Wednesday, November 14, 2001

It Takes Time
Patience is a powerful message

Hot, muggy rooms, freezing showers, spoiled milk and alarms that never went off are just some of the consequences students who live in the Worth Hills residence halls had to deal with Tuesday during a power outage.

An underground cable failure caused the power failure that lasted from 4 a.m. to about 8 p.m., said George Bates, the electrical manager for the Physical Plant.

Sometimes, students take things for granted, especially power. Students affected by Tuesday’s power failure realize the value of electricity more than other residents on campus.

Residents had to live without power for most of the day. They could not use their computers to work on homework or e-mail friends, they did not have hot water, phones did not work and they did not have lights so they could study once the sun set. Since many of the doors in Worth Hills residence halls are operated with ID cards, only the main entrance in each building could be used for entry.

Worth Hills residents were not the only students affected either. A new schedule will have to be worked out for some intramural sports competitions. All intramural basketball games were canceled since the Rickel Building, also without power closed at 5 p.m. said Intramural Sports Supervisor Damien Abel. The Student Government Association extended the time to vote for officers since no power means no Internet.

Students complain about parking, about food in The Main and about too much homework. Yet even though they were frustrated about the lack of electricity, they adjusted and dealt with the problem with maturity and patience for the most part. Students went to the library and other computer labs on campus to finish class assignments and check e-mail.

They had a valid reason to complain, yet most students found ways to work around the power problem.

Students deserve to be commended for their patience in a trying situation. Physical Plant personnel also deserve to be commended for their hard work to identify and fix the problem as fast as possible.