In the midst of the largest snow storm of the school year, hundreds of students in East Campus have been displaced as a result of a power outage.
East Campus, which includes the Edmund A. Walsh building, and LXR and Nevils residence halls, lost power on Wednesday at approximately 12:30 p.m. before the snow began to fall. Workers from Pepco, the company that provides power to Georgetown, finally arrived at 9 p.m., but University officials did not expect power to be restored until early Thursday morning.
“The weather has hampered arrival of necessary help,” Provost Jim O’Donnell wrote in an email.
University Facilities could not fix the problem independently of Pepco, according to Vice President of Student Affairs Todd Olson.
“[We] needed Pepco to be there to turn off the main power supply from the main complex in order to asses and troubleshoot,” Olson said.
Photo: Max Blodgett
Power was lost due to a fault in the main breaker’s complex, Rachel Pugh, director of media relations, wrote in an email. It remains unclear if the outage can be attributed to the electrical work that led to the Internet failures earlier in the week.
Emergency lighting remained on through the evening while the University awaited the arrival of Pepco technicians.
Pugh wrote the Office of Residential Life endeavored to find temporary accommodations in vacant rooms and apartments, while offering inflatable mattresses for use. However, many students opted to spend the night with friends.
Student Affairs set up a hotline, with its number published in emails to East Campus residents, to field student inquiries and complaints.
An operator declined to comment on how many students received accommodations.
“The experience didn’t really bother my routine since I rarely use the lights, heat, and showers anyway,” Jed Feiman (COL ’12), a resident of East Campus, said jokingly.
Pugh advised students to use the shower facilities in Yates or another residence hall. However, she also noted that Yates’ timely opening “is dependent on current weather conditions.”
Feiman saw a silver lining in the delayed response.
“I loved the experience. It was a perfect excuse to stay with a friend.”
In her email to residents, Pugh also pointed out, “Lauinger Library and Sellinger Lounge will remain open all night for students.”
O’Donnell remains confident that these spaces will help students survive inconvenience and inclement weather.
“We proved, with double blind studies, that studying really, really hard keeps you warmer,” he said.
