The ants go marching into the dorms, hurrah, hurrah. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, news of SFUAD’s infamous ant problem has probably either reached your ears or affected you personally. Students from all over campus, ranging from the Mountain View apartments to the dorms have reported issues with ants swarming into their rooms, creating a health issue and uncomfortable living situations. The ants in question are sugar ants and don’t bite or pose a significant threat, but are attracted by food and sweets. Students had reported ants living in droves under dorm mini-fridges and finding their way into rooms via doors, windows and cracks. “If you’re not being proactive, putting out stuff to get rid of them, it can get pretty bad really fast,” says student Marisa Doherty. “You have to monitor it, you just can’t leave out dirty dishes or they’ll come.” Doherty, a Creative Writing student who currently lives in St. Mike’s B Wing, has experienced huge issues with the ants and has taken to Student Life to try and get the administration to deal with the problem. “I’m not super into complaining on Facebook, but at that point I was so done I needed someone to pay attention and help me figure it out,” she says. Doherty says she wasn’t sure the school was responding to her work orders because she sometimes didn’t find notes that said Facilities had been there to deal with the issue. Even though the school sprays by her building and room, Doherty has needed to employ her own methods of prevention. “I lined the walls with diatomaceous earth, which is an insecticide used in gardens,” she says. “It’s worked best at keeping them out.” She’s also used Raid, but says diatomaceous earth is better...

Starting in freshman orientation, SFUAD students are told who to contact in case of emergencies and constantly reminded afterward. They are given stickers with security’s contact information and shown where their offices are. After a while, the guards become recognizable and familiar. They offer to walk students back to their dorms after late night classes, jump start cars and even help change tires. Several weeks ago, Rio Finnegan, a film major at SFUAD, got to test just how helpful the security could be, when his wheelchair broke down near Carl’s Jr. “One of the cords that helped operate my chair died on me,” Finnegan explained “Nothing worked. Luckily, I was pretty close to the school.” When none of the passerby responded, he called security. That’s when Michael Valencia and Matt Montoya, both relatively new security guards, drove over and gave Finnegan a ride back to campus on the security vehicle. “If I could have gotten him a new chair I would have,” said Valencia. Thankfully the technical problem was resolved in time. Both him and Montoya not only responded immediately, but also did their best to get Finnegan’s chair back by unlocking the breaks and helping him contact the mechanic. “It was so awesome of them,” said Finnegan. I was grateful to both of those guys. But, being such an independent person, it was also a very humbling experience as well.” Valencia urges other students to call security if they run into any trouble or need help. “We’re here to make sure you feel comfortable, to keep the campus safe.” Finnegan called security and received the assistance he needed. Days later, Valencia and Montoya were glad to see him back out on the quad. Valencia urges other students to call security if they run into...

Spiders, ants & beetles—oh my! A look at the crawlers on campus.

Facilities and Security Director Peter Romero chose names for three of SFUAD’s baby goats—all suggested by students. But four more baby goats still await monikers.