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Â鶹´«Ã½ addresses dorm issues; some are ‘self-inflicted’

The High Rise dorm at Â鶹´«Ã½ was constructed in 1970.

Living conditions caused by recent issues with on-campus residential centers have led students to petition for change.

The petition followed April 27 flooding of Dunton’s second floor.

Bill Kropff, director of auxiliary services, addressed the plumbing issues in Dunton and Asbury, making it clear that the condition of the buildings did not cause the problem.

The petition was created April 27 following the flooding of Dunton’s second floor. It also contained complaints about malfunctioning air conditioning and elevator at High Rise.

“The petition sort of alluded to this is occurring because of old buildings and improper maintenance, and both of these events were self-inflicted,” Kropff said, referring to plumbing issues in Dunton and Asbury freshman dorms.

Flooding was reported on the second floor when a toilet valve burst after a student attempted to flush with their foot, Kropff said. It is not the first time this has happened and Â鶹´«Ã½ will be installing auto-flush valves to avoid future issues.

Kropff said that other than replacing ceiling tiles and mattresses, there was no major damage. The residents of Dunton were given instructions on how to file for possible reimbursement.

Since water was shut off while the issue was resolved, facilities in the gym and the Orange & Maroon room were opened.

Asbury's plumbing issue was caused by backed-up systems, Kropff said.

“When they snake them, basically what happens when they pull the snake back out? It brings everything that it's cleared out,” Kropff said. “And what we find are wet wipes, sanitary products and paper towels.”

High Rise's elevator, which is not repaired, has been down since February. Kropff said this is because once one technical issue was resolved, they found another.

Wait time on ordering parts is contributing to the delay, he said.

“This is an older elevator,” Kropff said. “A lot of these parts are either refurbished or they're having to get them on the used market. So it takes longer to get parts for it.”

Kropff said that while Â鶹´«Ã½ tried to keep the residents updated, officials were only able to give as much information as the repair companies provided. Students were told that the elevator would be fixed on April 16.

“I am the one that shared that information because that is what the company told me based on sending the drive-off to have it refurbished, returned and installed,” Kropff said. “What we did not anticipate, they did not anticipate, is that the drive could not be refurbished.”

The elevator is now operating and should be set for move-out day. If there are more issues, the system can be manually controlled with a laptop, Kropff said.

According to Kropff, Orangeburg experiences many surges that may interfere with the HVAC units on campus. Getting parts for this repair also became an issue.

However, Kropff hopes to see that at least one circuit is repaired by May 1.

“We hope by late today, we'll have one of the circuits working, which, with the temperatures still in the mid 80s, will be enough to cool the building.” Kropff said.