Bon Voyage—students at Maryland college bid adieu to floating residence hall

From The Washington Post: Officials at St. Mary’s College of Maryland say that the Sea Voyager, a 286-foot cruise ship that served as a temporary residence hall for 240 students, has returned to sea. Students at the school spent nearly two months housed in cabins on the idle ship while the college removed mold from the student housing on land. When students return to campus next month, they will reclaim their old rooms in residence halls.

NOVEMEBER 2011...from The Washington Post: The relocation of nearly 250 St. Mary’s College of Maryland students to a cruise ship docked near campus is causing an inconvenience for at least one local constituency: the oysters of St. Mary’s River and the oystermen who harvest them. Because of the ship's presence, the Maryland Department of the Environment has closed that area of St. Mary’s River to oyster harvesting for as long as the students remain on the ship; any wastewater spillage could taint the local ecosystem, including the denizens of an oyster bar that runs along the section of river near campus. OCTOBER 2011... From The Baltimore Sun: A mold outbreak in the student housing at St. Mary's College of Marylandis forcing the school to relocate about 200 students to a 300-foot cruise ship docked beside the St. Mary's City campus on the St. Mary's River. Because of mold in two residence halls, about 350 students had already moved to local hotels or reconfigured rooms. Now the college is moving another 200 students onto the Sea Voyager cruise ship, which has 218 beds in 110 cabins. The college blames the mold on damp conditions from Hurricane Irene and persistent rains.