First-year biology student Emersyn Hertzler woke up one morning in South Tower and noticed a substance on her roommate’s bed. A maintenance staff member came to inspect it but didn't confirm what the substance was.
When Hertzler and her roommate purchased and conducted their own mold test, it came back positive, she said. Now, she said she's worried the mold may affect her health.
Residents across multiple decades-old USC residence halls reported mold, utilities issues, insect infestations and maintenance problems during the fall 2025 semester, according to 41 students The Daily Gamecock interviewed. At the same time, USC's on-campus housing lacks enough beds to satisfy demand.
Enrollment is set to settle at about 40,000, according to USC President Michael Amiridis. USC has seen year-by-year increases in enrollment, resulting in housing shortages for students. Despite the plateau, on-campus housing demand will likely not decrease, according to Executive Director of USC Housing April Barnes.
Residence halls
The Daily Gamecock interviewed 41 residents from Capstone, Bates House, Bates West, Patterson, South Tower and Columbia Hall about their housing concerns. Constructed between the 1950s and 1970s, the residence halls house 3,017 of USC’s first-year students, according to USC Housing’s site.
Hertzler said maintenance came to briefly inspect her room and pointed out that the vent next to her roommate's bed looked clean. They then recommended that they move the bed away from the vent. Maintenance did not remove the substance from her roommate's bed and told her to call them back if it continues, Hertzler said.
"They went, 'The vent looks pretty clean,'" Hertzler said. "Then they went, 'Yeah it's because her bed's too close (to the vent), have a good day' and left."
In Capstone, four residents who live on its 13th floor said they saw what appeared to be mold in their hallway in early October. First-year business student Aidan Brady said he saw the same thing in his room in Bates House.
“There’s black little specks growing on the ceiling,” Brady said.
Residents of Bates House have pointed out what looks like mold growth on the ceilings of their rooms as well. First-year sports media student Tyler Harmon is one of them.
Harmon said he and his roommate have found what they believe to be mold inside their vents at Bates House. They have had to temporary leave their room on occasion because of it, Harmon said.
“Sometimes you have to leave for a day because your nose is kind of stuffed up,” Harmon said.
Emma Claire Williams, a first-year advertising student, said a wave of sickness hit other residents at Bates House during the first weeks of the semester, and some residents chose to leave temporarily. She said some residents are still sick and are concerned mold may be the cause.
"All the vents are just very moldy," Williams said. "Honestly, it can't be safe."
First-year sports media student Miles Knussman lives in Columbia Hall and has not encountered any of these problems himself, but he has heard of other students on his floor who have had problems with both mold and sickness.
"I've heard some people have problems with black mold in their rooms and getting sick because of that", Knussman said.
First-year advertising student Caleb Collins said he and his roommate discovered mold around the air-conditioning vents in their suite-style room. He said he plans to report the issue to USC Housing.
“There's some mold in both ... my room and ... in the bathroom too,” Collins said. “It's very humid in general, at least in my room. I don't know about anyone else, but it's a big problem.”
Three Bates West roommates said they discovered what appears to be mold on the ceiling of their bathroom. The ceiling has green spots on it, first-year biology student Reese Festa said.
“We're not quite sure if it's mold or if it's just staining,” Festa said. “Sometimes we feel headaches and stuff.”
Festa and her roomates said they haven’t reported the possible mold because they do not want to be moved out of Bates West.
Residents can report suspected mold to FIXX, USC's maintenance request system, and USC Housing will inspect it, according to USC Housing's site. USC Housing may move residents out of their room temporarily to another residence hall if mold is confirmed in it.Once the mold issue is resolved, the residents can return.
Some residents reported other problems in their rooms. In Capstone, first-year finance student Olivia Aretta said she had a cockroach infestation at the start of the school year and her room has some unclean areas. Aretta said Capstone is outdated.
“We had roaches for the first week, and the vents are really dusty,” Aretta said. “There’s no way to really clean it.”
First year pharmaceutical sciences student Corinna Martella lives in South Tower and said she has had issues with both bugs and mold in her room. Martella said that they were taken care of by maintenance.
"We did have a roach or two on our floor and black mold on some of our ceilings," Martella said.
In South Tower, first-year civil engineering student Graham Efird has not encountered any mold or insect infestations in his room but instead has had plumbing issues. Erfird also said he and his roommate have had problems with hot water and air-conditioning.
"Drains and sinks clog a ton, and our AC is always really janky", Efird said. "It'll either be like 50 or like 80."
The Daily Gamecock contacted University Spokesperson Collyn Taylor about residents' issues and concerns.
“USC takes mold and any other maintenance issues in its residence halls very seriously and have recently upgraded its maintenance management system to be more efficient and complete requests in an even more timely manner," Taylor wrote in a statement. "You can also go to USC Housing’s healthy living environment page for more tips."
The future
As residents report issues with their rooms, USC continues to struggle with on-campus housing demand. USC exceeded 40,000 students for the first time in 2025 with a freshman class of 7,829.
Lounges were converted into dorm rooms in the Campus Village One residence hall to accommodate more residents. Every available housing space is being used this semester, Barnes said.
A new residence hall for first-year students will be built where McBryde stands by 2028, and a wing will be added to the Honors College, according to a USC news release. The two additions fall under the same project called “The Sumter Street Developments,” according to the news release.
According to Taylor, USC plans to renovate multiple residents halls in which residents reported mold and other issues. Thornwell residence hall was renovated this semester to house students moved from McBryde before its demolition in 2026.
Another residence hall, Woodrow, is undergoing renovations, Barnes said. Both residence halls are located on the Horseshoe and will have suite-style rooms.
The next residence hall USC Housing wants to renovate is Capstone, Barnes said. Bates House and Bates West are under consideration for renovations as well, sometime before 2034, according to the USC Next master plan.
Multiple ideas are in play for the renovations, including renovating Bates House to have single occupant rooms. But demolition is not off the table, Barnes said.
Plans were previously in place to demolish both residence halls and replace them as part of the Campus Village development, Barnes said. USC Housing decided not to follow through with that plan, since the buildings are still usable.
Barnes said USC Housing wants to make on-campus housing more available to continuing students. On-campus housing shortages for continuing students has been an ongoing issue, she said. On-campus housing is convenient for students and often more affordable than off-campus, she said.
“There are a lot of newer … continuing student options out there,” Barnes said. “But sometimes they're very expensive, and so sometimes, we are also the affordable option.”
Continuing students often want to live on campus before studying abroad, but USC does not have enough beds available for them, Barnes said. Once housing demand is satisfied for first-year students, USC Housing will begin to focus on continuing students, Barnes said.
"I think that housing still has some catching up to do," Barnes said. "So when you look at our first-year class and the number of students, from our sophomores, juniors and seniors who want to live on campus, we are still short a number of beds."