The hot water pipe bursts that affected Goodyear Hall residents on Feb. 15 and 24 continue to leave their mark on students as damage estimates begin to add up.
Many students who felt the effects of the incidents have very similar complaints, now that the immediate crisis is over. With some tossing out hundreds of dollars' worth of waterlogged private property, questions about who's responsible for the damage are being raised.
"I feel we need an insurance agent to help us handle this. I mean, I had over $500 of personal belongings damaged," said Kristina Drown, a freshman chemistry major whose room was damaged by the second burst.
Vice President of Student Affairs Dennis Black echoed the dissatisfaction felt by students.
"Just like student residents and parents, we are disappointed and frustrated by the water system problems in Goodyear. They were updated only two or three years ago," he said. He went on to cite the $11 million spent on "exterior and system improvements" by University Facilities within the past few years.
Students in Goodyear Hall who were temporarily displaced due to the second incident were all compensated one day's worth of rent, averaging out around $27. So far, however, none of the residents who lost significant private property have received any further compensation.
"I really don't think ($27) makes up for anything, even the stress we went through," said Caitlin Collins, Drown's roommate. "We were kicked out of our rooms from five in the morning until three (in the afternoon). It's a nice gesture, but I would rather have them not compensate me and show me some respect instead."
Drown described the moment when she complained about her broken iPod.
"Scott (Ventors), the hall director, looked at it and said, 'Well, we found it on the floor.' Just because it was there doesn't mean it was my fault that it got broken. His lack of sympathy was very frustrating."
Disrespect issues were mentioned by more than one of the students affected by the pipe bursts.
"The way they treated us was awful," said Richard Siegel, a freshman architecture major who received damage to his room. "It seems like they were trying to cover it all up, or make it sound as small as possible."
The affected students were kept out of their rooms from approximately 5:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday the 24th. When they asked to be let back into their rooms for their belongings and to take pictures for insurance purposes, they were refused.
"We had asked if it was okay to take pictures, and the hall and area directors said they had already taken them for us. But as far as we know, they weren't. Now how does anyone like our insurance know how much damage was done by the water?" Collins said.
"After persuading the RAs to let me into my room to obtain my car keys and my cell phone, I was able to see three inches of water covering my floor," Collins added.
Peter Smith, assistant director for University Residence Halls and Apartments, claims that no such statement about photography was made. "The photos that were taken were taken by the maintenance staff to investigate what went wrong. We never promised pictures to anyone for any reason," he said.
Joseph Krakowiak, director of URH&A, explained that pictures were in fact taken, but only for in-house use.
"In order for us to better document the results of this, we took more pictures because we don't know the cause of the problem," he said. "But if the cause is a system that failed, we want to go and claim against the system installer. In order to do that, we need evidence."
Students' concerns of negligence also include how university staff handled cleanup in their rooms after the incidents.
"The RAs placed my wet $200 jacket on my wet pink bath rug, staining the jacket. I just wished they placed the jacket somewhere where stains wouldn't transfer," Drown said.
Between her jacket and iPod, Drown's financial loss of personal property totals about $500.
Administrators are attempting to quickly replace property necessary to do schoolwork.
"URH&A is able to lend a computer to a student whose personal computer was damaged by this event until such time it is either repaired or replaced," Krakowiak said. "The first thing we want to restore to anyone, after life safety issues are attended to, is a student's ability to be a student and to study and work."
Small claims forms - standard for any property damage on campus - are available through URH&A area offices and online if students wish to file for possible coverage.
According to Krakowiak, no students have yet filed for compensation.
Officials estimate that cleanup will take several weeks and probably last through spring break. Because the problem pipe joints are a product of Germany and distributed through New Hampshire, inspections will be more delayed than usual. Additionally, health and service factors will slow the investigation.
"Fifty joints in the building are being inspected as soon as possible to make sure something like this doesn't happen again," Krakowiak said. Residents in rooms that received damage to floor tiles will need to be moved until an asbestos abatement can take place and over spring break the building will be tested for further weaknesses.
"No one was hurt and the university responded appropriately to the needs of the students," Krakowiak said.
Smith agreed.
"Students' safety was our first priority," he said.
Some students said they understood the work the university was putting into recovering from the incidents, but were still frustrated with the situation overall.
Said Drown: "I missed six hours at work because of this. The only reason I care so much is because of all the money I'll never get back."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
