Residents of University Village building 707 have been left scrambling to adjust following the collapse of the structure’s balcony that occurred early Saturday morning.
MU spokesman Christian Basi said there are approximately 18 people who lived in the affected building. All of them have since been transferred to alternate housing locations in hotels, Residential Life facilities or other apartment complexes.
“We have been working with all of the students who were in the building when the collapse occurred, and we have secured alternate housing for them based on their specific needs,” Basi said. “Some of them are in hotels, others are staying in other residential facilities and some asked for specifically an apartment setting. We were able to fulfill all of those requests.”
In addition to this help, Basi said MU provided the displaced residents with gift cards so they could purchase any necessary items Saturday because they were unable to get into their apartments immediately following the incident.
“We are taking care of any extra costs that were incurred due to the collapse,” Basi said. “That also includes food and any temporary items that they might have needed immediately following the collapse. It’s my understanding that nearly all of the residents were able to get back into their homes several hours following the collapse.”
Resident Ghazwan Alwan, a graduate student who has lived with his wife in University Village building 707 since the start of this semester, said he was awoken by the sound of a loud crash around 4:15 a.m. Saturday. At that point, he said, the walkway outside of his room had already partially fallen down.
“After the firefighters and police came, one firefighter walked on this specific walkway, and the second collapse happened, and he fell down,” he said. “They smashed some windows, took out the frames and took everyone out the back of the building.”
Alwan said he has no intention of continuing to live in university housing but that the collapse is not the only reason. He said that one week after he and his wife had moved in, their apartment was evacuated due to high levels of carbon monoxide. He sent in an application to transfer on the very first day he moved in.
“(MU’s Department of Residential Life) called me and asked me if I wanted to transfer this time to another apartment,” he said. “I told them, ‘No, because I don’t feel safe with you.’ ”
Basi said the university is taking a case-by-case approach to how it handles contract negotiations with the affected residents.
“We are working with residents and making sure that all of their needs are taken care of,” he said.
Alwan said MU has treated the affected residents well since the incident. He said he and his wife have been staying in the Hilton Garden Inn near Memorial Stadium since Saturday and their search for a new apartment has already begun.
“I think I found a good apartment, but I have to consider the proximity of the new apartment because I don’t have a car,” Alwan said.
Alwan said he has one hope for ResLife throughout this entire situation.
“I just hope that they will take care of the students better,” he said.
Graduate student Adriana Boersner Herrera, another University Village building 707 resident who lived on the second floor, said she was not in her apartment when the incident occurred, but she received a phone call early Saturday during which she was asked if she was OK.
“Now, I am looking for a new apartment,” she said. “(MU) offered me a transfer to other university buildings or even another apartment in the same group of residences at University Village. I do not feel safe being in these buildings. Other residents have the same fear.”
Boersner Herrera said her main reason for not wanting to continue living at University Village is the fear of another incident similar to the collapse.
“The building where I lived in University Village is not safe,” she said. “I have no guarantee that another incident will not happen living there.”
Despite those fears, Boersner Herrera said MU has been helping her find an apartment off campus and offered help with monetary expenses for medication and food.
“I am hoping I can move my stuff from the apartment elsewhere,” she said. “Getting a place to live off campus is not easy, but I will continue trying. Fortunately, I had the support of friends. I have been staying with friends until the situation is solved.”
Boersner Herrera said the old age of the University Village building was visible when she initially decided to move in.
“My interest on these apartments is because they are university residences, and at the time of the contract, the maintenance policies made me feel comfortable to move there,” she said.
The immediate future of the affected building and the ones surrounding it remains unclear.
“We’re still waiting to determine what the short-term plan is for the buildings in University Village,” Basi said.