In Flagstaff, students at Northern Arizona University are facing a genuine bat problem. A spokesperson for NAU confirmed a bat tested positive for rabies after being captured in Mountain View Hall back in September. Despite efforts to manage the situation, recent discoveries of more bats have resulted in the decision to move all residents out of the affected dorm to nearby apartments. This move, while intended to preserve student health and facilitate a permanent resolution, has garnered criticism from parents over the school's handling of the infestation.
Amidst concerns that the response was too slow, Erik Francis, a parent of an NAU freshman, expressed his dismay at the university's reaction time. "The fact that it had to take a bat getting into a dorm room, getting captured, getting tested, for them to take more active responsive measures. That is the issue we have," Francis told ABC15.
Further frustrations were aired concerning the way students were informed about the evacuation. According to 12News, students learned of the requirement to move out not through official channels but via residence assistants. "A campus assistant, called a resident assistant, they informed them, pack a bag for five to seven days, you’re moving out, we’re not coming back, they’re shutting down the dorm," said Francis.
The move challenges the nascent sense of community among students. "So these kids are all upheaved, they don’t know where they are going to live, they don’t know who they are going to room with, they are probably just going to randomly possible put them with someone and these kids have gotten to know each other, not even just from moving in but they were connecting before they moved in and now all those relationships are basically disrupted," Francis explained to 12News.
Although no illnesses related to the bats have been reported, some students took precautionary rabies vaccines. NAU asserts that they have worked closely with Coconino County Health and Human Services since the discovery of the first bat.
