The South Florida mother of an Florida State University students says she's spent thousands of dollars dealing with a mold problem that had her daughter sleeping at a hotel during finals week.
"It's a nightmare because we're here. We're eight hours away, we can't help her," Teresa Salemi said.
Salemi's daughter, Gabriella, is a freshman at FSU. She says about two weeks into her first semester living at Smith Hall she started feeling sick.
"She kept complaining about sore throats, feeling fluish, and respiratory problems, but I thought it was just the normal getting a cold, back to school," Salemi said.
But in November, a friend that lived in the same dorm told her she discovered all her clothes covered in mold. Gabriella checked her room and sent pictures to her mom.
"The entire closet was full of mold in the back and it was on her clothing and her shoes," Salemi said.
Other students sent NBC 6 photos of the conditions at Smith Hall. They say the mold got much worse after they returned from winter break.
Local
"The whole building was filled with mold. It was in the elevators, on the floor, it was on the rooms, on the wall," one student said.
FSU released a statement that says in part: "The university’s Environmental Health and Safety Department followed up, checking the entire hall, and deemed it safe.”
"They just keep reiterating the fact that we have a financial commitment to the dorm. They have no concern for my daughter's health or the other students," Salemi said.
For now Salemi has moved her daughter to an off-campus apartment and she says FSU won't reimburse her for the cost of the dorm. She said the family is considering taking legal action.
