Dorm rooms flood in ISR

Wardall Hall resident and LAS Senior Sonali Bhatnagar found a bag of clothes on her bed when she returned from spring break, Sunday, March 25, 2007. Bhatnagar and her roommate were amongst dozens of Wardall residents across floors who were notified over Beck Diefenbach

Students expect to return to their dorm rooms in the condition with which they left them after spring break. The Wardall residents at ISR were not as lucky.

On the morning of Tuesday, March 20, an aged hot water pipe burst in the seventh floor closet, flooding rooms from the seventh floor down to the basement. An e-mail was sent out that night to notify the Wardall residents of the incident.

"I just came back and found all my clothes in plastic bags and everything was moved around," said Mary Beth Reddington, freshman in Engineering. "My room was in disarray."

At a flood meeting held Sunday night in the ISR mulitpurpose room, Andi Cailles, assistant director of housing for residential life, said each resident should provide an estimated cost for any damaged item, whether it had been a box of tissues or a laptop. The reimbursement will hopefully compensate for the inconvenience that was caused, but residents will not be able to receive their checks until the end of the semester. Cailles said logging all expenses will be tedious, but necessary.

"I think it's a good idea," said Alejandra Lara, freshman in LAS. "But we still have to go out and buy everything."

Cailles said the faculty will also be notified of the situation and to understand that notebooks were ruined in the flooding.

Students allergic to mold were given an empty room to sleep in until the facilities staff cleared away the last remnants of mold.

Cailles was on duty the morning of the flood. According to the e-mail she sent to the residents, she along with the facilities staff entered effected rooms. They removed paper products and soaked washable items to prevent further damage to personal property. Shoes and books were aired out to dry, rugs were removed and shampooed, and soaked items were laundered.

The cost of two weeks' laundry to rid of the mold smell will also be reimbursed. Residents will not be questioned regarding the cost estimates, or need to provide evidence of damaged items.

Karla Medina, junior in FAA, said she had no access to her e-mail over break and was not aware of the flood.

"I opened the door and basically all the contents of my closet were dumped in the center of the room," Medina said.

There was not considerable water damage in Medina's fifth floor room other than yellow-stained towels and the damp, humid stench, she added.

Reddington said she was fortunate that she did not have any personal items ruined. She added that one e-mail did not provide enough information on how the University handled the situation.

Angela Ingrassia, freshman in LAS, said she had water on the floor of her room and spots of mold growing.

"I think they're trying the best they can do given the circumstances," Ingrassia said.