morning that the cause of the mold is as yet undetermined, possibly the result of Hurricane Irene. He said the insulation around pipes in the ceilings failed.
This will be a costly project for the college. Housing, including the motel rooms and transportation, and now the boat rental, will cost $1.5 million that will come from the college’s contingency fund. Cost of mold remediation will exceed $1 million, to come from the college’s plant fund.
College President Dr. Joseph Urgo said. “The Sea Voyager restores our campus community. Many of our students live virtually on the water – as sailors, as crew members, kayakers, swimmers and dunkers.”
Urgo noted the Juxtaposition of the side by side replica of the Dove that brought settlers to the new world in 1634 and the gigantic by comparison cruise ship. He added, “As well this shore marks the spot where St. Mary’s students for generations, beginning in 1840, arrived on campus aboard steamboats, steamboats on which the Voyager is modeled, and walked up the hill to Calvert Hall where they, and students to this day, live and study.”
A college alumnus knew that the Voyager was for sale and sailing from New England to Virginia and informed Urgo. He said the cost to rent the ship and the crew was similar to housing the students in motels and transporting them back and forth every day.
Jackson said the two dorms should be ready for re-occupying when the students return in January. Even if they are ready before, Urgo said the boat has been rented through the end of the semester to minimize disruption.
In the meantime Jackson assured the local community that the St. Mary’s River will be protected and there will be no discharge – gray water and waste will be pumped out.
Historic St. Mary’s City Executive Director Regina Faden joined Urgo for the press conference. She said it is a place of firsts in Maryland, and added, “And now we can add another to the list. This is the first time the City has hosted a floating residence hall.”
