By From The Editors

“It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man is snoring….”

With nine straight days of torrential downpours last week that resulted in 12 and one-half inches of rain, the University’s administration became the old man in the children’s nursery rhyme. As water seeped through the walls of many residential halls, students found little help from public safety, the Physical Plant Department and the Office of Residential Life.

Was the administration asleep or did they just not care?

One student living on the 11th floor of Constitution Hall reported that during the first two days of rain, water leaked through the cement walls of the building splashing onto furniture, a lap top computer, television and other possessions. He called public safety, but since it was a Saturday they said only one person was available on the weekend and they would “see what they could do.”

According to the plant department, there is only one grounds person for the north side of campus and one for the south working on a normal weekend, with the shift only lasting until 3 p.m.

Even though the University has a large commuter population, there are still plenty of students who remain on campus even after professors stop lecturing.

While the University said they tripled the safety crew for the storm, it still took over seven hours for someone to arrive at Constitution. When the worker finally arrived, he merely look up at the ceiling and shook his head, leaving the resident to cover his furniture with plastic garbage bags until the leak could be fixed.

The student’s TV was destroyed due to the flooding, but he said the University would not compensate for his loss because he was unable to produce a receipt.

If any students’ personal possessions are destroyed due to flooding or any other incident not caused by the student, they must first fill out an incident report, giving a run-down of the damage, Jean Smith, associate director of campus life events said. They must then bring any ruined objects to campus life where administration will attempt to make repairs. If it cannot be fixed, the student will be asked to provide a receipt. It is highly unlikely a student will be able to produce a receipt for a four-year-old television set or computer.

Smith said these situations are handled on a case-to-case basis, but students should have insurance for their possessions when they come to college. She made a point to add that the University has the same policy as outside homeowners’ insurance companies.

While it is wise for students to protect their valuables, it is naive for the University to say the same rules apply to students as homeowners.

It is up to a landlord or homeowner to fix household problems that may cause damage. The only thing students can do when maintenance problems arise is call someone at the University for assistance. If the University does not respond in a timely manner, helping to cause the destruction of personal property, they should step-up and take responsibility.

There have been a number of other flooding incidents reported by students over the past week. In Nassau and Suffolk Halls, ceiling tiles crumbled under water pressure and rooms in Estabrook Hall, Enterprise Hall, Liberty Hall and Republic Hall were also flooded.

While these students could have opted to stay in other residence halls while their rooms were being repaired, there are only approximately eight male spaces and 12 female spaces currently available for this type of situation. Michael King, associate director of the Physical Plant Department, said there have been a “considerable” amount of complaints. So if each student chose to move into another room temporarily, there would not have been enough space, and the University is unsure of what they would have done next.

But how does the University plan to solve the problem? Well, Smith said she just hopes we don’t see more downpours.

However, more rain and flooding is likely as the hurricane season continues into November. With Hurricane Wilma predicted to hit the Gulf Coast region within the week, it is very likely the New York area can receive heavy rain as a result.

On Sept. 22, The Chronicle reported that the University is prepared for any disaster. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case. While workers have been inspecting buildings and patching up leaks, King said if we do get more rain like we saw last weekend, accompanied by heavy winds, residents might experience more problems.

Aside from leaks in dorm rooms, walking around campus also proved to be a feat. Students had to jump over ankle deep puddles in parking lots and sidewalks to get to class. King said almost all of the University’s 760 dry wells were completely filled and plant workers had to pump the wells and water from high voltage electrical rooms to prevent the University from losing power.

Ed Bracht, director of public safety, told The Chronicle, “When we were notified about Hurricane Ophelia, we went and checked our supply of flashlights and the fuel in our trucks.”

This is all well and good, but how will flashlights and fuel solve the inadequate drainage system and cracked foundations. In fact, if you look at the footage from Hurricane Katrina, clearly public safety would not be able to get very far in 29-feet of water, even with their full tanks of gas.

It is clear there are problems the University must fix before another storm or a blizzard hits this winter. The national government and local leaders of New Orleans ignored the hazards of their levy until it was too late. While the University’s problems are on a much smaller scale, we would hope the administration is looking into fixing building structures and drainage systems before the problem becomes more serious than a few ruined items and student inconvenience. If this is the way the University handles a little rain, it is scary to imagine what would happen during a real natural disaster or security emergency. A few flashlights and a generator would not save us, and we are afraid neither would the University.