Power for Letts Hall began to fail Sunday night prompting technicians to completely turn off the electricity early Monday at 2 a.m. to assess the situation. Technicians concluded that the power transformer had worn out due to old age, according to Executive Director of Housing and Dining Services Julie Weber.
It is expected to take a week for a new transformer to arrive and be replaced. Emergency generators provided some lighting in the halls, the air conditioning from Anderson Hall was linked to Letts to reduce the temperature, and a temporary generator arrived Tuesday to make Letts fully functional.
Many students' daily routines were interrupted due to the power outage. Water became unusable in Letts, requiring students to shower in Anderson bathrooms. Also, Park Bestheda's residents could not connect to the Internet because their wireless transmitter is housed in Letts.
"I had to wait in line to shower and I missed breakfast," said Jennifer Hudson, a freshman in the School of International Service who lives on the Letts terrace. "We had food get ruined and they couldn't deliver our fridge because the elevators weren't working. I sat in Anderson to do my homework because of the lack of lights. My mom insisted I buy a flashlight, but I didn't. Now I wish I had."
Melissa Darr, a Letts resident and freshman in the School of Public Affairs, had a similar experience.
"My routine changed in that I had to go to the fifth floor of Anderson and wait in line for a shower," Darr said. "My teacher told me to check Blackboard for my homework, but I couldn't because the power was out."
In Monday's early hours, TDR opened to give Letts residents free breakfast and ice cream. Also resident assistants knocked on residents' doors at 7 a.m. on Monday to try to prevent residents from missing classes.
"The free breakfast didn't not make me miss the power," Darr said. However, she praised her RA. "My RA did a great job. I felt bad for her and all the RAs because they didn't get any sleep. I think it was really nice that they did wake-up calls for everyone."
Hudson also said she thought the RAs "did a good job."
Farzaneh Fouladi, a junior and Letts 4-South RA, also praised the RA staff.
"The lack of sleep that the RAs have gone through to keep things running show how much they care about their residents," Fouladi said.
AU has suffered power outages before, most notably during 2003's Hurricane Isabel when the Tenley Campus went without power for eight days.
"I am pleased with the response we have been getting. Residents have been very understanding and very responsible in their actions," Weber said.
