Students Receive Help from College Following Destruction of Apartment

On late Thursday afternoon, the roof of the apartment building at 38 Clinton Street, Plattsburgh, caved in, leaving six SUNY Plattsburgh students without a home. Officials at the College immediately contacted the students to offer on-campus housing.

Bryan Hartman, director of residence life, said the six SUNY Plattsburgh students are utilizing guest rooms on-campus while they decide where they plan to live for the rest of the semester. They have also been provided with complimentary meal plans.

SUNY Plattsburgh President John Ettling said that the main priority is to make sure the students have food and shelter. 

"This is the second incident this semester of students displaced from their off-campus apartments," said Ettling. "I am relieved that no one was hurt when the roof caved in on Thursday. Our attention is on how to best ensure these students have a place to live for the remainder of the semester."

On the early morning of Saturday, Oct. 1, a fire destroyed an apartment complex at 92 Court Street that housed 32 students attending SUNY Plattsburgh and Clinton Community College.

Hartman said Sodexho Campus Services would provide meals for those who were displaced yesterday from their apartment building.

While housing is the primary concern right now, Hartman said that there are other needs that will have to be addressed. "We are attempting to assess these needs now and will provide any assistance we can for the students. "

The Plattsburgh College Foundation will provide funding to the College Store for replacement of all books destroyed in the apartments and up to $50 in academic supplies for each of the students. SUNY Plattsburgh will attempt to repair the students' computers if possible or loan the students computers for the remainder of the semester if necessary.

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