The dorm Pursel and Palude were moved to
David Scibilia/The Bona Venture
BY: MORGAN KILGER AND DAVID SCIBILIA
NEWS ASSIGNMENT EDITOR, NEWS EDITOR
Gardens East, West and Townhouses 31 through 33 at St. Bonaventure’s University experienced a power outage on Sunday, forcing administrators to relocate the buildings’ residents.
Campus Facilities performed a total electric shutdown from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday for these buildings. This left all residents in these buildings without power. According to Jared Smith, Bonaventure’s director of Facilities Operations, the goal of the shutdown was to determine the root cause of the outage and allow workers to repair damages.
Another power shutdown occurred on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The severity of the power outage in Townhouse 33 forced administrators to relocate its residents to a nearby hotel or to Doyle Hall. University officials gave residents until 5 p.m. on Monday before locking the townhouse indefinitely. Several residents said they received the evacuation notice around 11 a.m. that same day.
Mason Plaude, a senior political science major, said he noticed something may have been off and tried to warn the university that day.
“Our outlets were buzzing for hours,” said Palude. “I called safety and security four times and maintenance twice, but they totally dismissed it.”
James Rumschlag, a senior history major, said he was concerned about a lack of heating in his townhouse apartment due to the power outage.
“What if it had been freezing that night?” said Rumschlag. “No one should be sleeping in the cold.”
Both Palude and Rumschlag said they were concerned about their groceries.
“All [of] my groceries will go bad, and the university doesn’t seem to care,” said Palude.
Rumschlag confirmed that the groceries had to be thrown out.
“We had a stocked fridge that had to be thrown out because there was no power to keep it frozen or chilled,” said Rumschlag.
The university is working on a plan for reimbursing lost food, said Rob DeFazio, the associate dean for Student Life at a Student Government Association meeting. Affected residents were given free passes into the Hickey dining hall.
Brevin Austin, a senior political science major, also had food concerns. Before being relocated, he was able to make all of his meals in his townhouse.
“Before, I could make my own breakfast, lunch and dinner if I wanted to at the townhouse,” said Austin. “But now, unfortunately, I have to rely on the Hickey [Dining Hall] for meal options.”
The residents were told to partner up by administrators, without any indication of where they would be going, said residents.
“They asked us to partner up,” said Tom Pursel, a senior English and literary editing and publication major. “We didn’t know the hotel was an option.”
Austin and Rumschlag were relocated to the Fairfield Inn, located across from campus on West State Street, while Palude and Pursel were relocated to a dorm on the first floor of Doyle Hall.
Unlike in their townhouse apartment, Pursel and Plaude did not have access to a refrigerator in their new Doyle dorm.
“I never thought I’d have to store my orange juice out the window,” said Plaude.
The relocated residents said they remain unsure how long they will be relocated for.
One student said he would want financial compensation from the university if he had to stay in Doyle for the spring semester. On a per-semester basis, students are charged more for living in a townhouse apartment than in Doyle.
“I don’t know how long I’m going to be here,” said Palude. “If I’m only here for a week it’s okay, but if I’m here for a semester, I want it comped.”
Power is yet to be restored to the affected buildings as of Wednesday.
At the time of deadline, Tom Missel, the chief communications officer for Bonaventure, was unable to comment on the cause of the outage, the university’s specific plans for reimbursing food or why the first total-power shutdown did not solve the issue.
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