Ceiling falls near students during class in Camino Hall

LAUREN VUJOVICH
EDITOR IN CHIEF
@lvujo

On Thursday, Sept. 18, during a 10:45 a.m. Communication Criticism class, a piece of the ceiling fell to the floor, nearly missing one of the students in Camino Hall room 108.

The piece that fell to the ground was approximately two feet by two feet. It appeared that the piece of the ceiling fell to the ground due to a water leak that happened in the pipes above the ceiling.

Senior Sarah Francis, who was narrowly missed by the falling ceiling, recalls the incident.

“I was sitting in class and then all of the sudden I heard somebody scream and then suddenly the ceiling fell down and hit my desk,” Francis said. “Part of it was even on my leg. I didn’t even notice it was falling until it was on the ground.”
Another senior, Luke Holler, said that water went everywhere when the ceiling fell.

“There I was sitting in class dozing off and then boom, the ceiling starts falling and running water goes everywhere,” Holler said. “It was disgusting and of course on a day I have to go to work.”

The students in the classroom all jumped to their feet after the ceiling tile fell. However, once the initial excitement of the falling ceiling seized, the professor decided to not cancel class and continue on with the lecture. The students were instructed to move to the other side of the classroom in order to stay away from the water leakage.

As the lecture continued, the leak from the ceiling continued to grow, and the ceiling started making more sounds, as it appeared that the piece of the ceiling next to the part that had already fell was about to fall as well.

Soon a steady stream of water was coming out of the ceiling and the professor placed a trashcan underneath the dripping ceiling.

“I thought for sure the rest was coming down,” Holler said. “The water damage was everywhere and it continued to pour.”
Kristin Moran, PhD, who was the professor teaching the class at the time of the incident, claims that it is not the first time a piece of ceiling has fallen in Camino. In fact, it has happened in her office as well.

“I had initial surprise but then a realization that this happens quite frequently in Camino and in fact it has happened in my office,” Moran said. “I immediately alerted our executive assistant who called facilities who then came to turn off the water.”

The class was let out early due to the danger of more the ceiling falling and the distraction of the water leakage. Moran states that she hopes this creates some urgency in the water pipes in Camino.

“It would be ideal if the pipes on the second floor of Camino, and also Founders, would stop leaking on a regular basis,” Moran said. “It happens frequently and I think the University should take steps to find permanent solutions.”

Students are also worried about the safety of the current conditions of the classrooms, especially since Camino just went through a renovation a few years back.

“I thought they just redid some of the classrooms in Camino,” Holler said. “It scares me because Olin looks like a windy day away from going down too.”

Thankfully no one was harmed during the incident. However, Francis states that she now is more cautious when sitting in a classroom.

“Every time I sit in a chair now I kind of look up and make sure it doesn’t look like the ceiling is going to collapse on my head,” Francis said.

The ceiling tiles are still missing in Camino 108 but it appears that the water leak has seized ceased for the time being.

As the lecture continued, the leak from the ceiling continued to grow, and the ceiling started making more sounds, as it appeared that the piece of the ceiling next to the part that had already fell was about to fall as well.

Soon a steady stream of water was coming out of the ceiling and the professor placed a trashcan underneath the dripping ceiling.

“I thought for sure the rest was coming down,” Holler said. “The water damage was everywhere and it continued to pour.”
Kristin Moran, PhD, who was the professor teaching the class at the time of the incident, claims that it is not the first time a piece of ceiling has fallen in Camino. In fact, it has happened in her office as well.

“I had initial surprise but then a realization that this happens quite frequently in Camino and in fact it has happened in my office,” Moran said. “I immediately alerted our executive assistant who called facilities who then came to turn off the water.”

The class was let out early due to the danger of more the ceiling falling and the distraction of the water leakage. Moran states that she hopes this creates some urgency in the water pipes in Camino.

“It would be ideal if the pipes on the second floor of Camino, and also Founders, would stop leaking on a regular basis,” Moran said. “It happens frequently and I think the University should take steps to find permanent solutions.”

Students are also worried about the safety of the current conditions of the classrooms, especially since Camino just went through a renovation a few years back.

“I thought they just redid some of the classrooms in Camino,” Holler said. “It scares me because Olin looks like a windy day away from going down too.”

Thankfully no one was harmed during the incident. However, Francis states that she now is more cautious when sitting in a classroom.

“Every time I sit in a chair now I kind of look up and make sure it doesn’t look like the ceiling is going to collapse on my head,” Francis said.

The ceiling tiles are still missing in Camino 108 but it appears that the water leak has ceased for the time being.