When Giselle Spurlock moved into Morgan View in August 2022, she initially expected to live with three roommates but the unexpected company she didn’t plan for were mice.
“We’ve seen mice on the stove, in the cabinets and in the living room,” said Spurlock, a senior. “Maintenance gives us peppermint oil or sets traps, but the mice continue to come back.”
Spurlock, a psychology major, said the situation has added stress while balancing school and housing responsibilities.
“We’re paying thousands to live here,” she said. “We just want to feel comfortable in our space.”
Students at Morgan View, an off-campus apartment complex partnered with Morgan State University, say ongoing issues with mold, mice and maintenance have raised concerns about their living conditions.
Several residents said they have experienced recurring problems over the past few years, prompting questions about building maintenance and management response.
Morgan View is owned by Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO), though a 2018 Spokesman article indicated that the property was managed by American Campus Communities.
Morgan View management declined multiple requests for comment and declined interview requests on two separate occasions from The Spokesman.
In a written response, Kenyatta Bender, a Morgan View management representative, said: “After further discussion with my supervisors, we have decided not to move forward with an interview at this time.”
Darius Mosley, a member of the university’s football team, said an exterminator sealed a hole in his bathroom wall and placed traps in the unit, but he and his roommates continue to monitor the situation.
“When my family visits, I want them to feel comfortable,” said Mosley, a sophomore transfer student. “We shouldn’t be living like this.”
Adorain Favors, who, like Mosley is on the Morgan football team, said he and his roommates have dealt with mice in recent months.
“Every week we’re catching another one,” said Favors, a junior transfer student. “It’s an ongoing issue.”
He said the conditions raise concerns about sanitation.
“I’m eating clean and training hard,” he said. “But I’m coming home to mice droppings in the kitchen.”
Nia Burston, who graduated in December , said she first noticed issues during her freshman year.
“At first I thought maybe people just aren’t cleaning,” Burston said. “But then I realized it wasn’t about cleaning, it was the building.”
Burston said she identified cracks and gaps around her kitchen sink that allowed rodents to enter the cabinetry. She also said a leaking faucet caused the wood beneath the sink to deteriorate.
“They fixed it once, and then it broke again,” said Burston after a maintenance worker left an access panel unlocked.
“I opened it and saw dark spots,” she said. “I was concerned about what I had been breathing in.”
Burston said maintenance staff cleaned the vent with bleach, but she remained unsure whether the underlying issue had been resolved.
Burston said she later experienced headaches, nausea and brief episodes of visual changes, though she said she did not receive a medical diagnosis linking the symptoms to her apartment.
“It scared me,” she said. “I shouldn’t feel unsafe in my own apartment.”
