by: Kennedy Smith
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark (UATV) – The University of Arkansas Housing and Facility Management departments worked together to resolve an issue caused by inclement weather Feb. 20.
Though class was not in session, many parts of campus were still affected by the freezing temperatures and snow. Each of the nineteen dorms on the University of Arkansas campus, along with three dining halls, were operating during the campus closure.
Early Thursday morning, RazALERT notified all University of Arkansas students and faculty through phone calls and emails that campus facilities were operating at 75% heating capacity due to a mechanical issue.
University Facilities was able to identify that there was a malfunction in one of the turbines that help distribute heat and energy to the campus.
They began work immediately to address the issue by temporarily shutting off hot water and diverting energy and heat from empty buildings to University Housing.
Despite the heat being diverted to University Housing, residential students experienced a decrease of heat in their rooms, with slightly cooler temperatures.
Along with cooler temperatures in their rooms, students who stayed in their dorms were only able to take hot showers between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. that day.
Out-of-state students, particularly freshmen, were caught off guard by the situation, along with the freezing temperatures outside That day, the the low temperature was 7 degrees Fahrenheit and reached a high of 25 degrees Fahrenheit.
“This is my first year on campus and I’m also from Louisiana, so this is the coldest I’ve ever been in my whole life and the most snow I’ve ever experienced in my whole life. So, no heat no water wasn’t particularly fun for me at all,” said Madeline Lowe.
Many students, including Lowe, were frustrated with the fact that they were unable to take a warm shower.
“I woke up and tried to hop in the shower. There was no warm water and I thought it was just user error. I went to another shower, same thing. Another one, same thing again. Eventually, they sent out that email and I was not particularly the happiest,” said Lowe.
“Waking up I had planned on taking a shower, completely unaware of what was going on. I checked my email and they said I wasn’t allowed to take a shower. I had to sit around and wait to get my day started until around 1 p.m. that afternoon,” said Bella Grogan.
The issue was resolved within a few hours and Facility Management continued to closely monitor the campus turbines throughout the day Thursday.
University Housing notified residential students that they were able to resume showering with hot water and that temperatures in their rooms would have the ability to be warmer.
By Friday, heat and energy were restored to one hundred percent in all buildings on campus, though on-campus classes were still cancelled that day due to road conditions.
As spring approaches, Fayetteville temperatures have remained well above freezing since this incident and are expected to reach highs in the 70s and lows in the upper 30s in the near future, meaning that another heat reduction is highly unlikely in the near future.
Resident students are encourage to contact the University Housing 24/7 Service Center at 479-575-7005 if they are experiencing issues with heating and cooling in their rooms.
