Genevieve Pfister, Staff Writer—
On December 26, residents of Good Hall received an email with unexpected news.
In the aftermath of extremely low temperatures, Good’s fire suppression system broke, causing flooding in parts of the building. According to Carianne Meng, Director of Residential Communities and Housing, residents of Good Hall, “were notified the same day.” Meng said the issue “was quickly discovered, water was turned off and a third-party water restoration contractor was immediately brought to campus to begin removing water and repairing damage.” All in all, Meng said, “Seven apartments… were impacted.”
Ben Barry ‘23, one of the impacted residents, said he was placed in temporary housing upon his early return to campus until he was able to move back in on move-in day. In the meantime, he was allowed to retrieve belongings from his room. According to Barry, other rooms had items packed in boxes, but in his, some belongings were damaged-posters ripped and some items of clothing still wet and moldy. He also said some items were missing, and that it has been a struggle to access reimbursement from the University. According to Barry, he and other residents were referred to Denison’s Director of Business Services, with whom some residents are still in contact, to discuss reimbursement and other flooding-related issues. So far, he said they have received general email responses, apologizing for losses and thanking students for their patience, but, according to Barry, often not including more specific information. “It’s been a really frustrating process,” he said. “Especially with my… missing stuff.”
Allie O’Connor ‘23, also lives in Good and received a similar email. While her apartment was not impacted, she heard others students’ rooms underwent significant repairs over winter break. “My room wasn’t damaged,” she said. “But [in the rooms] that were… I think they took out the walls and the flooring and redid that… I think most people’s stuff wasn’t super damaged… of course, there was some, but I haven’t heard horror stories.” O’Connor also said that from what she could tell, the damage seemed to occur in an ‘X’ pattern, damaging the rooms next to and across from her, but leaving hers unaffected.
In regard to repairs and handling belongings, Meng said that “All… belongings needed to be packed and moved to the common area of the apartment to replace ceilings, drywall, flooring and finishes. Staff gave their best effort in returning items to the original location.” Meng also said “attic spaces were reinsulated in all of the Sunset Apartments to ensure this issue would not happen in the future.”
In regard to communication with students, “Residential Communities and Housing provided updated information on January 3 and January 14… student email replies were answered in less than one business day and we welcomed phone calls throughout… Winter Break.” She also added that “Information students received was congruent with the 2022-2023 residence agreement… and information provided by Denison’s insurer. Questions about reimbursement were referred to… Business Services.”