Dioxin Dorms Blog :: SUNY New Paltz

SORRY this reply took two weeks, not overnight as planned. But that’s the way this issue sometimes goes: in fits and starts. I’ll have more news at the end of the reply about some developments on campus and how to get involved.

On Sept. 9, a parent wrote to the Parents’ Forum:

“My daughter lived in Gage last year and is a resident again this year. This is the first I have ever heard about the PCB and dioxin issue and I find this very concerning. Why were students and parents never made aware of this situation, even if it was ‘under control’ by New Paltz? I have signed forms in the past where I was made aware that lead paint was used in a building but had been removed. Why is this any different?”

Correct: it’s not any different; but the stakes are higher, and this is a scandal that has not been rectified. Lead was a “minor” issue for many years until the collective brain of the American public decided it was a serious issue; now it’s big news. Chemicals, however, still have a good image (they make all our Western world goodness possible), or their image is so tainted that everyone realizes that sooner or later, one of ‘em is gonna getcha.

However, what we need to come to grips with is that what’s happening at New Paltz is fraud. In other words, someone is consciously misrepresenting the truth, from a position of authority, and someone inclined to give them credibility falls for it; and, the kicker, they are hurt by the lie.

Now, most students living in Bliss, Capen, Gage or Scudder (BCGS) don’t know they’re hurt; they deny it; it’s a rumor that’s probably not true, etc. Or, they know it’s true deep down, but feel powerless to do anything about it. But the fact remains: they are being lied to, and hurt as a result of those lies.

The parent continues:

“Last year my daughter always had a bad cough and went to the health center on campus numerous times to determine the cause. Doctors there said it might be allergies and gave her some medicine. It didn’t go away and they suspected whopping cough, gave her some medicine and never got better. This cycle continued at the health center for the entire year. Every time my daughter would come home though her cough was pretty much non-existent and we assumed she was just getting better. This year, her cough has already come back and now I hear of this PCB accident that occurred on campus.”

She asks what to do. The answer, according to our resident epidemiologist, is to get out before the symptoms become permanent. They sound like they’re getting close to permanent; and such visible symptoms typically come with a level of systemic damage deeper in the body that cannot be seen without special tests.

But the point is not the tests; nobody can legitimately doubt that PCBs and dioxins are in those dorms. They are there; we all agree, including the State of New York. It just comes down to the opinion of certain scientists who are hired by the state who say it’s safe. That does not make it safe.

When we hear about this issue and think about it coherently for five minutes, it’s heroic to think that we might want to do something and save everyone and shut down the buildings. What you really need to do is get your daughter out of there. Then let’s save the world.

Speaking of saving the world, I’ve heard that Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) is meeting to discuss PCBs in the Honors Center in College Hall at 8 pm on Thursday, Sept. 27.

Monday night, there is a meeting of something called the Council of Organizations that will take up the issue as a coalition. I don’t have the exact data on that meeting, but there’s time to check The Oracle or a Student Association meeting agenda.

– Eric Francis, Kingston, NY

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