George D. Williams, Jr. had no idea that mushrooms were growing on the walls of his dorm room.

He was surprised to learn that at least three mushrooms lined the bottom end of his kitchen walls in the Howard Plaza Towers West. He didn’t notice them until his room-mate, who saw the mold about two weeks ago, pointed them out.

“I’m grossed out by the situa-tion. We shouldn’t be having these problems with how much we are paying for Howard housing,” said Williams, a junior political science major.

According to Marc D. Lee, dean of Residence Life, growth of any sort is caused by moisture and heat, which, if left unattended for two or more days, leads to mold. Moisture can be caused by toilets overflowing or residents tampering with sink fix-tures and fire sprinklers. Mechanical failures in pipes or air conditioning units can also create moisture.

“Additionally, these problems were not immediately directed to

the maintenance staff in this facil-ity,” said Lee.

Lee said students are advised to inspect their rooms weekly and check for moist spots in their closets and room corners. If there is moisture, residents are to submit a maintenance request immediately. Once it is received, the problem will be addressed in 48 hours.

Mold, fungi, and mushrooms are not a new occurrence for Wil-liams. He experienced a similar situation his freshman year when he lived in Cook Hall.

“They neglect the dorms, it’s a non-anomaly,” said Williams. He plans to deal with the situation by filing a report.

Lee said the Office of Residence Life has been informed of these issues and is addressing them within a 48-hour period.

For Williams and his roommate, the clean-up process could take up to three days and consists of cutting out the area of the wall affected by mold and replacing it with new drywall and paint.

If the problem is on the floor, a The achievement gap between

White students and Black students has remained a touchy debate within the community.

A report issued by the Educa-tional Testing Service (ETS) on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading test scores states that the achievement gap be-tween Black and White 13-year olds was slowly closing but has now sud-denly come to a standstill. In com-parison, the 2008 gap in reading scores is the same as it was 20 years ago.

Researchers aren’t able to pin-point the exact reason behind these results but particular attention has been placed on intergenerational wealth and desegregation.

“The economy is having a dev-astating effect on the Black commu-nity. The appetite to fund programs to address the problem is just not there,” said Richard J. Coley, a re-searcher at ETS’s Policy Information Center, in an interview with Diverse, a blog on higher education.

“Desegregation, class size—you name it—we haven’t been able to definitively link it to the alarming changes we found. It also happened with educational levels and not just test scores.”

Leah Kimble, a senior English major and Elementary Education minor, says that a lot of these results are intentional. “Politicians know what makes schools work, but they’re not really putting in the proper pro-grams to get schools where they need to be,” Kimble said. “A lot of it has to do with funds being distributed appropriately.”

Kimble also acknowledged a connection between primary, sec-

ondary, and post-secondary edu-cation, stating that lack of quality teachers, counselors, and SAT prep hinders many Black students from entering and graduating from higher learning institutions. Kimble’s opin-ion is supported by CollegeBoard’s 2009 report and analysis on SAT test-takers, stating that there is a positive relationship between the in-

THE HILLTOPTheHilltopOnline.com The Student Voice of Howard University Vol. 94 No. 9. .Est. 1924

CEACS CouncilThe CEACS student council works to improve commu-nity service and intership opportunities for students. p.2

Sticky FingersBakery in Columbia Heights offers pastries with a vegan twist. p.5

The HeismanGet our sports columnists’ take on running back Reg-gie Bush’s forfeit of his Heis-man trophy. p.14

NEWS....................... p.3

OPINIONS............... p.12

SPORTS.................... p.14

INSIDE INDEX WEATHER

Today Tomorrow

High: 77Low: 56

High: 76Low: 63

Monday, September 20, 2010

by Riley WilsonManaging Editor

Whitney AndersonStaff Writer

Achievement Gap Shows Fails toImprove Over Last Two Decades

Celia Benvenutti Staff Photographer

According to the Educational Testing Service (ETS) July 2010 report and analysis on the Black-White Achievement Gap, the gap between Black and White students has come to a halt.

Infographic by Riley Wilson

According to the National Assesment of Educational Process, the reading test score between black and white 13-year-olds has not improved since 1988.

Trend in White-Black Reading Score Gap

Scor

e G

ap

GAP continued on p.2

Residents Get New Roommate:

Fungusby Genet LakewManaging Editor

Gerron Jordan Staff Writer

FUNGUS continued on p.2

Three mushrooms were found in a dorm of the West Towers one foot from the refrigerator.