Out of the many emails received by Cornellians each day, residents of Cascadilla Hall were likely not expecting the one that arrived in their inboxes on Thursday: several large bottles of urine had been discovered in the trash, prompting a stern warning from housing staff.
Because of health concerns, regular building care staff cannot dispose of the bottles. Instead, Cornell Residential Staff has to contract a service to dispose of the bodily fluids.
The email cites a section of the building’s house rules, which state that “the storage of bodily fluids is prohibited in residential communities. Bodily fluids must be disposed of in the proper waste removal system.”
If Cascadilla residents continue to violate House Rules, “the entire Cascadilla community will be assessed the costs associated with this contracted service.”
Residential staff are prohibited from commenting on matters regarding their position. Vernon Miller, the Area Coordinator for South Campus who sent the email, also declined to comment.
Several residents of Cascadilla Hall shared their thoughts on the news.
“I personally have never seen it,” said Taylor Owens ’22. “But it doesn’t surprise me.”
There have been other episodes of misconduct within the dormitory as well.
“A few weeks ago, people weren’t flushing the toilet either,” Owens said.
“Upon hearing of the recent developments, I was initially shocked,” said Matthew Lewis ’22. “However, I am not that surprised as we have had problems with people shaving and clogging the shower stalls.”
Suspicion surrounds video game players who engage in long gaming sessions, students said. Rather than getting up to use the restroom, they use the bottles on the spot.
“I don’t have much to offer but I can say this,” said Dylan Young ’22 in a message to The Sun. “I’ve been on the fourth floor of Cascadilla and I’ve heard loud Fortnite sounds coming from some room down there. And occasionally, I’ve seen some guy with gaming headphones carrying bottles.”
“I just assumed it was gamer fuel or Mountain Dew or something like that,” Young added.
But it appears that the suspect may have already been apprehended.
“It happened on the third floor,” said Rina Peterson ’22, a resident of the same floor. “The roommate turned him in, and maintenance knew.”
“Cornell’s Housing & Residential Life team are working to bring awareness to the Cascadilla community about these incidents in order to ensure the safety and well-being of our colleagues and community members,” wrote Robert King, the director of Residential Life, in an email to The Sun.