Blaring fire alarms woke up residents of Muir Hall early Saturday morning. Crushed cans and empty bottles of alcoholic beverages littering the perimeter of Muir tell stories of an eventful St. Fratty’s morning. A morning leaving the hall in unlivable conditions and temporarily displacing around 300 residents.
President Armstrong sent an email to the campus community Saturday afternoon addressing damages to Muir Hall, Trinity Hall, Fremont Hall, Tenaya Hall, areas of the Yakʔitʸutʸu complex and property off campus early Saturday morning. Most of the damages occurred in Muir Hall, which was hit the hardest and temporarily closed following the damages.
For six hours, business administration freshman Samantha Elliot waited to enter her dorm on the second floor.
“It was a little crazy,” she said. “All the ceiling tiles were punched out and all over the floor, bathrooms were trashed and covered in food and everything.”
Around 10 a.m. Elliot said the fire alarm in Muir Hall went off and everyone headed outside. It was smokey from fire extinguishers, she said.
Around 11:30 a.m., they were allowed back in. But they were told they needed to evacuate due to the air quality from the ceiling panel dust.
Inside, broken ceiling tiles blanketed the second floor’s green carpet in grey soot. Elliot said the bathroom had remnants of Lucky Charms cereal from people getting ready earlier that morning.
Elliot and her peers grabbed belongings they thought they would need, though some people left their computer inside and were not allowed back inside for over six hours. They were not allowed back inside until around 6:30 p.m., according to Elliot.
University Housing emailed Muir residents at 12:50 p.m. that the dorm was “temporarily closed.”
“It’s also so frustrating because no one in our dorm is the one doing the damages, because we’re now going to have to pay for all this,” Elliot said.
Elliot was unsure of her sleeping situation for the night, like many other residents. She was preparing to sleep at her friend’s dorms or in her guest’s car after getting evacuated.
“If that basic respect is too much to ask of some of you, then this university is not the right fit for you,” President Armstrong said in his campus-wide email following the damages at South Mountain Residence Hall.
Biomedical Engineering junior Makenna Blackburn shared a TikTok following the condition of Muir and Tenaya after the damages. Blackburn’s three TikTok’s about the damages, under the user @kennakaylin, received over 7.4 million views combined.
Initially, Blackburn posted the state of the halls, captioning the post, “Bad day to live in Muir and Tenaya.” Many in the comments shared their resentment for the perpetrators’ rowdy behavior.
“Cal Poly kids have the rep they have for a reason,” user Emma Jane responded to the TikTok.
“Insanely disrespectful,” she added.
A GoFundMe was shared early Tuesday morning in response to the damages. User Sarah Valdez started a fundraiser for Muir residents reading “We are writing to you with a profound sense of dismay and urgency following the devastating events that transpired during Cal Poly’s annual St. Fratties Day celebration.”
Blackburn shared the GoFundMe on TikTok, highlighting a section of the summary discussing the role of residential advisors.
“Despite the presence of Resident Advisors (RAs), who are entrusted with ensuring our safety and well-being, nothing was done to halt the vandalism. This lack of intervention left us feeling abandoned and vulnerable, with no recourse to protect our home from the senseless damage inflicted upon it,” the fundraiser read, receiving backlash from residential advisors in the comments section.
“The RAs are not the police and they are not your mommy,” one Fremont RA said, who requested to remain anonymous as speaking to the media violates their contracts and they fear retaliation from the university.
They added, “Grow up and take responsibility.”
The GoFundMe estimated around $400 in charges per student. This has not been confirmed by University Housing.
Mechanical Engineering freshman Ian Kaabi was evacuated following the events of severe dorm damages.
“I didn’t really realize how bad it was until I woke up and got kicked out of my room,” Kaabi said.
Many were left frustrated with the lack of proper provisions from University Housing while waiting nearly half the day to return to their rooms.
According to the email sent to Muir residents, “University Housing opened a Community Support Center in yakʔitʸutʸu, Room 134 to provide residential support and water, snacks and toiletries until Muir Hall is reopened.”
“I haven’t had too many problems like this,” Kaabi said, after being denied entrance to gather his stuff from his room well into the afternoon. “But this is really frustrating as our finals are coming up. I need to study. We’ve had like, early mornings and late nights. We’re all tired.”
Kaabi was one among many students left stranded outside– others dwelling over the possibility of not being able to return to sleep that night at all, frustration mounting among the displaced students.
Business administration freshman Dylan Stinton anticipated reentry to gather his belongings, but was also turned away. He found out about the closures around noon and was worried about the timeframe of repairs based on all the damages he heard about throughout the night.
“I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to stay the night in my dorm,” Stinton said.
Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Yukie Murphy was manning the entrance of the resident hall, stationed with a team working to repair the dorm damages as soon as possible.
Murphy said the team was working hard to fix things and make sure students can return when approached by Mustang News early Saturday evening inquiring about the dorm damages.
The team working to repair the damages cautioned students of coming inside due to the toxic air the cement tile damages produced and provided water bottles for the residents who came by throughout the day. However, most residents were turned away, even after asking for necessities like electronics to study for finals or device chargers.
“The people inside of Muir during the time of reconstruction were custodial, trades, security and university employees,” Murphy later confirmed in an email to Mustang News.
