As first-years settled into their new dorm rooms, some were greeted with unexpected guests — bats! Since move-in day, there have been two cases of a bat being spotted in different areas of BWC, one of the freshman buildings on campus.
The first sighting was in the common room on August 19 at around midnight. “I was making [jigsaw] puzzles, so I was really focused,” Valentina Masan ‘30, the student who saw the bat, explained. “I looked up and thought, ‘This is not real.’” Masan said she snuck out of the common room before running back to her dorm and messaging her resident advisor. Her RA answered the next morning, telling the hall residents to let her know if they saw any other bats.
The second occurrence was on August 20th during the move-in period, in a dorm in the basement of Curtis Hall. This bat was found under a bed, and it was removed with the help of another student.
These situations have left us with unanswered questions. It is unclear how and when one or more bats entered the building and where they stayed before being found by students or staff.
Students need to know that bats can carry diseases such as rabies. If you see a bat indoors, never attempt to touch it. Instead, remove yourself from the room it is in, and call Campus Safety at 610-409-3333 so that they can safely remove the bat.
If the bat was found in an area you were sleeping in, consider the possibility that you may have been bitten, which can pose a rabies infection risk. According to the Cleveland Clinic, bat bites are miniscule and easy to miss, meaning you may not see a mark from a bite. Symptoms can appear as soon as a week after infection, but usually take one to three months. Although rabies is treatable by vaccination before symptoms show, it cannot be treated after the first symptoms appear. Symptomatic rabies carries a nearly 100% fatality rate.
If you were bit or suspect you may have been bitten, you need to wash the wound well with soap and water. It is vitally important that you also get the rabies vaccines. You can call the Commonwealth of PA at #877-PA HEALTH. You can also get vaccines at local Walgreens locations, the closest ones being in Limerick, Norristown, and Phoenixville, or call your health provider to go over next steps for getting vaccinated.
