Students are raising concerns about how the university’s third-party housing is handling the virus as Arizona State University enters its ninth month of coronavirus safety protocols.
ASU students living at Roosevelt Point, a short distance from the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus have expressed concerns about poor hygiene in the building and a surprising amount of residents not wearing masks.
Center for Disease Control coronavirus guidelines, which ASU has committed to following, recommends masking in public and common spaces and avoiding large gatherings, especially indoors.
While some students are content with university health protocol, others still feel like not enough has been done to keep them safe.
Since the start of the fall semester in August, there have been 3,053 positive cases among students and 195 among staff. Some students, like sophomore Kylie Cox attribute these numbers to poor safety practices which they have witnessed in their residential buildings throughout the semester.
According to some residents at Roosevelt Point, people have been seen congregating in each other’s apartments without masks or proper social distancing.
“I see people without masks and having parties often,” Cox said.
Gatherings like these, which contribute to the spread of COVID-19, have reportedly been occurring at Roosevelt Point.
Many residents, including Cox, are concerned as to why university housing staff hasn’t made an effort to contain these interactions.
While Roosevelt Point is not part of ASU–it’s managed by development company Greystar–the university does have a partnership with Roosevelt Point and students can rent their apartments there through the university.
Management at Roosevelt Point attempted to distance themselves from ASU and said that the apartment complex is not affiliated with any university.
But when Roosevelt Point apartments became available for students through ASU’s housing portal, Matt Burkett, the regional property manager for Roosevelt Point told Downtown Devil, “Students will get the opportunity to live in purpose-built student housing that is within walking distance to campus and do so through the university… We are pleased with our partnership with ASU.”
The university has touted its commitment to COVID-19 safety, but they declined to be interviewed about this story and instead issued a statement.
“The university has worked closely with students, student organizations, residence hall community assistants, off-campus student housing administrators, and with campus adjacent businesses who count ASU students and faculty among its customers to provide health protocol information and support in managing COVID-19 during the fall semester,” a university spokesperson said.
University housing also declined to comment, and stated that Community Assistants (CAs) employed through ASU who work at Roosevelt Point would also be unable to comment.
Meanwhile, students like sophomore Lex Weber are not feeling safe from COVID-19 at Roosevelt Point.
“I don’t think Roosevelt Point in general has committed to any sort of cleaning or anything,” Weber said. “Their staff also is fairly lenient with wearing masks.”
Both Weber and Cox noted a lack of safety protocol enforcement from Roosevelt Point staff.
“It kind of makes me feel like I’m just left on my own to take as many safety measures as I can,” Weber said.
Some students, like sophomore Tahnee Klewicki were not as concerned about Roosevelt Point’s COVID-19 safety measures.
“For the most part I do see everyone wearing masks and keeping socially distanced,” Klewicki said. She said she feels relatively safe at Roosevelt Point, “my residence is apartment style so I have everything I need, and all the common areas are closed.”
Residents like Weber reported seeing less people partying since Roosevelt Point closed their pools in early November. According to management, the pools are only closed for maintenance.
Resident services manager for Greystar, Gilbert Bujanda, encouraged residents to reach out to him if they have concerns.
Contact the reporter at wdcampbe@asu.edu.
