Pipes have burst, offices have flooded, people have become sick, air quality experts have been called in, and dozens of faculty members have been crammed into a handful of offices on the third floor of the Humanities Building.
The new Humanities Building has some bugs. But Bob Gann, director of facilities planning and services, said it is under control.
“Much like a new car can malfunction, this can happen in brand new buildings,” Gann said via e-mail. “The building is constructed of thousands of components, one of which failed.”
An anti-corrosive substance, used to help maintain the pipes, may have been released after the pipe burst and some faculty have reported physical ailments as a result.
“Two faculty members went to the doctor and were able to return to work the next day,” Rocky Bonura, director of safety and management, said. “There was also one faculty member who reported a physical ailment, but didn’t go to the doctor.”
Faculty will not be returning to their offices prior to the spring semester, Gann said.
“We are dealing with stuff that is less than ideal,” Cynthia Somin, English professor, said. “They should have hired a plumber that knew how to weld a coupling shut correctly.”
In an effort to make a less-than-ideal situation easier, several faculty members have opened their offices to displaced colleagues, who have been jokingly referred to around campus as “flood victims” and “refugees.”
“Crap happens in life,” Gene Armao, English professor and displaced faculty member, said. “This building is two years old, pipes shouldn’t be bursting. Someone did some shoddy workmanship.”
Those who’ve invited the “refugees” into their offices are more than happy to accommodate the displaced faculty, Bruce Peppard, English professor said. Peppard has opened his office to two “flood victims.”
“It’s unfortunate what happened, of course,” Peppard said. “But, they need a place to conduct themselves professionally, and we’re doing the best we can.”
Students have also been affected by the movement of faculty and office hours being unavailable, Somin said.
“Absolutely students have been affected,” Somin said. “For the first couple of class meetings I didn’t have my materials with me. They gave us a very small time to get everything we would need.”