What can we say? Things happen.

While a water main break might be a ‘big thing,’ and while many people may have been inconvenienced by the lack of water and heat, you can’t forget the efforts taken by all parties to make the situation as bearable as possible.

At the same time, this is not the first time that the University has failed the students. Many of us who dorm here can remember a time when our dorms failed us, whether it was lacking basic necessities such as heat or water, sluggish responses to electric outages or planned fire alarms at 3 in the morning. How can such a large university with an enormous student body, provide such negligent care?

However, what is most significant is that construction workers worked diligently to fix the actual leakage. Campus Residences made periodic press releases to update the faculty and students of the current situation and they were able to fix the leak within one day. RAs and RHDs accommodated students from the buildings that didn’t have water or heat. RAs made signs to post around the buildings to inform the their residents. Students made the most of the burden, readily adapting to the situation. These are examples of how a community can work together to make the best of an unfortunate situation.

And to those students who complained about the inconveniences, they were able to learn a valuable lesson. Mistakes happen. Unexpected things pop up and you just have to learn to deal with it.

Sure, we could easily blame the University for having bad pipes. But, the truth of the matter is, we’ve all had a frozen pipe or two in our own homes. We’ve all had to call Roto-Rooter’reg; some time or another. And while the University’s pipe problem was (or still is) much larger, administration officials did what anyone would do for their own home: call the plumber.

SBU has worked together in the past in more than one instance. Roth Quad faced a blackout last year, and both Tabler and H Quads have faced water shortage problems. Yet, the administration has stepped up to the plate and resolved problems in less than 24 hours. Their efforts are not just commendable, they are a reflection of the University’s intent to keep the campus as a second home for students.

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