Students trying to enter their rooms were instructed to show their Poly Card IDs, state their door number and share what they wanted to collect from their rooms. They were then verified as residents and were either escorted to gather their things, or told to come back later.
Business administration freshman Evan Nguyen was frustrated with the lack of communication from University Housing regarding the situation. Nguyen mentioned plans to travel the next morning to Oregon for a commitment and was asked to return to the hall when it was reopened instead of being able to pack for his trip.
“I tried to get my stuff because I have a flight tomorrow. They won’t let me in. Someone tried to get their wallet earlier. They won’t let anyone in,” Nguyen said.
Flying out of Orange County the next morning at 8 a.m., he was worried about not having enough time to pack.
“They’re not really understanding at all,” he said.
He added, “I mean, I guess like, rightfully so that they could like they’re supposed to be angry because like a bunch of students really just destroyed the building, but I wish like they were a little more understanding on our part for the people that actually didn’t break anything.”
Nguyen mentioned that he and his roommate, Kaabi, went to the block party to check out the tradition as freshmen but were not responsible for any of the damages. Upon returning to their dorms to sleep, they were awoken by the alarms and their Residential Advisor kicking them out.
“We just left and we broke no tiles, nothing. And obviously, they’re gonna assume everyone did something because like, we’re all students and whatnot, but it’s really frustrating,” he said, while he and his roommate waited on the outdoor lawn area by Muir Hall.
University Housing has extensive protocol to mitigate issues such as this one happening. They have an outside vendor providing security and monitoring activity on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, according to according to Nona Matthews, Assistant Director of Outreach & Communications at University Housing.
Damages like these regularly become charges on student portals when investigations into the cause of the damage are unsuccessful. Incidents of vandalism are reported to the Cal Poly Police Department (CPPD) and investigated by the Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities (OSRR). If this investigation leads to a resident being found responsible, that resident is charged in accordance with the Housing Fee Schedule.
When individual liability is not determined and each resident is charged the repair cost divided by the number of residents on the floor or in the building or community.
“When students sign up for housing, they agree to be jointly responsible for damage to common areas if individual liability cannot be determined,” Matthews said. This policy is noted in the 2023-2024 Student Housing & Dining License agreement, specifically in Section 7d, Maintenance of Premises and Liability and Section 19d, “Conditions, Disclosures and Compliance,” which address the licensee’s role in taking action, including notifying University Housing, if they are aware of any policy violations, maintenance, repairs, etc.
Additionally, to ensure safety and to hold students accountable for such damages, Resident Advisors perform nightly community walks in all residential communities.
“When students sign up for housing, they agree to be jointly responsible for damage to common areas if individual liability cannot be determined,” Matthews said in an email to Mustang News. “Most of the damage this year is occurring in our residence halls, primarily in South Mountain halls, and one of our apartment buildings.”
The damages in the South Mountain residence halls come as no surprise – historically, these residence halls tend to have the most damages which consist of primarily include “broken or missing ceiling tiles and exit signs; wall and window damage; graffiti; broken sinks; missing plumbing fixtures, dispensers and fire and safety equipment; tampering with fire extinguishers; and improper trash disposal,” according to Matthews.
The damages of Muir Hall primarily consisted of broken ceiling tiles, which led to its closure to conduct safety assessments and cleanup of damaged areas. Still, most residents anticipated the reopening of their dorms to rest after a long day.
Nguyen was one of the few who were asked to come back once the building reopened to gather his things. Well into the afternoon, he was still anticipating the return to his dorm.
“They’re pretty firm. And they’re just like, just go do something while you wait. And it’s like literally been the entire day,” he said.
Students were allowed re-entry to their dorms on Saturday evening, after the damages were fixed. Muir resident and psychology freshman Delia Schraner confirmed residents were let back in around 6:30 P.M.
“When we got back in it kind of just looked how it would on a regular day. All the ceiling tiles were picked up,” she said.
As of Tuesday, Schraner said residents still have not received information about how much the damages cost.
A 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, an otherwise festive school-wide tradition quickly turned into a public safety hazard.
Adorned in glittering clothing and sporting leprechaun paraphernalia, the residents of Muir Hall were left stranded for hours, slowly leaving their otherwise festive moods behind.
Update: March 21, 7:00 p.m.
As of Wednesday, March 20, Delia Schraner said residents have not received information about how much the damages cost.
A University Housing email sent Saturday evening introduced new rules to Muir residents. Until the end of the quarter, Muir residents were asked to observe 24/7 quiet hours.
“Muir Hall has been reopened. You can now return to your rooms,” the email said.
The email further wrote visitors are strictly prohibited, with access to the building limited to the front main entrance. Additionally, alcohol is not allowed and violations of this rule will lead to disciplinary action.
“When we got back in it kind of just looked how it would on a regular day,” Schraner said. “All the ceiling tiles were picked up.”
Residents received a second email from University Housing Tuesday afternoon with more directions.
“All of this was unnecessary,” the email read. “When your guests cause damage, you create an unsafe environment for all, including the staff cleaning up.”
University officials are working to find those responsible for the damages, the email sent Tuesday added. Until then, residents were asked to submit online reports through video and photo to help identify those responsible.
Mustang News will continue to update this article as new information arises.
Elizabeth Wilson contributed to the reporting on this article.
Correction: This article has been updated at 2:31 p.m. to correct a misspelled word.