USM’s Hattiesburg Hall houses more than 60 residents but, according to some students, lacks convenient garbage disposal areas.
Hattiesburg Hall is located on the central east side of campus.
Hilawe Tibebe, a junior at USM who lives in Hattiesburg Hall, said his dorm did not have a place to dispose of trash.
“There’s no trash can on my floor, there’s no trash can on the other floor, there’s no trash can in the lobby,” Tibebe said. “The nearest one is like half a mile—Wilbur Hall.”
Tibebe said he had been relying on friends to help him manage his trash.
“Usually, I just call one of my friends who has a car, I’ll pile it up in their car, and we’ll drive to the dumpster and do it that way,” Tibebe said.
He said the garbage disposal situation had changed since his first year on campus.
“When I resided here my freshman year, I had a trashcan in my bathroom and a trash room on each floor,” Tibebe said. “There are so many locked doors and rooms on each floor [of Hattiesburg Hall] that could be utilized as a trash room.”
After being contacted, Teresa Crum, executive director of housing at USM, provided clarification.
“Each building or community has their own dedicated areas for dumpsters. Students are given this information at their first-floor meeting by the Resident Assistant,” Crum said. “General information about disposing of trash in outside dumpsters near the building is in the resident handbook found on our website.”
A poll of 131 USM dorm students found that 54 reported not having trash disposal areas near their dorms, while 77 said they did.
Crum shared the designated dumpster locations for each residential building:
Cedarbrook: Dumpster next to the last apartment building.
Hattiesburg Hall: Fenced area immediately out back of the building; students can drop trash from the back steps.
Wilber Hall: Two dumpsters adjacent to the laundry building out back.
McCarty Hall: Two dumpsters behind the building at the back of the parking lot.
Hillcrest Hall: Two dumpsters behind the building on the northwest corner.
Scott Hall, Vann Hall, Luckyday: Share a large trash compactor behind the buildings in the alley.
Central Park North 1-4: Share a large trash compactor behind the buildings on the service road.
The Village and Scholarship: Two dumpsters in the gated parking lot behind the houses.
The Row: Multiple dumpsters that service the houses.
Crum said trash pick-up occurs at least once a week.
Though each residential building has dumpster access, some students remain unaware of the locations and continue to express frustration.
After being informed where to dispose of his trash, Tibebe said there should be clearer signage.
“They really should put a sign up saying: ‘This is the general trash area where we will come pick up your trash,’” Tibebe said.
For housing questions, email [email protected] or call (601) 266-4783.
