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Students Move Into Cruise Ship Dormitory

By: Bryan Russo // October 28, 2011
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Poop deck, or common room? About 200 students at St. Mary's College of Maryland are moving into the rooms of this cruise ship because a severe mold problem is affecting their dormitories.
Poop deck, or common room? About 200 students at St. Mary's College of Maryland are moving into the rooms of this cruise ship because a severe mold problem is affecting their dormitories.

Usually, college is no vacation. But students at one Maryland college will be spending the remainder of the semester on a cruise.

St. Mary's College is struggling to fix a mold problem that has invaded several dorms on campus. This weekend, the school is set to move approximately 200 students to their new home: a cruise ship docked beside campus.

College President Joe Urgo says the 300-foot cruise ship, named the Sea Voyager, will likely remain until the end of the semester and will cost about the same as putting the students up in hotels.

Hundreds of other students have already moved to local hotels or other rooms around campus. 

The college says damp conditions that started with Hurricane Irene and persistent rains are to blame for the mold. Some molds have the potential to cause health difficulties that range from allergic reactions to neurological damage.

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