A Rough Step Into a New Semester

by Hannah Bell

Historic buildings are no sparsity at the University of Montevallo. Stepping onto campus is almost like taking a step back in time. Following the cobblestone bricks to the center of campus, you will find yourself standing outside Hanson Hall. Named after Weenona Hanson, this nationally recognized historic building is filled with charming hints to its rich history.

Hanson Hall

When you walk inside the building you are greeted by an archway entrance to a white columned lobby. Go a little further to the left and you’ll reach the rooms with carved antique doors. Featured inside the rooms are crown molding and floor molding as well as hardwood floors.
   
While many residents find these features beautiful, one resident’s recent experience has changed her mind. When classes resumed on Jan. 13, sophomore Paris Nelson returned to her Hanson room after class. While she was walking to her closet, she caught her foot on a piece of wood that had chipped up from her floor.
   
Nelson went to the campus nurse to examine her foot. They both thought they had removed the entire piece of wood. The nurse sent Nelson away with crutches, advising her to return if she saw any signs of infection. A few days later, infection set in and Nelson went to a doctor at Urgent Care who attempted to remove the remaining wood.

Paris Nelson holds the splinter next to the patch of floor where her foot caught it.

“My foot just never seemed to get better,” Nelson said, “and I was really confused because it had been two weeks and it was still hurting, and it still hurt to walk on. So after reopening the wound, three or four days later after soaking it with hot water and soap, an inch and a half of wood came out of my foot.”

When Nelson stepped on the wood piece, she went to her residents’ assistant to find out which steps to take next. The RA advised her to fill out a work order so the physical plant could repair the floor and prevent another similar incident.

Olivia Ricks, an RA on the second floor of Hanson Hall, advises all students in residence halls at Montevallo to inform their RAs of any problems they encounter. “I find that usually when we have a resident that has had a very bad experience, it is partly because of miscommunication. Maybe they waited until the end of the year to tell that there was a problem,” she says.

Although Nelson had a difficult time navigating campus on crutches for the first few weeks of class, she has found a way to use her story to help others. “I realized how inaccessible the campus can be sometimes is when I was on crutches and when I couldn’t get around very well,” she says. She will be advocating for better campus accessibility through her persuasion classes this semester.