In lieu of spending the weekend on the couch, several UB students banded together like the U.S. Coast Guard responding to September 11 to clean up flooding on South Campus after multiple pipe bursts in Goodyear Hall this past weekend.
Pipe bursts on Feb. 15 and Feb. 24 in Goodyear Hall, and on March 4 in Dewey Hall on North Campus, were only signs of a more serious problem, according to Joseph Krakowiak, director of University Residence Halls & Apartments. The t-shaped pipes making up Goodyear Hall's water system proved vulnerable when seventeen more burst Friday evening every two hours, causing extreme flooding.
Approximately 2700 students were displaced, forcing them to find an alternate residence after narrowly escaping the flood.
Regina Phalangie and Wing Ki Lu, both freshman geography majors, woke when a pipe exploded in their 312E Goodyear dorm room. They quickly gathered backpacks filled with some of their possessions before heading out into the cold night air with their fellow students.
"It's that damn kid who keeps kicking the toilet seats and detaching them from the wall," Lu said, laying some of her wet clothes and textbooks on the cement sidewalk to dry.
The damage required immediate action. Dennis Black, vice president of Student Affairs, gathered students on both North and South Campus to take charge of the cleanup, calling the efforts "Alternative Spring Weekend." Many students, who were up partying at 4 a.m. anyways, followed Black like he was the pied piper to come to their fellow student's aid.
"I don't know why I'm here this late at night," said Jon Bucky, a sophomore media studies major participating in the cleanup.
Plastic bags and shovels in hand, students marched into the waist deep water in Goodyear Hall to save as many iPods and laptops as possible. Black attempted to make it a jolly affair, often breaking into song and dance with a group of folk singers peddling for change outside the building.
"Nobody picks being a hero, ya know?" said Justin Waag, a super senior majoring in communications. "It's tough being a hero. I'm out here in the freezing negative degree weather by Lake Niagara."
Peter Smith, assistant director of University Residence Halls, denied that the flooding took place and tried to prevent students from taking pictures for insurance purposes.
Four students who were not able to escape the flood were found trapped on the roof of Goodyear Hall somewhere around 7 a.m. The University PoPo Helicopter flew in within the hour to bring them to safety.
By the end of the day on Sunday, much of the flooding and cleanup was under control. Resident Hall officials scrambled to make sure every student had a place to stay. Thirty of the students were put up at President Simpson's mansion, and Black took in another 20. A meeting will take place Monday morning to decide the next plan of action.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
