Following a February winter storm with record-breaking temperatures, OU announced plans to replace the freshman towers on the south end of campus. Several freshman residents said their experiences living in the dorms during extreme weather indicate how urgently the buildings need to be rebuilt.
In an OU Board of Regents Meeting last week, President Joseph Harroz announced changes would be made in a decision to replace Walker, Couch and Adams towers. He also said the replacement will be a multi-year plan that will update the dorms and allow for approximately 3,350 beds.
Several freshmen said they experienced multiple issues with the dorms’ heating systems during the week of storms Feb. 14 -17.
Criminology freshman Tyla Webb, who lives in McCasland, complained about frigid temperatures in her dorm room.
“Sunday, the power went out for two hours,” Webb said. “It was freezing cold, so I was under three blankets, and then when it came back on, it was still cold … Finally, I was like, ‘you know what, I'm going to stay with a friend,’ so I actually lived in Walker for a week.”
Webb said cold temperatures in her room are a recurring problem.
“Even at the beginning of the semester, we were having trouble with our AC unit because it was too cold,” Webb said. “I even got sick from it being too cold in the room.”
Webb said although she submitted maintenance requests that week, her room wasn’t restored to normal temperatures until about five days later.
“One morning, I walked in, and it was 38.4 degrees,” Webb said. “(Also) in one of my friend’s rooms, her pop bottle froze into a slushie.”
Nursing freshman Marissa Lowder said she’s also been unable to control the temperature in her dorm room.
“No matter how low I turn my thermostat, my air constantly gets hot,” Lowder, who lives on Walker Tower floor 10 said in a GroupMe correspondence. “(I think it is) because they have the whole building switched to heat. But not everybody wants heat!”
Reagan Peterson, an advertising freshman who lives in Adams Muldrow Tower, said her room was also “extremely warm” during the winter storm. Peterson also said there were multiple floods that almost all of her close friends in Adams experienced.
“The main issue (with flooding) is not the pipes, but the AC units seem to be what always causes the flooding,” Peterson said in an email. “I have had friends that have had their AC unit spew dirty water, smoke and steam.”
Director of Marketing and Communications Amy Buchanan said in a Feb. 17 email that the university experienced a power outage, affecting the majority of campus. OU buildings maintained appropriate temperature levels, and OU Facilities Management restored power to the freshmen dorm towers within two hours.
Webb said, based on the issues she experienced in the dorms, she believes it’s time to rebuild them.
“(Adams) is just one of the oldest dorms on campus,” Webb said. “These were the segregated dorms. So (I think) these need to be taken down and rebuilt because there always seems to be something wrong.”
Harroz visited Adams Center’s McCasland Tower Feb. 19 to inspect two rooms with AC issues and flooding because of a pipe burst.
Marisa Shelby, a freshman music education major, said after the visit that Harroz was “friendly” and apologized profusely for what was currently happening to the girls living on the floor.
According to Buchanan in the Feb. 17 email, the winter storm preparations made were insufficient in halting the issues that ensued.
“Winter storm preparations done on campus, and areas across the country, were not enough to stop the impacts from the historic, multi-day weather event,” Buchanan said. “The university is aware as the thawing begins, more issues will be evident, and repair work will continue.”
Social work freshman Maegan Schwartz, who lives in Walker, said she did not experience heating issues, and although the power outages were inconvenient, she wasn’t very affected by them.
“(When) the power went off a couple of times, (it) was honestly peaceful because the Synexis sphere was not making a loud buzz and the room was at a normal temperature,” Schwartz said. “(But), when the power went off, one of my friends actually got stuck in one of the elevators, which was an experience for sure.”
Buchanan said in a Feb. 25 email while most of the room temperature and flooding problems were quickly solved, students with rooms that still needed repairs were continuing to utilize “temporary spaces” a week after the storms. These students were given the option to move but weren’t required.
Buchanan said in the Feb. 25 email that no issues were reported after Feb. 18. Buchanan also said there is no current flooding due to the storm, and the heating systems are up and running.
OU Housing will continue to prioritize maintenance on the rooms that still need repairs, Buchanan said.
“Those rooms still needing repairs are at the top of the Housing Operations priority list,” Buchanan said. “Throughout this winter weather event, and anytime there is a cause for a student to be temporarily moved, everyone has worked diligently to ensure students can return to their rooms as quickly as possible.”
In a March 3 email, Buchanan said although Housing Operations prepares each year for winter weather, this event may spark changes.
“After an event like the recent historic winter storm, Housing Operations will take time to review its response and adjust operating processes as necessary for future winter weather,” Buchanan said. “The priority is to continually improve services to all residents on campus.”
