Flood in Governors Irritates Students

A clogged sewer line flooded several bathrooms in the Governors Complex last Wednesday evening, forcing the university to prohibit residents in five suites from the using the water for nearly 18 hours while the line was under repair.

According to Tom Tiberi, associate director for residential operations, the flood came from overflowing toilets in Clinton Hall and Dewey Hall, each part of the residence hall complex.

"The sewer backed up, and they unclogged it, but it affected five suites. It was mostly contained in the bathrooms," said Tiberi.

Tiberi said vandalism was suspected as the cause of the clogged sewer line, but as of Friday, no official cause was determined.

"It smelled," said Ashish Shah, a freshman aerospace engineering major. "They had to put in blowers and all. That night was terrible."

"It was inconvenient. I was running around trying to coordinate with others, trying to use their shower," he added.

Danelle Schrader, a freshman aerospace engineering major, had an operational bathroom during the flooding. She said her suitemates propped open the door to their bathroom to enable access to residents who did not know the door lock code.

"We had 50 girls wanting to use our shower," said Schrader.

Due to the large number of girls waiting to use their shower on Thursday morning, Schrader said she and her suitemates were forced to turn girls away.

"Girls were getting mad at us, because we had to stop," she said.

Schrader said the problem was compounded because the doors to several of the operational bathrooms were not propped open and remained accessible only to students who knew the codes.

According to Shah, students with access to working bathrooms felt inconvenienced by displaced students using their bathroom.

"Not all residential people were happy about other people using their bathroom," Shah said.

Aside from not having running water in the bathrooms, Shah said he could not use the faucets in the kitchen, which he regularly uses for drinking water.

"It was inconvenient," Shah said, "but it was manageable."

According to Tiberi, staff from the Office of Residence Halls and Apartments realized how inconvenient the flooding was for the residents and credited the accounts of the affected students with $17 in campus cash.

"That's good," Shah said. "That covers two meals."