By Amanda Alfanos, Editor-in-Chief
Nathan Hatcher, The Campus
Water trickled down the walls of a dorm and ceiling tiles fell Tuesday on campus. The northwest corner of Oklahoma United Methodist Hall began flooding starting at about 6:30 p.m.
The emergency sprinkler system located in the attic of the building froze and burst, said John Riggs, dean of students.
Risk Manager Glede Holman said no one was injured.
The dorm’s water system was turned off in order for facilities officials and TRC Extraction Co. to extract water from the facility, he said. Riggs said he does not know when students will be able to next utilize water in the residence hall.
Students of the dorm’s west corner were told it was not safe to sleep there for the night. Residence life officials told students it wasn’t safe to be near the flooding and ushered students out of the portion of the flooded hallways.
Officials don’t want students with any traces of water in their rooms to stay in the dorm for the night, Riggs said.
“There will be fans and dehumidifiers in the building and it will be loud,” he said. “We want students to have a comfortable place to sleep.”
Administrators said they prefer students to stay with friends, but said they would pay for students to stay in hotel rooms for the night if they had no place to stay. Riggs said the university would pay for buses to transport students back to campus for class. There also are 29 rooms available in Walker Residence Hall for women, Riggs said.
Jonathan Triplett, head resident of the dorm, said the flood began in his room.
“My roof caved in and it almost hit me in the head,” he said.
Riggs and residence life staff addressed about 30 students about the issue in Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center.
Kody Brown was one of the students.
The theater performance sophomore’s room is located underneath Triplett’s room on the first floor.
“I think they should waive a reduced rate on the dorms,” he said. “It’s not right for people to have to pay money for a room and not be able to stay there.
“I also think they should pay for damages and that we shouldn’t have school tomorrow. Some students aren’t able to get their books.”
Miranda Wilson, acting junior, agreed.
“I think officials should be better prepared for acclimate weather,” she said. “I think it could have been avoided.”
Triplett said a similar occasion happened three years ago when the first floor flooded.
Risk Manager Holman said the amount of time for clean up is unknown. He also does not know the cost of the damage.
“In 2008, I want to say it cost just under $100,000 to clean up,” Holman said. “But that was just the first floor.
Shelli Stuzman said she is upset about the flood.
“I understand the reason we have to sleep somewhere for the night is for safety reasons, but it’s still bullshit,” said the freshman entertainment business major who’s room was flooded. “But that’s just me.”
Administrators said students shouldn’t worry about mold in the building.
“Our contractor, TRC, said there is currently no mold in the building and they will continue to assess this,” said Ade Okediji, director of residence life.
Riggs said workers will pull up all affected baseboards.
Where are students supposed to sleep instead? Will OCU cover the cost of the arrangements, like a hotel?
Hi OCU Student, check out our update after speaking more with officials.
Will any damages made to personal items inside our room be covered by OCU?
I think classes should be cancelled until this is cleared up. Students will not be able to concentrate on their work when they must also worry about whether or boys their things are destroyed. Many students would not, or did not, think to grab school supplies before being evacuated from the building.
I doubt that classes will be canceled tomorrow, though I am sure students directly affected will be excused from having supplies. Tonight will be a long night, but I am sure that President Henry will do everything he can to help everyone. This is not the time to get angry, we are fortunate that this isn’t any worse and that no one is hurt. Also, lets also think how fortunate we are that this happened now, when most don’t have major assignments or exams.
I feel very uneasy living in this dorm if there are cracks in the walls and foundation, as well as the dorm has flooded twice in 3 years. I’m not sure why it’s as expensive as it is if we could risk our health or belongings. I also think we need at least a day to get back on track for school. Students either aren’t sleeping in their dorms or are housing other students/other student’s belongings. It’s all very stressful to take on as well as the first week of school.
I think that classes for students who live in Centennial should be excused. A lot of us have to see about our belongings, and probably won’t get a good nights rest because of this. I lost hours one homework because of the flooding.
i cant believe no one saw this coming. place is a peice of shit that was built in like 3 months. and it’s more expensive than anything. honestly, i was waiting for the day.
What are they doing to ensure this doesn’t happen in other parts of the building? I realize that currently all the water is shut off for the building, but it hast to come back on soon and the forecast says temperatures are to remain low for a good while.
Ok. Let’s put this into perspective. Your dorm was flooded and you have to move out for a day or two. You still have a dorm–it wasn’t burned to the ground like an apartment building I know that put over 60 families permanently out of a home with the loss of everything they own, you are not in Arizona and permanently lost loved ones or friends in the shooting there, you are not overseas fighting a war where kids your age are getting killed by roadside bombs. Just a thought.
How is any of what you said relevant. Students pay dearly for their dorm room, they are entitled to quite upset. Especially when a simple google search reveals a lawsuit from earlier flood found the building to be of suspect quality. I personally people who had clothes and electronics ruined, some may be out for up to 3-4 weeks. No one has compared their situation to serving Iraq or anything like that, but emotionally immature (I’ll admit it), stressed college students are justified in veing upset. Please seek out more information or just don’t comment if you really are a MOM
For all you parents – it is bad. My daughter lost medication,(she wasn’t allowed to get back into her room) along with other personal belongings. Some of her friends tried to recover as much as they could – her stuff is strung out everywhere.She was in class or somewhere else when this occurred. She’s very anxious and dramatic – as are most of the other students (Many are drama students) They shouldn’t expect the students to be accepting of staying in Walker when they have Cokesbury any other facilities available on campus. I’m sure the University is getting reimbursed – they should handle the students with dignity and respect.
See updated story: http://mediaocu.com/2011/01/12/officials-to-update-students-on-titanic-flood/