Students living in Sutowski Hall are facing ongoing disruptions after an emergency electrical repair left the residence hall without power and, later, plumbing.
According to the Office of Residence Life, the outage began after facilities staff identified an electrical issue requiring immediate repair.
“Yesterday morning, facilities notified our office of an emergency electrical repair that needed to be made that would affect the power in Sutowski Hall,” said Kyle Wolfe, director of Residence Life. “Residence Life staff immediately notified Sutowski residents to inform them of a temporary shutdown.”
Initial communications to residents stated the building would remain operational on emergency systems. Residence Life told students that emergency lighting, heat and other emergency systems were still functioning but standard electrical power would be unavailable.
Students were told they could remain in the building if they wished but were also encouraged to consider staying elsewhere while repairs were underway.
“If you have an alternative place to stay while facilities make repairs, please make those plans accordingly,” Residence Life wrote in an email to residents. The message suggested staying with a friend or returning home for students who live locally.
Residence Life also asked residents to complete a form indicating whether they planned to remain in the building or stay elsewhere.
However, some students say conditions worsened as the outage continued.
Rachel Rouse ’28, a resident of the hall, said students were required to submit a form stating whether they would stay overnight and that additional issues developed as the outage continued.
“The power has been out since around 10 a.m. on March 12, and everyone was told that if they had somewhere else to stay, they should go there. A lot of people ended up staying with friends or getting hotel rooms because they had exams and needed charged computers or an alarm to wake up in the morning. We now have no plumbing either since 10 a.m. today [March 13], and it is still currently off and we have had no updates,” Rouse said.
Wolfe said the form was used only to track where students planned to stay and clarified that rumors about liability waivers were incorrect.
“There were no waivers involved in any of our communications,” Wolfe said.
As repairs continued, facilities informed Residence Life that power would not return on Thursday evening and that work would extend into Friday. Residence Life then sent an update to residents explaining that crews were still working on a high-voltage line supplying power to the building.
“While facilities haven’t provided us with a definitive ETA, they hope that power is restored by the end of the day,” Wolfe said.
Students were also informed that other buildings across campus still have electricity and could be used to charge phones, laptops and other devices while the outage continues.
