December 13, 1994
A faucet in the journalism department's photo darkroom on the third floor of the new Humanities Building was left on over the weekend, causing a plastic hose attachment to burst and creating marginal damage to the English department.
Apparently, the faucet was on since Friday evening. Austin Long-Scott, lead adviser to the Golden Gater, said Journalism Department Chair Erna Smith checked classrooms in the department before leaving on Saturday without discovering anything unusual.
"We don't actually know when it popped," Long-Scott said. "But we're under the impression it burst late Saturday night or early Sunday morning."
When the half-inch hose split it shot water approximately four to five feet against an adjacent wall. Water quickly spread to offices and classrooms in the journalism department, then seeped directly downstairs into classrooms and English department offices.
The damage was most noticeable on the second floor. Ceiling tiles became heavily saturated, causing some to fall and others to sag.
Monday morning, maintenance workers were in the process of replacing approximately 12 ceiling tiles in second floor classrooms and offices.
Paperwork in an English department office was also soaked, but no serious damage occurred.
When Michael Abate, a journalism department lab monitor, arrived for work Sunday morning he was greeted by a half-inch of water -- more in other areas -- pooled on the east wing hallway floor.
"My reaction was I thought maybe the bathrooms had flooded. It was extensive damage," Abate said. "Fortunately we got a lot of help from the custodian and her husband who doesn't even work here."
Apparently a drain in the floor of the darkroom where the break occurred did not work as designed. Water pooled on either side of the drain -- which should have been the low point in the room -- and then flowed away from it. At this point, with the recent completion of construction, it's unclear what responsibility the builders of the new Humanities Building have concerning design flaws.