The School of Journalism and Graphic Communication building has sustained major damage following a burst steam pipe early Thursday morning.
Some time between 8 and 8:30 a.m. the flooding began, making several classrooms an unsafe environment for both students and teachers to be in.
Professor Barton Christner, who had an 8 a.m. class on the second floor, was one of the first faculty members to notice the flooding and reported it to the administration.
“By 8:30 a.m, a dozen crew were in reacting to literally waterfalls coming through the ceilings of over seven rooms, including two computer labs and a photo studio,” said Christner.
Classrooms on the second and third floor have sustained damage, causing several classes to either be cancelled or relocated.
The division director for graphic design, Anosh Gill, was made aware of the situation as he was driving to campus and quickly met with other faculty members to make a decision about class schedules.
“We found out that it’s a serious problem,” Gill said. “We are not sure if we would still be teaching next week. We are waiting for the dean’s reply by tomorrow to find out if the place is safe for us to teach classes.”
The computer lab in the library, located on the third floor is completely safe and may be an option for new class meeting locations according to Gill.
The head librarian for SJGC, Karen Southwell, assures students that they are still welcome to the computer lab and books, should they need it.
“At least until tomorrow,” Southwell said. “I know tomorrow we will be open and then there won’t be any classes because it’s Friday.”
Southwell said that for now the library hours and functionality is all the same.
Other common areas like Convergence where Journey Magazine, WANM Radio station and The Famuan offices are, haven’t sustained any damage from the flooding and may still be used by members of those clubs.
Students can check their emails and blackboard accounts for updates from their professors on class time and location changes.
The SJGC faculty will give students timely updates on any safety concerns or changes being made as they learn more information about the damages.