A day after a pipe burst and flooded the Letts North terrace, it seems that affected students lack a reasonable explanation of what happened, and unaffected students don't even know a flood occurred.
What we know is that available housing staff was quick to help students relocate and avoid the unexpected deluge. Resident directors assisted students moving their belongings to the Letts Sky Lounge and Anderson and Centennial floor lounges. We also know that Housing and Dining Programs has informed students that cleanup may take about one to two weeks.
But that's essentially it. All we have learned about the floodwater is that it is "drain water" - although a student said there were pieces of toilet paper in the water - and the most we know about the pipes is that they burst without warning. AU has yet to determine the cause of the accident, not to mention whether other students in nearby dorm buildings are at similar risk. In other words, we're a little in the dark, and the most we can do is hope for future transparency.
Problematically, we could not reach a number of Housing and Dining employees over the weekend. As the article suggests, quite a few administrators failed to return our phone calls and e-mails, and others decided a response was unthinkable until business hours on Monday.
That kind of service is unacceptable. Accidents by no means conform to the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. workday, so Housing and Dining staff needs to be more accessible during the weekends. The affected students deserve help and attention, to be sure, and praise goes to resident directors who did just that. But for those of us who do not live on the Letts North terrace, answers weren't exactly available this weekend. We can only hope that changes today.
