W&L Mishandles Summer Power Outage

W&L Mishandles Summer Power Outage

Students endured a campus-wide power outage with minimal support from the university during an extreme heat wave.

(Washington and Lee Department of Public Safety building | SOURCE: Author)

Construction work near the Department of Public Safety office at Washington and Lee University caused an unplanned campus-wide power outage on Monday, June 23. According to students on campus, workers accidentally drilled into a power line in the heating and cooling plant. 

While I hope those involved in the accident are safe and unharmed, and I certainly do not intend for any criticisms of how the university handled the situation to impugn members of the construction project, W&L nonetheless managed it horribly.

(First responders address the scene after the accident | SOURCE: Author)

Regarding the university’s response to the issue, the lack of communication was jarring. Despite the power outage occurring around 11:10 that morning, the school did not send a single notification until 12:42 P.M., using the LiveSafe app,  W&L’s tool for communicating campus alerts to the school community. 

Given that the lights abruptly shut off in my lab room in Parmly Hall, the power outage was quickly evident to me; however, I was surprised that it took the university over an hour and a half to inform the community of the unplanned outage. 

This delay was especially concerning since my roommate, who was working in our apartment without any lights, was unaware of the situation. Had I not texted her about the outage, she would not have been aware of the problem until much later. 

In hindsight, I was fortunate to have had someone in my apartment. Otherwise, my roommates and I would have been locked out, since the keycards used to enter buildings on campus are nonfunctional without the electrical system. The W&L Office of Housing and Residence Life distributed apartment keys to allow students access back into their apartments at 12:48 P.M.

All of this confusion occurred amid an extreme heatwave, with Lexington under heat warnings the entire week. On the day of the outage, the temperature reached 97 degrees Fahrenheit, with a “feels like” temperature of 102 degrees. The average humidity level was 76 percent, making the air feel even heavier and hotter. Given the extreme heat and the uncertainty due to the university’s lack of communication, my roommate booked a hotel room for the night.

It was not until over two and a half hours later, at 1:46 P.M., that alternative housing was offered to students on a “first-come first-serve basis until 5 pm.” Since my roommate had already booked a hotel room, the alternative housing was not helpful for us. Furthermore, the condition of “first-come first-serve” is absurd. Students must pay to reside on campus for the summer, making it unbelievable that the university would consider forcing us to live without electricity. 

(Email from the Office of Housing and Residence Life regarding alternative housing | SOURCE: Author)

Additionally, the alternative housing options—218 East Nelson Street and ARC houses—were arguably worse than the powerless Third Year Village Apartments. The AIM (Advanced Immersion Mentoring) Scholars—incoming freshmen participating in a summer research program—moved into the 5th Henry Street and Nuestro Hogar Latino houses, but the thermostats in their rooms read 94 degrees Fahrenheit, as the air conditioning had been shut off since the end of the academic year.

Upon hearing of these unlivable temperatures, the rising senior students in my research lab invited the AIM scholars to stay in their off-campus houses. However, the heat seemed inescapable, as the AIM program advisors would not permit the freshmen to leave campus. 

Additionally, without electricity, I was unable to use my kitchen to prepare lunch or dinner on Monday. The university did not offer to provide meals for students who did not enroll in a summer meal plan, forcing us to purchase food at downtown restaurants—an often pricey endeavor, as anyone who visits Lexington knows.

To make matters worse, the power outage lasted over twelve hours. Without functioning refrigerators, students had to dispose of all their perishable food. My roommate and I had both been grocery shopping the day before the power outage. These weekend errands turned out to be pointless, as we had to throw away and repurchase all the refrigerated items due to the fear of spoilage.

When asked for reimbursement of these expenses, the Office of Housing and Residence Life claimed that it was the student’s responsibility to “take temporary measures like either getting ice/cooler to keep perishables cool.” They explained that because an outside contractor was at fault for the unplanned outage, W&L would not reimburse students for resulting expenses. 

A friend shared with me that he lost $89 worth of groceries that he had purchased the day before. In addition to the monetary loss, he was frustrated that he wasted time preparing meals for the week and had to repeat that work. He was frustrated that W&L would not reimburse him for a situation that was out of his control, and faults the university, as this is their construction project.

To put these losses in perspective, W&L pays summer research students on a biweekly basis at a gross rate of $472.50 per week. My weekly deposit received from the university was $405. This power outage and refusal of reimbursement from W&L forced my friend to spend $178, almost half of his week’s salary, on groceries in the span of three days.

Although I do not think the university is directly accountable for the outage, it is still W&L’s responsibility to provide and care for its students. Everyone should have been guaranteed alternative housing, and the referenced “temporary measures” should have been provided to us. W&L should not have forced us to bear that burden alone.

According to a student who remained in his Village Apartment for the night, power was eventually restored around 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday, just under fourteen hours after the initial disruption. We were informed of the repair over five and a half hours later, at 6:41 A.M. The university never issued an apology regarding the situation.

[The opinions expressed in this magazine are the author's own and do not reflect the official policy or position of The Spectator, or any students or other contributors associated with the magazine. It is the intention of The Spectator to promote student thought and civil discourse, and it is our hope to maintain that civility in all discussions.]