ng before the first day of classes, AU freshmen received a rude welcome to their new home. A power transformer blew out Sunday, forcing Letts Hall residents to live without power or water for almost a full day. The problem was finally remedied late Monday night, when a temporary generator was hooked up to power the building until the transformer could be fixed.
The Eagle thinks that an AU office should have checked for problems like this during the summer. A Housing and Dining representative said the transformer died because of its age. Perhaps someone should have the responsibility of regularly checking on the working condition of such outdated equipment.
There is no reason basic services such as electricity and running water should be denied to dorm residents. It is unfortunate that this incident will influence the first impressions freshmen have of life at AU.
Despite this, we feel all involved parties did an excellent job in minimizing the problems once the transformer broke. Housing and Dining hooked up a temporary generator as soon as it could, minimizing the amount of time residents were kept in the dark. Additionally, its decision to open TDR to Letts residents on Monday night for free ice cream and games was much appreciated by sweaty and hungry Letts-dwellers.
Kudos go to Letts RAs for their tireless work in informing and organizing their residents, as well as to the residents themselves for not panicking or rioting. Also, many thanks go to the RAs of Anderson Hall for welcoming Letts residents into their bathrooms and lounges. By working together, everyone was able to keep a bad situation from getting worse.
